248: The $3K Personalized Pitch: How Heidi Closed a Big Client in 6 Weeks

Ever wondered how some freelance fashion designers land dream clients with just a simple email? In this episode, Heidi Herrman breaks down her secret sauce for securing a $3,000 project with a personalized pitch. From using ChatGPT to find niche brands to crafting an authentic, heartfelt message, she shares all the ins and outs of her process. You’ll be inspired by Heidi's genuine approach and her knack for turning a one-off gig into an ongoing client relationship.

But it doesn't stop there! Heidi dives deeper into setting the right rates, negotiating contracts, and building trust with clients. She talks about her experiences working with various brands, including a cool outdoor brand called Fayette Chill and a vibrant apparel company named Sky Goat. Whether you’re a seasoned freelancer or just starting, this episode is packed with golden nuggets to help you grow your fashion business. Tune in to get the full scoop on how to win clients and create lasting connections in the fashion industry!

Resources:
228: How this Freelance Fashion Designer Built A MILLION Dollar Design Agency with Connie Bourgeois
232: Why This Freelance Fashion Designer Is Turning Down $120k+ Job Offers with Rachael Kranick

About Heidi:
Welcome to the creative world of Heidi Herrman, a visionary multi-media artist and seasoned fashion designer. With over two decades of experience in apparel design and development, Heidi has merged her passion for contemporary art and sustainable fashion into H² Design & Art. At H², She specializes in innovative textile, encaustic, and mixed media artwork, as well as forward-thinking, sustainable fashion solutions. With a focus on thoughtful design, sustainability, and product innovation, Heidi collaborates with companies and individuals who share a commitment to creating meaningful, impactful products and experiences.

Connect with Heidi:
Email her at [e-mail]
Check out her website
View her portfolio
Follow on Instagram
Connect on LinkedIn

Download my Freelance Price List just for fashion (it’s free!): sewheidi.com/price

Creators and Guests

Host

Heidi Weinberg {Sew Heidi}

Heidi (aka Sew Heidi) is a self-taught freelance fashion designer who built a six-figure business without a degree, portfolio, or industry connections. After years of burnout in the fashion industry, she went freelance—and never looked back. Now, she helps other designers ditch toxic jobs, land better clients, and build flexible careers they love. Through her podcast, courses, and resources, Heidi has helped thousands of designers take control of their fashion path and finally get paid what they’re worth.

What is Fashion Designers Get Paid: Build Your Fashion Career On Your Own Terms?

This is a show for burnt-out fashion designers (and TDs, PDs, patternmakers, textile designer and beyond) who want more flexibility in their career while still doing work they love.

You'll learn how to build a freelance fashion business, so you can do the work you love on your own terms. Freelancing in fashion is the only way to get freedom in your day (instead of being tied to a desk).

Whether you want to earn extra money on the side, fund your fashion brand, or replace your salary, the FDGP podcast will help you get there. Listen in for actionable tips and strategies to kickstart or grow your career as a freelance fashion designer, build your confidence, and create the life you want.

Hosted by $100k+ fashion freelancer Sew Heidi, the show features interviews and strategy sessions with successful freelance fashion designers from around the world who've ditched toxic fashion jobs and taken control of their own destinies. This is the only place to get REAL insights from REAL freelancers who have built REAL careers on their own terms. (Formerly the Successful Fashion Freelancer podcast.)

Heidi [00:00:00]:
How do you cut through the noise and get brands to notice your pitch? For freelance fashion designer Heidi Herrman, it came down to research, authenticity, and a personalized email that landed her a $3,000 project. In today's episode, Heidi breaks down how she finds brands that align with her style, what she says to grab their attention, and how she turned a one off project into a long lasting client relationship. If you're wondering how to win clients, connect with brands authentically, and grow your freelance business, you're gonna love this episode. Let's get to it. I would love to chat about how you landed this $3,000 client from sending a personalized email. I loved all the things you said about about, you know, reaching out to people cold. So I I wanna dig into that. But first, tell us a little bit about your project and the email and how you got it all.

Heidi Herrman [00:00:44]:
Okay. So, I so you you know, I've been, watching the videos and and trying to glean, you know, information about how to find companies. And, you know, I think certain certain, niche markets, it might be easier to find smaller companies. I think with, menswear, it's kind of hard. It doesn't seem to it doesn't seem to when you put in a hashtag, it seems to kinda go all over the place. And then a lot of the companies that I saw, like, at the trade shows, just weren't a good fit to me. Like, streetwear, like, really forward thinking streetwear and and things like that. That's just not where I've been and what I do.

Heidi Herrman [00:01:26]:
So, I, happened upon I I did a lot of, like, ChatGPT searches where I'm like, okay. Find me a find me company similar to this company in area of the country or you know? And some of it, some of the companies are no longer, you know, in business. But, so I happened upon a site called Garage Grown Gear. Do you know that site?

Heidi [00:01:52]:
I don't. Garage Grown Gear. And so

Heidi Herrman [00:01:55]:
it's all cottage industry, companies. And, a lot of them are, like, just the owner doing the thing, and they're producing in their basement and blah blah blah. And some of them produce, one piece at a time. You know, people can preorder or whatever. And so but I found a company. Can I say the company's name? Sure.

Heidi [00:02:19]:
If you want to. Totally. Okay.

Heidi Herrman [00:02:21]:
Okay. So I found Sky Goat, and I had already, like so I already work for Fayette Chill. Are you familiar with Fayette Chill? No. Okay. They're out of Fayetteville, Arkansas. Okay. And, they they're like a just a small outdoor brand. You know, do a lot of cool T shirts and and different things.

Heidi Herrman [00:02:42]:
They're growing. They they're, adding more technical pieces. Last last fall when I was, still the design director at Bass Pro, I, reached out to them because I went to a Gearhead store, and I saw their brand. And I was like, that's the cutest name, like Fayette Chill. I think that's so cute. And I was like, well, I'm gonna find somebody that works there, and I'm just gonna say hi. And so I found I found the guy, the main guy, the guy, I guess. He is the guy.

Heidi Herrman [00:03:13]:
I didn't know at the time, but I was just I just reached out to him, via LinkedIn, and I said, hey. This is who I am. I'm close to you. I'm your neighbor. You know? And, if you ever need any help with anything, you know, I'd I'd love to help you. And, so he got back and was very gracious, and I worked on a a plaid shirt program for them. And so it's actually the plaid shirt, is in stores now. Okay.

Heidi Herrman [00:03:40]:
And so it, started there, and I worked on that one project. And I you know, sixteen hours or something, I think, is what we talked about. And then, and then it just kept, like you know, you just do things and you ask things and you recommend things or colors or whatever, and it just keeps kept going, which is great. And so that's my main client now. And then Sky Goat, I found him, and I thought his product I thought it was a good first product. It was very colorful. It was like a specialty fabric. It was, you know, men's and ladies and some youth, and I thought this is a fun product.

Heidi Herrman [00:04:24]:
I I I like what this guy's trying to put out there. And so I just, I mean, I complimented him because I felt like it was a Cotopaxi vibe, and I thought, you know, hey. You're doing it. You're really pushing the limits a little bit. It's not just plain. You know? It's not black. It's not gray. It's, you know, it's fun.

Heidi Herrman [00:04:42]:
And and the advertising, the marketing is fun, and I just was really drawn to it. So I just reached out and I well, I found him I found him on LinkedIn, I think. And I just reached out to him and said, hey. You know, same kind of thing. This is who I am. Would you like help with anything if you do? And just happened to be that the designer that he had been working with went to go work actually for Cotopaxi, which is so How random. Yeah. She's a freelancer as well.

Heidi Herrman [00:05:12]:
And so there's, he had said that he wanted to do some pants, and so that's what we've been working on, a pair of joggers for men's and ladies in his proprietary fabric. K. And, yeah. So, hopefully, you know, we've done what we did so far is I did the design for both, and then I've done a tech pack for the men's. And he sent it to his producer. She happens to be in Taiwan, and, the sample is being shipped now, the first sample. So, we'll get that back. And then once we kind of review that, I think then I'll do the women's and, kinda go from there.

Heidi Herrman [00:05:57]:
But the project, the scope of it's probably about forty hours.

Heidi [00:06:01]:
Okay. That's awesome.

Heidi Herrman [00:06:02]:
Yeah. So, but it's great when you reach out to somebody. I mean, you always try to be really friendly and, you know, relevant, but it's hard as you know because people don't get back. And you're just like, okay. It's this abyss, you know, this abyss of nice messages that go out and, hope that you get a response. So it's really exciting when you get a response.

Heidi [00:06:29]:
Yeah. So is that, like, literally what you said? Like, I like what you're doing if you need any help.

Heidi Herrman [00:06:36]:
Yeah. I mean, I was just like, this is this is my, you know, this is my experience. I've worked on, you know, this product, and, I like what you're doing, and, you know, I think that you have a good voice. And he has a really cool first name too. So the the pieces just kinda fell into place. His name's Ram, r a m, which I think is an awesome name. You know? And so pieces just kinda fell into place, and the fact that he was receptive, and then we could start a conversation. I, you know, I know that there's two schools of thought that sometimes you talk about yourself quite a bit, and other times you don't.

Heidi Herrman [00:07:13]:
And I think for that one, I was really concentrated on what he was doing right and and what it what it looked like to me as the consumer, and I think that connected us in a good way. And and, you know, I want somebody who's excited and, you know, friendly and all those things. So, that's you know, I have by just being myself and just not not pressure, you know, just saying, hey. I'm here, like and I do this thing, and I think you've got a cool company, and I like what you're doing. It seems that I've gotten some conversations through that. Now it hasn't necessarily led to a ton of work, but I can't see that it won't grow upon itself, I would think. So Yeah.

Heidi [00:08:00]:
You're planting a lot of seeds.

Heidi Herrman [00:08:02]:
Yeah. Yeah. And then, you know, it's it's interesting that there are freelance opportunities, remote opportunities, you know, that are out there that are, you know, advertising. You look into them and they're hybrid, and they're not they're not at all.

Heidi [00:08:22]:
They're not freelance at all.

Heidi Herrman [00:08:23]:
They're just like, oh, you're so cruel. You know?

Heidi [00:08:27]:
A little bait and switch.

Heidi Herrman [00:08:28]:
Yeah. Exactly. So, yeah, just both of those companies, just keep, you know, keep the conversation going and keep giving good deliverables and, you know, asking about, well, would you like to put me on retainer for, you know, forty hours a month? Or, With Fayetteville, I started at one rate and I lowered my rate a little bit and that was because I could just tell that there was a concern for budget. Not in a bad way, not in a really low cut cut the dollars, but just in a in a way that they're really trying to do something special, and I want part of that. And so I was like, I can I can cut my rate, you know, 10% or something, and and that'll matter to them and show that I'm invested and continue the work? And so October was a really busy work work month for me with Fayetteville, so which was great.

Heidi [00:09:30]:
So Yeah. That's awesome. So a couple of things. I mean, first, I think you're the CEO of your freelance business. I tell people this all the time. Like, you get to choose when and where you do or don't wanna adjust your rate. And a lot of times, that can be a very selfish decision based on how much do I like the client, how much do I wanna keep working with them, and how much do I just care in my heart. And there's times when that is the right choice to make.

Heidi [00:09:55]:
And so you sound like you really led with your gut with Fayetteville to work with them, and you knew it wasn't something where they're just being, like, stingy with you. It was just really, like, just a budget situation, and you still feel good about the rate. So I think that's that's always a compromise that you have to take into consideration and decide for yourself if it's the right one to make. Perfect. And then I wanna talk a little bit more about, like, the outreach because, you know, you you mentioned you at first, you were like, you know, I shared my experience, and I told them I like their brand. And then I was like, if you ever need any help, and it sounded at first like it was very much a just a pitch of like, hey, do you got any freelance work for me? But then you started talking about a little bit more nuance, and you said, you talked about the brand more than you talked about yourself. And this is something I talk a lot about in pitching that it should be, like, 70 or 80% about the brand and 20 or 30 about you. And so it sounds like you really did that, and you did it in a way that was, like, you genuinely liked and appreciated what they were doing, and it always makes those compliments so much easier to give.

Heidi [00:11:03]:
You made a comment here. You said, we asked you why are you so excited about this win? And you said, I think in this day and age to gain someone's trust, you have to speak to them like a friend and also be very specific on what aspects of their business or product you are complimenting. So can you talk in a little bit more nuanced detail about, like, some of the specific complements you gave to Ram and and the brand and and how you think that resonated with him?

Heidi Herrman [00:11:31]:
So, I think it's important. Like, it doesn't cut it to just, like, be, you know, complimentary, overarching. Like, you have to get down to specifics. And to get down to specifics, you have to do your research. You have to do your due diligence. And so that's why it takes what it takes. Right? Because it you have to really, study what they're doing and try to understand from their point of view, like, what their needs might be, but also what their what their wins have been and where they're at. Right? So Mhmm.

Heidi Herrman [00:12:05]:
You can't I mean, you can read through, about us and all of that, but then you kinda you also have to study the product if it's possible. Right? Sometimes it's not entirely possible, but study the and find find the some somewhat something to do with the vision of it or or the what really is what the passion is, you know, and and sometimes you just can't get there. It's not possible. You just don't see it or you can't you can't, be in that space that you need to be. You know, there are good days and bad days Sure. Just even with a conversation. So, and then that person has to be open to, talking with you. I don't know.

Heidi Herrman [00:12:51]:
Like, a small company like Ram, I don't know if he has a lot of people reaching out to him to help him or if I was one of a couple or only one. I don't know that. With Fayetteville, it seems that I was just hit it at the right time and I was the right person, then I had the right credentials that I could be trusted to move forward. Right? Somebody who doesn't maybe have the tenure that I have would potentially not be able to speak in the same way that I can speak to convince somebody to take a chance on me. Right? Mhmm. But I find that so there's also some domestic, producers that are, like, seed to shirt and and different things that I'm that I've become more aware of. I mean, I was aware of it, but when you're when you're in a corporate setting, you your time is very tunnel visioned. Like, you have to get the product out.

Heidi Herrman [00:13:48]:
You're working under deadlines. And so whatever they decide to do, whatever kind of production, you're just sucked into that production mode. Whereas when you're freelancing, you like you said, you can pick and choose, and you could discover things that are like, that's inspiring. And I just wanna tell that person that that's inspiring and make an introduction. And so, the seed to shirt, you know, there's a there's a guy that I've been talking to. Like, he just he's he answers me. Like, I reach out, and he he responds almost immediately, which is great. And so it looks like at some point, I will be able to work with him.

Heidi Herrman [00:14:25]:
What that looks like, I don't know, but I wanna keep in contact with him. And Connie had said on her podcast, I listened to it, that, she'll just keep following up with people. You know? If you get if you get an answer or you get a response not an answer, but if you get a response from somebody, like, that's that's a gem, you know, that they actually will remember you and they talk to you, you know, as long as it's not like, I'm not interested, you know, something like that. But if you get a conversation, you could always check back with them because they were friendly before. There's no reason they won't be friendly again, and you're in their mind. The I mean, the world moves so fast. Everything moves so fast. Everybody's under such stress, I mean, in some respects, to, like, perform and do things and get things done.

Heidi Herrman [00:15:10]:
And so what what's the what it's fine to keep saying, hey. Hi. I'm still here. You know? Like, this happened or, you know, it's like a Christmas card kind of. Like Yeah. You know? Like, this is the this is the update or, you know, this is I'm still I still think what you do is amazing, and I hope to work with you into the future. You know? So, I'm sure that not every I'm sure there's much improvement that I can make with some of my outreach, you know, But, it feels like if it's if it's relative and personal, that it it at least elicits a response at in a pod. You know? For sure.

Heidi [00:15:53]:
Yeah. We actually just, last week, held a pitch training event.

Heidi Herrman [00:15:59]:
Yeah. And did you come? No. I wanted to. I just, three hours for me that day was just not gonna work out. And I was like, I don't wanna jump in and jump out. And but I did get the replay from from your assistant. So

Heidi [00:16:14]:
Oh, cool. Well, I bring it up because, we had something really cool happened on the event, and that was that this woman who had been pitching and pitching and pitching, and she blatantly said, I've been all about quantity. And I've just been pitching and pitching and pitching. And, like, part of the thing that we I was teaching about training and and is ties directly into your story here, and your success is, like, it's not all about quantity. It's about quality. It's about being a real person. It's about writing with emotion and really showing that you care, and not this, like, robotic mass produced pitch type of thing. And so she was like so so the event, everybody hit send on their pitches live, which was really cool.

Heidi [00:17:01]:
We had, like it was a three and a half hour workshop, but, you know, so I taught, then we had time to write, and then we came back into critiques. And then and then we all everybody's like, okay. Hit send. And and then we hit send, and then we talked about another seven days of q and a. And then, like, thirty minutes later, she's like, I just got a reply to my pitch, and the brand was really excited, and they, like, were gonna set up a call. And she was like, I've been sending so many pitches, but it's been about quantity, not quality. And she goes, this was the first one where I really felt like I infused my personality. I really showed how much I cared, and I didn't make it, like, hyper professional.

Heidi [00:17:38]:
It doesn't have to be this, like, rigid structured professional thing. And so that just happened literally on Thursday, less than a week ago. So I don't know what's gonna happen with the client, but, like, it just goes to show that, like, being personable, being friendly, being really specific, like, you don't you shouldn't be able to replace the brand name with any other brand and it and it for it to make sense. Like, if you put their brand name in there, it should be it should not make sense. Right. That's so specific. And it sounds like that's exactly what you're doing, which I know is why you're getting these replies. And I know you said there's room for improvement.

Heidi [00:18:10]:
There's always room for improvement. I mean, we all that's that's the journey of life. Right? Right. Right. But sounds like you're doing so many things right. So so after you reached out to Ram, then, talk to us a little bit about, like, the process after that. Did you have a discovery call, and how did you think about putting together your pricing and your proposal and all that? I'd love to hear more details on that.

Heidi Herrman [00:18:31]:
Sure. And so, so it's interesting because, so by by taking your class, I realized that I haven't been very good at, you know, contracts or anything like that. So when I when I connected with them and we set up, like, oh, I'm gonna do this, and this is my hourly and whatever. Like, I didn't ever get it in writing. You know? So then when I submitted my first

Heidi [00:18:57]:
Oh my gosh.

Heidi Herrman [00:18:58]:
My first, you know, invoice, I was like, oh god. I hope this works out. You know? Like, then you have, like, in your heart. And and but, it did, and it was fine. But, you know, there's that in your heart that you're like, holy cow. Like, why didn't I think that I needed to? And so with, with Ram, I said, okay. This is my hourly. I think it's gonna take me about this much time.

Heidi Herrman [00:19:21]:
Okay. I would love it if we could, you know, if you could just give me a deposit of ten hours. Like, that's the like, the the whole thing is forty hours. But if you could just front me a deposit for ten hours, then I will feel like we're good to go, and we can go ahead. And what I'll do is I'll, you know, give you, whatever the hours are for this month, we'll just subtract that ten hours. Right? Okay. When when at the end of the month. Because I said, I'll I'll just invoice you once a month if that works, and that's what I do with Fayetteville and what I've done with other clients.

Heidi Herrman [00:19:54]:
I just do it monthly. And then I usually say, I give them fifteen days to pay. Mhmm. Not a not a full month, but fifteen days, and that works really well. But, yes, I did a contract with Ram. Let's see. I can't remember. I think I used one of the online contract forms or something.

Heidi Herrman [00:20:16]:
Yeah. Signed it. So it it wasn't too extensive. Yeah. How did you even get

Heidi [00:20:21]:
to the point like, you went from chatting over email or LinkedIn, and then, like, did you guys set up a call and talk about the breadth of the project, or, like, what was there any discovery process?

Heidi Herrman [00:20:30]:
It was all done email. It was all just back and forth. Yeah. And, we you know, he said he was interested in the prod you know, the jogger, and I said, oh, you know, do you have some inspiration? He said, yes. I put together, like, this, you know, inspiration board. And so he showed me the images, and we just we just talked back and forth. And I offered several times, to jump on a phone call if it was easier, and we would just, you know, have questions or comments, and we would just change the color of the response so that Okay. Uh-huh.

Heidi Herrman [00:21:03]:
In line one. I mean, for us, it worked. Is it the most efficient? Maybe not. But I think for me and maybe for him, it seems like we're kinda similar is that I like things in writing so that I can

Heidi [00:21:17]:
talk to

Heidi Herrman [00:21:17]:
them rather than, you know, sometimes talking on the phone. Like, I I obviously take notes, but it's really good to have, like, pretty that that's the best kind of note taking when it's just back and forth like that. You know? So, and then, he has introduced me to his, supplier, and but I don't I don't talk directly to that person. He does, but I'm on the email. And so at any point and I said, if at any point you want me to discuss anything, just let me know, and I can come in. But Mhmm. That his comfort level is that he does I tell him, and he tells her. So that's fine.

Heidi Herrman [00:21:55]:
Whereas at Create Chill, I have brought some producers to their portfolio. And so the ones that I have brought, I pretty much handle the all of that. And then I'm starting to get introduced to the other producers, and I'm starting to be more involved. So, you know, just stress levels and things like that. So

Heidi [00:22:15]:
Yeah.

Heidi Herrman [00:22:16]:
Yeah. But I think it can go lots of different ways. I think so prior prior freelance projects I've worked on, I will meet in person for, you know, the discovery call or just to kinda meet and greet. Yeah. Sometimes in person, sometimes a phone call. Not usually an email exchange. I'm trying to think with Faye at Chill, it was a lot of email, and then we finally did get on the phone. Okay.

Heidi Herrman [00:22:45]:
Yep. Okay. Gotcha. So have you ever talked to him

Heidi [00:22:48]:
on the

Heidi Herrman [00:22:48]:
phone at all Ram?

Heidi [00:22:50]:
Or on Zoom or anything?

Heidi Herrman [00:22:51]:
Yeah. No. Uh-uh. No.

Heidi [00:22:53]:
Oh, that seems wild to me.

Heidi Herrman [00:22:57]:
I I know what he looks like because I mean, you know, and he knows what he look like. But, yeah, no nothing on the phone so far. Okay. No. Fayette and Chill, I have, every two weeks, we have a design meeting. So there's Yeah. The two merchants and then the other, line for line manager. So yeah.

Heidi [00:23:17]:
Yeah. Okay. Wow. That seems a little wild, but it seems to be working for you guys, and you've got the deposit. So Yeah.

Heidi Herrman [00:23:25]:
That was no problem. I mean, he got it over right away. It was never Okay.

Heidi [00:23:29]:
Amazing. Yeah. So this is his preferred communication. Yeah. So how did you he, he wanted, what was it? Two joggers, one for men's and one for women's. So how did you figure out or how did you get to an estimate of, like, forty hours for that?

Heidi Herrman [00:23:45]:
You know, it's just from from my tenure. You know? Like, I just know how long things will mostly take. I mean, it might be less than that. I wanted to give myself enough time, but, I I didn't think like, if you think about, like, a tech pack and what's involved with the tech pack and, like, a technical tech tech pack, which for me would be like a hunting coat, you know, it would be twice as much time. You know? So I'm like, twenty hours for each style seems seems right to me Mhmm. Based on the fact that I have resources I can pull from from my previous work and things like that. And, also, like, I gave that estimation. He's not holding me to that, but I gave that estimation.

Heidi Herrman [00:24:31]:
And then if I like, with Fayetteville, if I started to get close to that hourly amount that I had said and I felt like there was going to be additional hours, I would be like, okay. I'm here, and it seems like these things still need to be done. And I think that's gonna be about this many hours. Are you good with that? Do you need to get approval? Like you know? So I'm just constantly saying, you know, this is this is what's happening. But, yeah, with my with my past experience, I kinda know what things will take. But that's also if communication is quick, you know, and I can answer. So I think that if you're not and it's kind of trudging along or I follow, Rachel Kranick

Heidi [00:25:17]:
Mhmm.

Heidi Herrman [00:25:18]:
Another Yeah. And she posts about things and about, like, clients and trying to figure out fabrics, and they don't wanna buy product, and they don't wanna you know, like, she's gotta jump through so many hoops sometimes. Yeah. I'm sure, like, if I had somebody who wasn't quite as efficient, I'd probably pad it a little bit more. You know? Hard to know time. You know? Right?

Heidi [00:25:42]:
I mean, you can sometimes sense that early on in the conversations, and it sounds like Ram was just really communicative and, like, made things really easy, and you're like, I have a good gut feeling on this.

Heidi Herrman [00:25:52]:
Right. And then, you know, as far as I some people do projects, you know, project for me, and then I I just feel the most comfortable just doing hourly because then you don't feel like I don't know. It just feels like I I give them I tell them, I will give you exactly the fifteen minutes what I did. I will you know, if I work for you for fifteen minutes, I will write this is what I did to you for you for fifteen minutes. So I give them a listing of where I spent my time too. Yeah. So I think that's helpful as well, which is kind of, in some respects, annoying, you know, because you don't wanna but I worked Bass Pro freelance for, two years, and I had to log my time like that. So it's it's pretty natural to me.

Heidi [00:26:38]:
Yeah. Yeah. Again, you're the CEO of your freelance business. You get to choose what works best for you and and also, you know, communicate that with the client. And perhaps there's some flexibility depending on what they would like. But yeah. Sounds like that's working well for everybody right now.

Heidi Herrman [00:26:53]:
Yeah. So far so so

Heidi [00:26:55]:
Good. Good. So you just jumped into fast. We're recording this November 26, and you just jumped into fast at in the October. So, like, six weeks ago only. What was, like, going on? I mean, I know you were working with Fayetteville, and it sounds like you've had some other clients, and you worked with Bass Pro for two years as a freelancer. Like, what was going on in your freelance business or your life that you were like, maybe this is the right move for me.

Heidi Herrman [00:27:20]:
Oh, to, like, sign up for Fast?

Heidi [00:27:22]:
Yeah. Then you're like, I need some help or something.

Heidi Herrman [00:27:24]:
Yeah. So, you know, I, came across you, and your name's Heidi. So

Heidi [00:27:32]:
that was

Heidi Herrman [00:27:32]:
us automatically because I just don't know very many Heidi's, and I grew up in a world that I didn't know any Heidi's until I went to college. And so, I liked your energy, and I liked what you were saying. And I was like, there's illustrator hacks, and there's this, and there's that. And I was like, well, I could use some of that. Like, I've been doing this a long time, but maybe there's a quicker way. You know? I'm pretty fast, but, you know, I always like to see what other people are doing and how they're doing it, to learn from. And, so what happened was I had worked on and off for Bass Pro for six years, because so I lived in New York and worked in the industry there for eight, and then I moved to Kansas City, because I'm from the Midwest. And I was there for twelve, and I worked for different companies and, was even, like, an enrollment adviser for University of Phoenix at one point.

Heidi Herrman [00:28:28]:
And so I met a guy and, fell in love with a guy, and then, he lived in Springfield, Missouri, and I was in Kansas City. And the most logical place for me to work was Bass Pro. That's the only place here. And so I worked, for Bass Pro off and on for six years. Well, then my contract ended. It just ended in in July. And so, I have Fayetteville, obviously, but it's not full time. And, you know, it's a little when you're used to something and used to, like, a certain, you know, company and the evils of the company and the good and the bad and everything, and you're just like, okay.

Heidi Herrman [00:29:12]:
I need to I need to find something else. And, I, you know, I I pretty much know how to do that because I've been doing it a long time, but there's sometimes there's an easier, more efficient way or other people have other ideas. And, you know, I I wanna know, you know, I wanna know what that could be. And so I was like, yeah. I'll sign up. And, so I have not completely finished your course. And I really wanna get back to it. I just, you know, sometimes you have to push really hard to kinda get to a place where you're you're you know, you feel good about your financial like, if you left something that was kind of a lot of money and you're lower than that, you you wanna get to kind of the center spot.

Heidi Herrman [00:29:59]:
Yeah. So that that's kinda what I've been pushing, and I've gleaned gleaned information where I feel like it's been really relative for me. And then, I love the community, and I really wanna get to a place where I can be super active on the, chats and everything. Like, I wanna help the other people. I wanna look at their portfolios, and I wanna, you know, give you know, because I do have a lot of wisdom and experience, which in some ways, I wonder if the industry has a little bit of ageism going on. You know,

Heidi [00:30:38]:
you have totally does. Okay. Oh, this is a known thing.

Heidi Herrman [00:30:41]:
Okay. Because I'm just like, maybe I shouldn't put that I have twenty five years of experience. Maybe senior designers, ten plus years are senior designers. Right? And so I'm, like, senior senior. I'm senior Yeah. You know? So okay. Yeah. So I I don't wanna go into that, you know, discussion unless you want to.

Heidi Herrman [00:31:04]:
But, you know, I just feel like sometimes I'm like, wait. Hold on here. Like, I'm only 52. Like, I'm not dead and gone yet. Yeah. No. So

Heidi [00:31:17]:
okay. So it sounds like the Bass Pro thing was more a little more of, like, a permalance type of situation. Yeah. Okay.

Heidi Herrman [00:31:24]:
Okay. Gotcha. So, but prior to that, like, when I lived in New York, most of my work that I did in New York was through freelance agency, and it was called twenty four seven. I don't know. I'm familiar

Heidi [00:31:35]:
with twenty four seven.

Heidi Herrman [00:31:36]:
New York. Very liberal. Yeah. So I worked my resume is full of different companies because that's what I did, and I wanted to do that because I wanted a lot of experience in a lot of areas. If you like, when I first started working in New York, I was an assistant designer for doctor Seuss children's wear, which was super fun. Yeah. But, they stick you once you've done that, you're in children's wear. You're not in juniors.

Heidi Herrman [00:32:00]:
You're not in women's. So the only way that I could get out of that, now looking back, I should've just stayed in children's work because it was really fun. But you so to do that, I was able to get freelance positions that showed that I could do juniors, that I could do with so that's why I did that. And then, you know, the industry totally changed in New York, in 02/2001, and, I left in 02/2005. Okay. Gotcha. Okay.

Heidi [00:32:29]:
And so a lot of permalance in your background. And so it sounds like now you're more strategically building your business doing, like, true remote freelance with multiple clients and, like, managing the the pricing and, like, you're kinda owning more of it. You're just getting, like, slotted in.

Heidi Herrman [00:32:46]:
And then picking. Like, when I worked for twenty four seven, like, opportunities would come up and you just you live in New York. You have to make money. You have to you just you know, you can take but now, you know, I'm married and I have a little bit of, financial security, and so I can choose to say, I wanna work for the seed to shirt company, or I wanna this looks like a cute brand. I wanna work. You know? Not just so, like, oh my god. I'll take anything. I just need the paycheck.

Heidi Herrman [00:33:14]:
Yeah. Yeah. So Yeah. That's a great

Heidi [00:33:16]:
position to be in. And, I know you've worked hard your whole career and your whole life to get there, so it's well deserved.

Heidi Herrman [00:33:23]:
Thank you.

Heidi [00:33:24]:
Yeah. Well, this has been really exciting to chat with you and hear about your journey and how you landed this this big client in, like, less than six weeks of jumping into fast. So that's really exciting. I'd love to ask the question I ask everybody at the end, and that is, what is one thing people never ask you about being a freelance fashion designer that you wish they would?

Heidi Herrman [00:33:47]:
One thing that people never ask about being a freelance so, well, I you know, it's okay. First sorry. I'm gonna digress a little bit. The fashion industry, as we we know, is not glamorous or easy or, like, you know, oh, it's just I'm I just look cute. You know? It's none of that. Like, we're all in the damn trenches. You know? We're, like, making it happen. And so so many you have to be so creative to find the ways to get product made so many times.

Heidi Herrman [00:34:24]:
You know? And so it's not it's not glamorous. And, you know, as far as freelance, like, it's a choice. It's definitely a choice, but what a what a blessing to be able to have that choice, to be able to, own your own destiny, as they say. And I love the fact that there are so many youngsters that are doing this, and also that, you know, in some ways, the pandemic was actually somewhat helpful to all of us because it showed that we could get things done remotely, that we didn't need to sit in and talk and, be present for all the nonsensical meetings that they call that that, you know, boost their own whatever. And so, but, you know, I think I think that it's important to know that what the effort that you put forth is what you will the the success you will see. Right? Just like anything. Like, your education, everything. And then also, you can't expect somebody else to, you know, like, for instance, you can't expect somebody else to pay for your training for three d.

Heidi Herrman [00:35:46]:
Like, if you're a freelancer, you have to move beyond like, you always have to be looking for the next thing to learn and grow your business, and you are responsible for that. It's it's nobody else's responsibility. And so, take it from me, I when I went to school, we learned AutoCAD and microdynamics. We didn't learn Illustrator and Photoshop, so then I learned it on the job. You know? I had to learn it in order to do my job. So, that's that's important for people to realize that your the way that you're going to be seen and pursue the industry is how much effort you're going to put into it.

Heidi [00:36:29]:
Yeah. And you're in charge of kinda, like, keeping up to speed and and managing that and paying attention to see what's going on and the trends and the shifts. Yeah. Yeah. Those are wise words. K. Where can everybody find you and connect with you online?

Heidi Herrman [00:36:43]:
So I'm on LinkedIn, and I've been, you know, working a lot on my LinkedIn, presence, added a portfolio, and then, I have branding. I did some new branding, h squared, so I'm pretty proud of that. I have Instagram, and, website. It's all Heidi Hermann, h e r r m a n, not h e r r m a n n. Two r's. One r's. Yeah. It's Hermann,

Heidi [00:37:10]:
rather than Hermann. Yeah. Okay. Gotcha.

Heidi Herrman [00:37:12]:
So, that Yeah. But yeah. So, I'm on social media. So Awesome. I'm there. Yeah. Yeah.

Heidi [00:37:19]:
Well, we'll link to all of that in the show notes. It was lovely to get to chat with you, Heidi.

Heidi Herrman [00:37:23]:
Yeah. Heidi.

Heidi [00:37:24]:
Heidi squared. Another h squared right here. You and me.

Heidi Herrman [00:37:28]:
True. It's true. Well, thanks for the time. I appreciate it. Of course. I'll get some more wins so I can talk to you again.

Heidi [00:37:35]:
Yeah. I'll definitely have to do a follow-up at some point. Thank you so much for coming on.

Heidi Herrman [00:37:39]:
Appreciate it. Okay. Bye. Bye.