Based in Geelong, just outside of Melbourne (Australia), I see myself first and foremost as a designer immersed in a web/digital world. I’ve always loved art and design, but was greatly encouraged by a design teacher in my final years of high school. After that, I ended up studying Visual Communication in the early 2000s.
After graduating, my first job was as a designer for a software and web development company. I knew nothing about the web at this stage, and without really realising it at the time, this had a huge impact on the type of work I would be doing for years to come.
Over the years, I’ve freelanced, worked for large agencies, small ones, and even been an in-house creative for a national broadcaster. I’ve been doing my own thing for the last eight years, and it’s gone from strength to strength. It’s fair to say working in web has been good to me.
Even though I’ve always been in a creative role, as time has gone on I’ve become more brand-focused. Even with web projects now, I tackle them just like a branding project, and in most instances, they are done together.
The studio I run is called Still Not Scared. I recently rebranded from Elk Creative after a lot of soul-searching around repositioning the business, taking risks, and practicing what I preach to clients. The end result is something I’m really proud of.
The Journey Began
Way back before 2010, I was heavily invested in Adobe Flash, and nearly my entire income was generated from Flash-based projects. With a blend of coding, design, and animation skills, I was drawn to the things I could create in Flash. But when Apple decided not to support Flash on its iOS devices, I saw the writing on the wall very quickly. In searching for a way to pivot my skills, I looked at working with a CMS to produce more “business”-focused websites. For a little while, I used Expression Engine but eventually stumbled onto WordPress after it was suggested to me. The support and abundance of articles made learning WordPress a pretty quick process.
I spent the first 8-9 years developing custom themes from scratch (and leaning heavily on ACF), but the design of the sites was always what I enjoyed most. Focusing on real standout custom design early on, combined with branding and other graphic design services, seemed to work out well with a continual flow of work. Around 2019-2020, I started working with Oxygen, even creating a pretty successful Oxygen course, before moving to Bricks in 2023.
The Need for Still Not Scared
Still Not Scared Logo
I started Elk Creative after working for other agencies and getting fed up with not being able to run things how I wanted to. The rebrand to Still Not Scared is a recent move. It’s been a smooth process that’s really just been a long string of growth.
I feel pretty fortunate to be in the position I’m in. I have a great list of clients and a steady stream of leads. I think the work I do is pretty good, so I believe in my skills and what I bring to the table in projects.
But in terms of “the need” for Still Not Scared, I’ll be brutally honest: what Still Not Scared does is no different from what other agencies do or offer. Even the skill level—there are plenty of studios doing higher-quality work than we do. And that’s okay.
What I can say is that I won’t bluff a client. The work we do is consistent, honest, and without compromise. We’re also big on strategy and pushing back on our clients.
There seems to be a good amount of people/businesses who have resonated with these ideas.
Myself with my Brilliant Team
I don’t really have a team—just a couple of friends, and we do a bit of work for each other. But I enjoy the office, and the space is pretty productive.
Corey’s office
Advice for Business Owners
Before anything, get good. If you’re already good, get better.
I know the world doesn’t always work out that the most skilled people get all the attention and accolades (clients). But being better than others puts you in a pretty solid spot. Once you’re good at what you do, you just have to work on letting others find out about you.
If you’re new to business or planning on starting out, the best bit of advice I can give is to know that there is not one single path to success. Not only do we not all want the same thing at the end of the day, but there are a million and one ways to achieve the same result in business. All the gurus make it seem like they have the key, but if you’re willing to do the work and be honest with yourself, chances are you’ll do okay. Just spend time working on the “business” parts of business and level up that knowledge.
That being said, there are two things I would say you should get a handle on as soon as possible.
The first is money. Get comfortable talking about it. Work out what you need to make a project profitable, and then get comfortable with that price. Use price as a way to determine if someone is a good fit to work with. There are plenty of online calculators to help you work out what you should charge, and AI tools are also really handy with this. But where people often fall down is in their lack of comfort when talking about money early on, like any confident and competent professional would. There’s a big tendency for people to take the “how long is a piece of string” approach with money—but if you know what you’re doing, you can get to a pretty clear ballpark without too much work by focusing on what you know.
The second thing I would suggest is to look at positioning. You don’t need to niche—niching is overrated. But you do need to stand out in one way or another. You can position yourself as expensive or affordable, as quick and nimble or fastidious and strategic.
There’s a place for everybody to find clients and build a business.
WordPress & Beyond
I’ve been thinking about the future of WordPress a lot, and while I don’t see WordPress disappearing any time soon, something has started to change.
WordPress will remain one of the most popular CMSs for years, but that being said, there are some really great options coming along, and WordPress is falling behind in many areas.
I think we can all agree that, love it or hate it, Gutenberg has split the community.
Personally, I’m a fan, and we use it on projects, but it’s still a half-baked product. Just like me, I don’t know a single professional web designer/developer who is using Gutenberg without a page builder or block builder plugin. I see that as an issue.
In the long run, I’m not sure if WordPress is going to be the right tool for me or the studio. Reviewing the current trending platforms is something we revisit often. While I don’t see us jumping ship just yet, I know when we do, it’ll be quick and wholehearted.
In terms of my business, right at this point in time, things are as cloudy for both me and for WordPress. I don’t really know what my goals are. I do know that business is good, and I’m enjoying the work that I do. If the studio grows, chances are it will be small growth.
Stay in Touch
My Love for the WordPress Community
Despite being the second-largest city in Australia, Melbourne hasn’t had a local WordCamp for around 10 years. I’ve traveled to various other WordCamps around Australia. I’ve presented at WordCamp before on positioning your agency to get better prospects/leads, and this year I’ll be doing a presentation at Sydney WordCamp called: “Polishing Turds: How to design beautiful websites from horrible logos,” where I will take people through the process of finding something to focus on in a bad logo to design something that’s on-brand, but also amazing.
One thing I really love about WordCamp is how laid-back and low-key it is. There’s really no pressure or pretence. If you’ve never been to one, it’s well worth checking out.
I’ve also presented at a few virtual summits, such as the Page Builder Summit, WP Fest, and Agency Transformation.
I’m always keen to chat on a podcast too, so if anyone has one and is looking for a guest, hit me up
How I Keep Myself Updated
Personal growth is massive for me, and that includes my business. I listen to way too many podcasts, and I find that the ones I get the most from are not industry-related but are ones that make me think. A couple of my favourites are The Hidden Brain and 99% Invisible.
I don’t read as much as I used to, but over the years, books have given me some of the biggest insights. Books like Win Without Pitching by Blair Enns and Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss are not new, but they helped me so much.
The other thing I’m a sucker for is events and conferences. I try to go to a couple of things every year. Because my interests are broad and cover web, design, and advertising, there’s a lot to go to. This year I’ve been to TDC in Brisbane, SXSW, and WordCamp Sydney.
It’s really important to look at your direct network. The people you spend time around have a huge influence on the things you do and even how you think.
In recent years, I’ve pulled back from many of the Facebook groups. I’ve found these to be too much of an echo chamber and not a very good representation of the “real world,” so the advice that is given I see as stale or not something I even agree with. Getting away from social media has given me a lot of extra time to spend on my business, and doing it has paid off a lot more than talking about it online.
I Have a Life Other Than the Work
I’m a pretty quiet family person. I don’t get to travel as much as I would like, and I play the PlayStation more than I’d like to admit. I love seeing live music and try to go to as many gigs as I can. I have a collection of yellow sneakers. And I enjoy riding and toying with motorbikes. I currently have two Hondas—a 1978 CB750F Super Sport and a 2013 CB1100—and yes, I’ve come off before.
Corey’s bikes
I Reward Myself by
I’m not big on rewards; I think my work-life balance is about right, and I enjoy working (most of the time). That being said, a new tattoo or a holiday is always nice. This year I’ve managed to get to Bali and Fiji.
Corey on vacation
Connect With Me
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