Serious question, has anyone else had their life plan completely blown up by a single setback?

Honestly, I thought I had my whole career path mapped out after 3 years of grinding in graphic design. Last month, I lost my biggest client who was paying me $2,000 a month, and now I'm scrambling to figure out if I even want to stay in this field. How do you rebuild your design life after something like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

lucas97212d agoTop Commenter

Actually a buddy of mine went through almost the exact same thing. He was a freelance illustrator and lost his main gig with a big publishing house that paid him like $1,500 a month for two years straight. He panicked for a month, thought about quitting art completely and became a store clerk for a bit. But then he started posting his sketches on Twitter just for fun, and a small indie game company reached out to him out of the blue. Now he makes more than before working with them part time, and he told me losing that first client forced him to try new things he wouldn't have otherwise. What was the tipping point for you deciding to stick with design or not?

emmar7513d ago

You say you had your "whole career path mapped out" and losing one client at $2k a month blew it up, but I gotta push back on that a little. That's one client, not your whole future. Graphic design is full of ups and downs (trust me, I've seen friends go through this), and losing a single account isn't a sign you should give up on the whole field. Maybe it's a sign you need to diversify who you work with, not throw in the towel. Like, could you pick up three smaller clients at $700 each to replace that one big one? That way you're not so dependent on one person anymore.