Toronto-based solopreneur founder, Karen Viray talks about balancing creativity and business, growing her studio, and launching a community-centred nonprofit.
When Karen Viray describes herself as a “creative-hyphenate,” it’s because she’s earned it over two decades of moving between architecture, design, communications, and entrepreneurship — a career path that’s anything but linear, but deeply intentional.
I’ve known Karen for years — we’ve crossed paths at events, on podcasts, and brand launches. But this conversation felt different.
Now fully running her own studio and planting the seeds of a nonprofit, she’s carving out space not just to create, but to build with impact.
Karen started her career in architecture, spending nearly a decade in the field. But what she loved most wasn’t the technical details — it was the presentations. That skill led her into the mining industry, of all places, where she created investor decks and annual reports.
Along the way, she freelanced in graphic design, managed beauty brands, and experimented with digital art. “I’ve always been that artsy kid trying different mediums,” she says.
“Now in my 40s, it’s just applied as my creative sauce. The hyphen is the bridge between all the parts of me — analytical, artsy, communicative.”
Three years ago, Karen made a decisive shift: no more in-house roles, no more splitting focus. She launched her studio full-time, working with clients across industries.
It wasn’t a perfectly timed move. “I didn’t have a financial cushion,” she admits. “I had one retainer client.” That honesty is the heartbeat of solopreneurship. The wins are yours, but so are the anxieties.
Like many creatives-turned-founders, Karen’s strength is in the work itself, not the admin. “I suck at the business side,” she laughs. “But I’ve learned from corporate clients. I dedicate Mondays to admin — receipts, bookkeeping, working on my own site. It doesn’t always work, but blocking the time helps.”
It’s less about balance, more about building just enough structure to keep the business alive without killing the creativity.
What keeps her in it, even on the hard days, is watching her clients grow. She’s worked with beauty brands that started as pop-ups and are now award-winning.
She’s seen mining companies go from a pitch deck to building something real. “That growth, seeing ideas come to life — that’s what excites me most.”
The next chapter for Karen is about expansion. She knows it’s time to hire, to let go of being the entire business and share the load.
She’s also shaping her long-held vision for a nonprofit: free, inclusive art programs for families in Toronto who don’t have access.
“It’s something I’ve been thinking about since I was a teenager,” she says. “Growing up as an immigrant kid in small-town Ontario, I didn’t see myself in what was being offered. I want to change that.”
Karen’s journey is the unglamorous, unfiltered reality of solopreneur life. The late invoices, the admin days, the nagging stress about sustainability. But also — the joy of creating, the satisfaction of seeing clients grow, and the courage to dream bigger.
She’s proof that being a founder isn’t about choosing between creativity and business. It’s about holding both, even when it’s messy.
Watch the short video clip of my conversation with Karen and subscribe to the Women-Led newsletter for more interviews and reflections from creative women designing on their own terms.
