When Gemma Stewart got made redundant during the Covid-19 lockdown she grabbed the opportunity to follow her dream and launch her graphic design business full-time.
Since then GS Creative Design has taken off in style with Gemma helping many smaller and new businesses with their branding and marketing.
Her work includes anything from logos, business cards, flyers, letterheads, booklets to social media banners, templates and social media management.
Gemma, who is based at home, first launched her business at the end of 2019 but it was in July last year that she decided to go full-time after being made redundant from her sales, marketing and design job for an Aberdeen energy company.
She said: “I had a vision and dream about doing this in the future but never thought it would be as soon as it was.
“I wasn’t so sure what to do with myself so thought long and hard about it, worrying I might not be able to get a job in the current climate.
“It was a scary thought not knowing if the business would be successful or not but there was only one way to find out and that was just to go with it.
“I have never looked back since I started and it has been an amazing experience going full time with my own little business through one of the most difficult times the world has come across.”
It has been an amazing experience going full time with my own little business through one of the most difficult times the world has come across.”
GS Creative Design can create websites to fit any businesses budgets and video content.
Gemma also works closely with clients to help them achieve their brand, she also finds time to support them in other ways such as supporting and sharing their social media posts and also running a small group on Facebook for local crafters, Aberdeen Online Crafter Events.
Gemma, who recently won graphic design business of the year at the Scotland Prestige Awards, said: “I have a lot of great clients that I have worked with over the last 10 months, from all different backgrounds and businesses including The Balloon Studio, The Wee Brown Mouse Bakery and Aberpaving.
“I love the different variety of local small businesses out there and we need to be able to support them as much as we can.
“Getting my business to where it is has taken a lot of effort and hard work over the last 10/11 months and if it wasn’t for the pandemic I don’t think I would have taken the leap of faith and been able to help so many other businesses out.”
Looking towards the future Gemma, mum to Jayden, 13, hopes to expand and move into new premises.
She said: “I love what I do and I think I give businesses an opportunity to be different and unique.
“I would like to have my own office space, even though I love being able to work from home and maybe employ a few people, it would be nice to give some students a chance to get on that ladder as I know from my own experience it’s not easy.
“But I want to continue supporting small local businesses as much as I can, I think it really does bring a wider community together.”
Gemma has shown her support for the North East Now campaign, which has made it easy for people to support local firms from a wide range of industries during the pandemic.
The initiative is driven by Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce and backed by creative agency Hampton and Aberdeen Journals.
“What a brilliant idea for local businesses to have a platform to be involved in,” Gemma said. “It’s a great way that if people are looking for a business or a place to go to they can find everything they need in that one website.
“It is something that the north-east has been lacking for a very long time is a great website like this. It looks great and is easy to navigate around to find what you are looking for.”
For further information on GS Creative Design, visit www.gscreativedesign.co.uk
To find out more about North-East Now, visit northeastnow.scot
To share your positive business story, email stories@northeastnow.scot