Insights

Many entrepreneurs start their businesses by accident

My story is that I was going to be a potter and sell ceramic vessels for a living, and, yes, they have degrees in that, and I did get one. After I announced my ceramic career plans to my father, he said it's always good to have a fallback skill. With his advice in mind, I got a degree in graphic design, which led to a job at an ad agency. I loved it, and I was hooked. Little did I know that it would lead me to starting my own agency.

In 1992, after leaving the agency, I started a freelance design business as a solopreneur, with one vision—to service my clients with the best possible design and creative work combined with strategic branding. Design is oftentimes seen as ‘make it pretty or decorative but I view it as a critical communications tool—the more design elements that are compelling and connect to our customer's brand, the more effective it is. The design has less meaning when it is not based upon a relevant and authentic communications strategy.

Today, when my firm works with clients, we give equal value to the marketing, brand strategy and design.

#1 lesson learned:

Get a mentor to guide you. As an entrepreneur, it took 10 years for me to get any type of guidance and every bit of it was worth the time and money.

This has been and continues to be the most rewarding and interesting career journey that I would not trade for anything. I have met people from all walks of life. I have been honored to help clients brand and grow their companies and have built long-lasting relationships with many of them. I have had employees that learned and grew and went from starting their own companies to working at corporate-level design jobs.

For the next six months, as we celebrate our 30 year anniversary, I will share the top 30 things that I have learned in 30 years. I hope my lessons learned helps, entertains and adds value to anyone who reads it.