Meet Andrea Butler | Graphic Designer & Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Andrea Butler and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrea, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
My career started out as a risk, after completing school and being laid off. I took the time to build my business. It was “time” that I invested in myself, setting goals, getting organized, and embracing a lifelong time of things that I enjoy and love in life and learning to evolve and master those things to become successful in them.

Sometimes life blinds us from seeing our goals and we feel that we don’t have the time to invest. But sometimes even given just a couple of hours can lead to the most significant step to becoming your own boss. It was a day that came. I decided to make a full go at it and never returned to the work field, now it’s going on fourteen years. You just have to find the courage to break the bad habit of thinking that you can’t do the things you love to do. Even when it comes to leaning on your family to help.

Over fourteen years, as an entrepreneur, and Twenty-four years as a person in IT. I have taken more risks to add new skills which led me to gain more career titles than a person could ever imagine. I now have career titles not only in IT but as a Graphic Designer, Radio Programmer, Visual Media Consultant, and Live Stream Producer which led me to become part-owner of a broadcasting company that is still in the beginning stages of a full production company. So to be a successful person in the life of your career choice, you must put in the risk that is required and invest the time to do it and keep striving for it.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As an artist it was very easy to get where I am today. Art has always been a part of my life even as a young child. I would spend days drawing. As time change I found being able to be creative on the computer was the place for me. It took changing my major in school multiple times and finally settling for Information Technology to realize within it, graphic design allowed me to use what I love and put it on paper or up on the screen even through the challenges of only creating what others wanted me to create rather than what I wanted for myself. So what I gave in return when they’re only asking for the simplest things whether is was a banner or an announcement or a event flyer, I’ll give them a bit of art within their design. Like elements to bring it to life.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Well, as my career titles grew so did those that started me on my journey. And it wouldn’t have been without those friends who believed that I’ll give them what they needed to get noticed. As I have many friends in the entertainment industry, there was only one in the beginning who saw my potential and allow me to be his Media Specialist. Mike Seville of Phase 5. They were one of Detroit’s top groups that would perform throughout Detroit and I would promote them using my visual skills in graphic design and my skills in social media marketing on Facebook and their website. It was also then that I used that time to expand other promotional techniques, like photography. And as the years went by I became a Facilitator for Misty Love, Founder of The Detroit Black Music Awards, and then I established Extreme Artist Connection, helping artists market and promote themselves to be economically successful. Using the slogan “Be your own label”. Creating independence among each artist that is not signed to a record label. Offering them my skills in creating EPKs, promotions, social media management, and limited artist presentations. And it was then I was introduced to Thomas Lowman, who I owe it all today, the CEO, and owner of Accurate Advertising, Detroit Hot Radio, and Las Vegas Hot Radio. Without him, I wouldn’t be enjoying the world of radio, the television industry, and talk show production. As I co-produced his talk show “Let’s Talk About It with T. Pablo.”  In 2018, I created Detroit Entertainment Now. In 2019, I co-host and produced the Clarissa Yvonne Show on CMNtv, and now with host Tommie Spivey of The Spivey Show on Detroit Hot Television in association with Accurate Advertising and Detroit Hot Radio where I co-produced and live stream the show weekly.

Website: www.illdesigns.net

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/illmaginabledesigns/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IllmaginableDesigns

Image Credits
Photo of Tank credit to: Tank Photo of Ginuwine credit to Ginuwine Movie Poster Photo credit to Lazar Favors for “The Lookout” Movie