Julia Washington

I attribute my success to my determination and refusal to give up. I'm the type of person that once I get into something, because I'm so determined and I don't want to seem like I failed, I just keep pushing forward and try to get that accomplishment. Even when I'm going through challenges, I keep going, and over time it does show up and look impressive, even though I'm hard on myself. I always feel like I could have done things better - written better, illustrated better - but that drive keeps me moving forward. I've also learned to be resourceful, especially working on a tight budget. I've found online communities and resources to support me when I don't have people physically there, and I've learned through trial and error, which has been crucial to my growth.

The best career advice I’ve ever received is to not take guidance from someone who isn’t living authentically or doing work that inspires them. It reminded me to trust my own path, stay true to my values, and seek inspiration from those who lead by example.

Build your support system, embrace failure, and keep going, even when it feels lonely. True growth comes from perseverance and leaning on others to make your vision real.

The biggest challenge I've faced is that there's so much more to publishing and entrepreneurship than just the creative work - it's the marketing, SEO, and business side that I didn't initially understand. When I had my first Shopify site, it failed not because I didn't have good pieces, but because I didn't know about marketing and getting products to my audience. Budget has been a huge challenge too. I've noticed on this journey that a lot of things cost money, and when you're not generating revenue yet, you have to find affordable resources that will really help you. That's why I've relied heavily on online communities and YouTube videos for support. Another challenge is working completely independently - it's just me doing everything for my company. When you're doing creative work, you don't have a lot of people to really look to for guidance, especially when you don't have someone physically there to support you. But I'm learning, and with my relaunch, I'm putting much more emphasis on marketing to overcome these challenges.

Transparency and helping others are core values for me. I like to be transparent because I want people to know what the journey is really like, not just see the accomplishments - they need to know what it took to get there. I also want to help people through my own trial and error, which is why I recommend the communities and resources that have helped me. It's important to me that my work has meaningful impact, especially with my children's books - the messaging I put in them is important for children to have. I also value representation and visibility. I think it's important for other women to see women of my background doing this work. Supporting good causes matters to me too, which is why I'm excited about the Entrepreneur of Impact contest benefiting GenYOUth with wellness and nutrition programs - that's a cause I really want to support.