Anna Ernst - Entrepreneur with style

It was the neighbour’s fault. She was a decorative designer and Anna Ernst, then ten years old, was fascinated by this woman and her work. “She was kind of my role model,” Anna says, looking at her own career path. So much a role model, in fact, that Anna Ernst trained in the same profession: “I had such fun creating my own style worlds with colours and materials – so I went through with it.”

Her training company was a Swiss furniture store, which later hired her as Junior Assistant POS Management. Soon, however, the Solothurn-based designer was keen to expand her horizons. “The furniture store was a great start, but I wanted to look behind the scenes and understand how these trends emerge, while giving my own ideas more space and time.” Anna Ernst enrolled in a course of study: Style & Design at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). For her bachelor’s thesis, two other interests came into play – agriculture and craftsmanship. Her topic: Swiss small beekeepers, who have to fight against the market power of cheap industrial honey and are hardly heard. Anna’s project was to develop a modern look-and-feel for beekeeping, highlighting the fascinating variety of Swiss honey. Her work centred on a photo series as well as an online platform which Anna designed for the beekeepers.

“My three months with the beekeepers were intense,” Anna says with a laugh. “After that, I needed a break.” She used the time to put together her portfolio, design her own website and choose her next steps. “Becoming self-employed had always been at the back of my mind.” And this desire slowly took shape. Anna Ernst got her first jobs as a freelancer.

Increasingly, she asked the classic start-up questions: How should I present and sell my services? How do I write offers? What fee is reasonable? How does costing work? What needs to be in my terms and conditions?

She applied to Creative Hub for Creative Link coaching – and was accepted. Today, Anna recognises how much security the coaching gave her: “All my questions were answered. But the first task was something I hadn’t really thought about: I had to learn to formulate my achievements in a single, striking sentence. That’s not so easy for people like me, who are good at more than one thing. My head coach devoted loads of time to this and ‘tore me apart’ a lot. Together, we finally crafted the sentence.” This self-reflection also gave Anna the necessary poise to “approach potential clients with confidence, reject inquiries in case of doubt and, conversely, not be offended if an offer is turned down.” 

Anna certainly can’t complain about a lack of orders. Her main focus is creating style worlds for living spaces, exhibitions and events, as well as for still-life photography. But other interesting projects come up, as well. Currently, she’s working on a design concept for a hairdresser’s salon – from the floor slab and wall paint, to furnishings and accessories.

Anna Ernst has arrived where she wanted to go. In style.