Student Spotlight Series #2 - Charlie Jeffery-King
Overview
What’s going on, I’m Coach Scotty Russell. 👋
I’m a full-time Coach for Web 2 + Web 3 creatives and I side hustle my own art in the rapidly evolving NFT space.
I’ve worked with over 1.5k students all over the world…and some of these souls are soaring into creative superstars.
I started this Student Spotlight Blog + Instagram Live Series to:
Flex the incredible wins my students are stacking while blazing their own paths.
Reveal the adversity they’ve overcome and/or are currently navigating in their day-to-day.
Showcase how they persistently show up like creative professionals who take their shit seriously.
Meet CHARLIE
This session highlight’s my student making savage moves, Charlie Jeffery-King AKA Artful Charlie—a signwriter + muralist slayin’ work all around the UK.
We started working together back in early 2021 in Round 2 of my bi-annual 12-Week Coaching Programs—she was part of my Covid Crew 😅.
(Learn more about 12-Week Fall + Spring Programs here.)
We’ve stayed in touch over the years and I’m blown away by her constantly steady growth…and I’m excited for you to soak up her creative genius as well!
Below, you have 2 ways to consume this interview:
Watch the Instagram Live full interview below as students expand on the 7 questions.
Read the Blog Post 7-Questions-based interview further down this page.
Instagram Live Interview
Click to watch the full interview of Charlie Jeffery-King.
7 Questions Interview
1. Tell us a little bit about who you are, what you do, and why we should care?
My name is Charlie and I am a sign writer and mural artist based in the south of the UK.
I primarily work with businesses, designing and creating signage…
From shop fascias, windows, swing signs, and chalkboards…
To murals, wayfinding, and informational signs.
Dream Big mural by Charlie Jeffery-King
2. Before we started working together, where were you at with your work, confidence, and direction?
Pre-Coaching with Scotty:
Before I first worked with Scotty, I was creating a whole host of random artwork.
It wasn’t bad, per se, but it had no direction and I clearly wasn’t confident in one particular area.
I liked letters and enjoyed trialing new styles and designs but other than that, I had no real direction.
I was mostly scrolling through Instagram for inspiration and went from there.
Moving forward, I joined Scotty’s Spring 2020 program - just a month or so before Covid truly hit.
I was working a full-time day job but decided that I really wanted to pursue his program and make it work.
During the 12-Week Program with Scotty:
On a Thursday night, I would get up at midnight to join the call with Scotty and the rest of our wonderful team to workshop through our biggest creative hurdles. It was a grind but boy was it worth it!
During Covid, I was furloughed, which resulted in a lot more free time.
By the time the program was over, I felt like I was going in a direction that I was really enjoying.
I didn’t know how far I would take it, but as I mentioned, the masses of free time I had made it an easy thing for me to focus my energy on.
I had tested a few larger-scale pieces of work at my mum’s shop so I knew I enjoyed large-scale lettering, so Scotty’s suggestion to give that a go for a season made a lot of sense.
So I took to the walls in my house - my landlady just so happened to be my then-future-mother-in-law (I got married since then!) so she gave me full permission to go crazy and paint whatever I wanted.
One of the things I remember Scotty saying to me was something along the lines of “See how you feel about painting the wall—design it, or mock it up, maybe start small.”
In the next group call, I explained that I’d just gone ahead and painted the whole wall!
There’s definitely something to be said for just doing it—say yes and figure it out later, right?!
There my love for murals and large-scale letters was born—I then painted another 3 in my house!
The Inner Critic:
There is a LOT more to be read between the lines here…
IMPOSTER SYNDROME ALERT. 🚨
During the program, for example, I really doubted myself wondering:
Whether I should be doing it?
If I was good enough?
Why people should care?
My confidence hit a pretty deep low point there and I struggled to get back to it.
It’s so important to have others around you to hype you up and support you.
Whether you need them to just be there, to push you forward or pull you up, have those people.
3. What were your top 1-3 biggest hurdles you’ve had to work hardest on to overcome—and what are some lingering blind spots you’re continually improving on?
Pricing.
Believing that people will pay what I think I’m worth (AND pricing myself reasonably!) This is still an issue for me, but I’m improving each time I write up a quote for a client.
My husband is great in this situation…he thinks about these things logically like “How much do I want to earn in a year to survive?”
Write it up, divide it down, and work out what I need to earn as a minimum per hour to accomplish that.
Next, add a percentage to give yourself some leeway in case you don’t have a job every day (a likely situation).
Then increase that number up again to cover your materials (you’ll have to guess a little here).
This logical method really helped me out, and in fact, it helps me in many other areas too.
My creative, emotional side does occasionally listen to the logical, rational side.
Imposter Syndrome.
In the beginning, I found it hard to believe that what I was doing was valuable to anyone.
I struggled to believe in myself—I struggled to see why I should bother.
Imposter syndrome still raises its ugly head occasionally, but honestly, I’m too busy to really give it much thought.
I have a good support network throughout my life where I can vent if needs be and people can tell me what I need to (or want to) hear.
Ego.
I don’t know if it’s a bad or a good thing, to be honest, but I think it deserves a mention.
I know I’m the type of person that likes to be complimented for my work and to know it’s appreciated.
I’ve discovered that when my clients aren’t the type of people to be gushy about the work, I find it hard to believe that I’ve done a good job—even when I know it’s good and I’m really proud, I still like the ‘good job!’ moment.
Ego can get in the way, but it can also give you that bit of confidence you need.
However, it can also put a downer on things and I think that’s a hurdle that many creatives probably struggle with.
Some people just don’t understand what we have to do to get their work done on time, to that level of quality, etc, etc.
I think the ego needs to be kept in check because I think it’s easy to let it get ‘out of control’.
By that I mean let yourself get overly emotional one way or the other; over-confident or super sad when someone doesn’t stroke that ego.
Hand painted building signage by Charlie Jeffery-King
4. What was the defining moment of getting fed up AND/OR waking up to start taking your shit seriously?
I was dreading going into the day job—they basically said they weren’t happy for me to do my own thing and I knew that being there wasn’t working for me.
I had enjoyed working on my side hustle so much during Covid and I’d realized how important it was for me to continue it.
One time, while painting in my element purely focused on the paint and the brush, is when I realized how much:
I valued it.
I enjoyed the process.
I loved to focus on the attention to detail.
And to be honest, the egotistical side of me that likes the praise when it’s done (See the answer to question #3! 😅).
I really HATE the cold. I’m not made for it—I can’t feel my hands.
However, I still love my side hustle when I’m painting outside in mid-winter in the UK.
That was a real defining moment for me as well, realizing that I’ll deal with that kind of thing to do the job I love.
Snow days as a side hustler? I will do my absolute best to get the job done.
I’ll even get the sign couriered to my home to paint for you.
Snow days at my old day job? Nah, I’ll take the day off….”Can’t get into work, sorry!”
5. What have been your biggest wins since we worked together?
70+ students in workshops.
2 total Private Coaching/Teaching Workshops.
24 murals to date.
Too many sign-writing projects to count.
Big London job with Young’s pub—a big chain here in the UK.
In 2020-2021, I made £21,500 on a part-time side hustle.
I bought myself a 2019 Audi A1 outright (no finance) with my side hustle earnings.
I got myself a job with The National Trust—a huge charity/organization for heritage conservation here in the UK.
They look after things like stately homes, historic areas, Manor House gardens, etc.
I got this job through a separate company who I did a project for back in April—it’s all about who you know!
Hand painted signage by Charlie Jeffery-King
6. What was your biggest highlight/takeaway from working together this year?
Knowing that I can and should believe in myself.
It’s not like I don’t have a great support network at home, but that extra layer of reinforcement and ‘kick up the ass’ encouragement was just what I needed.
The knowledge you gave to me, wasn’t just the ‘how to’ for successfully doing my own thing, but it was also the ‘why’ as well.
It was the self-belief that I needed to realize that it wasn’t:
A one-step process.
An overnight thing.
The end-all-be-all if I didn’t get that one job, or if I didn’t get another 10 followers.
It’s the slow, steady, self-growth game where my side hustle would grow along with me that got me.
7. What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone who’s dealing with the same struggles as your past self?
Don’t let imposter syndrome get you down.
We ALL suffer from it at some point, at some level.
Whether that’s not believing in your work, not believing that you deserve the money, comparing yourself to others, or something else…
Do your best to make the effort to spot it, acknowledge it, and move past it.
You are good at what you do, you know you’re talented, nobody is you, and you are nobody else.
Do your own thing and enjoy it.
As well as don’t let your ego get in the way either—be confident, yes, but don’t let it control things.
Connect With Charlie
Make sure to show Charlie some love and connect with her if you found this helpful via her Instagram or website.
(You can also join her Waitlist for upcoming local and future workshops!)
I’m always looking for the next Charlie to make moves with, if that’s you, learn how we can work together below. 👇🏻
Let’s Work Together 🤝
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You'll get direct daily/weekly access to me within an intimate, yet intense setting that surrounds you with 6-10 creative souls.
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