Check Out Sara Vecchi’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Vecchi.

Hi Sara, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve been doing the odd freelance design job on the side since I graduated college back in 2012. I got my first full-time design job in 2016 working for the Ohio Legislative Service Commission (LSC) as their Publication Design Specialist.

After having my second son, I left LSC and began working for a local digital printing company in order to work closer to home. I loved working there, and I gained a detailed knowledge of what was required for a file to be considered print-ready.

It was during this time that I picked up my personal art again and began tabling at comic cons. I sell art prints, enamel pins, and stickers all of my own designs. I also self-publish graphic novels. The first two volumes of my all-ages graphic novel, Michael & Margo, are already available and the third and final volume is in the works. It’s a ton of fun, and I have more stories that I can’t wait to dive into after I finish this one!

Even though I loved working at the printing company, my goal since college had always been to be self-employed. With two school age boys in various activities, having the freedom to make my own schedule and work on my terms was becoming almost a necessity. Thankfully, I had been building up my freelance clientele since starting my work in printing. By 2025, I felt the time had come to leave my job as a graphics specialist and begin freelancing full-time.

I have now been working for myself for almost 1 year exactly. Freelancing is definitely a business of ups and downs, feast and famine, but I have absolutely no regrets about making the leap! I love my work, and I love the freedom I have. One of my favorite parts of my job is getting to work with small businesses, especially as they are beginning. Getting to help them establish their brand and then watching them grow, working with them as they expand to new products, new needs… It’s really satisfying to share that joy with them.

Most of my clients are in the food & beverage market. I do a lot of label/packaging design, some logo design, and occasionally do product photography or mockups. Offering this wide range of services is great for my small business clients! They are able to have one person help them with a variety of necessary design aspects for their business, which saves them having to source several different professionals who will each need to be informed about their vision for their business. It’s so much easier to work with someone who knows your business and what your goals are before the project even begins.

I would say my experience in preparing art files for print production is what drives most of my referrals. Since I left my previous employer on good terms, the business developers there still send many new customers my way. They know that I understand what’s required, trust me to provide correct files, and know that I’m easy to work with!

My business is still young, but the growth is there. I’m encouraged by that, along with all the kind words my customers have shared with me along the way. I love this job, and I can’t wait to see where I am five years from now!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely not a smooth road! One of the aspects of leaving my job to freelance full-time that I was most intimidated by was having to market myself. I’ve never considered myself a sales person by any definition of the phrase, but it is impossible for someone to hire you if they don’t know that you’re even there.

Like I mentioned, I get referrals from past co-workers and occasionally from past clients as well, but I knew I would need to take on some self-marketing to get my volume of work to where I want it to be. I bit the bullet and did something I never would have dreamt in a million years: I did cold calls. Cold calls! Just saying the phrase still gives me shivers, but it has opened doors for me in many ways. I have had several jobs come out of these calls, as well as a few business contacts that led to opportunities I never would have known about! A call to the Food Fort, part of the Economic and Community Development Institute in Columbus, led to me leading a webinar on the importance of brand consistency in marketing. A call to a business coach impressed her enough to offer me free entrance to a business growth seminar in Columbus. This seminar gave me some great information and allowed me to meet several other business owners, including Michelle Michael-Kang, Ph.D., owner of MMK Digital Solutions. Her marketing agency contracted me to design a logo, and she eventually was the one who connected me here with Voyage!

Getting the word out about my business is probably the most difficult part of starting out, but there have been other challenges as well. I have had to sharpen my estimating skills to ensure I’m not taking losses on jobs. Artists often struggle with pricing their work, so finding the balance between being affordable for businesses just starting out and charging for what my time and experience are worth has been a mental struggle at times. In the same vein, I have also had to navigate talking about money with clients, whether that means justifying my costs or reaching out to clients with past-due invoices. Having these difficult conversations has been a challenge for me as someone with a very non-confrontational nature, but being able to have them professionally is important.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I talked about this a bit in an earlier question, so I apologize for any repetition. My work at the printing company was largely with businesses in the food and beverage industry, as well as nutraceuticals. These continue to be the bulk of my design business, as that is who is commonly referred to me. My extensive work with them means that I am familiar with the FDA requirements for labels, whether in stores or a local farmer’s market. Having this knowledge is beneficial for small businesses just starting out in this industry, as they are not always aware of the requirements.

My prices for design work are affordable for my market, and I am known for having swift turnaround times and excellent communication. The ease of communication with me is apparently a stand out, as I hear frequently from clients about designers who ghosted them when they needed changes on their work. I’m really proud of my ability to help small businesses with multiple aspects as they get started. I do logo design, label design, product photography, and web design. This kind of multi-range flexibility means clients can build a real relationship with me and know that I understand them and their vision so it comes across in every aspect of their visual identity without having to explain it to someone new for each project.

I am also extremely proud of my illustrative work! I feel I am a storyteller at heart, and I love to use my art to bring smiles to people’s faces. My current graphic novel, Michael & Margo, has been a joy to create and such a growing experience. It is my first graphic novel, and I used it as an opportunity to show myself that I was capable of doing a longer form story. I already have my next comic idea outlined and ready, and I can’t wait to get started. The portraiture I do has less storytelling, but I love being able to present someone with something that means a lot to them and hear how pleased they are with how it turned out.

I think being an artist is a career that is about connecting with others. It really drives me. Having that connection is just as important in my graphic design work as it is in my personal art, and I think it informs a lot of what I do.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
My family has always joked that there is a luck gene. According to family history, one of my grandpa’s had it, and it was said that I did to. It was usually little things, like being picked as a contest winner for small giveaways or winning a board game that was largely luck-based. It seems to have passed to my younger son as well!

Luck gene aside, I tend to think of the events of my life as being where God wants me to be. Things haven’t always been easy. I graduated college with degrees in both art and design and then couldn’t find a job in my field for 4 years. I loved drawing and illustration, but almost completely stopped for years as I started my family. I wanted to work for myself, but wasn’t able to do that until 13 years after graduation. It is easy to get discouraged when you feel you aren’t achieving goals you have for yourself, but the most important thing is to never stop working towards it. Just because it isn’t happening right when you want it doesn’t mean it never will. Every job I held before this had an aspect that I still deal with today, all the way down to my time as a receptionist. (I have excellent phone etiquette. Haha!)

I think being a positive and kind person throughout my life has been what has led to most of the good things in my life. You make connections, you leave a good impression, you work hard and show yourself to be trustworthy. These are the things that will bring around the kind of opportunities some people may describe as lucky, in my opinion.

Pricing:

• $500- Branding Kit (Included: New logo design (Two rounds of revisions, additional revisions charged per hour), Brand color scheme, Brand fonts established, packaged Brand Manual pdf with all Brand Guidelines)
• $60/hr- Design services (web, print, digital)
• $120- 5×7 Black & White portrait (+$30 per additional pets or persons)
• $150- 8×10 Black & White portrait (+$30 per additional pets or persons)
• For larger sizes or color options, please reach out

Contact Info:

• Website: https://saravecchiart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saravecchiart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaraVecchiArt/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/svecchi/
• Other: https://bsky.app/profile/saravecchiart.bsky.social