Today we’d like to introduce you to Britney Duke.
Britney, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I am originally from San Jose, California! I lived there until 2014, when I moved to Boise, Idaho, to attend Boise State University. I graduated in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in General Business and a Marketing Minor. After graduating, I found my first job as a marketing director for a doctor’s office. During this time, I learned a lot about marketing, design, web development, and event planning. In the last year of working there, I started to realize how I might be able to help other doctor’s offices with their websites and online presence. It seemed that a lot of these offices had old websites that had not been updated since the Internet came to be, and that was the moment I got the itch for freelancing. While still working at this job, I started my first business, Britney Designs. I was offering website design and event planning. I got a few jobs here and there and was slowly building my portfolio. At the end of 2020, I went through a big life change and ended up going part-time with my job and moving to California to live with my grandparents. I was barely making any money, but I took it as a time to learn as much as I could about marketing, brand design, and web development. In December 2020, I re-launched my business and began offering brand and website design!
I ran Britney Designs until I moved to Texas in September of 2021 with my husband! Before coming to Texas, I worked by myself for most of the time. It got pretty lonely, and I started to seek out community groups around Boise, Idaho. I found a group called Boise Business Babes, and my eyes were opened to the power of community, especially in the entrepreneurial space. When I found out I was going to be moving to Fort Worth, I started the Fort Worth Business Gals Instagram page just as a way to connect with others online. I started sharing women and their businesses on the page. Mind you, I was still living in Idaho! I had girls messaging me wanting to get coffee, and I had to decline because I wasn’t even living there yet. The page slowly started to grow, and by the time I moved to Fort Worth, I had a small following on the page.
Once I was in Fort Worth, my husband and I came together and decided to begin a new business as a full-service marketing agency called Solkri Design. Our first big client was a local CBD shop, Thrive Apothecary, and their affiliate brands. This was when things began to fall into place! At the same time, Fort Worth Business Gals began to grow like crazy. We started off doing coworking sessions at coffee shops, and now we hold two events a month and have a whole website with an online directory of women professionals in DFW!
Solkri Design has continued to grow as well, and we now have a full-time employee! We are servicing multiple clients within DFW and the US with content creation, brand management, and more. It has been a fun and wild journey but so rewarding!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not smooth. My husband and I experienced our own relational journey as we tried to get married during the pandemic, which ultimately ended in us canceling the wedding and going our separate ways. We eventually came back together, but he was living in Texas! That is how we ended up here as I followed him on his crazy quest to discover a new city.
In addition, my journey of being an entrepreneur has felt, at times, very slow and challenging. It has taken patience and grit to get through the slow and trying times of building a business from the ground up. There have been a ton of lessons along the way, and we are still navigating them every day. My husband is my business partner, which is its own slew of challenges! Thankfully, he and I are very driven when it comes to business, and it is something we bond over.
With Fort Worth Business Gals, the biggest challenge has been finding what makes the group different and creating a community that people want to come back to. There are many different community groups here in DFW, so it always been my goal to stay true to who I am and offer people what I was looking for, friendship and support.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Solkri Design is a dynamic marketing agency that specializes in providing comprehensive content marketing solutions for businesses seeking to outsource their content creation needs. Functioning as an extension of a company’s internal marketing team, we offer a wide range of services, including social media management, content creation, graphic design, email marketing, and online advertising. With a dedicated team of creative professionals, we are committed to crafting compelling narratives and visually engaging designs that resonate with target audiences, driving growth and bolstering brand awareness for our clients.
We typically work with health and wellness businesses that offer services and/or products! Our ideal client is a small business that is ready to pass along its marketing but doesn’t want to deal with hiring a full-time employee. We work to plug the hole that many businesses neglect yet is a necessary function of their business!
Solkri (pronounced Soul Cry) is the combination of two words, Creative Soul. That is ultimately our biggest differentiator. We are marketing professionals with an eye for design and creative storytelling skills. We are self-starters and DIY’ers that work to help small businesses bring awareness to their brand.
Any big plans?
We plan to continue to serve more small businesses! Our company has room for so much growth, so that is the main goal right now, to serve more clients.
For Fort Worth Business Gals, we have many events in the works right now, from workshops, panel discussions, meet-ups, and socials! I am so excited for the rest of 2023 as I feel that Fort Worth Business Gals is making a name for itself within the community. I aim for the group to continue to be a resource for women in our community looking for a place to go to for support, guidance, friendships, and resources!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.solkridesign.com & www.fortworthbusinessgals.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/solkri_design/ & https://www.instagram.com/fortworthbusinessgals/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/solkridesign & https://www.facebook.com/fortworthbusinessgals/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/britney-duke/ & https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14188426/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/britney_duke_
Image Credits
Daley Alain (@day_lilies) Kaylynn Krieg (@kaylynnkriegphoto)
