Interview with ME @ Virtually Untangled

Company: Virtually Untangled     |     Website

I thought a nice way to end November’s blog interview segment would be to answer my own questions so that you can have a little bit more insight and background about me and my business. For those of you who are unfamiliar or joining my blog for the very first time, Virtually Untangled comes for my part-time freelance business (8 years and running). One day I woke up and realize I wasn’t happy in my current career and it was time to bet on myself, open full-time (after a re-brand of course) and lend a helping hand (design/organization-wise) to all the wonderful entrepreneurs in the world.

Now, here is my story …

What inspired the passion within me?
I had a struggling childhood so my out from it all was to be creative. Whether it was colouring, drawing, making crafts or writing. Music was also a huge inspiration to my creativity. At a very young age, I decided that my entire being was born to be creative. It was not only an outlet from every day life but a way to express myself through bursts of colour and eye-catching pieces of artwork or designs.

How did I continue to ignite that fire within me?
I feel the fire within me to stay creative will never burn out. I love to read up on what’s up and coming, new in the industry and keep up on my professional development when it comes to programs and platforms. I love learning and am extremely passionate about what I do. Every single day is always different from the next so it definitely never boring. Another fun way that I keep that fire blazing hot is by listening to music (and sometimes podcasts or TedTalks) while I work. The soulfulness of each beat streaming through my speakers takes me away into a land of creativity that I could never possibly explain. It soothes my creative soul!

Did I start with a business plan? What’s my vision and mission?
When I first started my freelance business (MyDesignSmash) a good handful of years back I did not start with a business plan. I just new doing graphic design was my life and rolled with the punches. But when it came down to my re-branded business Virtually Untangled I took things a lot more seriously. I can’t even begin to explain the amount of research and hours that went into planning the extension of my business. After all the research I met with a team member at Futurprener and they assisted me with a process to get my business plan going. Once completed, it was presented to them as well as Entrepreneur Manitoba for feedback and guidance on the direction I was passionate about exploring.

When it comes to my businesses vision and mission, I encompassed them under one umbrella which I like to call the “Untangled Philosophy”. Here are what Virtually Untangled stands for:

• To inspire and connect with entrepreneurs to put their best selves forward every single day.
• To support the ultimate highest standards of excellence in everything we do.
• To remain agile in my thinking, responsive to current and emerging technologies, trends, opportunities and challenges.
• To accomplish every client’s goals with passion and integrity, organizational continuity, and stability and growth through the highest level of ethical responsibility.
• To foster a virtual world conducive to creativity, all the while inspiring moments of optimism, creating value and making a long-lasting difference.

What are some of the biggest challenges I feel my company is faced with?
One of the biggest challenges I foresee, and not only for me but all tech-guru’s out there, is “keeping up with the Jones”, and by that I’m referring to technology. I have no quirks with technology don’t get me wrong. My issues can sometimes be with it’s ever so quickly changing face. Think of it this way, you just finished mastering a certain platform and now the next biggest, latest and greatest has been launched and one of your clients wants to switch (or take it on). It may seem all fine and dandy from the outside but just because it’s new doesn’t mean it’s the best option.

Walk through a typical workday – from breakfast in the morning to what I tend to think about when I am not in “the office”?
I work hard long hours so I like to get a later start on my day. After my other half is off to work, I stay in my cozy pyjama’s and eat breakfast in bed while indulging in an episode of one of my favourite TV shows. I then get up and get ready like I would have at a regular 9-5 job. Then I head down to the basement of our cozy Wolseley home and begin my work day. I organize my paper work, get up-to-date with all of my emails then begin whatever projects/tasks are at hand for that day. When it’s near the end of my set time to stop working or take a break if I plan to reconvene in the evening, I prep the work ahead for the next day.

When it comes to what I think about when I’m not “in the office”, I am honestly never not thinking about my creative work. If it doesn’t have to do about a project or task I am helping one of my clients accomplish then it’s about how to better my website, new blog topics or my creative hobbies such as painting. Or creating holiday crafts. My mind is an endless pit of creative thoughts and I imagine it will always stay that way.

What were some of the biggest challenges I have had to overcome to get to where I am today?
Some of the biggest challenges that took the hop out of my step while building my business were financials (built from the ground up – out of my own pocket), learning to work on my own (at home) as opposed to previous design jobs in a loud office setting, creating a new daily routine (think I am sometimes still working on this one) and space.

What are three words to explain my business? My personality?
I would describe my business as create, accomplished and organized and to be quite honest, my personality is very much of the same.

What does my ideal target market look like?
My ideal target market would be people who own a small business, bloggers, artists, professional coaches … really anyone who have a dream and are determined to accomplish it. My main goal is to help entrepreneurs declutter their business lives so that they can have more time to focus on their true passion. To help them get organized (whether by design or admin tasks) so they aren’t feeling so overwhelmed and can get back to having a work/life balance.

Looking forward into the next few years, what projects or goals am I most excited about?
I have quite a large set of goals set for myself to expand over the next handful of years. I would love to grow my clientele list to an array of business throughout Canada and the United States. I am passionate about working with a vast community of businesses and skillsets. If this pans out the way I hope it will then I would jump on the opportunity to hire one or possibly two virtual employees … build a fully functioning team. I can only dream of expanding larger than that but that’s in my five-year plan.

I would also like to expand my certifications and officially take that leap to get CGD certified. I have an extensive background in graphic design along with all the schooling and extra training but I truly want to work my hardest to get those 3 little initials on my side. It’s expensive and labour intensive which is why I haven’t acquired them yet.

If another entrepreneur asked for me advice and I only had a few minutes to give them my best tip, what would it be?
Be yourself. Be yourself and nobody else.

If I had to pick one thing in my life to go back and do differently, what would it be and why?
To be quite honest, I wouldn’t change a single thing. Every hardship, every smile, every tear, every struggling moment has led my life to this moment.

What is it about Virtually Untangled that keeps you inspired?
Knowing that I have done a great job helping my clients and making them happy. You know that moment when you can feel their smile through and email or hear it over the phone. To live for those moments when you know you’ve accomplished what you’ve set out to do and are living out your passion as a career.