Crystal Picard

Graphic Designer & Marketing Assistant

Website / Hello Sweetie / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram

Crystal Picard is a graphic designer & digital marketing assistant based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She lives by her mantra: Work Hard, Dream Big—both in her professional and personal life.

After working in the creative industry for a few years, Crystal experienced the all-too-familiar mass layoff in the tech company she was working at just a couple weeks before Christmas in 2016. She realized working a full-time job was no more secure than freelancing, and decided to start her own business instead.

Crystal Picard Design & Marketing was developed through the program at the Centre for Entrepreneurship Education & Development (CEED) where she still speaks and offers mentorship to this day. Since starting to freelance, she has worked with global coaches, international conferences, online entrepreneurs from every walk of life and many local small businesses. She is the co-leader of the Halifax WordPress Meet-up and a national public speaker offering workshops on content strategy and web design.

When she’s not working with kick-ass business owners, running workshops or traveling with her fiancé; she also runs a hand-illustrated stationery line called Hello Sweetie, featuring hand-lettering and custom illustration. Find Hello Sweetie in several local shops or online.

In Crystal’s own words:

I started my ‘adult’ life as a massage therapist on cruise ships. I like to throw that in there because it’s a solid reminder to anyone who wants to chase their dreams that it’s never too late.

When I came home from working on ships, I knew I wanted to make a living as a creative, so I chose to attend Nova Scotia Community College after hearing how well prepared their students were for the workforce. 

I graduated from the Ivany/Waterfront Campus Graphic Design Program with the Highest Recognition award, a strong work ethic, a caffeine addiction—and this false idea in my head that you were only really a graphic designer if you worked for an agency living that hustle lifestyle.

After a few years in the industry, it took getting laid off with 20 other people—a week before Christmas—to show me that if I really wanted job security, I would need to be my own boss. At the time it was the worst day of my life, but it provided me the ability to attend the CEED program and get the help I needed to thrive as a small business owner. I couldn’t be more grateful for the CEO who felt I could do well on my own and her continued encouragement in the tech community to this day.

Having a wide range of skills has also helped. While I started as a graphic designer, I was mentored in WordPress while I was still in school, and learned Squarespace, Leadpages and content strategy through my work with tech and marketing clients. I learned to develop online sales funnels while working with a multi-million dollar coaching program, and then learned email marketing to round out my skill set.

There are so many resources like skillshare.com and lynda.com, that anyone can take a base skill and round it out with complementary services. I firmly believe in a ‘Yes we can!’ attitude paired with ‘PS: This’ll be my first time trying it’ transparency.

These days, I function as a one-stop-shop for entrepreneurs who are looking to grow their business online with passive income, bring in email leads or get a website up and running. Using my design, web and marketing skills together, I’ve been privileged to plan and execute big dreams for small business owners for over 3 years now.

Last year I also realized my own big dream of launching a stationery line. To relax and wind down, I’ve been illustrating and hand-lettering for my instagram profile for years, and I’ve just transferred those skills into a full stationery line at Hellosweetie.ca. 

What are you most proud of professionally? And who or why?

Most definitely, it’s Hello Sweetie. This stationery line has been a dream of mine since I started in school for Graphic Design.

It started as an outlet for my love of hand-lettering when my teacher Crystal McManus wisely advised me to stop using lettering in every project I submitted. That woman can spot a work-a-holic a mile away, and her advice not only saved me from burn out, but it also spurred me to try my hand at creating lettering for products on the side.

Hello Sweetie is proof that while someone may seem like they’ve achieved success in a relatively short period of time, there are hundreds of failures that most creatives go through before they see any return on their work.

What most people don’t see on my instagram or my website is 6 years of practice, trying different sales platforms, learning about retail and packaging, building a brand and failing at most of it the first, second, and third times I tried.

Without my friends, family, community of creatives and mentors, I wouldn’t have been able to keep picking myself up and dusting this dream off. 

What’s your vision for Atlantic Canada in 10 years? What’s our biggest opportunity now?

My vision for Atlantic Canada in 10 years includes Halifax as a major freelance hub. I am hopeful that small businesses will continue to work with subcontractors like myself, and large businesses will start to offer more remote positions so we’re less restricted to settling in the city or commuting for work we could do just as effectively in a home office.

Our biggest opportunity is the internet. If we can battle the big telecom companies and get affordable internet into rural areas of Atlantic Canada, then more businesses could afford better service without the overhead cost of working with agencies. And big businesses and agencies could have happier creatives by being able to offer remote work several days of the week so the younger generation doesn’t have to rely on living in the city.

What was your greatest stage of growth? What made it a shift for you?

When I was laid off and ended up in the CEED program. It’s a 10 month program and I had an advisor named Beate who not only advised me on my business, but also my work-life-balance and community relationships.

She helped me go from crying in my bed every night wondering how I would ever survive as a freelancer to mentoring new freelancers on how to run their business. She cultivated confidence in me and the ability to roll with the inevitable ups-and-downs of this roller coaster we call entrepreneurship. 

What’s your favourite or most read book or podcast? Now or at each of your greatest stages of growth?

I am a podcast kind of girl, and it's hard to peg down one that I really love most. I start every morning listening to the BBC Podcast, The New York Times and The Skimm while downing that first cup of coffee of the day because I think it's important to know what's going on in the world.

For business podcasts I love listening to Being Boss, ProBlogger, Riding In Cars With Cats (by our local Mike Tanner!), and Ask Pat.

For books, I enjoy anything to do with habits and personal growth. As long as it's not too fluffy and holds some concrete numbers to back up the narrative like: Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less and The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We do in Life and Business.

I’m also not afraid to admit that I’m a bit of a self-care nut, so Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life and Being Boss: Take Control of Your Work and Live Life on Your Own Terms are also worth a read. 

What’s your deepest learning from this past year? How did/will you apply it?

Stand up for your personal integrity, even when it sucks. I chose Integrity as my word for 2019 and when I ran into a situation with one of my clients that was uncomfortably out of scope for our project, I spoke up for what I felt was right for myself and my mental health.

I lost that client when our contract concluded but have been able to find gratitude for the time I had with them; and most importantly I have been able to redirect the time I would have been spending with them back into my business.

With extra time to put into my business—I went from an expected launch of a side project by mid-2020 to launching it in under 30 days. It forced me to have to dive into those tough sales emails and build a website and push through long nights of production. 

The deepest learning from this situation showed me that you can both regret something, and feel good about standing firm on how you feel about a situation. It’s easier to regret a bad outcome, then to regret not acting on your best interest. 

Who’s inspired you, directly or indirectly? How have they inspired you?

My Mom has always been my guiding inspiration. I grew up under farmer’s market tables with my crayons and books while she sold her crafts and jams each weekend. Seeing people going out and selling their work made a huge impression on me as a child. 

When I started creating cards, they were the absolute worst you could imagine—but she still took them to all her craft fairs to sell. Seeing her live for her love of crafts and creativity made me believe that I could live a life doing what I love.

Luckily for me, I also take after my Dad in terms of pragmatism and tenacity. His influence made me into a person who could strategically learn and develop a business that helps me to make money while chasing my big scary dreams.

I might never be rich or famous but because of the parents I have, I’ll always be happy with the ups and downs of owning my own business along the way. 

What would you have done differently?

I would have invested in private health insurance right away. I didn’t know how much it weighed on me until I finally had it and could breath easy knowing I’m covered. 

Oh, and I would have said yes the first time my now-fiance asked me on a date. 

What are the principles you live by?

Integrity: Check-in with yourself, and make decisions based on honesty, even when it sucks.

Impact: Make one. Share knowledge. Build community. Speak publicly about what you know.

Health: Care for your body like it’s a part of your job. Eat well, batch cook, stretch every day.

Grit: Make a reasonable list of to-dos and do them. Even when life gets in the way. Even when you want to give up. Take a nap if you have to. 

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Graphic Designer, Marketing Assistant, Freelancer, Freelance Designer, Web Designer, Public Speaker, Workshop Presenter, Hand Lettering Artist, Card Designer, Stationery Owner, Caffeine Addict, Retired-Barista, Dog Lover