Meet Erika Elias | Graphic and Website Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Erika Elias and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Erika, what’s one piece of conventional advice that you disagree with?
I’m very passionate about this one! I disagree with “charging your worth”.

People have good intentions when saying it, but I honestly hate hearing it.

I still struggle sometimes with imposter syndrome, and doubting my ability as a designer. If I listened to gurus or webinar hosts saying that I should charge my worth, I’d still be charging $300 for a full E-commerce website that took weeks to complete. I told myself that I wasn’t as good as designers charging $700 so I believed I couldn’t possibly charge more than them.

A better piece of advice I’d give is “charge how much your services will benefit your client”. Designing a website that highly converts can literally transform someone’s life. At bare minimum, you’ve freed up their time!

I work with a lot of beauty founders and have saved them from spending dozens of hours on YouTube University, only to end up with a hard to navigate website that isn’t making sales.

Whilst I’m getting busy with their new site, they can focus on shipping orders, filming content, or just having a chilled day.

One more thing!
You should be earning enough to cover your monthly expenses (both business and personal) and make a profit. Which is why I’m so against just saying “charging your worth”.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m a graphic and web designer and help mainly women in the beauty industry to make a mark & hit their goals through visually stunning well thought out designs!

I started my business back in 2020 out of lockdown, after a friend started selling black hair accessories & needed help with her website & marketing materials.

I also was keen on selling my own beauty products, even reaching out to vendors. Very quickly I realised that I loved the creative side of things more. My interest in graphic and web design wasn’t a huge shock, because I was studying Media & Digital Practice at University at the time and studied art and computer science in high school.

My journey definitely hasn’t the easiest. I can’t count the amount of times I’ve wanted to quit, because I was struggling to get clients, dealing with imposter syndrome, not getting paid for projects , little support – you name it.

I overcame the obstacles by changing my mindset. I can say now that I’m very resilient, but it wasn’t always that way. I’ve had to build it like a muscle.

I learnt that some of the issues I faced could be avoided in the future, therefore I shouldn’t dwell on them. For instance, having clients pay a deposit before any work started, learning more about marketing and investing into courses to improve my skills.

For imposter syndrome, I started saying words of affirmation which tricks the mind into thinking positively.

As for not getting a lot of support, which I can’t control, I started connecting with other business owners and found a sense of community.

What sets me apart in my business is definitely my personality and genuinely wanting my clients to succeed.

I’m upbeat and friendly, not just on social media but in real life too.

I think a common misconception is that you can’t show your true personality in your business. For me that has actually been a reason why clients have booked in with me and stayed loyal!

I love seeing my clients’ businesses flourish and if I see opportunities or have an idea for their business I’ll tell them!

I think an issue now is that everything seems so transactional.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m from London and honestly we are so spoilt for choice over here!

For food I’d recommend Wagamama. It’s a chain restaurant which serves Japanese inspired Asian food. I love the ambience , and the portion sizes are great too! The Chicken and Prawn Yakisoba is delicious.

For drinks, Las Iguanas – 2 for 1 Cocktails everyday! They have great Mocktails too.

I’d also take them around Shoreditch which is a creative’s paradise! It’s so colourful and vibrant there especially during the summer.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Definitely my mum!

I started my graphic and web design business coming into my 2nd year of University just after the first lockdown in the UK. That was the first time I struggled with my mental health.

Graphics helped a lot with keeping my mind off things and helping me stay grounded.

I honestly think if it wasn’t for my mum stressing the importance of having a hobby and encouraging doing things I had an interest in , I wouldn’t have stuck at graphics and really discovered my love for it. So thanks mum!

Website: www.erikathedesignergfx.com

Instagram: erikathedesigner