This happened in San Diego, California, USA.
Before that, I lived in Japan for a short while. During that time, my mother-in-law became terminally ill, and I returned to Los Angeles, where my wife's family lives. Due to various sudden events, I returned to the US with NO PLAN (as always, lol). I also looked for a job after arriving there. That's when I joined a certain company in San Diego and moved to a town called Encinitas in San Diego.
In my mind, I wanted to start something on my own rather than join a company, and I had done some preparation. However, upon arriving in America, it was the midst of the Lehman Shock. Californians were being evicted from their homes, rental properties were scarce (and rents were soaring) - it was a chaotic state. I felt that financially, it wasn't the right time for me to take on risk.
So, I started working for a company to buy myself some time to think. "Hmm, what can I do on my own??" That led me to the design business. With a computer, I figured I could manage. I had zero capital (probably). Plus, it's mobile, I can do it anywhere. I could learn and improve my skills as I went along.
I had never studied graphic design specifically, but my wife knew about interior architecture design, and I had taken a few basic classes. I thought I could do it on my own and took action.
However... I had no idea how to find clients. (This is bad, lol). At that time, someone in America told me, "Find people doing similar things, and present what they aren't doing or can't do. Then, work will come to you."
I was completely like, "I see!"
I looked out over my hometown of San Diego. Then I found the local Chamber of Commerce. There, I discovered a volunteer group that organizes local events. Around that time (around 2008-2009), environmental awareness was starting to grow in local events. A lot of new businesses were emerging in line with this, which seemed interesting (e.g., water bottles, products made from recycled materials). Moreover, it was a beach town, so there were companies related to surfing, which I love. It was rich in content, and I thought, 'This looks fun!'
Of course, my goal wasn't to participate in the local events run by the volunteer group. My objective was to get to know the business owners who came there.
Still, what should I do...
First, I checked out the posters and promotional materials for local events. ... It was intuition, haha. I thought, 'Ah! We could do this better!' But the people who created the existing materials must be there. I shouldn't criticize them. So, I presented only the services we could offer and said, 'We'll do it for free! We really want to do it!' and pitched ourselves with sheer enthusiasm (on my own, just with spirit, haha).
I just joined the group and handed out business cards at the Chamber of Commerce. I got a job for one event, and then it led to work on bigger events. I was really lucky.
Anyway, supported by the people I met there, I started getting occasional design jobs while learning skills and completing work simultaneously.
People who talk about their past tend to exaggerate to make their legendary stories sound better. I might be doing that right now as I write this, haha.
However, the truth is, that I believe in trying things out first! I still think that was a good thing. Trying it first, and if it didn't work, adjusting, fixing, and trying again... I was so happy to have had that experience!
(It was overwhelming to be in charge of the main design for the event sponsored by Hurley, in Cardiff-by-the-sea, featuring local surfing legend ROB MACHADO.)
