Too often in our society, people picture men in their heads when they hear words like, “boss”, “entrepreneur”, or “CEO”. Being a small business owner has put me in touch with so many successful female business owners and entrepreneurs that when I hear these words, I often picture a woman or I just don’t assume anything at all. Women are obviously just as capable as men when it comes to the business world and it is high time that women business owners and entrepreneurs are more visible in the media in our society. This is where the idea for Women in Business was born. Women in Business is a monthly feature that highlights female entrepreneurs and business owners. Not only is it a fantastic opportunity to learn more about small businesses in various fields, but it is a great shopping guide for supporting small
businesses.
An Interview with Elle from Post Film
I’m Elle, a brand strategist and brand identity designer. I run a crew of 3, and we believe in brand strategy first ALWAYS. Gorgeous design work after.
I started my career working for a massive clothing company called VF Corp. They own Vans, North Face, Nautica, Jansport, (http://www.vfc.com/). I worked on a small marketing team for one of their divisions, and stayed there until I was head hunted in 2011 by a dotcom.
That dotcom consisted of a 3 person team, myself included, all part of running a $1.1 million revenue business. The dotcom was like a massive crash course in everything that created PostFilm. Brand strategy, voice and tone development, collateral design; you name it, I was elbow deep in it.In early 2012 I decided to start seriously freelancing my brand strategy skills, and by late 2012 I was in full swing with a smattering of clients and growing.
Writing this makes it sound like it just breezed through this wearing Chanel sunglasses and Givenchy blouses or something. Honestly, clawing my way up has been less than glamorous. I’ve failed 100 times at every single thing imaginable, including life. Every time I failed I changed something, and tried again. I’m still doing that.
What are three things that help you run your business efficiently on a daily basis?
First, for anyone reading this, just know one thing: you don’t know you need something until you need it.
When I started I had absolutely no workflow. When my business started to boom, I about lost my mind. So, I developed a great system.Every inquiry I receive, I log it in a CRM (client relationship management system). My CRM helps me figure out how many clients are inquiring, and when to follow up with them. I keep track of who books and who doesn’t and for what reason.Second, I use a totally free and amazing system called TRELLO (https://trello.com/elizabeth_atkins/recommend). It’s basically a gigantic task list. I manage my freelancers, clients, client projects, AND personal life on Trello. My partner Jared and I use it for grocery shopping lists. We split up in the store and check off items in real time while we shop. It will revolutionize your life.
I went from being able to handle 2 clients to being able to handle 6+ on-going clients, 2 large companies, and freelancers with their own clients. Plus it’s drastically reduced my Doritos bill. Thanks Trello!Next, I use a time tracking and invoicing system called Harvest. I can track time hourly in Trello, and it syncs to my Harvest. I send invoices directly to clients and I keep track of when clients pay, and what clients may still owe. I can also send auto-reminders if they’re accidentally late. I accept payments online directly through Harvest, which cuts down time wasted.
Want some more apps and cool business tools? Check in to instant online booking and scheduling apps like Calendly or TimeTrade. Use Skype for meetings with clients both near and far, and don’t forget to check in to MailChimp to communicate en masse to large email groups (like a newsletter).
What is your favorite thing about owning your own business?
I love helping shape my community. What I do is a vital and important part of starting a small business. I’m a major accomplishment junkie and nothing gives me a better sense of fulfillment than working with a small business owner. A lot of people don’t know how powerful brand strategy is, and why messaging and focus is important. I help shape small business marketing materials, focus their messaging, and rock their voice and tone. I love watching my clients make major discoveries. We work hard to help them connect and better suit their target audience.
My heart pounds when they release their brands and come back to tell me how much stronger and better their businesses are for it. That’s what I live for.And hell, if I had waited around for someone to give me opportunities, I’d still be waiting. Owning a business means you create your own world. I love that. It lights a serious fire under my butt to keep going.
What challenges do you face as a small business owner?
The same challenges most small businesses face: FUNDING. My business and team is completely unfunded. Thank God we’re profitable, but being unfunded means that we sometimes have to pick and choose what projects we work on to keep being profitable.
That’s not always a great feeling, especially if you have to give up working on passion projects to make sure you’re not stretched too thin.
I’m really looking forward to the day when I can reach out to non-profit organizations in my community, people doing amazing things that can’t afford me, and saying “You rock. This one is on the house.”
Brand strategy and branding is so powerful. Everyone, especially non-profits, needs access to that power.
What/who inspires you and your work?
When I don’t feel inspired I browse styled images on food blogs. It may sound totally weird but I love how rich the images are. They’re so much like still life paintings, it’s crazy. I’m a huge art history nerd, so love browsing perfectly styled images of food. When I’m burned out I like to turn my brain off and think in a new way, and food photography does that for me.
Plus I’m hungry. So, so hungry. Don’t lie, I know you’re hungry too.
My favorites right now are http://minimalistbaker.com/ and my personal friend, http://www.whitneyott.com/
It doesn’t hurt when a blog has one bowl recipes even a klutz like myself can make.
What was the best piece of advice you were given pertaining to your business?
The best advice is always the most obnoxiously obvious advice. No joke, I sometimes struggle to see the big picture since I’m so close to the frame. It fills up my whole view. It can be hard to take a step back.
When you’re running a business it can be impossible to see yourself from the outside. Having a mentor or a trustworthy partner to point out when you’re missing the obvious is invaluable. I can’t tell you how many times people have made simple suggestions to me that have gotten me around major roadblocks. I’ve had more “DUH!” moments than I care to admit.
What advice would you give to someone who is looking to start a small business?
SAVE. If you don’t take out a loan or get a grant, then you need to figure out where your funding is going to come from. In the first two years, money is probably NOT going to come from clients. You may be one of the lucky few, but never gamble on speculation. Running a business is expensive, and you need cash to make it work. Whether you take a part time job, work 9-5, or save like crazy, make sure you give yourself enough time to grow your business and get it past the first few uncertain years.
Being unfunded means you have to be more of a complete bad ass than other business models.
Failure rates are high, so strap on your shin guards and get ready to kick the crap out of every road block you encounter. Stay focused, and strong. Don’t half ass it. Whole ass it, and be proud of what you don’t know. Be open to learning new tricks and just keep kicking, kicking, kicking.
What goals do you have for your business over the next five years?
Right now we’re in brand awareness mode! We’ve been slam dunking all of our goals and feeling pretty good about it. Our next few steps include more sustainable growth, and more nest egging because…In 5 years we’re hoping to purchase commercial property and open a creative and collaborative space for the community to gather at. We want to make it PostFilm headquarters, and to always be surrounded by amazing and talented people. We’d love to make it a place where non-profits can have monthly meetings pro bono. Why not? It’s not always about making money.
How do you define success as a business owner?
Success is doing what you love. We all just have one precious life to live, and we should be spending that life being happy with our work and making this world a place we all want to be a part of.
If you spend most of your life working, shouldn’t you love what you do?