“5 Questions With” is an ongoing series featuring kickass entrepreneurs, community leaders, and other superheroes.
Kelsey Siqveland is a brand and web designer more than 10 years of experience working with small businesses and entrepreneurs who need help enhancing their brand presence. At Kelsey Anne Design, her purpose is to create impactful designs that engage and inspire others. She believe in focusing on the little details that separate good brands from great brands. Every business has a story to tell and Kelsey helps bring that message to life with cutting edge design.
Enter, Kelsey.
Question 1: What’s your superpower?
At Kelsey Anne Design I design brands and websites that are unique, grab attention and make my clients giddy with excitement to show them off! I believe in focusing on the little details that separate good brands from great brands. When you work with me you get one-on-one direct communication throughout the whole creative process. Every company’s roadmap to success is different, so I listen closely to each client’s unique story in order to design a cohesive brand that will take their business to the next level.
Question 2: Why are you the exact right person to do what you do?
I graduated with a BA in Advertising hoping to land a job as a creative director at an agency. This was in the midst of a recession – not fun. Finding that dream job was a bit of a challenge to say the least. I eventually found a small marketing role and did all the regular marketing tasks, plus designing flyers, editing web content, etc. I realized quickly that I really enjoyed the design side of my work and creating website content. I had always enjoyed art and design since I was a kid, so it felt like my inner passion was coming to the forefront.
I decided to take some side classes on web design, I got active in a local women’s code group and self-taught WordPress and Adobe Creative Suite from there. All of these things and more were pointing me in the direction of starting my own design business. Fast forward to today and here I am working for amazing clients doing what I love!
Question 3: Tell me a story about a time your work made a difference.
I was working with a leadership coach who needed drastic help revamping her website. Her content was stale, had an outdated design, and wasn’t up to date or easy to navigate. She had been in the business for quite some time, but had seen a recent drop in her sales during COVID. A lot of her business revolved around facilitating workshops and networking events, so being hit with a global pandemic did not help matters.
We took it as a great opportunity to do both a logo and website redesign. I created a new site structure with a heavy focus on video content, so visitors could engage and purchase her training tools remotely. I also created a more clean, modern logo that helped breathe new life into her brand.
As a response to her hosting live zoom Q & A’s, selling training toolkits, and sharing video seminars, she saw an increase in web traffic, sales and engagement with her clients. Seeing that ripple effect after moving her business to a digital space was very rewarding. I love being able to empower business owners and help them feel more confident with their brands!
Question 4: What’s your go-to move for drumming up business?
My business is all referral based so I like to make time for networking, either in person or online. COVID has opened up the door for remote networking quite a bit. If I find a break in my week I will often hop onto a zoom event or will take a scroll through my LinkedIn to reconnect with contacts. I also often partner with copywriters or SEO specialists for various projects. Through those partnerships they get to see my process, which has led to collaboration with their clients as well.
Question 5: Tell me a story about a time you fell down and got back up again.
As I was taking classes on the side while working at my marketing job, I realized I wanted to get hired as a web developer to get the full-time experience. I left my job and started a role as a web developer at a company that quickly turned out to be a toxic environment. The company was led by fear and intimidation and had a high turnover rate. I went to work feeling creatively blocked every day, undervalued and under stimulated. I watched colleagues be belittled and stifled in their own professional development. My anxiety was through the roof. I had never felt this low in my career. I needed to leave.
By the fourth month, yes fourth, I put in my 2 weeks. At that time, I had already been freelancing on the side for a couple years for friends and family, so I asked myself, “What is the worst-case scenario if I leave and pursue my business full time?” I didn’t have kids, didn’t own a home and didn’t require much overhead other than a laptop, so I went for it. I put a plan in place and I was on my way.
It sounds easier than it was because the next two years were super challenging and I busted my butt to build my brand. I was so focused on removing that toxic energy from my life that I didn’t care if it meant losing a consistent paycheck. As I kept building my network I started to find a rhythm that was paying off. I began to build new business relationships, which led to referrals and long-term clients. Looking back I’m so fortunate for this bad experience because it opened up my eyes to what really matters to me and has helped me advise fellow business owners contemplating their own career change.
Where to Find Kelsey
KelseyAnneDesign.com
www.linkedin.com/in/kelsey-siqveland-426b9b22/
