Haley Montgomery didn’t foresee herself starting her own business.
Montgomery, who owns Starkville-based Small Pond Graphics, was working as an art director for an area ad agency. She said she’d worked there for 15 years, and had the freedom fulfill her creative needs.
But, Montgomery said, the ad agency’s owner retired and shut down the business. She had never really considered going into freelance work, but circumstances forced her to step beyond her comfort zone.
“She said you just need to go out on your own,” Montgomery recalled of her old boss’ advice. “I think with that little push I just said ‘OK,’ so over [a] weekend I developed the concept for my business, and within the month I was going.”
Montgomery was one of three women entrepreneurs who spoke in a panel about creative business ownership Tuesday evening at the Rozenzweig Arts Center on Main Street. The panel was hosted in a collaboration between the Ladies Who Design — a group hosting monthly discussions at the center that focus on creative businesses and how women can continue to make strides in them — and the Columbus Arts Council.
The panel also featured Sarah Barrett, owner of Tupelo-based Sarah B. Calligraphy.
Barrett was the advertising art director for Mississippi Magazine. She said she thought she wanted to spend her career in an editorial graphic design role.
“It didn’t feed that passion and yearning that I really needed,” she said. “I started doing calligraphy the year before. After work, I would come home, do my calligraphy and realize, ‘wait a minute, this is where my passion is and where my heart is.'”
Barrett saved up money to start her own business eventually left her old job. She hasn’t looked back since.
Laura Maxcy, owner of Wild and Free Designs, which sell hand-lettered vintage prints, globes and other items, was the panel’s third member. Maxcy also owns Orange Velvet Vintage, which sells vintage clothing and decor.
Maxcy worked at a print shop in Tupelo. She got a job at a separate print shop, with a week break in between on job ending and another beginning. During that break, one of her products was featured on the main page of etsy.com. She said it was wildly successful.
“I made more in that one week than I usually would in a month, so I was like ‘I think this is a sign that I need to do this now,'” she said. “I spent one day at my second job. …I kind of got that kick from the beginning and built on that moment really quickly.”
Discussion
The panel covered a range of topics, including online and social media presence. The panelists said that having a strong online presence makes it easier to reach a wider audience.
For example, Maxcy said her vintage shop doesn’t necessarily have a broad local audience, so online presence helps dramatically expand her reach.
They also shared tips they’ve learned through their experiences with their businesses. Montgomery said it can be tempting as a budding creative entrepreneur to offer free work, but that can ultimately be harmful.
“Don’t fall into the trap of constantly volunteering your services,” she said. “That’s something where we feel like if we do that we’re attracting clients or maybe getting our foot in the door. But it’s hard to go from free to anything to make that transition without someone feeling like they’re being cheated. If they’ve already experienced you for free, it’s difficult to make them feel good about paying for something.”
Similarly, Barrett said it’s important to charge a price that’s fair to the quality of the work.
“If you price what you’re worth, then other people are going to value it,” she said.
Panelists discussed work-life balance, and the fears that come with starting businesses.
For Barrett, she said failure was a huge concern when she started out.
“That’s one of my biggest concerns,” she said. “But I always say to myself to try something at least once. If you don’t try it, you’ve already failed and that’s just putting that fear into the forefront.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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