Catherine Watson full transcript
00:00:00
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson:
Welcome to Business in the Bath, the podcast where I talk to entrepreneurs who choose to do business differently. They choose to prioritize rest, perhaps do business slower so it’s more sustainable, but one thing that connects them all— they reject hustle culture. They come from vastly different backgrounds. They may be living with a chronic condition, they may have to work school hours, or they may just choose to do life and work differently.
I’m so excited to be your host. I’m Katie Rickson, the author of 30 Things I’d Like You to Know About Bipolar, and I’m a Substack writer. So excited to share these stories of hope, resilience, and joy with you.
Welcome to another episode of Business in the Bath. Today we are joined by Catherine Watson from Boldly Design. Thank you so much for joining us today, Catherine.
00:01:00
Guest: Catherine Watson: Yeah, you’re welcome. It’s great to be here.
00:01:01
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Let’s kick off by introducing yourself and the work that you do. Can you just give me a brief kind of intro of your work and how you kind of got into it?
00:01:12
Guest: Catherine Watson: Yeah, sure. So I’m a graphic and website designer. So that means I help businesses with their branding, websites, other visual marketing and communications so that they look good and they appeal to their target market. With functional and usable design projects. I do that with a focus on accessible design, which is something I’ve just picked up in the last few years so that the business is not unintentionally excluding or creating barriers for people with permanent or temporary disabilities who are trying to engage with your business.
00:01:41
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Awesome. And I saw that accessible design isn’t currently mandated in New Zealand. There’s no guidelines as such. Is that correct?
00:01:52
Guest: Catherine Watson: Yeah, that is correct, unfortunately. So we are the only major English-speaking country in the world that doesn’t have legislation around that. There’s talk in Parliament at the moment with a bill in the ballot box or something around accessibility standards, but from my quick reading of it, that only really covers government departments. So it doesn’t extend all the way down through the small businesses or even corporates. So there’s still a lot of work to be done for us to follow in the footsteps of Yeah, the US, Canada, UK, EU, and even Australia.
00:02:23
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah. What is it about accessible design that appeals to you so much? How comes you’re so personally invested in, in this area?
00:02:32
Guest: Catherine Watson: Lots and lots of reasons. So it first sort of came across— I mean, I’ve always known about choosing colours that work for colour blindness and making sure you use a decent-sized font and all that sort of thing, colour contrast. And I had a past client come to me a couple years ago with a website for an organisation that she was working for that needed to be wholly accessible because that is the clientele that they serve, all disabilities across the board. So it needed to tick all the boxes. And I was like, yeah, that’s sure, I know stuff, and realized very quickly that I know only a really little bit of stuff.
And there was a whole lot more stuff that I should know. And once I went on that roller coaster of learning, I wanted to learn more and more and more. It just became a case of knowing, now I know this stuff, I have to do a better job of what I’m doing. Anyway, I, you know, within my family we’ve got a lot of neurodiversity and dyslexia, ADHD. I’ve got a husband who’s slowly losing his eyesight, mum with dementia, so watching her deterioration.
You go from someone who was a whizz on the computer to not even going to use a phone now. I just realized how important it is and how it actually affects everybody, um, sooner or later, you know. So it’s the biggest minority, non-ethnic minority group in New Zealand, and as we get older, we get, um, closer to falling into that group ourselves. So it’s, it’s a big thing for all of us, and none of us want to be left out because we can’t actually read the content on a website or read a document.
00:04:03
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah, and so much of our lives are online. Like, if we’re excluding such a huge percentage of our population because it’s not accessible, then they’re effectively cut off from so many other things, right?
00:04:15
Guest: Catherine Watson: Yeah. Like, you know, life’s hard enough as it is without then, if, you know, if you’re blind and you need an electrician urgently and the first 3 websites you get to are not accessible for you, you know, it’s— the blind person’s got every right to find an electrician as the rest of us. You know, if you’ve got neurodiversity and you wanna book a holiday, let’s not make it difficult. Yeah, it already is. Yeah, we’re all part of this world and this society, so let’s be more aware.
00:04:46
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah, yeah. And I understand that what’s good for, um, people with disabilities is, is good for everyone, right? Like, they give the analogy of, of a ramp that— accessible design, but it actually helps Everybody. So the argument that, oh, it’s an extra cost is, is not really a valid argument. Is that— would you agree?
00:05:09
Guest: Catherine Watson: Um, absolutely. So accessible design is much better. Like, if you make it good for one set of people, you make it better for, for everybody. And, you know, at some point in our lives, one, you know, we’re going to have a broken arm or concussion, you know, right? There’s lots of temporary disabilities too that can, can hold us, or even situational disabilities, say If you are a parent and you’ve got 3 toddlers with you racing through an airport and then your flight’s cancelled and you’ve gotta get on your phone and cancel stuff and change stuff and all that, that’s what we call a situational disability.
00:05:42
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Mm-hmm.
00:05:43
Guest: Catherine Watson: And, you know, the high stress levels and that sort of thing. So we want those websites to be easy to navigate in a stressful situation or when you’re distracted or, you know, even bright sunlight can affect the colours. So Yeah, just making it better for everybody, but also as a well set up structured website is much better for your SEO as well. So your search engine optimization and even for AI searches now as well. So that’s just better for everybody and everything.
00:06:12
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah. Awesome. Catherine, I’m really interested in how different people view success. So can I ask what success looks like for you both in business and in life?
00:06:22
Guest: Catherine Watson: Um, freedom and flexibility. So, you know, I, I started this business when my youngest was born just as a way to bring in a little bit of extra money and fill in the time. She was a great sleeper, um, my first child, so I had a lot of downtime. And, you know, going from full-on full-time job to, to just twiddling my thumbs a little bit, so it was a great start. And then as my kids got older in the school, we did play centre when they were preschoolers, so I That’s lots of parent involvement there, so I had freedom to be involved with them. Then, you know, school events, so I could go and watch them get a certificate in assembly without asking for time off and all the drama that that comes with.
When they were sick, it was just, you know, we just rolled with it. Obviously school holidays were tricky. So taking time off, choosing my own hours, choosing my own clients and projects to a certain extent. Obviously you can’t just turn down everything. But it’s, you know, when something feels a little bit ick or you just don’t gel with a person, you think actually you’re probably better off with somebody else.
Choosing the training and the upskilling that I want to do. So, you know, I’ve taken the accessibility, you know, done so many courses, but if I was working with somebody else and that wasn’t on their radar, that, you know, I’d be having to do that on my own back and in my own time. Um, now knowing the work that I do generally helps not just the business or the organization, but also their clients, who are real people facing daily barriers. Is just that success for me is knowing that I’m making a difference.
00:07:56
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: You mentioned about choosing clients that feel more aligned. Is that something that you’ve— a muscle that you’ve had to develop over the, the years that you’ve been in business? I know that for me, you know, at the beginning you kind take everybody because you need that experience and you need to start building that reputation. But is it something that you’ve always had in the back of your mind, or is it something that you’ve developed over the years?
00:08:20
Guest: Catherine Watson: Uh, I think definitely over the 19 years I’ve been working for myself, but even prior to that, so I was working in small businesses, print shops and design agencies that work for small businesses. So I’ve probably fairly honed to gut feeling in that. So I, I have what I call the ick factor. If something feels a little bit icky, then it probably is. If it doesn’t sit right, or I’m like, I don’t see how this is actually going to work for you, and I ask, you know, if I ask a few questions and I’m like, oh, they don’t really— or if they’re a bit cagey about something, I’m like, it’s going to be pretty hard for us to work in the marketing if you’re not open with me. So yeah, you just— I think you do learn. I mean, you know, you get burnt, but Everything is a, every time is a learning curve and you learn to ask the right questions and just develop that, that sixth sense sometimes. Yeah. Yeah.
00:09:14
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: I’ve, yeah, there’s been a few times in business where I’ve had that, that feeling in my gut and I’ve, I’ve ignored it for whatever reason. And yeah, it always comes to bite you. So have you, are you Do you find a way to respond to that ick quite quickly, like before it becomes a bigger problem? Like, are you able to stop the project before it’s even started kind of thing? Do you feel able to do that?
00:09:42
Guest: Catherine Watson: Yeah, I mean, sometimes it’s like upfront and say, look, I don’t think I’m the right designer for you if I just don’t feel aligned with what the business is doing or with them.
00:09:53
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: And you say you’ve been in business for 19 years?
00:09:56
Guest: Catherine Watson: Yeah, yeah, it has. My oldest is 19, so yeah, there we go.
00:10:01
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Has it been through— has your business been through quite a few different iterations, or do you feel like there’s been a steady kind of through line throughout the 19 years?
00:10:10
Guest: Catherine Watson: Uh, well, it’s always been graphic design, but it certainly has evolved. So I mean, I had a name change 6-ish years ago, I think, but I’ve actually resurrected that business name as well for the accessible stuff. So yeah, that’s interesting. I’m glad I held onto the domain name and that for that one. Yeah, certainly. I mean, design has evolved.
00:10:32
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah.
00:10:32
Guest: Catherine Watson: In the early days, we were doing lots of print jobs and websites were something that were coded and you needed to be a really specialized developer and to be able to do. And you know, in the end I decided that I really needed to be offering a full service once I spent considerable time. and money, learning different platforms before I settled on one that I felt aligned with and would work for my clients, my type of clients. Yeah, it’s— oh, definitely. I mean, 19 years, things have to change. Yeah, you know, we’ve been through things like COVID as well. So it’s— yeah, if you don’t evolve, you simply couldn’t be doing what— yeah, 19 years ago didn’t look quite different.
00:11:16
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: And have you found that your confidence or mindset has changed over the 19 years? Like, how do you view your personal development through having your own business?
00:11:28
Guest: Catherine Watson: Oh, so in the— well, in the early days, it was actually really hard to be taken seriously. There wasn’t a lot of freelancers working from home, that sort of thing. I was probably lucky that my past employer gave me quite a bit of work, and it turned— so I bought a a digital printer so I could do short-run digital printing at home because it was just too hard to keep running up to the print shop with children in tow, like babies.
So I did, you know, bought a printer and a guillotine and needed to buy paper, and it was just really hard to get taken seriously by those suppliers until I could connect with sales reps in that, that I knew through my past employment and to get taken seriously. And interestingly, back then I found getting registered for GST, even though I didn’t meet the threshold at that point, changed everything when I could put plus GST on my quotes.
00:12:17
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Wow.
00:12:18
Guest: Catherine Watson: Made me a real business. It was amazing. Yeah, confidence has gone up and down actually. I had quite a few years where probably when social media sort of took hold and people were posting all, you know, for businesses and people were posting all the time, a real, um, imposter syndrome. I spent too long comparing myself with everybody else. Every other graphic designer in the whole world was better than me as far as I was concerned and doing great stuff, and I was not. And yeah, it just kind of— it almost spiralled out of control.
And I’d be obsessed with signing up secretly to their newsletters and stalking their social media and, and, you know, perusing or analysing their websites and comparing it to me. And, and it was just— terrible situation to get myself in and absolutely ridiculous because most of my working life I’ve been in the design industry, design and print industry, so I knew what I was doing. Um, and then, you know, it extended past graphic designers to anybody and everybody in business who was showing up on YouTube channels and postings every day. And I’m like, I just can’t do this. But yeah, I stopped. It’s no Instagram for me because that’s where it was coming from.
00:13:28
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah.
00:13:28
Guest: Catherine Watson: Stopped comparing myself and actually stuck to what I know and remind myself I have lots and lots of repeat clients, whether they’re regular monthly clients or whether they come back every couple of years with a new project.
00:13:40
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah.
00:13:40
Guest: Catherine Watson: So I wouldn’t have repeat clients if I wasn’t good at what I do and didn’t offer a good service. Um, and interestingly enough, now that I’ve taken on this accessibility stuff, which I am new to and I am a baby when it comes to that, I haven’t got that imposter syndrome.
00:13:53
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Wow.
00:13:54
Guest: Catherine Watson: That hasn’t kicked in. So I’m like, why? I don’t know why I let it get out of hand so much.
00:13:59
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Oh, but it’s such a common experience. I, I can relate to what you’re saying and the ease of being able to compare yourself to other people through social media. Like, you can do it morning to night. It’s so easy to just jump on and scroll. So it’s such a common experience. I was speaking to a fibromyalgia coach and she said, don’t compare and despair. And I really like that because it’s good.
Yeah, it’s just a trap that we can fall into. And, but you’ve got all of this proof and evidence that you are good at what you do, and people wouldn’t keep on coming back to you unless you were good. So yeah, I think— do you no longer use Instagram at all now? Is it like a no-go area?
00:14:45
Guest: Catherine Watson: Yeah, well, I’d probably be right, but I, you know, I went from, you know, admiring other people’s work because, you know, there are great designers out there and they do great work, and I was like, oh, that’s really clever and that’s, that’s really cool what they’ve done. to then, I don’t know, spiring up, why can’t you be like that? And it’s like, well, hang on, maybe you are. But yeah, I think Instagram was, yeah, not great. So yeah, I don’t do Instagram as such. A little bit to stay in touch with my kids, but that’s about it.
00:15:15
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah.
00:15:16
Guest: Catherine Watson: Yeah.
00:15:17
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Um, what were your beliefs about what a successful business owner looked like or behaves What were the things about Instagram that you were comparing yourself in terms of their behaviour or how they showed up?
00:15:33
Guest: Catherine Watson: Or, oh, I thought they were oozing confidence and charisma. And yeah, that they were regularly posting amazing things, that, you know, they were all doing amazing work while I maybe wasn’t. That they had these YouTube channels and they were being seen everywhere doing the right things and, and And in between all that, they were able to have cocktails on the beach every week and these great lives. While I was kind of, especially when my kids were little, you know, I was just trying to like do a few hours work, look after my kids, do something cool with my kids. And yeah, it seemed to not be enough. That, yes, I thought success looked like just this amazing life. But yeah, so— I guess we all soon learned that that’s actually just what The show for the real—
00:16:19
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: for the, yeah, the optics of it all.
00:16:22
Guest: Catherine Watson: Yeah, yeah.
00:16:23
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: And the glamour, like it looks glamorous to be successful.
00:16:27
Guest: Catherine Watson: And yeah, it does. And, and yeah, living the high life, etc. And I’m like, I just want to cook dinner tonight. And, you know, and especially when you’re stuck in it with little kids, you know, actually being able to put dinner on the table is quite an achievement sometimes. Yes.
00:16:44
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah, you’ve got, um, how many kids do you have, Catherine?
00:16:47
Guest: Catherine Watson: I’ve got 2.
00:16:48
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah, yeah. And they’re, they’re grown now? They’re teenagers, or—
00:16:54
Guest: Catherine Watson: Uh, yes, we’re teenagers, 17 and 19, and they have both left home. One’s at university and one’s on a farming course. So we’re kind of empty nesters a few years ahead of when we expected, which looks like new empty nesters, which we’re just enjoying exploring where that’s going to take us.
00:17:12
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah. Oh, amazing. Has the idea of freedom and flexibility kind of stayed with you? Like, is that still something that you really value in your business and, and general life, that freedom and flexibility?
00:17:27
Guest: Catherine Watson: Oh, absolutely. So, but I mean, especially around family, because both of them in the month of July, of course it didn’t, didn’t tie in, but one had 2 weeks off the beginning of July and one had 2 weeks off the end of July. So being able to be quite flexible across the month of July to spend time with my children.
So I’ve just— we, our youngest, we’ve been down at the mountain the summer of last week. Um, we’ve got a place down there, so there and her dad have been skiing. She snowboards. Yeah, so just been able to just do that when I was ready to go down. Yeah, not on somebody else’s schedule.
00:18:00
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah, so you don’t have to ask permission.
00:18:04
Guest: Catherine Watson: You can— No, no, or justify it or anything. And, you know, I— while I prefer my own setup at home for working with my big 2 big screens, I, you know, I do take my laptop and we don’t have great internet at our place, but I can go into the library at Ohakune, do a bit of work there. And, you know, people say, oh, it’s such a shame you have to work on your holiday. And I’m like, but actually reframe it. Aren’t I really lucky to be able to do this?
00:18:27
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Mm-hmm.
00:18:29
Guest: Catherine Watson: Yeah.
00:18:30
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: And if you love what you do as well.
00:18:32
Guest: Catherine Watson: Yeah, I accept you’ve got to love what you do.
00:18:34
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah.
00:18:35
Guest: Catherine Watson: Yeah.
00:18:37
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Are there things that you do to protect your energy or your boundaries at work?
00:18:42
Guest: Catherine Watson: Yeah, so I, I do need to work from home.
00:18:46
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Mhm.
00:18:47
Guest: Catherine Watson: I’m not, you know, people go, I’ll just go and work in a cafe, it’s quite fun. And I’m like, oh, it’s too noisy, there’s too much going on, it’s too distracting for me. As I mentioned, I like my setup on my desk with my 2 big screens and comfy chair and radio at just the right volume on the station that I want to listen to without all that other noise and activity going on. I have to plan, I have to write my list. I’ve got thousands of lists. I have bit of a planning structure. So on Sunday evening, I sort of plan the week, or at some point before Monday morning, I have to plan my week.
00:19:14
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah.
00:19:14
Guest: Catherine Watson: And each evening, I sort of, um, end of the day, I assess what I’ve managed to achieve and what I need to do tomorrow, clarify, refine that plan. If I don’t do a plan, the day just turns— it’s just, it’s quite haphazard. Anything can happen.
And nothing can happen. So you must plan. And just being upfront and clear with clients from the beginning of a working relationship that it is just me. So I will sometimes get sick, we’ll have a child, have a client with an urgent request, and sometimes I just simply drop the ball and there’s nobody else to pick up the slack. So you just have to give me a gentle reminder that I haven’t done your job.
00:19:54
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah, yeah. And Showing kindness to yourself when those kind of things happen. Do you have, do you have certain rituals to, I guess, show compassion to those times when you may drop the ball? Like, I’m not saying that you do it a lot, but are there things that you do to help remind yourself that you are doing it by yourself and that it’s okay to sometimes not be at 100%?
00:20:23
Guest: Catherine Watson: Uh, no, I guess I just accept that that’s— I’m human.
00:20:27
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah.
00:20:28
Guest: Catherine Watson: That’s what I can only do what I can do. And again, you know, with that flexibility, I’ll go, well, look, you know, I can choose to do that job tonight or this evening or over the weekend just to catch up so that, you know, because I realize my client is trying to run a business and they’re a person too and, and might have planned around that. But most of my clients fantastic anyway, you know, especially again in the early days, my target market was other mums in business. So we get it, we know that kids get sick or miss the bus and need picking up or dropping off, or that things happen and that we’ve got a million things going on in our minds. So yeah, it doesn’t always happen.
00:21:09
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah, and I guess, you know, if you’re really tuned into that ick you’re not going to pick somebody who’s super rigid and doesn’t understand what it’s like to be a working mom. No, no.
00:21:22
Guest: Catherine Watson: Yeah, no, I get, yeah, again, that marketing message and that as I try to have clients who understand, yeah, life happens.
00:21:33
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: What kind of clients do you tend to attract?
00:21:39
Guest: Catherine Watson: What do they— other mums in business, other women in business is my target. My branding’s bright pink, so it tends to appeal more to the female market than the male. Yeah, I like to do good work for good people who are doing good things. So, you know, whether it’s just that they own a community bookshop, a local community bookshop that is really supportive to, to local authors and bringing the world of books to young children
You know, a travel agent who’s quite independent from the big names, who isn’t held down by that structure of having to comply with what the big guys are doing, who can be a bit more bespoke with their plans for your travel. Yeah, good people doing good things. But yeah.
00:22:28
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: I love that. I believe that work can be a source of joy or a source of harm. How do you make your work more joyful than harmful?
00:22:39
Guest: Catherine Watson: Well, if I didn’t enjoy it, I wouldn’t be doing it. Yeah, that’s for sure. Because I mean, gosh, it would be a long day, long week, long month if you didn’t enjoy what you did. And I mean, gosh, if you didn’t, you’d have to find at least maybe joy with people that you do work for or with. And be able to take a break in the middle of the day to do something that you enjoy. Or yeah, have lots of things in your life that you do enjoy, because especially when we get to this age, you have to enjoy what you’re doing. You know, maybe, maybe it’s just the results that, that maybe you don’t enjoy doing the work, but the end result gives you joy. Please find joy.
00:23:23
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah, it’s so important. Like, it gives you energy and it allows you to produce good work. I think when you’re, when you’re feeling happy and you’ve got joy, that translates into what you’re able to do as well.
00:23:36
Guest: Catherine Watson: Oh yeah, I mean, if I didn’t enjoy designing, I don’t imagine my designs would be very good, or I’d just be like, yeah, here you have it, that’s done, rather than actually caring about the end result and that it’s actually going to work for the client’s objectives. So, oh yeah, I just got to enjoy it.
00:23:56
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: What is it about design particularly that you find joyful?
00:23:59
Guest: Catherine Watson: Uh, so there’s the creative side of it, and it’s, that’s the fun side everybody sees. They’re like, oh, it must be so much fun just making pretty pictures and stuff like that. But there’s actually an aspect of problem solving as well. So your client’s got to get this message across, and, and this is the budget, and this is the means that They’re doing it, so how best are we to do it? You know, it might just be a ton of information we’ve gotta fit on one A4 piece of paper. How are we gonna do that?
You know, which is the most important information? What can we put on your website to send them to find more? Yes, I really quite enjoy that, that problem solving as well and working with a client. So I offer that full service from branding to the websites, brochures. something you might need in years to come when you’re doing an expo, or yeah. So across the board, so being part of the customer’s marketing team journey for the long term, because I really get to know what they want, what works, what’s worked for other people, what hasn’t worked, what we might need to tweak.
00:25:03
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah.
00:25:05
Guest: Catherine Watson: What they like, get to know what they like. So yeah, I can pretty well tune out. I mean, I have clients who long, long-term clients who will ring me and say, hey, I’ve booked to do an expo at the last minute in a couple of weeks and I need some stuff. And I’m like, okay, let’s do some stuff. And we can pretty well figure out what stuff they need from what they’ve done in the past and what we’ve already got available, so we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. And what’s— what we can repurpose as well.
00:25:30
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: I find that when I work with my long-term clients, I’m kind of always thinking a little bit about them in the background. So if I hear a cool interview about the that subject or the sector that they’re in, or if I read a fun article, I quite often send it to them.
00:25:44
Guest: Catherine Watson: It’s—
00:25:45
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: do you have that same experience of they’re kind of in the front of your mind and you’re looking for things that might resonate with their industry or their values?
00:25:55
Guest: Catherine Watson: Yeah, I’m definitely— and I’m always, you know, I’m a very good referrer for my clients as well, because if they don’t do well, then I don’t do well. But I know that they’re good people. As well. So I’m like, if you need this electrician, call these people, and, and that sort of thing. So it is, and I kind of a little bit sometimes a bit of the brand police as well. If I see that they’ve put something up that’s totally off-brand, hey, those are not your logo colours. What have you done to your logo?
00:26:23
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: And they really appreciate that, won’t they?
00:26:25
Guest: Catherine Watson: Uh, most do, yeah. Some like to go off on their own tangent, but yeah. you know, they tell me why they’ve done it. I’m like, okay, well, as long as you’re aware that, like, that, yeah, bring them back into line a little bit. So that’s, yeah, because otherwise they can then, we call it Frankenstein their brand.
00:26:48
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah.
00:26:48
Guest: Catherine Watson: And, you know, eventually they come back to me with quite a big mess to clean up instead. So I’m like, let’s pull you out now. Yeah.
00:26:57
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: It’s kind of like a good friend telling you that you’ve got something in your teeth or something.
00:27:00
Guest: Catherine Watson: Yeah. Yeah.
00:27:01
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: You’re trying to do it because they don’t want to be in back.
00:27:02
Guest: Catherine Watson: You don’t want them to be in back embarrassed, or like you don’t want them to—
00:27:07
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: it to impact their reputation or something. Like it’s coming from a good place.
00:27:11
Guest: Catherine Watson: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Because yeah, I’m all about brand consistency and it helps build trust and credibility. So yeah, you can easily confuse people because they see your— no, your social media images, they’re a range of different colours and you’re like, hang on, people, I know you’re bored with the colours, but your people are not. Yeah, people recognize that these are your colours, and then they see a post with these colours and they know it’s you, and they’ll read it rather than thinking that you’re some random person.
00:27:41
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah, that, that recognition is really important, especially when we’re in a really noisy world, right?
00:27:47
Guest: Catherine Watson: Like, absolutely.
00:27:49
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah, it’s—
00:27:49
Guest: Catherine Watson: yeah, I mean, it’s not everything. Your messaging’s got to be correct as well, but if you’re not recognized Yeah, you know, it all ties in with that building that trust and that credibility, which is important because people won’t do business with people they don’t trust.
00:28:05
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah. On the backtrack a wee bit, do you have any words of advice for people that feel like they sit outside the traditional kind of mould? Like maybe they are comparing themselves to other designers or other people in the industry that, you know, they look more glamorous or they look more successful. Do you have any Kind of advice of how to kind of pull yourself out of that space?
00:28:29
Guest: Catherine Watson: Yeah, I mean, there are so many experts out there now with big loud messages telling that their one way is the only way to build a successful business, and it can be really confusing and overwhelming if you listen to 5 different experts with 5 different my opinion is the only way. And you can spend an awful lot of time following all their must-dos and has, and you never actually have time for the work, or you end up burning yourself out because you actually got to do the, the work. that your business is there to do as well. So I would just— there are thousands. I mean, it was lots and lots of quiet businesses, thoughtful people. They’re making a real difference every day. Just do what fits with your energy, your personality, and your goals, and do it your way. Yes, listen to all the advice, but don’t— you don’t have to take it all on board. Just do you.
00:29:15
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: I like that phrasing that you use, quiet businesses. Can you tell me a little bit more about what that, that is? I think I know what you mean, but—
00:29:24
Guest: Catherine Watson: Well, not every business is out there shouting from the rooftops on social media or sending a newsletter every week, or, but they’re still quietly getting on with it and doing what they’re good at doing and building a reputation, word of mouth, reliable, loyal clients for them. You know, they don’t need to be shouting out loud. and just do what they’re good at doing. And people realize that and recognize that and, and go with it, go join in with the flow.
00:29:53
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah, I love that. On your website, your messaging is around that, right? When— so I’m interested to hear what— when you use the word bold, like, it’s not the same as being loud and brash. Like, what does How can you be a quiet business and also be bold? What does that look like?
00:30:15
Guest: Catherine Watson: It is tricky, eh? Well, you can do it like me and have bold colours, but just being brave and doing what you’re doing and owning your space and, and being proud to put yourself out there. So that I deal with a lot of people who started off, did their own website and did all their own branding, and they’ve got to the point where they’ve gone and changed so much they’ve actually gone embarrassed to show off, to send people to their website. And I, I know my website, past website, got quite out of date and so old that I was also in that situation where I was like, please don’t go and look at my website.
So by giving you branding and a website and other business marketing that you— that really authentically and genuinely shows you as your business, you are then proud to show it off and excited to show it off and that It helps you being bold. They’re just bold. Just, just a lot of people are really nervous about calling or contacting me. So yeah, just being bold about doing it and getting on with it.
00:31:14
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah, I love that. And it’s so refreshing because, you know, being a quiet business and getting on with it and making an impact is still really important. And some of us, a lot of us, don’t want to be the biggest, boldest, flashiest. We’re like, we just want to do our best and do a great job.
00:31:35
Guest: Catherine Watson: We—
00:31:36
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: not all of us dream about scaling and being a sensation, you know.
00:31:41
Guest: Catherine Watson: No, but sometimes we just need to take that next step to grow, and it can be hard to know what the next step is or to feel confident doing it, or that you’re choosing the right person to do it with. Yeah. And I mean, I want to say anybody who decides to start a business is pretty bold. Mm-hmm.
00:32:02
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: So, um, yeah, there’s so much unknown, isn’t there? When you’ve got a job, you kind of know what’s expected of you most of the time and you kind of have a lane. But when you go out into business, there’s so many unknowns and you have to do it yourself most of the time.
00:32:19
Guest: Catherine Watson: Yeah. And I mean, New Zealanders, we were great DIYers.
00:32:23
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah.
00:32:24
Guest: Catherine Watson: As well. So it’s something— sometimes we have to learn that we have to let go, and it would be easier, cheaper, more effective to actually get somebody else to do this job, this part that I need done, while I concentrate on what I’m good at doing. Yeah, but we— I mean, we’re a great nation of DIYers, and letting go, learning to let go, or learning to recognize where your skills are and where your limitations are and where you need help. Yeah, that’s important.
00:32:56
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: And it, as you say, it’s a bold step to delegate and entrust somebody with something as precious as your brand.
00:33:05
Guest: Catherine Watson: Oh yeah, I mean, like, you know, people can be quite attached to what they’ve got, and we don’t— I don’t You know, I will work with people who’ve already got a brand as well. I don’t force people to change it unless I don’t think it’s suitable. I might try to talk them around it, but you know, if people have got the vehicle sign written and they’ve got, or they’ve got a building sign or clothing embroidered, changing your logo is quite an expensive exercise. So then we better just to go with recognition. I was like, well, this is what we’re working with. Let’s just be recognized for what it is and go with it. So, um, yeah, you don’t have to drop what you’ve already got necessarily.
00:33:51
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Um, yeah. I also wanted to touch on the planning that you do. Are there certain things that you put in every week that are your non-negotiables that might not necessarily be business-related, but, you know, to make sure that your work is sustainable for you?
00:34:06
Guest: Catherine Watson: No, no, I Don’t. I’m pretty— I do well. For so long, I guess we were working around our children. One of our girls was a competitive gymnast, so she had to be at the gym 4 or 5 times a week. So they’re kind of like— and the other one was a, um, very serious dancer, so she was at the dance school again just about every night of the week. So they were almost non-negotiables, is making sure that the kids’ stuff all happened. Now that we’re, we’re going down this empty nest and we are finding our own things. So I, you know, I’ve just gone back to swimming, which has been great.
So that’s become, I guess, a non-negotiable, but I don’t really plan for it. I just know that that is my swimming time. Um, and I get more able now to finish work sort of when my husband gets home before 4:30, or if I don’t want to cook dinner. I keep working so that he’s cooked dinner. I don’t, but they don’t.
00:35:06
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: So I guess, are you starting to explore what hobbies you want to have? Is that something that you’re thinking about now that you’re in that— starting to enter the empty nest?
00:35:19
Guest: Catherine Watson: Yeah, we are. It’s like, um, because for the first few months it was a novelty that we didn’t have to go out in the evenings to pick a child up from anywhere, and we were like just blobbing in front of the TV. And I said, oh, this has got to end. This is— there’s great stuff on TV these days, but you see That we’re going to be old before our time if we do this. So yeah, as I said to you before we started, like, looking at doing Toastmasters and, you know, swimming in the evenings and that sort of thing so that, um, yeah, something still happens after 5 in this house.
00:35:48
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: So have you started Toastmasters or?
00:35:51
Guest: Catherine Watson: Just.
00:35:52
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Just? Yeah. Yeah. How are you finding it?
00:35:56
Guest: Catherine Watson: Uh, scary. Yeah, really scary.
00:36:00
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Have you done much public speaking before?
00:36:01
Guest: Catherine Watson: Not really, other than grandparents’ funerals. And yeah, that’s about it. I actually know I should— I have— I’ve been in face-to-face networking groups for a really long time, so they are really good at, you know, you have your 60 seconds just about every week to say something, and also your 10-minute slot every so often. And so that has forced me to have to talk. It used to be a joke that I would really take up my 60 seconds. I’d 10 seconds and I was done. No questions. But yeah, you learn to use that 60 seconds to your advantage. And if I don’t, then, you know, somebody else will take my time and they’ll take 3 minutes. So yeah, I have my 60 seconds now.
00:36:45
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: And having that confidence to take up that space and take your time to Yeah, and it comes back to a little bit of planning.
00:36:53
Guest: Catherine Watson: Like, I can’t just ad-lib it and just make it up on the spot or wing it. I just actually have to have a, you know, whether I’m going to talk about a job I’ve just done or a process that I do or a tool that I use or a thought that I have. Yeah, use that 60 seconds.
00:37:09
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: You talked about quiet businesses and building on referrals. Is networking another great way for those? quiet businesses too, to get the business.
00:37:19
Guest: Catherine Watson: Yes, I think it is. So I mean, I’m, I’m a real introvert but really enjoy the face-to-face networking groups, and they’re so great for referrals. But that’s quite a— that’s a, there’s a real long-term strategy because nobody’s going to refer you straight away because they’ve got to get to know you and trust you and like you, because they’re not gonna hedge their reputation on referring somebody who may or may not be any good. So you do have to get to know people.
And I know as a graphic designer, like walking into it, if I walked into a new group, that most of those businesses using graphic designers, they’ve probably already got one they like. So stick with it. I’m not going to take— but I don’t want to take business off somebody I don’t want because I wouldn’t want to be in the situation where I lose the business just because I’ve left a group. that if you like the working relationship you’ve got with this person, then stick with it.
00:38:13
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah.
00:38:13
Guest: Catherine Watson: Don’t chop and change, like, because that actually creates a bit of a mess. So I realized that, yeah, straight away I’m not going to get everybody’s websites or anything, but I might get one or two as they change, if they haven’t got a designer, if they’ve done it themselves, um, and their referrals.
But it’s also the networking groups, it’s not just about referrals for me. I work on my own, so I have these networking groups as sounding boards if I’ve got a problem or if I need some advice, or just, you know, when I redid my website, I’m like, some feedback would be cool. And great because the networking groups, you’ve got people across all industries, so it’s great to hear what’s going on in all those industries. I work with businesses across all those industries, so it’s good to know where people are at.
00:38:56
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah. And it’s great when you’re working from home to have that social contact and have those sounding boards in an environment that you feel safe and you’ve got trustworthy people to bounce ideas off.
00:39:11
Guest: Catherine Watson: Oh yeah, absolutely. So whether you come— we, I mean, a casual women’s group, we’ve been together for years and years now, and we do sort of run it as a traditional networking group where somebody has a turn each time, but sometimes you How you use that, how you use the meeting, your meeting, whether you do a presentation, whether you put forward some problems, or you say, hey, actually, well, it’s time we worked on our elevator pitch, let’s do that. Not long ago, the hairdresser in our group did a painting session with us. Well, I’m sick of talking about hairdressing, you all know what I do. So we’ll just— so it’s, yeah, it’s a really great support network.
00:39:52
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Mm.
00:39:54
Guest: Catherine Watson: I love that.
00:39:55
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: And there’s different types of groups. So there’s the casual groups like you mentioned, and there’s a more structured group. So if you don’t like one particular networking group, if the— if it doesn’t gel with you, you can always find another one. Like, don’t write off networking altogether if you find a group and it’s not necessarily what you’re after.
00:40:17
Guest: Catherine Watson: Oh no, I mean, some are really rigid. And rules and stuff like that. And, you know, particularly when I was a new mum with young kids, it was never going to work. I mean, I’ve just joined one that’s a 7:30 start, and I’m like, well, thank goodness I don’t have children because I don’t know, at home anymore, because it would have not worked.
00:40:34
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah.
00:40:37
Guest: Catherine Watson: And, and the people in it, and, you know, I mean, I’ve been to something where it’s been real referral heavy and Blokey, scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours, and, and this sort of thing. And, oh, if you buy off me, I’ll buy off you. And I’m like, can I just buy off you because I like your product or your service? Because you’re gonna buy off me, that’s weird.
00:40:57
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah.
00:40:59
Guest: Catherine Watson: You know, and it kind of raises that ick factor a little bit for me. I’m like, oh, you know, I actually just want genuine connections and people who like each other for who they are, not because I can offer you something. Yeah, yeah.
00:41:12
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: And it becomes very transactional and tit for tat, and it’s just—
00:41:15
Guest: Catherine Watson: yeah, yeah, yeah. And yeah, the ones who force their business card on you and you’re like, I know business cards are quite cheap to print, but I’m not— I don’t need your business card. Yeah, seriously. Um, although I’m a collector of business cards from the design point of view. Yeah, you’re kind of like, who are you? Who’s this person handing me the business card? What do you Joe, or, yeah, you know, who’s the person behind this business?
00:41:41
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Looking back, is there anything that you wish you’d known when you first started working for yourself?
00:41:50
Guest: Catherine Watson: Definitely the whole comparison process. Yeah, not to, yeah, compare myself with every designer in the world because that was just, yeah, it was really bad. And by having done deeper and deeper into successful design. Gosh, I wish I’d known about it 10, 20 years ago when it was being talked about overseas. It was a thing. Because gosh, if I’d been able to make noise about it for the last 10, 20 years, we could be in a different position in this country in terms of that. And I, you know, because I look back at some of the jobs I’ve done, I’m like, oh, that was really bad for accessibility. Um, so I could have been doing a better job for longer. on it. And, you know, just be brave and step up and do things that do push you out of the comfort zone when you’re ready. Yeah, not when somebody else tells you to do it.
00:42:38
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah, yeah. Are there any final words of encouragement that you’d like the listeners or readers to know?
00:42:50
Guest: Catherine Watson: Oh, I’ll do this. I’ll put my marketing hat on, but also for your own mental health. you don’t have to build the same business that everyone else is building. Build the one that fits your life and your values and your personality, one that’s uniquely you, and that will help you stand out in your industry. There’s no point in every— I’ll go back to my electrician— there’s no point in every electrician offering the same thing and the same service, because like, it’s really— how do you choose an electrician?
And that’s somebody who’s coming into your home. So stand out, you know. being authentic and genuine, how you stand out in your industry. And that will then lead you to working with people that you like. And that’s really important because nobody— we don’t want to have to dread picking up the phone all the time because that person’s ringing us, but I have to. So yeah, stay in your lane.
00:43:39
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah, yeah, freedom and flexibility to do you as well.
00:43:47
Guest: Catherine Watson: Yeah, absolutely. And embrace that freedom and the flexibility. And, you know, maybe it’s a little bit hard at the moment to say don’t stress the quiet times and make the most of them. But, um, you know, there are ups and downs. And one of, one of my many lists is a list of things to do when I’m quiet.
00:44:04
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Oh yes.
00:44:06
Guest: Catherine Watson: Yeah. So there’s times you’re like, oh, actually I’ve caught up on all my work, what shall I do? Um, and then I remember later that evening in the shower that I should have been doing that. Because it was on my— I’ve got a list of things that I could do when it’s quiet.
00:44:16
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: What kind of things are on that list?
00:44:18
Guest: Catherine Watson: Uh, well, post on social media, do a newsletter. Just things like maybe investigate getting a directory listing. Yeah, I mean, sometimes it might just be to do our house insurance claim that just I put off for ages. Yeah, lots of just sometimes just the little jobs or that the things that will help grow your business, perhaps, you know, if it is quiet, then do a little bit of marketing or, yeah, reaching out to people, chase up on quotes that you’ve done and haven’t heard back from. And yeah.
00:44:50
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah. Amazing. Is there anything else that you’d like to say about accessible design or anything in general that we’ve talked about today?
00:45:01
Guest: Catherine Watson: Oh, probably when we’re finished. Accessibility is best built in from the beginning of a project. So right, right from your brand, because if your brand colours don’t work with colour contrast guidelines, then you’re going to have a problem on your website and your market, other, your social media graphics, your printed graphic, um, printed promotional material as well. So, you know, think about accessibility as soon as you, you can, because it is much easier to build in from the beginning than trying to retrofit things or trying to fix a document so that the screen reader can read it. If it had been built from the start for a screen reader, then it would always work. For a screen reader, it’s not going to work depending on technology changing. And don’t think that it’s going to cost you a whole lot more to do. Like, I don’t have an accessibility surcharge on my design work. It’s just built in. So don’t be afraid to think, oh, I can’t afford that extra cost.
00:46:01
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah.
00:46:03
Guest: Catherine Watson: Lots of businesses in their values say we’re inclusive, and I’m like, thought about accessibility? And they go, oh, we’ve got a wheelchair ramp. And I’m like, nah, but what about accessibility of your website and your— the documents that you put out and your social media graphics and how you set your social media up? And they’re like, oh, I didn’t know it was a thing. Well, because we’re not talking about it enough, but it is a thing. And, um, it is— it’s really important for some people to be able to access, you know, events.
I mean, it’s 1 in 6 people is the estimated number of disabled people in New Zealand. Not all of them will have trouble accessing your information, but then, as I mentioned, there’s those temporary and situational disabilities as well. So yeah, we are probably looking at 1 in 6 people, which is a good number of people who have the right to access your information.
00:46:52
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah, we’ve definitely expanded my view of accessibility and disability today. So thank you.
00:46:59
Guest: Catherine Watson: You’re welcome. I’m glad about that because I want to like spread the word.
00:47:04
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah, it seems like your, your advocacy is, is really important to you as well, like raising awareness of why it’s so important.
00:47:13
Guest: Catherine Watson: And it is, you know, it’s not just something I’ve made up. It’s a very real thing. And so once I learned about it, I can’t unlearn it. I can’t like just go, oh, just ignore that bit of knowledge and pretend that didn’t happen. I know about it, so now I have to embrace it and make it part of my work.
00:47:35
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah, amazing. Well, thank you so much, Catherine, for joining me today, and it’s been a pleasure getting to know you a bit better, and, and I’ve learned a lot today. So thank you so much.
00:47:48
Guest: Catherine Watson: Oh, thank you so much for having me, Katie. It’s been A great experience. Yeah, walking the bold.
00:47:55
Business in the Bath host: Katie Rickson: Yeah, walking the bold. Love that. Thank you.
Wow, I love that chat with Catherine from Boldly. I love how she has made accessible design her mission and how she talks about quiet businesses and that being bold in business is not necessarily the same as being loud and out there, that there are thousands of out there run by quieter, thoughtful people, and you don’t have to change your, your values and your personality and your energy to fit in, that you can be a success in business and do it your way. Another great chat. I’m so grateful for Katherine’s time. We’ve got so many other good speakers lined up. Thank you so much for listening, and I’ll see you soon.