Q & A with Brodi-Rose

Bro is one rad human! I mean, heck - she is responsible for bringing this website to life! No stranger to hard work and chasing dreams, this kind-hearted, kick-ass creative shares a few things about herself below in the hopes it inspires and helps our next generation in some small way.

Who: Brodi-Rose (AKA “Bro”)
Age: 32
Find her here: https://www.brodi-rose.com/ and connect with her here!

Tell us in a sentence who Brodi-Rose is? 
I’m a 32 year old female, who is a qualified Graphic Designer and Canva approved creator. I’m a creative, illustrator, designer and writer. 

In the last year, I’ve earned over $160K+ in revenue but I prefer to honour my success through great reviews, repeat clients and building my personal brand. 

I’m also a lover of dogs and earrings (like having a dog, and having earrings not like earrings on dogs…)

What is a quirky facet of your personality? 
My humour! I love to put people at ease with humour and it helps me set the tone for a meeting, social settings and even just to get noticed (definitely not attention-seeking at all)

Did you always know you wanted to be a graphic designer?
I was fortunate enough to excel in high-school, to the point where I was recognised as a high achiever. This allowed me to select a subject that I could focus on, get 1:1 guidance with a teacher, have a solo session a week and hope to excel in that direction. I chose art, where the teacher at the time declined my request as I “didn’t have enough talent to make this into a career”. 

To say I was heartbroken was an understatement! Back in 2006, making art for a full-time career was considered a risk, and the curriculum hadn’t yet caught up to society’s requirements such as graphic design etc. Because the teacher didn’t take me on, I decided to focus on criminology, which I still love to this day and listen to crime podcasts allllll the time.

I think deep down I always wanted to work in a creative field, but really just had to wait for technology to catch up with me!

How would you describe our teenage years? 
I had a lot of anger for my parents, who were drug addicted, struggled to make ends meet and rarely cared for us kids (x4). 

I was very independent, and looked after my two younger siblings by getting them ready for school, and walking 2-3km each way to school. Cooking tea, and doing all the home stuff. I even had to hand wash clothes because we didn’t have a working washing machine. I know, it sounds like the 1940’s but realistically, we lived in poverty. 

I ran away from home at 13, and lived with my best friend (now of 20+ years) before being forced back into my mothers place of residence. I then left home at 14, secured a rental, and have been self-sufficient since. Please note, back in 2014 I had part-time employer connections in a small town of -1000 people, which allowed me to secure a private rental with a safe contact, have a job with a secured income and pay my bills. I understand that in 2023 this is a lot harder with rising living costs. 

I enrolled in Uni as a 16 year old (finished school a year early) and studied a Bachelor of Communications (Creative Writing). However, I found myself excelling more in my art classes than my writing classes…I dropped out of uni at 17, to work dead-end jobs…it was a time before working online was really an opportunity.

What is something you know now that would have helped you in your teenage years and early 20s that you would love to share with us?
Mindset is everything. If you don’t believe in yourself, no-one will believe in you. Do the work, read the books and invest in yourself through training and coaches. 

I got my first coach at 29, and haven’t looked back since. I continuously choose to work with others, to read the books and to take the courses so that I have a future full of abundance.  

What do you love about yourself?
I guess just owning my personality, my vibe, my humour and my aesthetic. I love that I’m imperfect because it makes me approachable. People don’t want to see the perfectly curated feed, they want to see insecurities, vulnerabilities and I’m SO down for being real!

Got a quote you live by? 
“Be generous in your assumptions of others” - unknown

You never know what someone is going through, they could be living the worst day of their life. If you approach life understanding that you never know what someone else is going through, you’re going to make your day (and theirs) considerably better. 

Favourite song?
Oh man, this is so hard. As a must, I’ve categorised by genre:

Rock - Back Down South - Larkin Poe (they’re sisters who make every sound on their album #impressive) 

Hip hop - Ms Jackson (totes love the OG version as well as acoustic) 

Jazz - Fly Me to the Moon - Frank Sinatra 

POP - Blind Melon - No Rain (1992 0- an oldie, but my happy song)

Country - Life is a Highway - Rascal Flatts (country #sorrynotsorry)

Blues - Hoochie Coochie Man - Muddy Waters

What do you like to cook?
Italian! It’s my comfort food and I lovvveee a good Pasta dish. My fav Italian Restaurant is ‘The Rustic Olive’ in Redcliffe, QLD. Definitely a must if you’re close by!

How would you describe your friendship with your best friend? 
I have 4 best friends (a lot, I know). 2 from High School, from 12 (that means we’ve been friends for 20 years! OMG)

I also have 2 other besties who I met about 5 years ago. And thy’ve saved my life. They’ve been there through the good times, the break-ups, through the really low point of my life when I lost my dad to cancer. They were close by and really supported me.

Want to know how I met them? I sold a dress on Facebook Marketplace for the first time, and they wanted to come and look at it. I was nervous, I though maybe it was some girls who wanted to rob me for my clothes….two really cool chicks arrived, they bought the dress and we chatted for like 30 mins. 

I realised after they left that if I never saw them again, I’d be really sad. So I sucked it up, and realised that just 8 seconds of bravery could change my life. I messaged them and invited them for coffee.

6 years later I’ve gained two of the most trusted, wholesome humans I could ever have in my life. Never be afraid to make friends. 

What's something you're working on yourself right now? 
Grief. Learning how to deal with grief while being a human being, as well as running a business. This is new to me, so I’m seeking help from a psychologist, and there is no shame in that. My dad was diagnosed in October, and by 8 November, had passed away. This was the most heartbreaking thing i’ve ever had to deal with but I held it all together for my siblings and managed to be the one who made all the arrangements, was the contact for the hospital and visited pretty much every day. I’m proud in the fact that I could be that person, when others in the family couldn’t step up. 

Biggest life lesson?
Your upbringing and your family does not shape you. You grow into the person you are meant to be, based on your experiences. 

You have the power to shape your future. 

What thing keeps you going on the hard days? 
Making a cup of tea, and taking 5 minutes out of my day to reflect on how lucky/grateful I am. 

Who do you like to surround yourself with?
Candles and self-help books! Also my connection with my doggo is pretty spesh

What would you love to share with young women today? 
When I was younger I focused so much on what I looked like, my body image. All of my insecurities were tied to the way I looked but in reality, life is about how you show up for yourself, and others, from within. Your gratitude is a huge part of who you are as a human, and I’ve earned so many opportunities by reflecting on the amazing opportunities I’ve had by being born in Australia, in a low-income family. Yes, we are still so lucky for this. I’m so grateful for the opportunities I’ve had with public education, university and more. And understanding that not every human has those opportunities makes me really #grateful but also #hopeful that others can also have this. 

Got anything you didn't like about your younger self that you now deem a superpower? 
If you fall into a pattern of comparing yourself with someone else, just know it’s for a reason. Take a hint and know that there’s something in your energy that wants something they have. It’s not competitive but it’s giving you a hint into maybe something you’re yet to explore. For example, I love following other designers and seeing what they’re putting out. Not in a competitive sense, but if I see one of them do something that triggers within me, it might be an art style or something that I might try in the future.

My favourite designer decided to launch a font, and it triggered something in me. I’ve always wanted to make a font. So I did it! And it looked nothing like theirs, but I took that trigger and turned it into action. 

PS I totally designed a font!

Advice on going after your dreams? 
Don’t listen to society, and be brave. You never know what you can achieve on your own. 

Advice on believing in yourself? 
Do the inner work. Focus on your internal dialogue and don’t get caught in the negative mindset. Always prioritise working on yourself with courses, books and coaches. It’s amazing how much you can grow with these!

Advice on building a business and networking? 
Just be you - don’t be afraid to love your colours, humour and voice. At the end of the day people want to work with you for you. So build on that, and just know that 8 seconds of bravery can change your life.