“It’s not a matter of capability, it’s a matter of productivity”

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In this episode I have one of my favourite people, Meaghan joining us. Now, if you’ve ever struggled with anxiety (which, I’m guessing might be the case since you’re tuning in to this podcast), if you’ve ever felt like your brain doesn’t work the same way as others, if you’ve felt like you have too many tabs open in your head at all times, you’re going to want to tune in to this episode. 

Meaghan is the owner of Millson & Main, she’s a brand strategist and a graphic designer and she has so much to offer. 

She’s come in and helped with my business and changed the way I see graphics and how they work. But more importantly, she inspires me so much. 

She manages to juggle everything effortlessly, but not in the way you’re probably thinking. 

Buckle up friend, this is gonna be a good one. Let’s dive in. 

A Visual Identity

Meaghan was always the artsy kid in school. Ever since she was little she loved drawing and designing. Her father ran a print and marketing company and she worked with him during the summers since she was 14. 

It was in high school that one of her art teachers said, “Meaghan’s going to move to Toronto and study graphic design”. And that’s exactly what she did. 

She now is the owner of her graphic design company, Millson and Main and she specializes in designing brands; things like logos and the whole visual identity of a brand. 

It was a very natural segue for her to get into the industry after working in her dad’s shop where she grew and developed her passion. She recalls that her “computer games” were Adobe Illustrator and other design software handed down from her dad. 

She ended up going to university for a Bachelor’s degree in graphic design. Which is not standard for many graphic designers. The industry itself is not standardized and you don’t technically need a degree to do it. 

Meaghan firmly believes that having a good, solid brand design is incredibly important for a business. However, she does recognize that it’s not cheap. She recommends if you have the funds to do it when you start, to do it. But it’s also something you can incorporate later on when you do have the resources for it. 

Neurodivergent

Meaghan is very open and honest that she not only struggles with depression and anxiety, but she also has ADD/ADHD. 

Working for herself has been really great since she was in a toxic work environment before that. When she started Millson and Main and then had her son, she realized the hardest transition for her was switching the mindset to “I don’t have all this time just for myself anymore”. 

When I first went self-employed, I was so excited to have full creative freedom in my business. Until I realized that I’m not very good at boundaries, I’m not very good at communication, I don’t know how to schedule myself and I would often work 24 hours a day because I love what I was doing. All to my own demise. 

Meaghan is truly doing it all though, she’s got her own business and she works from the hallway in her home, she’s got a 17-month old; that’s like two full time jobs that she does herself! 

I know I always wish that I could have a set schedule and consistent routine but I find that my creativity doesn’t work that way. 

Meaghan totally relates to that and she finds it hard to book clients for that reason. “Will I be creative that week?” is a regular thought that crosses Meaghan’s mind. 

Knowing that her creativity ebbs and flows, Meaghan factors this into her work and does give her clients a large time frame of completion. She knows that she has to walk away from things every now and then, particularly when it comes to creating a concept. 

Meaghan admits that having ADHD has its pros and cons when it comes to running a business. She can get hyper focused on a single task, which comes in handy when she’s creating a new concept. But on the other hand, it also makes it difficult to focus. Talk about a catch-22. 

Both Meaghan and I have realized the importance of letting yourself have time to do the important things in your business and in life. 

Wow, how freakin’ amazing is Meaghan?! I feel like we could’ve just talked for hours and hours, I just wanna soak up all her knowledge. 

It’s funny how us creatives can be really hard on ourselves, but also bite off more than we can chew because we truly love what we do, and that can be to our demise. 

I hope this has encouraged you. Maybe lit a fire and sparked some passion that you didn’t know you had. It’s okay to say “no”, it’s okay to spend time for yourself and it’s okay even if your work is your hobby, you need to have hobbies outside of your work. 

If you wanna see more of Meaghan check her out on Instagram @millsonandmain or check out her website here. 

If you enjoyed this episode I’d love it if you could leave me a review, that’s the best way to say thank you. 

Until next time, friend!

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