A Honest Truth About Running a Small Business

I enjoy meeting and getting to know other small business owners. In this industry, there’s an amazing amount of inspiration and collaboration to be found talking to other creative individuals. Specifically, I love sharing and hearing about the journey to owning your own business. Everyone’s path is different but I truly feel that there’s something to learn from each of them. Today, I wanted to share mine with you. Many of the people following this blog already know some of it, but for those who don’t (and for those who want to know a little more), read on!

How long have you owned this business?
I started Cedar Gandy on January 1, 2014.

How did you decide to strike out on your own?
After 6 years of working for an amazing graphic design firm, I found myself wondering and dreaming about the possibility of something more. Something new and different. Specifically something a little more handmade, a little more broad, and a lot more me.

At the time I was making this decision, my husband Jordan and I were 10 months into marriage. My brother (who also happens to be my closest friend) had just moved across the ocean. We were talking about adding a fourth UPS Store to the three we already owned. To put it simply, transition was in the air and I felt it. After months of prayer and wise counsel, I stepped out of my design position and stepped into the world of a self employed designer entrepreneur. I’m going to be honest here: this whole thing felt like a huge risk! But I wanted to have faith and trust what I felt like God was calling me to.

What is the best part of running a small business?
The sense of having more freedom. As an entrepreneur, I get to have more say in the types of projects I work on. I’m now free to take on work that inspires me, which is an incredible blessing. I also have the chance to pursue the kind of clients and jobs that interest me. Now, I get to work on a wide variety of projects that include designing visual marketing pieces for larger companies and creating smaller custom projects for small businesses and individuals. Practical “freedom" is a huge part of why I started Cedar Gandy. I can easily take my work on the road and spend time with my husband while he travels for work.

What is the hardest part of running a small business?
The hardest thing about it is that I don’t get to design all day, which I would love to do. One of the common responses people having when they hear I run a small business is the classic, “Must be nice that you can do whatever you want!” Of course, that really is true to an extent! But people underestimate the huge responsibility that comes along with that well, especially if you want to grow and be successful. For now, everything is on my shoulders—at least until Cedar grows a little more.

I split my time between creative meetings, corresponding with clients and vendors via LOTS of emails, accounting and invoicing, creating quotes for different jobs, keeping up my website and social media, growing the business, continuing to learn and grow technically and creatively, and staying fresh and innovative with my design as much as I can. With that comes the daily pressure of starting work at 8 and not stopping until it’s done. So getting up, taking breaks and moving around can be a challenge, which is a bummer—most days I eat at my desk while in the middle of responding to clients!

What doubts or resistance have you had to face?
If I’m facing resistance, it’s usually coming from myself. It’s often the resistance to put myself and my work out there more, resistance to dreaming big, resistance to being totally confident in my work and where I’m at in this journey. Even though it can be a tough thing to admit, I love being able to share my story and be honest about the obstacles that I face. Even in the moments when I find myself worried about growing my business, it really is my clients (both new and regular) that keep me going. They don’t give me any reason to doubt my creativity, ideas, design aesthetic, or business. At the end of the day, that is one thing I am so grateful for!

What advice would you give to someone just starting out on this journey?
Come up with a plan that involves your dreams, but also your mission and goals. For me, that is the key to sticking to your vision and staying motivated. Ask people that have gone before you for advice and wisdom. Pick their brain and expertise. Listen to their stories. Work really hard and ride the waves of highs and lows that come with owning a small business. Also, know who your support team is– whether it’s a business partner, parents, spouse, or close friends. Talk with them about expectations, goals, and even how starting your own business will affect the relationships in your life. Ask yourself: what am I willing to compromise? What am I not willing to compromise? Then have someone to hold you accountable to those decisions.

Small Biz Week - A look back at National Small Business Week.

Jordan and I loved celebrating National Small Business Week in Austin, Texas with The UPS Store.

As a very NEW small biz owner myself, I thrive on receiving the advice from others that have gone before me and from those who are in the same boat. Learning and growing from each other and with each other is (in my opinion) how we keep going, stay creative and innovative. We all are "experts" in our own way and experiences with something to share and contribute.

Check out my bits of my story from the post "A Honest Truth About Running a Small Business". I would enjoy hearing what your journey has been like as well!

If you want to know more about
how The UPS Store can partner
with your small biz, check out
Jordan's interview.

National Small Business Week : Mark Cuban's 12 Rules for Startups

“National Small Business Week is a chance to honor our nation’s 28 million small businesses and renew our commitment to fostering the entrepreneurial spirit that is central to the American experience,” says SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet, the head of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

As a graphic designer and small business owner, it's a week to celebrate while gaining the advise and wisdom from other business leaders! So I am headed to Austin, TX for a "Small Biz Salute" Networking Event at the Palm Door on Sixth. If you are in the Austin, TX area, take a break, come out, and network with Austin small business owners and entrepreneurs from 5:30-7:30pm. It's sponsored by The UPS Store and is free for the first 100 guests.

Shark Tank is one of my favorite shows, so I am sharing with you Mark Cuban's 12 Rules for Startups, (from entrepreneur.com) which are simple and straight forward (my kind of advise) or check out the video below.

1. Don't start a company unless it's an obsession and something you love.

2. If you have an exit strategy, it's not an obsession.

3. Hire people who you think will love working there.

4. Sales Cure All. Know how your company will make money and how you will actually make sales.

5. Know your core competencies and focus on being great at them. Pay up for people in your core competencies. Get the best. Outside the core competencies, hire people that fit your culture but aren't as expensive to pay.

6. An espresso machine? Are you kidding me? Coffee is for closers. Sodas are free. Lunch is a chance to get out of the office and talk. There are 24 hours in a day, and if people like their jobs, they will find ways to use as much of it as possible to do their jobs.

7. No offices. Open offices keep everyone in tune with what is going on and keep the energy up. If an employee is about privacy, show him or her how to use the lock on the bathroom. There is nothing private in a startup. This is also a good way to keep from hiring executives who cannot operate successfully in a startup. My biggest fear was always hiring someone who wanted to build an empire. If the person demands to fly first class or to bring over a personal secretary, run away. If an exec won't go on sales calls, run away. They are empire builders and will pollute your company.

8. As far as technology, go with what you know. That is always the most inexpensive way. If you know Apple, use it. If you know Vista, ask yourself why, then use it. It's a startup so there are just a few employees. Let people use what they know.

9. Keep the organization flat. If you have managers reporting to managers in a startup, you will fail. Once you get beyond startup, if you have managers reporting to managers, you will create politics.

10. Never buy swag. A sure sign of failure for a startup is when someone sends me logo-embroidered polo shirts. If your people are at shows and in public, it's okay to buy for your own employees, but if you really think people are going to wear your branded polo when they're out and about, you are mistaken and have no idea how to spend your money.

11. Never hire a PR firm. A public relations firm will call or email people in the publications you already read, on the shows you already watch and at the websites you already surf. Those people publish their emails. Whenever you consume any information related to your field, get the email of the person publishing it and send them a message introducing yourself and the company. Their job is to find new stuff. They will welcome hearing from the founder instead of some PR flack. Once you establish communication with that person, make yourself available to answer their questions about the industry and be a source for them. If you are smart, they will use you.Related: Is Any Publicity Good Publicity?

12. Make the job fun for employees. Keep a pulse on the stress levels and accomplishments of your people and reward them. My first company, MicroSolutions, when we had a record sales month, or someone did something special, I would walk around handing out $100 bills to salespeople. At Broadcast.com and MicroSolutions, we had a company shot. The Kamikaze. We would take people to a bar every now and then and buy one or ten for everyone. At MicroSolutions, more often than not we had vendors cover the tab. Vendors always love a good party.