Graphic Designer & Illustrator Itzel Islas
About this podcast episode…
GRAPHIC DESIGNER & ILLUSTRATOR ITZEL ISLAS
From an overworked designer posting “a visual diary” on Instagram to running a multi-stream creative business, Itzel Islas has built a freelance life entirely on her own terms.
After almost a decade in apparel design, she started illustrating for fun - and quickly realised people loved her colourful, playful style. “Little by little I started creating art… and then I started getting clients through it.”
Today she runs YAY Itzel, blending branding work, her online shop, Patreon sticker club, brand partnerships with Adobe and Wacom, murals, workshops and even organising pop-ups, all rooted in her Mexican culture. “I’m just chasing whatever is fun for me — and if it sounds fun, I’m all in.”
She talks building a business organically, finding clients who share her values, and why being authentic is her biggest asset. “I’ve always seen everything I do as a big package of what is my business and how I sustain myself as an artist.”
Available as a video podcast too - Watch here on the site, on YouTube, or Spotify.
Read a full transcript & get Links in the tabs.
More from ITZEL ISLAS
YAY Itzel website
YAY Itzel shop
Itzel’s Patreon
Itzel on Instagram
More from Steve Folland
Transcript of the Being Freelance podcast with Steve Folland and graphic designer & illustrator Itzel Islas.
[00:01:32] Steve Folland: Thanks so much for doing this.
As ever how about we get started hearing how you got started being freelance?
[00:01:38] Itzel Islas: Yes. So when I graduated, I started doing freelance design, but it honestly wasn't tailored to what I like and clients that make sense for me. It was just basically after school, whoever I found.
I did go into doing apparel design for almost a decade, and during the end of it, that's when I started doing my own thing because I was getting quote unquote bored with my day job.
And so I opened up an Instagram account, which was supposed to be a visual diary for me. No other plans. I never intended to leave my job. I mean, I did at some point, but like. That wasn't the reason why.
And just little by little I started creating art. I noticed people responding really well to it, asking me for certain things, and then I started getting clients through it and people asking me to do projects in my style, and so I started doing that. I did that maybe for about three or four years before I quit full-time in 2020. I've been doing it since.
[00:02:42] Steve Folland: So all of the, the, your first freelance clients, I guess were coming via Instagram?
[00:02:48] Itzel Islas: Yes. not at the beginning of my career, after graduating from, college, but in this phase of my life, I guess, yes, it was through Instagram.
[00:03:00] Steve Folland: At what point did you think, okay, yeah, yeah, I want to leave my job.
I could go and get another job, but actually maybe I can make this happen. What was the sort of tipping point, do you think?
[00:03:11] Itzel Islas: Yeah, I think it was like a couple years in, I started having this idea of maybe this could work. I'm starting to see a good response for people, from people, because from the beginning I've kind of seen everything I do as a big package of what is my business and how I sustain myself as an artist.
And so I was seeing a good response from my social media, so people were liking my work. people were asking me for a merch, so that was my shop component, and then I was also getting clients. And so yeah, it just got this little idea in my head of maybe this could work.
[00:03:51] Steve Folland: And what sort of thing was the client work?
[00:03:53] Itzel Islas: I do a lot of branding, so I'm primarily a graphic designer, so I've done a good amount of logos. I really enjoy them and that's one of the main things that I do. That and also working with businesses to design their apparel. So one of my ongoing clients is this shop here in San Diego called Barrio Donas and they're a donut shop.
And so I redid their entire branding, which was really, really fun. I've done, packaging for them, so they're donut boxes, the wrapping paper, the cups, and like t-shirts for them to sell. And so that kind of gigs.
[00:04:31] Steve Folland: And they were coming to you, so were they seeing you, you know, like would you create your own versions of those kind of products or characters or like what, what was it that was they, they were then asking you for? Was it something you were already doing?
[00:04:48] Itzel Islas: Yeah, I think it was my illustration style. it's been a combination of people that gravitate towards my illustration style. They like the fun, the playfulness, the colorfulness, and also I've worked, I've had like the amazing opportunity to work with a lot of business owners and clients like myself.
So there are people that either grew up also in Tijuana or they're also Mexican and they're in the US. So I think there's just this... we're a similar type of person, and so they gravitate towards me.
[00:05:22] Steve Folland: And by the way, how, how long have you been in the States?
[00:05:26] Itzel Islas: Oh, I've been here for a while now. I think.. I used to be like, sadly I've been here longer than I was in Mexico, but I've been here, oh my gosh, almost 20 years probably.
[00:05:37] Steve Folland: Okay. Oh right. So all of your sort of career and stuff that we're talking about has been..
[00:05:42] Itzel Islas: Yes.
[00:05:43] Steve Folland: Okay.
[00:05:43] Itzel Islas: Yeah.
[00:05:44] Steve Folland: What I love though is that people then, or maybe you do have a niche of industries, but it sounds like niche, if anything is, is you, is your style that people want that colourful, vibrant style that you have?
[00:05:58] Itzel Islas: Yes. It's been, it's been very lovely, especially, I compare it to when I started and I was getting all these gigs that I didn't like and the clients were not nice. And so just to be now working with clients that are people like me, that we have the same values and we're all just trying to make really fun products that that just is great to me. Yeah, so fulfilling.
[00:06:26] Steve Folland: So as well as clients like the donut... I mean, God, I wish I could work for, no, it's probably a good job. I don't work for a donut shop, to be fair. You also realised that the public, for want of a better word, your followers I guess. Were saying actually if this was on a thing, I would buy that thing.
[00:06:46] Itzel Islas: Yeah.
[00:06:47] Steve Folland: So you started offering that pretty soon?
[00:06:50] Itzel Islas: Yeah, I think so. I think I definitely started with stickers right away. And then it grew kind of into key chains and it just kept going from there. 'cause now I have like berets and mugs and socks and just... Basically I do my shop in the way of, I always say that cheesy Pinterest quote of create the things you wish existed.
So it's kind of been like, I want this thing and it's not out there. So then I'm gonna make it and hopefully the people that like my work will buy it.
[00:07:22] Steve Folland: When did you get serious about your shop?
[00:07:24] Itzel Islas: I think a year before I quit my full-time job.
[00:07:27] Steve Folland: Oh, right.
[00:07:27] Itzel Islas: Yeah.
[00:07:28] Steve Folland: And were you making, well, I say making, were you stocking, you know, like producing and stocking stuff or were you, was it print on demand type thing?
[00:07:37] Itzel Islas: No, I think because I do come from... I worked in the apparel industry for a very long time and with screen printers, and so I'm very picky with my quality of just things across the board. So I like to hand. To have my hands and my eyes on the things that I sell and make sure they're up to my standards. So everything I make, I always make sure that I like the quality first before selling. So no print on demand.
[00:08:04] Steve Folland: !Does that mean you've got a load of boxes of stuff and you post it all out yourself?
[00:08:09] Itzel Islas: Yeah.
[00:08:11] Steve Folland: Amazing. Yeah. although that also does come with a degree of risk, doesn't it? To say, okay, yeah, I'm gonna print this amount of stuff.
[00:08:19] Itzel Islas: Mm-hmm. Yeah. And I think the thing that has helped me, there's certain items that are not as risky as, let's say stickers. They're not that expensive. I can kind of just do it, and then they're not that big and difficult to store.
But when it comes to something bigger like a T-shirt run or mugs. I definitely do pre-orders first. I find that it helps me at least make sure that people do want this product and also help me with the cost upfront.
[00:08:47] Steve Folland: Mm. I mentioned like in my introduction about YAY Itzel. Now that is you both as a designer and illustrator and your shop, right?
[00:08:58] Itzel Islas: Yes. Yeah, I, like I said, I never really imagined growing this to the extent that I have and making it my livelihood essentially. So yeah, everything just kind of falls under the same category.
[00:09:14] Steve Folland: So when did you start using that name? When you first launched a shop while you were still employed?
[00:09:19] Itzel Islas: While I was still employed, but when I opened up my Instagram, actually, it was just my name was taken. And so I say 'Yay' a lot, and I was like, oh, I'll do 'yay' and my name. And now I'm like, oh, I should have thought about it a little more, but it's fine. I'm, I'm so used to it now.
[00:09:36] Steve Folland: I think it's a great business name though.
[00:09:38] Itzel Islas: Thank you.
[00:09:38] Steve Folland: Especially when it sums up the spirit of, of what I see of what you're doing anyway.
[00:09:44] Itzel Islas: Yeah. Thank you. I think so. I think that's why I never really stressed on it or try to change it. 'cause I'm like, well, I, it does fit.
The only problem is. English speakers and Spanish speakers both struggle with different parts of the name, which is really funny, but that's okay.
[00:10:04] Steve Folland: What, what, what do the Spanish speakers struggle with?
[00:10:06] Itzel Islas: The yay.
[00:10:07] Steve Folland: So they wouldn't say, yay.
[00:10:09] Itzel Islas: No, a lot of 'em say like, yah Jaji, like they read it phonetically and then in in English, a lot of people struggle with my name. So then both, both sides are...
[00:10:20] Steve Folland: We can both be tripped up. It's fine.
[00:10:22] Itzel Islas: Yeah.
[00:10:23] Steve Folland: So there's the shop. And there's client work coming your way. Is, is there anything else, you know, in terms of where your income comes from?
[00:10:33] Itzel Islas: Yes. There's also my sticker club that I have on Patreon that I also started doing 2020, literally the same day that I quit. I was like, okay, I'm launching this. I've been curious and I just need different streams of income.
And it's been really great. I actually just had it next to me and I put it in a different room. Because I'm shipping them out today. But it's the sticker club, so I ship a sticker out monthly and with a handwritten note.
There's that, and then there's also my partnerships. So I work a lot with like Adobe and Wacom doing social media, like video work essentially.
[00:11:08] Steve Folland: Did they come to you as well?
[00:11:10] Itzel Islas: Mm-hmm.
[00:11:12] Steve Folland: Man, that must have felt nice. How long have you been doing that?
[00:11:15] Itzel Islas: Well, I got some Adobe work right when I quit. Maybe 2020, 2021, but it was through other agencies reaching out and then two years ago, I had met someone from Adobe and they asked me in person like, do you wanna do some of the social media work?
And basically I'm an ambassador for them. So that's kinda how it worked.
[00:11:38] Steve Folland: Yeah. Well, you've since become one.
[00:11:40] Itzel Islas: Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:11:41] Steve Folland: Right. But at that point, they were seeing what you were doing on your socials.
[00:11:45] Itzel Islas: Yeah, I think so. And so for certain campaigns, they'll come to me and be like, can you make a video for this?
And then I'll make it, and it's... yeah, you were saying it must have felt special. I think you said that, and honestly, yes, because ever since I study, like started college, these are the brands. Like I've used a Wacom tablet since I started, and I've used Adobe since before I started, and so this definitely was a pinch me moment.
[00:12:14] Steve Folland: So what were you creating on your socials other than posting your work? It sounds like you, you were creating, what was it like behind the scenes? Was it personal? What, what were you doing?
[00:12:25] Itzel Islas: Yeah, so I actually, I should be better about posting my work. I feel like I don't post it enough. I just make... it's definitely, I do think it's my creative outlet in the sense of it is a visual diary. I'll make illustrations and I'll make random phrases. I do a lot of typography and lettering in my own style.
And so just silly phrases that come to mind, or if it's something political, something to say the way that I'm feeling, something to make myself feel better and that hopefully it helps others feel better.
Yeah, it is just random thoughts in my head, but I think people like them.
[00:13:04] Steve Folland: So we've got, sticker club, Patreon, your shop, client work, brand partnerships. Are we calling? Yes. yeah. Anything else?
[00:13:15] Itzel Islas: Yeah, so in person events, I do popups. I love organizing and keeping myself busy, so yeah.
[00:13:22] Steve Folland: So what, what sort of... like, like a, you mean like a popup shop or working at events?
[00:13:28] Itzel Islas: No, a popup shop. So I'll bring my stuff, but I also love a good event and I love food, which I think is how I've ended up working with a lot of like the donut people in just different clients in that realm. So I'll get a coffee shop owner, a food person, I'll get different artists, vendors, and then I'll pop up myself in a shop. And so I like coordinating those events.
So that's one of 'em. And then I think the last one is workshops and talks, but they kind of all fall into like under kind of the same. But yeah, I'm doing a bunch of things. I like to keep myself busy
[00:14:08] Steve Folland: And the workshops and the talks are also, I guess then spreading your brand, your YAY Itzel.
[00:14:16] Itzel Islas: Yeah. Yeah, the talks are really fun. I've been doing.. I just did one in Tijuana, which was really special because it was the first time I got to talk in the town that I grew up in. That was for Design Week, and it was really fun. Yeah, it was just me telling my story.
[00:14:33] Steve Folland: How did you feel about that though? Like when you were first asked to do a talk or were you pitching to do talks?
[00:14:38] Itzel Islas: No, I got asked to do a talk. I've done a few also under Adobe. I really enjoy them. I'm frightened every time. I am shaking, even though people seem... I always get asked how I'm so confident and I say, oh, I am seconds away from blacking out, so I'm fooling you.
But I, I really like connecting with people. And so I find that as a really good way to connect with a lot of people at once.
[00:15:06] Steve Folland: Mm-hmm. So a lot of this is coming your way because you're putting yourself out there alone. Yes. Do you also reach out to people you might wanna work with?
[00:15:18] Itzel Islas: I actually haven't. How... well till right now. I just, reached out to a brand because I just thought it was fun and I think I'm in a place where I wanna start reaching out to certain bigger brands and just seeing, or brands that I feel like I could do some fun work with them and have fun collaboration. So I hadn't before, but I'm definitely in that stage now.
[00:15:45] Steve Folland: In that instance, would you create something that can show them what you can do for their brand, or you just emailing them or you trying to get to know people?
[00:15:56] Itzel Islas: I have been emailing or DMing, and then I show them my work, or I attach, my account is attached to my dms, but also if I email, I'll include like my Instagram and just talk a little bit about who I am and my idea, and I haven't heard back yet, so we'll see.
But I will say I do. Yes, I do. I feel like during college I always was scared of networking or it always seemed so daunting the way it was presented, and I've really found that my best networking has happened going to my local coffee shop and talking to the barista, or getting to know the owners and the restaurants that I like and also just sliding into people's dms and being like, Hey, I love what you're doing, and work has come out of that.
So even though I haven't necessarily been like, can you hire me, I have made it a point to make a connection with the people that I like and the people whose work I like.
[00:16:55] Steve Folland: Yes. Back with Itzel in a moment, if you're enjoying this please do share it with other freelancers. Spread the word.
And if you head to being freelance.com, you can get my tips and thoughts all about freelancing to your inbox of my newsletter. Also at the website you'll find my course for new freelancers and the Being Freelance Community, come and hang out with others who get what it's like being freelance.
Doing what we do. Don't wait any longer. Why not give us a try. Come to being freelance.com and say hello to the rest of us. Alright. Back to Itzel's story.
How about the way you manage your, your workload? Especially because that's, there's what, five, five at least streams of things going on.
[00:17:39] Itzel Islas: I, I think I'm not always doing all of them.
Like I'm not always doing talks or workshops or even the popups. I'll do like maybe five popups a year. So they're very spaced out. Same with the talks and the workshops.
My day to day is the shop, which honestly I just took a little step back and I'm getting back into it because it was getting to the point where I felt like I was doing too much and I needed a little time off.
So now I'm approaching the shop in slightly a different way. I'm just trying to find a balance, without burning myself out.
[00:18:16] Steve Folland: How are you doing it differently?
[00:18:18] Itzel Islas: I am not shipping out every day. I normally ship out several times a week, if not every day if I could. And so now I am trying not to stretch myself too thin.
So I'll ship out once a week. And I'm also not, I was doing products kind of like a shop that just does a shop for a living. So every quarter you drop new collections, and I think I've stepped away from that because my main source of income has always been, and I think it will continue to be my client work, and that's what I enjoy the most.
And so I wanted to go back to creating for my shop when I really feel like there's something I'm really excited about creating and not necessarily because people are expecting a new collection from me.
[00:19:06] Steve Folland: Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah. So your client work is still the main thing?
[00:19:11] Itzel Islas: Yes, definitely.
[00:19:12] Steve Folland: Yeah. So how many projects or clients would you say you work on at at any time?
[00:19:19] Itzel Islas: It depends, you know, it's freelance, so there's seasons where I have like 10 clients and then seasons where I have like three. So everything kind of fluctuates.
I'll take on a several at a time though. I think the one good thing about my last job, which was part of why I left, is that they overworked us so much, but with that comes getting really, really fast. And so I can hit my deadlines really quickly.
[00:19:49] Steve Folland: They, so they did you a favour?
[00:19:51] Itzel Islas: Yeah, I guess in retrospect,
[00:19:54] Steve Folland: Do you get to a point where you think, actually I can't take anything else on?
[00:19:59] Itzel Islas: I don't think I've gotten to the point where I'm like, I can't take it on, but I will be straightforward and be like, I can start your project next month.
Or, you know, just being clear with my deadlines. I think I'd rather slow down on the shop end and everything else than my client work because I really do love designing and so unless a project doesn't make sense for me, I would rather be doing that.
[00:20:24] Steve Folland: Yeah. When you were starting out and as it's gone on, like did you know what you were doing like on the business side of things?
[00:20:34] Itzel Islas: No, absolutely not. And I feel like I'm still learning five years in and I'm still learning every day. That's definitely been the hardest part.
[00:20:43] Steve Folland: What have been the, the, the best things that you've kind of like put in place or figured out?
[00:20:48] Itzel Islas: I think by now I definitely learned more about taxes, which that has been my biggest, biggest headache, and I've also just hired... like it's a group, basically an accountant, and they just take care of it for me and they help me out a lot.
I just, I realized that I was spending a lot of time and I just never felt like I was sure that I was doing it right or not. And so I don't want any surprises in the mail, so I just decided it's not cheap, but it gives me peace of mind and I can focus on what I'm good at, which is designing.
[00:21:23] Steve Folland: What would you say you found the most challenging thing of being freelance?
[00:21:29] Itzel Islas: Yeah, definitely the taxes. That part of figuring out Well, and also because I'm a corporation and so I'm not just, I was doing taxes at first as a self-employed person, and that's easier. Then once I turn, I turn into an LLC like Limited Liability Company, and then I turn into a corporation and that whole world is just something I have no clue about what's going on. And so I really needed help.
[00:21:58] Steve Folland: Yeah, yeah. Did you find, when you went into an LLC and then a corporation, did you find that that changed something in, in the way you approached what you're doing at all?
[00:22:13] Itzel Islas: No, not really. And I honestly, I just got, I got the LLC because a friend that has a shop recommended it to me and she was like, you're gonna be selling things and you just wanna make sure you cover yourself and that you're, you don't get sued for someone stabbing themselves with like a pen and now it's your fault. And so that scared me and I was like, okay, I'm gonna become an LLC.
But then for tax purposes that wasn't the best deal. And then my accountant was like, well, you should be a corporation. And so that's why I ended up being a corporation. I really, that's, that's a realm that I'm not very skilled in.
And I wish I was, I mean, I've learned a lot through the years, but. It's, I wish they taught that in school. I will forever say that.
[00:22:57] Steve Folland: Right.
[00:22:58] Itzel Islas: I think we all agree,
[00:23:00] Steve Folland: But what I like on your, and I don't see this often, okay. But I like on your website that you describe yourself, yes, you're a graphic designer and illustrator.
Mm-hmm. But you also the founder and CEO of YAY Itzel.
[00:23:15] Itzel Islas: Mm-hmm.
[00:23:17] Steve Folland: Yeah. That, that, yes, this is a business thing rather than, yes, I just like being creative and getting paid for it. Thanks. You, you, you, you approach it as a business.
[00:23:27] Itzel Islas: Yeah, definitely. And I think, I mean, it very much is at this point for me, I'm serious about it.
And I think, I mean, that I feel really helps me too with my clients. I'm very serious about my work. I value my work a lot and I respect it. And so I think the people that come to me, they also respect me, and I've really love that exchange.
[00:23:49] Steve Folland: Yeah. I, I just love seeing it because sometimes getting in that mindset shift, even though this is called Being Freelance, we are actually being a business and that mindset Yeah, mindset shift.
[00:24:02] Itzel Islas: Yeah.
[00:24:03] Steve Folland: Can be tricky. I think.
[00:24:04] Itzel Islas: Definitely.
[00:24:05] Steve Folland: I also though. Along with that, like the fact that you have like a mission statement as well? Yeah. can you tell me about that? Like how that sort of helps maybe, I don't know how Yeah. How that helps you.
[00:24:18] Itzel Islas: The one great thing I love about my business and everything I do is that it's happened very organically and my priority has been to be very true to who I am and very authentic, and I think more than trying to be a legit business, it's kind of, I want people to really understand who I am and who they are hiring or buying from. And so with the mission statements and everything I say, I try to have people understand, who they're shopping from and who, what I even say it with like social media.
I like to show my face. I like to be there because I personally like to know who's behind the work that I love. And so I think it all comes from that place.
[00:25:05] Steve Folland: So that personal side of it being a business and the values that you have.
[00:25:09] Itzel Islas: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
[00:25:13] Steve Folland: Do you have any, I don't know, business coaching or a community that you're part of or mentors, along the way?
[00:25:24] Itzel Islas: No, I don't. And you know, I have friends that do, and I've always wondered, do I need a business coach? So that's still a question I ask myself. So no, I don't, maybe I should.
[00:25:36] Steve Folland: No. Well, I mean, it seems to be going very well, doesn't it? Yeah. I think people like it when I ask that question because they think, okay, I've like, what's behind this person?
Basically, like what's behind what they're doing and sometimes, oh, okay. You know, if I don't find out about the master, you certain people might be part of a mastermind or they have a co-mentor. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Or they've had a succession of coaches and actually that starts to make you think Oh, okay. Equally, sometimes it makes, I haven't had a coach either, and I'm like, oh yeah, should I have?
[00:26:09] Itzel Islas: I know!
[00:26:11] Steve Folland: So your client work is often branding. Creating apparel for people and, but I'm sure I've seen you do murals as well.
[00:26:21] Itzel Islas: Oh yes. Yeah. I've really enjoyed that. At first I did not, but I really like them now.
[00:26:27] Steve Folland: So again, that was just when people come to you asking.
[00:26:30] Itzel Islas: Yeah, and it was mainly clients that I worked with, so it was like the donut shop.
I've done three murals for them. And they opened up new shops and they wanted the branding to be cohesive. They had a wall, they wanted a meet a paint. And then there was another, business that I really love called El Cholos Kid. And I did her logo and I've done design work for her. And so once she opened her first brick and mortar, she reached out and she was like, Hey, I have a big, like front, do you wanna... like storefront, do you wanna paint it? And I was like, sure.
And so it's kind of been like that. I I definitely haven't sought out mural work because I was very intimidated at first by it. And I think, I mean, I still like, I won't say I still am, but it's still not like designing. I feel like designing is second nature for me now. And painting is a different realm. So, but I've definitely got way more comfortable with it.
[00:27:32] Steve Folland: Well, they look really cool. You, of course, you should go take a look if you're not already following Itzel's Instagram. I'll put a link of course in the show notes. You need to go follow along and take a look.
Now, how, how about the work life balance side of things? How, how do you find you've doing with that?
[00:27:50] Itzel Islas: Honestly, way better now, but there's times where there's a lot of work and... I don't know. I think I've, I've always worked a lot and I think I see that with a lot of the people that are self-employed, that have their own businesses. It's just kind of part of it.
I do think I have a better work life balance than when I had my full-time job because I was working full-time, my 40 hours, and then I was coming home and then I was designing until nighttime, and so at least I don't do that. I work a lot. I work really hard, but I do have, I give myself time to play a lot as well.
Like if a friend wants to grab a cup of coffee or a cup of wine, I'll just, unless I have a deadline, I won't, but I'll just leave and maybe I'll take half a day off and it's fine. I can work a little bit on Saturday or whenever. So I try to give myself a lot of time for play. I think that's very important for me in just not burning out. And staying motivated.
[00:28:59] Steve Folland: Yeah. And are you someone who has goals, like and works towards them?
[00:29:07] Itzel Islas: Yes, I think so. At the moment I'm trying to figure out what my next goals are. I'm not gonna lie, besides like having dream clients and whatnot, I still, I am trying to figure out what my next goals are with the business.
But yeah, normally. Normally I am. But I think, I mean, I've been very fortunate because everything has happened in such an organic way, and for me, the most important thing is being able to have fun with what I do. So I think I always joke that I'm just chasing whatever is fun for me and if it sounds fun, I'm all in. So yeah.
[00:29:48] Steve Folland: That sounds like a good way to run a business and a life.
[00:29:51] Itzel Islas: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:29:53] Steve Folland: Alright. Now I always do this thing, Itzel I ask for three facts about yourself to make two true, one a lie, and let me figure out the lie. What do you have for me?
Okay.
Growing up, I used to love going and swimming with dolphins.
I speak three languages and my third one is that for a second there, I almost lived in Brazil and in Canada, but instead my family and I came to the States.
Now I don't know enough about Mexico. Do you have dolphins? Do you have dolphins? Well, yeah, you're nodding. I mean, you would be nodding 'cause whether this is true or a lie.
Yeah. So, but, but they would come in close enough that you could actually go and swim with them. Yeah. How often would that happen?
So I used to travel a lot to the, it's called Isla Mujeres. It's not where I grew up, but it's in a different part of Mexico than my parents love traveling to. Mm-hmm. And so you can take little boats and then there you can dock and like swim with the dolphins. It's a whole attraction.
Number two with three languages. So English, Spanish, and French. And, and French. Mm-hmm. And have you been to France?
Yes, I have.
Where did you go?
[00:31:16] Itzel Islas: So I did a Europe trip, so, and in France I only went to Paris.
[00:31:21] Steve Folland: Right.
[00:31:22] Itzel Islas: Mm-hmm.
[00:31:25] Steve Folland: oh, I dunno how to test that. I mean, that's possible, isn't it?
Okay. And then the third one was you, you, you, you're from Mexico. You live in the States, but you almost live in Brazil or Canada. So, so what your family decided to up sticks.
[00:31:40] Itzel Islas: Yeah, so basically I grew up in Tijuana. My parents loved Brazil for some reason, and I actually haven't visited, I would love to one day, but they loved it so much that they considered moving. Then a lot of my family from Mexico moved to Canada, and so that made my parents think like, huh, maybe we should move there too. Because at the time, there was a period of time when I grew up that things were dangerous in the town that I was in because of the drug, like the cartel.
[00:32:11] Steve Folland: Mm-hmm.
[00:32:12] Itzel Islas: And, but we didn't move and we ended up moving just 20 minutes north, which is to San Diego.
[00:32:23] Steve Folland: Ooh. Okay. Well, I mean, why? I mean, that can be, of course that can be true. The only... I don't know whether with dolphins, you think, ah, he's a sucker. This, this English bloke who probably, they don't have, they don't have much in the sea off of the UK. Throw in the word dolphin and he'll think that's true. But did you go swimming with dolphins? Oh, I don't know. Three languages. three languages. You see that sounds absolutely plausible because you haven't said five, you haven't said ten. Three. And clearly you can speak two. I know that. Yeah. So.
Because English isn't your first language. Remarkably so why not French? So I think the three languages is true, because if it was a lie, I think you'd have picked more. Brazil and Canada. Okay. No, I think that dolphins, this is where it's gonna turn out. It's true, isn't it? But anyway, dolphins is the lie.
[00:33:31] Itzel Islas: Correct. Correct.
[00:33:33] Steve Folland: Have you ever swung with dolphins?
[00:33:35] Itzel Islas: I have not, but that's a true thing. You can swim, you can. Okay. I haven't, and I'm, I mean, I'm in San Diego. There's a lot of ocean. There's a lot of beautiful beaches, but I'm not a beach person, so I don't think I'll be swimming with dolphins anytime soon.
[00:33:51] Steve Folland: Yeah. Yeah. So Itzel, if you could tell your younger self one thing about being freelance, what would that be?
[00:33:58] Itzel Islas: I would just say, keep being authentic, keep being you. And opportunities will come.
[00:34:07] Steve Folland: Well, it's worked so well so far, thank you. Wise words, Itzel thank you so much. Go to being freelance.com. You'll find links through so that you can see Itzel's work online.
For now, it's our thank you so much and all the best being freelance.
[00:34:21] Itzel Islas: Thank you so much. This was so fun.
EPISODE SPONSORED BY FREELANCER MAGAZINE
Much more than a magazine.
Sharing inspirational stories from freelancers around the world, freelance specific business advice, practical tips, trends, events and lifestyle features.
Freelancers across 25 countries are already subscribed to Freelancer Magazine - make yourself one of them at freelancermagazine.co.uk - there’s a digital version too - but hmm, get those sweet glossy pages in your hand.