Growth & Customers

Create customer joy through acts of kindness

Learn how small acts of kindness can make you and your customers happier from watercolour illustrator, Imogen Partridge.

A woman in a polka dot blouse looking at the camera Bex Burn-Callander
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Imogen Partridge takes us on a journey from her roots in interior architecture to her true calling in illustration, where her passion for places and storytelling breathes life into her art.

Beyond her artistic evolution, Imogen reveals the transformative power of kindness in business. She illustrates how simple acts of kindness can enrich your personal life, delight your customers, and even boost your bottom line.

Discover how thoughtful touches in orders can captivate customers, how spreading kindness can create a ripple effect, and why communicating your struggles and wins to your audience can benefit everyone involved.

Join us as we uncover how integrating small acts of kindness can profoundly enhance both your business and your life.

Here’s her unfiltered advice below:

Quitting a stable job to build a business doing what you love

Bex Burn-Callander:

So you actually recently quit your job to focus on this business, so to be a full-time watercolour illustrator. So tell us a bit about that, what convinced you to take the leap and how is it going?

Imogen Partridge:

Yeah, I did. So it was in January, so it’s been about 6 months since I left my job of about 12 and a half years. And it’s one of those things where I’d been building up slowly on the side, but I got to a point where I just thought, “Actually I think I could give this a go.”

And that was maybe about 2 or 3 years ago now.

And when I went back to work after my second child, I’ve got 2 little ones, I had to go back for a year, and I decided that that would be my year to put the systems in place and get ready to leave.

So it was kind of as much me deciding in my head and convincing myself to do it as anything else. But that’s what I did and it’s been brilliant.

It’s really scary and it was really scary, and it still is, but it’s been really brilliant. I’m so glad I did it.

Bex Burn-Callander:

But what were the drivers? Was it that the amount of business you had coming in started to overwhelm you or was it more about having a bit more flexibility with 2 little ones? What was the thing that really sealed the deal?

Imogen Partridge:

It was because I loved it. It’s because I got to a place where I was really enjoying what I was doing, and I could see how I could make it work as a business and I wanted to try.

My interior design job was fine and obviously it’s a creative role, but it was not giving me what my illustration gives me and the passion that I have for that is very different.

And the flexibility is a bonus, all of those things that come with it are helpful, but it was because I wanted to do it. It just got to a point where I just loved it and I wanted to take the leap.

Create a plan so your heart can convince your head it’s possible

Bex Burn-Callander:

And I suppose there are preconceptions about creative types that they are amazing at producing works of art, really unique and interesting work, but maybe they’re not so great when it comes to admin, planning, finance.

So what was your approach? Did you have a financial plan, marketing plan, business plan, or are you more of the classic embrace the chaos type creative?

Imogen Partridge:

Probably a bit of both. I definitely had a plan and I had planned it out to sort of convince my brain if nothing else that it would work, and I looked at the numbers and everything behind it.

I diversified my income streams a little bit. I set up my watercolour workshops, I started working more with businesses in the year before I left work quite intentionally with a view to having other ways of generating revenue.

But I think it was always a plan that I knew would need to be flexible because it’s not predictable in where everything’s coming from and because I have different income streams, it’s obviously just balancing them.

So it was sort of a plan to an extent, but knowing that I would need to build in flexibility. But it was really interesting because I think I do actually find that side of business really interesting, I really enjoy it and I enjoy the variety that brings me, and I enjoy the amount that I learn from that for life as well.

It’s so helpful to learn some of these skills. So yeah, and I have a lot of creative friends who don’t enjoy that side of things so I’m grateful that I do.

But I think it is a combination because the realities of day-to-day life and trying to get everything done, it’s hard to keep up with it all and on top of it all.

Bex Burn-Callander:

I love that image that you knew in your heart you wanted to do this, but your heart had to convince your head. I love that analogy, that was really amazing.

Diversify your revenue portfolio

Bex Burn-Callander:

And then you mentioned having this diversified revenue portfolio and I found that really interesting because you kind of make sure that you have enough strings to your bow that when one area is thriving, it doesn’t really matter if another area is a bit slow.

So can you tell me how you worked out, I guess, what services to offer?

And then are there other peaks and troughs in terms of the demand for different things? Are you booming at Christmas time and really slow in the summer?

Tell us about the different strands and I guess the benefits and the drawbacks of these strands.

Imogen Partridge:

Yeah, so I think it’s all developed relatively naturally, but I’ve started to get more intentional with it, as I said, about a year or so ago.

And I initially worked with a lot of private clients and then I had the odd business project and obviously could see how it could slot into businesses really, really well. And then setting up my workshops and I offer some live illustration and I do some cards and prints and things like that.

I think I wanted to collate enough so it would keep me interested. I like the variety. If I did 1 thing the whole time, it wouldn’t be that sustainable, but it was that thing of making it a sustainable business and it’s still something that I’m working on and obviously a lot of those things are me-centric.

So I’m working on ways to have a little bit less involvement in some areas so that I can build it around if I need to go on holiday or if I’m off sick or anything like that. Very early this year after leaving work, I was ill for a couple of weeks and that really hit home as to how you build around that.

So yeah, I think it’s a case of balancing them all and it is very much peaks and troughs. I mean, Christmas is always really busy, but I feel like it’s always busy in life anyway.

So the combination of being busy with work and being busy with life, it always feels extra busy.

But I do feel like throughout the year it is just peaks and troughs and it’s fairly regular, my work isn’t too seasonal, which is helpful.

And I think building in working with brands and different ways of working with private clients as well has been really helpful to that.

As a freelancer, having backup up plans in case of illness or absence is crucial

Bex Burn-Callander:

That’s really interesting. And what you said there about being ill and needing to figure out a kind of backup plan, can you tell me what is your backup plan?

Did you have other sort of skilled illustrators that you feel like you have enough of a ability to kind of replicate your style that you could quite easily say, “Right, can you take this on for me”? What do you do if you’re ill?

Imogen Partridge:

Attempt to get better as quickly as possible really. But I mean, I do have a collection of illustrators that I would be able to go to if I was really stuck.

This happened actually when I had a job quite late on when I was having my daughter and I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get it done in time and so I had sort of talked to the client and talked to her and said, “Look, I can take this on, but if I can’t do it because she comes early or anything, then I’ll need to pass it over to a friend.”

So I have a really good community of people that I could pass things on to if I really needed to. However, I do try not to do that with projects, and I have quite long lead times to allow myself to work around things.

So usually if there is something that comes up like that or if one of my children is off sick or something like that and it has to be me that looks after them, then I can build in that flexibility.

But one of the things that I am trying to do is to develop some areas like the wholesale side of things, so starting off with some cards and things like that, which I do sell directly at the moment and in a couple of small shops, but kind of building that area a little bit.

And, I teach my workshops and working on an online version of that and some tutorials and things like that, so I don’t have to be there every single time.

And that won’t be something that happens overnight, but I’m slowly building those areas that will just help me a little bit and free me up to reduce the pressure a bit.

Bex Burn-Callander:

Yeah, passive income is always useful. That’s all really smart.

I thought that when I went freelance I didn’t realize how much discipline you end up building in a relatively short space of time that the moment you have a new job, you start working on it straight away, you don’t wait until just before deadline in case something happens, you have a sick child, you get ill, you start learning, you get that muscle going, but just immediately, any spare time you have, you start taking care of those bits on your to-do list.

But it is discipline, isn’t it?

Imogen Partridge:

Yeah. And I think so much learning, I think that’s what so far this year has been, so much learning about how you work and the best ways to work.

And it’s building in that flexibility because sometimes I’m actually not feeling that creative, which sometimes I’m a little bit guilty about, but it’s just a thing, isn’t it?

And actually, then I have the flexibility that I can say, “Okay, well maybe I’ll work on that tomorrow or later this afternoon once I’ve done some admin tasks,” or there’s sort of ways of working around it and it’s understanding yourself really and working in the best way for you.

What to do when you have a block in your creativity

Bex Burn-Callander:

So is there such a thing as, I know about writer’s block, can you get illustrator’s block and how do you get rid of it?

Imogen Partridge:

That was so funny because I was about to write a post about that because yesterday, I was a bit stuck in a rut and I just felt a bit, I don’t know, it’s just a feeling that it’s not flowing.

And I went out for a run. And I think it’s just taking yourself out of the environment if you can, just changing things up. Probably very similar to writer’s block.

And sometimes I do something creative, like I’ll set a timer and try and draw something in 1 minute or 2 minutes or do fun creative challenges or something like that to just mix things up a bit.

Sometimes I might just completely decide I’m not going to do it today, I’ll work on it tomorrow instead. But otherwise, it would be getting out for a walk or something like that, making sure I’ve eaten a good lunch or something like that.

So it’s just looking at your environmental factors a lot of the time and you can power through, but it won’t be as efficient and you probably won’t be as happy with the work and it won’t come as easily.

So I have definitely learnt that where possible I’ll move things around and work around it.

Incorporate your personal values into your business

Bex Burn-Callander:

So tell me about this idea of practicing kindness. So you’ve been in business a little while, is this something that crept up as being something that’s really important to you, really vital to the success of your brand?

Tell me about what inspired you to start thinking about kindness as a concrete concept in business.

Imogen Partridge:

Yeah, so I think it is something that’s sort of happened quite organically and I’m not a horrible person, so that’s a good place to start.

But I think it made me realize, I think when I left my old job, I felt some of the values of their company or the way things were done or whatever, it didn’t necessarily align with my own values.

And I enjoy the freedom that I can have from working for myself and being able to work to my values. And I do regularly try and check in with what they are as a business.

And I think honesty and things like that were always in there, but it came apparent at some point that actually I think kindness is one that is important to me, and how you don’t often see that within businesses.

I think there are people who talk about it more, I mean, Mary Portas is a great example, she has the kindness economy that she talks about.

I think I just started to notice as I heard people here and there mention it, I started to notice how I’ve been practicing it for a long time and how it’s helped me and how it seems really obvious.

And it also seems like quite, I guess, a relatively surface level concept, but actually I found that it was really running throughout every area of my business, and really helping me.

And having the autonomy to be able to make those decisions myself and seeing the effect of it, I think that’s when I started to talk a little bit about it to other people as well, and maybe share a bit about it just because it seems really obvious, but also, I don’t think people are talking about it quite as much.

Examples of how you can be kind in business

Bex Burn-Callander:

Okay, we need to hear some examples.

Imogen Partridge:

So good examples are things like reaching out to people.

So if I listen to a podcast, I love podcasts, if I listen to a podcast that I like, I will usually send either somebody a message and say, “Oh, this was amazing. I really loved your interview on this, it was really inspiring,” or I’ll share it on Instagram or something like that and just talk about it and hope that other people would get value from it.

And that is just one of those things that is doing a nice thing essentially because I’ve got something from it and it’s sharing it with other people in the hope that they would too.

But then you’re not expecting anything in return.

You’re not saying, “Oh, can you do this for me?” Or anything like that. It’s just coming at it from a place of being quite open and wanting to benefit others as well.

And a lot of it is communication, the way you talk, the way you talk to people, the way you are, the way you approach any slightly difficult situations, anything like that.

It can also come in small ways, the way that you deliver a project.

I mean for me, for example, a lot of my illustration work for private clients are really personal stories and they’re capturing places or things that are really important to them. And I feel a big responsibility and an honour that people trust me with those stories.

And so I think that’s a way that I can be quite sensitive and kind to my clients, it’s funny because that’s what I would do, but it is just having that approach and it is a business and I approach it as a business.

But is very much understanding that you are also all people and it’s a very human thing and it is easy to remember that when you’re 1 person, but I think it can be something that’s easy to review when you’re a bigger business.

And I think, I listened to Mary Portas talking about this, and she was sort of saying that it got to a point where she sort of took a step back and went right back to the beginning of her business and sort of thought, “Okay, how can we bring this into everywhere? How can we be kind to our staff? How can we be kind to our customers? How can we be kind to the planet?”

There are charitable areas, but then there’s just so many kinds of ways that you can bring this in as a value.

How to easily integrate kindness into your hectic business schedule

Bex Burn-Callander:

Just speaking for some of the business owners that might be listening who are just like, “That sounds wonderful, but I’m so busy.” and kindness is great, but it sounds very time-consuming, and it takes a lot of planning to remember.

For example, say you illustrated a wedding invite and then a year after maybe you send them a lovely message being like, “Congratulations on your first anniversary,” that is a kind thing to do, but to actually have the wherewithal, the resource, the brainpower to do that, that can be tricky.

So how have you managed to build that in around all the concrete stuff you have to do to make money?

Imogen Partridge:

I mean, some of it is stuff that you can potentially automate, and that example that you just gave is a perfect example of that.

If you worked on somebody’s wedding or if you worked with a client and you had an anniversary of some kind to remember, you could very easily put in your calendar for the following year that you need to do that.

And then when it comes round, you will definitely have forgotten about it, but when it comes round, you’ll be able to talk about it and you’ll be able to get in touch with them.

And I think it’s one of those things that the more you do it, the more it comes more naturally. And I think probably a lot of people are doing it to an extent anyway because they’re good people.

But I think it’s just maybe looking at even the way you word your email templates, if you have a sort of template that you respond to people with, can you just tweak it slightly so it’s just coming from a slightly different voice and maybe a more authentic voice?

And one of the things that I thought about as well, is kindness in the way that you interact with your clients, in terms of sharing of information.

It could be something that makes everybody’s life easier because you set out very clearly the way that you work, what you expect from them, what you need from them, and that’s a practical thing and it’s really useful.

But actually, it’s helping everybody because it’s helping you to understand each other’s boundaries and each other’s situations and it’s going to make your working together more enjoyable and more efficient.

And I’m always really grateful to people who do that, even if it’s like an out of office or something like that, just to say, “Thank you so much. I got your email. I’m probably really busy running around after my children, but I will be back to you when I’m at my desk on Wednesday.”

Or there’s just ways that you can try and tweak what you already do to help this. And I think a lot of it is language and a lot of it is the way that you talk to people and how you conduct yourself.

Which, again, I think sometimes people can separate a little bit like, “This is business me and I’m slightly different at home,” and I think because I don’t do that at all, I’m very much the same, maybe that helps.

Bex Burn-Callander:

Yeah, no, and I think it’s important to stress the compounding effect of kindness. It’s helpful that I’ve spent 20 years building a career, 30 almost… Well, 25 years, I’m not that old.

25 years building a career and you see over time that actually if you are nice to people, you might not see any benefit for 6 months, for a year and then suddenly out the blue 5 years later, you get a call because someone has said, “Oh, she was a real pleasure to work with,” or, “You know what? I was in a tight spot and she really helped me, or she gave me a piece of advice that was really pivotal for something.”

So I think it’s really important for people who maybe think more about, I don’t know, not instant gratification, but you kind of think, “God, I’m putting in effort,” and you want immediate feedback that it can be a long game and a long cycle to put niceness, kindness in the world and it’s a compounding cumulative thing.

Imogen Partridge:

Yes, exactly that. And I think the sort of networking side of it is a really great example because actually if you are reaching out and speaking to people here and there, you never know what’s going to happen, you never know who’s going to remember you, who’s going to think of you.

But if you are going around and you are celebrating other people, you’re being kind to other people, you are not expecting anything back, as you say, then that comes across in a really positive way and people really pick up on that.

And it then also has a positive effect on you. So it’s not just an external thing, it’s very much it’s better for you to be nice to people.

Bex Burn-Callander:

It makes you healthy.

Imogen Partridge:

Yes, exactly. It’s like there’s so many people that talk about this.

I think it’s Dr Rangan Chatterjee’s podcast, and he has an episode that talked a lot about this and about how, actually if you think about it, if you go down the street and you see someone who looks really lovely and you say, “Oh, that looks really lovely,” whatever, “Your dress looks really lovely,” or something like that, you feel quite good because you’ve kind of made their day, they’ll probably at least smile at you if not say thank you and then that’s a really nice thing.

But actually, if you do those little things here and there all the time, it makes you feel so much better, and it makes your world a more positive place.

And I’ve found that through social media and things like that, I now enjoy my social media because everyone’s so lovely, but I think a lot of that is because you go around being nice and then people are also nice.

And I think that makes it sound a bit naive, but it is a lot more than that because like you say, it’s building connections and it’s building relationships.

And as we know, in business that’s really important and you really don’t know who knows who or where that’s going to take you. So it’s just, as you say, going in without agenda I think.

Sometimes being kind is having difficult conversations

Bex Burn-Callander:

And has your kindness philosophy ever been sort of tested to the limit? Have you had someone, a troll or a really difficult customer where it’s been really hard to live up to those principles? And what did you do in that instance?

Imogen Partridge:

That’s a really good question. I haven’t had anybody troll me, which I’m very grateful for, except probably my brothers.

But I think one of the things that I would actually say in that situation, I’ve had the odd, slightly more difficult client, but it’s never been a real problem.

But I would say one of the things to remember is when we’re talking about kindness, it’s also kindness to yourself. So it’s looking at those situations and it’s very much not letting people walk all over you or anything like that.

It’s important that this is not being kind at all costs to others and a cost to yourself. It is important that you are looking after yourself and you are going about these things from the right angle.

And I think if that act of kindness to yourself is having a difficult conversation to resolve a situation that you are not happy with or you don’t believe in.

Or if you’ve gone into a project and actually you don’t think it’s quite what you hoped or their values really don’t align or something like that, it’s having an honest conversation and saying, “Look, actually this is the situation. Is there a way we can work together to resolve this?”

And again, it’s not approaching it from an accusational point of view or anything like that.

I mean, sometimes when I say it all sounds kind of obvious, but I also don’t think it is, I think when you are in the heat of the moment, it’s always easy to get carried away or deal with things in a slightly different way.

And I think the more you remember how you’re trying to come at things and that you are trying to be putting a positive impact on the world, but also for yourself, the better that you can handle those situations.

How to be kind while remaining competitive

Bex Burn-Callander:

And is there ever a tension between, I guess, the urge to be kind in business and also the need, I suppose, to be financially minded, to be competitive in some way?

I mean you can’t always collaborate, sometimes you are literally going head-to-head with someone else for a piece of work.

How do you deal with, I guess, those two things running in opposite directions and pulling you into opposite direction?

Imogen Partridge:

I’ve got to a place I think with work, and if you’re head-to-head with somebody else, I very much believe that I will put my work out there and if I’m not the right person, then I’m not the right person.

And I think even if it’s something you really want, then that’s a real shame, but you just have to get to the point where you trust the process and you believe that things will come and it will be the right thing that comes along.

It’s really important that being kind is not necessarily charging a price that every single person can afford. If someone can’t afford your services, dropping your prices so that they can isn’t kind because, okay, you’re serving that 1 person, but it’s not serving your ultimate goal.

And actually, there’s so many ways that you can build in if there are people that you want to reach.

Do you actually increase your prices slightly so that you can work with 1 person for a pay what you can or for free? There are other ways to do it.

Or do you increase your prices so you can give a certain amount to different charities?

There’s so many ways that you can help, but it isn’t your responsibility to be the person who is the right price for everybody. I think that’s really important to remember.

And yeah, I think finances is a really key area, and one of the things to be kind to yourself is supporting yourself so that you can work in your business with the time and energy that you need.

And if that is, again, increasing your prices so that you can take on a little bit less work, so you’ve got more time, whether it’s to rest, whether it’s to do something creative, get outside, any of those things, all of those things are really important too.

So it is coming at it from quite, I guess, a holistic approach because it is looking at it from practical terms, but it’s also thinking about that side of things.

Bex Burn-Callander:

I guess it’s a reminder that you have to think about who you are trying to be kind to in that scenario because sometimes it is yourself, sometimes it’s your family, sometimes it’s being cruel to be kind, you are saying, “This won’t work,” because you know down the line, if you just do what they tell you to do, it’s going to be a waste of their money, and that can be a really hard conversation.

But I guess it’s just taking a step back sometimes and working out who does this help really?

Imogen Partridge:

Yeah, exactly that. And I think that helps when you sort of look at your values and you look at your overall, your company and where you want to be and where you want to go, and also how that sits in your personal life as well.

Because a lot of my values of my company are ones that are my personal values as well, so it’s that holistic approach I think.

Overcoming a crisis of confidence

Bex Burn-Callander:

And I have been asking a lot of our guests this series about theme of confidence. It’s sort of like a soft theme that we’ve been looking at this season.

So I’d love to know if there have been moments during your journey with this business where you’ve lost your confidence or you’ve had your confidence shaken.

Can you tell us about it? And then I guess what you did to recover?

Imogen Partridge:

Yeah, I mean, probably all the time. I have noticed that this definitely goes in peaks and troughs and some weeks or days I’ll think, “Yeah, this is totally great I’m doing this,” and others I will really question everything and I’ll be overthinking and have a real confidence crisis.

And noticing that in itself has been really helpful that it is not a consistent thing for me. And things that I do to help myself, I mean, generally I listen to a lot of podcasts and I’ve listened and read a lot about, I guess, working on your mindset.

And I think that was one of my key things that I did in the year before leaving work was sort of working up and shifting from, “If it works, if I leave,” to, “I’m going to leave and when it works.”

And I think that shift was really helpful. And I just think all of these things, I don’t necessarily seek out learning about improving these things, but I think because I listen and read a lot, it sort of goes in by osmosis.

So it’s not like I’ve taken a course on doing these.

Bex Burn-Callander:

A course in confidence.

Imogen Partridge:

Yeah, exactly. But I think all of that helps in understanding yourself and where you are coming from. I think the things that are really important is understanding your why, what is your purpose and why are you doing that?

And I think if you are really clear on that, even if it’s something that changes and develops, I think that helps.

And then another thing that I did, I used to get a bit intimidated by people who were really successful or who I really admired, and I actually started reaching out to them and just saying, “Look, I think your work’s really wonderful, you’re really inspiring.”

And I really tried to reframe it to think actually they’re showing me what’s possible, what I could do, rather than thinking, “Oh gosh, I could never do what they could,” actually, it’s more like I could do that because they’ve done it.

And usually, their story has got its own way of working. And one of the reasons I listen to a lot of podcasts is because I find hearing everybody’s stories and different journeys so helpful to understand that you can carve out your own.

And although yours will not look the same, you’ll get to where you want to be if you’re going in the right direction. So I find listening to other people’s stories really helpful and I feel like that kind of helps my confidence in showing you what’s possible essentially.

Bex Burn-Callander:

When you were talking about having a change of mindset, that was really interesting when you said, not if but when and not if it’s possible but when it makes money, these changes in mindset, that’s really fascinating.

You said you haven’t had a course in confidence, which no one does, I imagine not many people have taken courses in confidence, but in terms of that mindset work, did you set out to try actively and change the way that you process certain thoughts and emotions?

Did you journal, did you seek out, I don’t know, podcasts about mindset? What was it? Because that sounds really intentional, the way that you kind of went from A to B, so I’m just curious how you did that.

Imogen Partridge:

Yeah, a lot of it was podcasts actually and some audiobooks and things like that. I have tried journaling, and I will probably eventually get good at it and it has been helpful.

Sometimes I will sit down, and I’ll just write some stuff because I’ve got too much in my brain and even knowing it’s an option is helpful.

But yeah, I think it’s been seeking out that information and kind of letting it go in and taking what I can and what I want to from those kinds of conversations, I think.

Share your struggles with your audience as well as your wins

Bex Burn-Callander:

What is one thing that anyone can do then to help them with their confidence?

Imogen Partridge:

One of the things that I really value is sharing it, sharing it with your audience. And generally, I talk about things a lot, but since I left work, I shared that I was going to leave work and then the day I handed in my notice, I shared that I was really scared.

It was really exciting, but I was also really scared. And there’s been a couple of instances since then that I’ve done a similar thing and I’ve just had a confidence crisis, not necessarily to expect anything back, but to put it out in the open to say, “Look, this is just a normal thing that people feel.”

And then everybody is like, “Oh, I get this all the time. These are the things that I do.”

And from that post after leaving work, I’ve got a really long list of wonderful comments from people that I could potentially go back and read, which I don’t remember to do, but they also had some great advice, so I’ve kind of collated it, which has been really helpful.

So I think sometimes just talking to other people and sharing it, you kind of get that moral support and it’s a really wonderful thing to have community that lifts each other up in that way and kind of supports you when you’re down as well, as your wins.

Bex Burn-Callander:

You could illustrate all those comments and put them together in a bumper book of confidence boosters, that might be something that would do well. Confidence boosters for freelancers.

Imogen Partridge:

That is a great idea. I’d love to do that.

How to deal with the issue of comparison

Bex Burn-Callander:

And tell me what you think of this, because I think that one of the biggest destroyers of confidence can be comparison, when you try and compare yourself to other people.

And in this age of social media, it’s just too easy to do that.

And I guess, how do you stay present on social media and interact with people without letting sometimes that feeling of, “I’m comparing myself to this person and finding myself wanting,” not let that creep in?

Imogen Partridge:

So I mean, one of the key things that I did do a while ago, like I mentioned, was actually reaching out to people who I felt that with sometimes, which really reframed it for me.

And I think generally a bit of working on mindset from listening to things and reading is that reframe of it’s showing you what you can do and what is possible rather than trying to directly compare and say, “I could never be that good,” when actually you could.

If you practice for long enough or if you tried or if you learnt the right things, if you want to get to somewhere, you can get there.

And it’s actually knowing that it’s possible, which is quite empowering.

But also I totally get it some days I just look at things and I just think, “Oh gosh.” And actually then it’s noticing that and it’s stepping away and it’s thinking, “Okay, I’m going to do my post, maybe say a couple of things, but I’m not going to spend much time in that mindset in those areas that make me feel like that.”

So it is just being mindful of it as well. But I think it has helped since I’ve worked on that. And it’s made it happen less, but it still definitely does happen.

Life challenges can be used to fuel your motivation

Bex Burn-Callander:

So tell me then, since you have been doing your illustration business, what’s been, I guess, a business decision that you have made that you have been proudest of or has been most impactful?

Imogen Partridge:

I think probably leaving work. That’s definitely the thing that I’m proudest of because that was really scary and it felt like a big jump to do that.

And especially with 2 young children in nursery and our mortgage had doubled the September before and there’s probably never a right time for these things, so you just have to do it.

And I think that for me felt like I was really backing myself and I do very much believe in myself, and I do really feel that I can totally do this. And that was a bit of a proof of that, I think.

Bex Burn-Callander:

It’s interesting because I got off the phone with a business owner and for the last 10 or 15 years, he’s been doubling his business every 3 or 4 years from, I think it was 2007 or something.

And I was like, “Oh, what happened in 2007?” Because before that it was sort of the same every year, turnover and profit.

And he was like, “Yeah, that was the year I got divorced and I had to make a big payment to my ex-wife. So that was what drove me then to really grow my business.”

It made me laugh at the time, but it is true that sometimes life stuff, and you mentioned your mortgage going up, doubling, it sets a fire under you.

And that’s the thing, you kind of need the pressure to make the next move.

Imogen Partridge:

And also, I feel like when you are in an employed role where you’re on PAYE, you have a relatively limited capacity to increase your income, whereas it’s completely in my hands.

So there’s all those doubts of, “Oh, but maybe you won’t earn enough,” but also maybe you will and it’s up to you to do it.

And I think that’s quite empowering as well to be able to have control over it to an extent.

Use quiet periods to catch up on rest and admin

Bex Burn-Callander:

Have you had any months where it has been slow and you’ve had to been, “Right, that’s it, gloves are off, I’m going to go and win some business,” have you been back to the wall at any point since you’ve kind of been solo?

Imogen Partridge:

I think I did early on. I can’t remember which month it was, but I definitely was a bit like, “Oh my God, this is what happens.”

But I think I was worrying too much about the months ahead because sometimes I might know what I’m doing for the next couple of months, but it might not be much more beyond that.

And I think I’ve got to a point where I just have to trust it. And actually, a lot of the time I’m really, really busy and it would be helpful to have some time to just do some of the backend stuff.

So it’s making sure that you know what you would do if you had that time and how you would use it.

But like you say, it is a case of I definitely think that lights the fire to be like, right, “Okay, I don’t know what’s coming next, I’m going to go and do some marketing.”

Bex Burn-Callander:

I suppose it’s back to that mindset piece where you need to see kind of quieter periods as a gift, as you say, where you can strategize a bit more or do some more of your personal projects and less of like, “Ah, I’m going to go bankrupt. No one loves me.”

Imogen Partridge:

And it is really hard because it’s really scary. But I think the good thing is if you’re scared, you can channel that into something and be like, “Okay, how can I be productive with this now. I’m feeling like this, so what would help me not feel like that?”

And one of the things that I noticed was building in some other income streams and having a more sustainable overall business model, that would help me because I wouldn’t be worrying so much because I’d have different areas.

So it is just reviewing it from a practical point of view.

Altering your mindset will help you become more resilient

Bex Burn-Callander:

And it’s always said that resilience is one of the most important qualities in a business owner, in an entrepreneur.

Can you tell me how you’ve learned to be a resilient individual, either from your formative years or in your life generally? What has taught you resilience and the ability to sort of dust yourself off, pick yourself up and keep going?

Imogen Partridge:

Well, we’ve talked about it a lot, working on mindset. Just everything with business, my biggest learning has been mindset, which has helped me in my personal life as well.

But I think you are not always in control of what happens, but you are in control of how you react to it and it’s very much up to you to make those choices intentionally to sort of help yourself.

And I think, I mean partly by being resilient, you just sort of learn more resilience, don’t you?

But I also think, again, listening to people’s stories, like an understanding that everybody goes through stuff, and you never know what’s going on behind the scenes.

And it’s natural to have all of these wobbles, it’s natural to feel everything and be up against all of these things.

And it is not easy, and it’s okay to just stop and be like, “Wow, this is really difficult.” And being able to also recognize that you can get through that and having the infrastructure in place to get through that, whatever that looks like, whether it’s a support network, whether it’s financially to help you through, whatever that is, it’s just learning those things and what will help you get through.

Build a reliable support network

Bex Burn-Callander:

So who is in your support network? Who do you rely on when you’ve got too many deadlines coming up, the kids are sick, mortgage comes out tomorrow, what do you do? Who do you turn to?

Imogen Partridge:

I feel like I’ve got a really good support. My parents are close by in terms of childcare helping out, which is really helpful. My husband’s brilliant and he is not self-employed, and brilliant at what he does, but if needed, he could take a day.

So I’m lucky that I’ve got him who’s incredibly supportive. And then I’ve got great friends and family.

But also I feel like my online community, they are so supportive. And a lot of the time they are the people who I would go to if I was like, “Oh my goodness.”

And because I’ve built it sort of quite organically over time, I’ve known some of these people for 5, 6 years and it’s so nice to watch their business grow and mine grow.

But also have different people that if I had different questions or different situations, I would probably reach out to specific people knowing that they would have either been through something similar or would have something supportive to say.

And it’s really helpful to have those people. And I have a really good friend, Chris Millard, who’s an illustrator as well, and we sort of WhatsApp voice note each other all the time.

And just having someone to kind of drag you through if you are having a day where you’re really struggling or a mindset shift or just sometimes saying it out loud and having someone to just have your back.

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