12 pieces of advice I'd give my 20s self

Eight years into running a studio, I've thought a lot about what I'd say if I could go back. Not the vague stuff — the specific things I actually got wrong, or got right late.

Here they are.

1. Never underestimate what you're capable of.

The ceiling you imagine for yourself is usually much lower than the real one. Most of the limits I hit in my early twenties weren't skill limits. They were confidence limits I'd invented and then respected.

2. Start building your social presence as early as you can.

Not because you have something impressive to show yet. Because the habit takes years to compound, and the account you start today is the one that's mature by the time your work is. Nobody starts with an audience.

3. Learn one new skill a month.

Design skills, yes — but also AI tools, calligraphy, type design, web building, even just getting properly fast in Canva. None of it feels connected while you're learning it. Then one day a client asks for something and you already know how to do it.

4. Stop putting yourself in an artsy box.

"I'm a minimalist designer." "I only do editorial." Those labels feel like identity, but at twenty-something they're mostly a limit you signed up for. Jump out. Try the thing that isn't your style.

5. Don't rush to create before you've learned to replicate.

Copying well is not cheating — it's how you learn what makes something work. Study a layout until you can rebuild it from memory. Originality comes after craft, not instead of it.

6. Show your process, and learn to take criticism.

Posting only finished work protects your ego and teaches you nothing. The messy in-between is what people connect with, and the feedback you get on it is the fastest education available.

7. Stop looking back at what you've made.

You will cringe. Everyone does. Cringing means you grew. Look at it once, take the lesson, move on.

8. Start freelancing as soon as you can.

Not just for the money. For the practice of talking — pitching, quoting, saying no, explaining why your price is your price. Those conversations are a skill, and they only improve by doing them badly first.

9. Read marketing books. Listen to marketing podcasts.

Whatever field you land in, understanding marketing is what separates good work from work that gets seen. It's the most transferable knowledge you can own.

10. Spend less on entertainment. Invest in your gadgets and software.

Not everything, and not recklessly. But the laptop, the software licence, the course — those are the purchases that come back to you as income. The night out doesn't.

11. Exercise. Eat properly.

Your body is your biggest asset and your biggest advantage. Creative work is physical in a way nobody warns you about. Long hours, bad posture, late nights. Look after the thing doing the work.

12. Train yourself to think positively.

Any creative career has ups and downs — quiet months, lost clients, work that doesn't land. Optimism isn't naivety here. It's the discipline that gets you to the next good season.

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If I could compress all twelve into one: start earlier than you feel ready, and stay curious longer than feels necessary.