Show Them You Can Make It

A Story Of an Lost Career As an Shelf-Filler

Nadine Mohr
Jul 22, 2017 · 4 min read

If I had listened to my teacher 15 years ago, I would be a shelf-filler in a supermarket today, instead of running my own business as a digital agency. Okay, let’s stay fair. I’ve never been that kind of super intelligent — darling of all teachers — model student of the year. My teachers had a rough time with me during the seemingly never-ending school time.

If you ask them today, they would probably say:
Nadine? Yes, this was that girl who had so much potential……….

Well, that’s not what you want to hear one year before graduation.

I always just been successful in stuff, that I realy liked to do. In clear text, this subjects which they told you, you will never make money with. Such as Religion… Sports…… Art……………..

Today I know, they where all wrong. I am not retarded, I am just a creative! Thank the Lord, my sketches during mathematics lessons were not a sign of stupidity, but rather my hiding creative potential.
My Teachers couldn’t seen it and would never thought, that I come so far. Therefore it is all the more important, not to allow themselves to tell a young person, that they can not do anything and will certainly end up as a shelf-filler.

I think this words woke me up.

I would never ever again give this kind of persons a reason to tell me, that I can not do this because of that.

Becoming a freelancer was the only way I could go, even if it was not what I always expected to be. After three years of studying and a bunch of depts later, I wanted nothing more than a permanent employment in an agency with regulated income. Instead of an regulated income I got one trainee position after another… Every graduated student knows, a dream comes true! No money but yeah… a lot of experience. And at least the prospect of an employment contract. You’ll never know for what it was good for, before you din’t make it, right? *SPOILER* I’ve had never get that contract. Perhaps that position as an shelf-filler isn’t as bad as it looked first to be? I mean a bit of money is better than no money at all, right?…

No, I don’t give these people control of my life! I am the maker of my future! The writer of my story! I become a freelancer!!! And I make a lot of money! Sleep as long as I want to and take only projects that I really like! Do what you love, right? Work less and live more, that’s what they say…

There is just one problem: no clients — no money.

I started freelancing with zero clients in my client-list and more than nothing on my bank account. It took more than 2 month to get the first job inquiry (thanks to a dear colleague I had found for developing my own website). A layout optimization for a corporate website. I earned 136€. Here it is:

Invoice №1

136 € were certainly not enough to pay my bills and I think it took a few hours to finish this job. No one ever told me how to calculate, but I felt so happy that I make it by my own. With 136€ in my pocket I could reach everything.

7 years later, I began to think about hiring someone for support. Projects became bigger and bigger, nights longer and longer. Where is this work-less-and-live-more-thing? I don’t know. Seems that this philosophy isn’t working for me anyways. To hire someone was the best decision I could have made. Even if I could not overcome for a long time. It is already quite a huge responsibility. Much has changed since then. Working together is so much more fun, than working alone — day by day. Especially when clients drives us crazy from time to time. But this is another story.


But sometimes we too get this feelings of is this still it? You know, days go by… one project after another, the magic-is-gone-moments that every creative has in its career once in a while. In these moments it is important for me to look back. To recognize how far we have come in the last 10 years. That I never regretted the decisions I have made. That I could stand in a supermarket today, clipping price-tags on cans…

And where does it end? I don’t know and that’s the gorgeous part of our job. Creativity has no limits. The things you could do with your mind has no limit, as long as you are willing to give it a try. Force yourself to become a little bit better every day. Learn things you didn’t know so far. Trust in yourself.

And never ever let people tell you, that you can’t make it.

Nadine Mohr

Written by

Founder, CEO and UI/UX Strategist at young and hyperactive

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