Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Smith.
Jennifer, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve had a passion for art and design for as long as I can remember. I graduated from college with a degree in graphic design and entered the corporate world, as one does. But I’ve always had an entrepreneurial streak in me. Ten years into climbing the corporate ladder, and after having my twin girls, I craved something different.
I wanted to be a part of more creative work–to work on all different kinds of brands instead of designing for the same company every day. And I wanted to meet fellow entrepreneurs who were living out their dreams of bringing their passions and gifts to the world. So, I opened Solmade Studio to focus on helping other small businesses through design. I offer brand design, web design, packaging, and more to fellow small businesses, whether they’ve been in business for a while or are just starting out. My style is eclectic–a little bit classic and a little bit contemporary with touches of art and illustration. And I have loved using my experience in design to ignite transformation in other businesses.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Ha, it has not been a smooth road! I left my corporate job at the end of 2019. I wanted to spend more time with my twins, so I only had them in daycare a couple days per week, and I was just starting to get my bearings when the pandemic hit. So, my business stopped before it ever really got started in 2019-2020. With my twin toddlers then home 7 days/week and the world under great stress, there was very little movement on the business front. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that I had (accidentally) made myself available to care for them during that time.
But in 2021, as the world started to reopen, I took a hard look at my business model, and I really shook things up. I stopped doing general graphic design and started focusing all of my efforts on helping small businesses grow through intentional creative strategy and brand design. This is where things really hit a turning point. I started to connect with fellow entrepreneurs who were starting new businesses in the wake of the pandemic or looking to grow their long-term businesses, and I found my place in this work.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I help businesses gain clarity and better position themselves to connect with their customers through brand and web design. I love working with both service providers and product-based businesses. I help with brand identity, web design (including e-commerce), packaging, and marketing collateral. I love to bring my fine art background into my work, and I’m known for the illustrative elements that add depth to my brands.
The most rewarding part of my job is hearing about the results my clients experience after we finish our projects. Most of my clients start their businesses with DIY branding and websites, which is totally understandable. But I’ve had some clients come to me saying they want to scale, but they’ve outgrown their DIY branding (or are even embarrassed by it) and are intentionally holding themselves back from growth because of it–we have to fix that! After working with me, I’ve had some businesses go on to increase revenue by 5-10x in the year after their rebrand, partially because their brand image is better aligned with their values, it better connects with their ideal customers, and partially because of the confidence and momentum they gain from the process.
I love to help with all the nuts and bolts of the business, too: like general marketing and operational ideas, writing a tagline for the business, advising on where to order print collateral, how to implement social media templates, etc!
Alright, so before we go, can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I’m here to support a business wherever they are in their creative journey. I love to talk to business owners about the problems they’re having or the goals they’d like to reach and come up with a plan for how to work toward reaching those goals. If you feel like your brand image is misaligned with the product/services you offer or holding you back from taking your business to the next level, I’d love to chat about how brand or web design may help you grow!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.solmadestudio.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/solmadestudio?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/solmadestudio?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/solmadestudio
Image Credits
Destynie Paige Branding
