SPOTLIGHT: Swell Design

It wouldn't be right to start our Spotlight series with anyone other than Sarah Wells of Swell Design! Sarah came into our lives about three years ago (it seems like so much longer!) with the redesign of our QC Socialite website. Most recently, Sarah and her team created the rebranding of Shop Local QC! Yes, the beautiful new branding you see across our platforms is all thanks to the Swell Design team! She's the best investment we've made to date and we'd invest in her services 100,000 times over! So, let's get to know her!

Describe your business in 5 sentences or less.

Swell Design is a full-service branding, website, and design studio. Founded in Charlotte, NC in 2016, Swell Design's mission is to provide high-quality, strategic design to entrepreneurs and small business owners, so they can walk away with dynamic branding and website design that will allow their business to thrive. We believe that everyone deserves to work with a professional designer, no matter where they are in their business journey.

What's your "WHY"? Why do you do what you do? What keeps you motivated?

My "why" is hearing and seeing the excitement my clients have when they have approved their final logo, or they sign off on the final version of their website. They are seeing, often times, the first investment in themselves and in their business come to fruition. They are excited and ready to dive into the unknown of business ownership. I love using my creativity and attention to detail to create something new every single day, and share in the excitement for what is created with my clients.

What's your favorite thing about your business?

I love getting to use the same skills each day to create something entirely new. Using creativity to build the foundation for someone's business is so rewarding.

Describe yourself in three words.

Determined, Creative, Organized

Describe your business in three words.

Creative, Collaborative, Responsive

If you didn't own your business, what would you be doing?

Probably working as a designer for a corporate employer

What are you most excited about regarding the future of your business? I am so excited to continue doing the work I love to do - helping new/existing small businesses create beautiful and intentional branding and websites. This year, I am also really excited about launching my first course - The Canva Mini Course, which will help entrepreneurs and non-designers learn how to successfully utilize Canva for their businesses.

What has been the greatest challenge of being a business owner? For me, my biggest challenge has been learning how to adapt to growth. I never envisioned my business growing to a point where I needed to consider hiring help and I didn't know if I wanted to be a boss to others. It was very challenging to decide between growing my business or deciding to tell new inquiries "no" before becoming too overwhelmed. At the end of the day, I am glad that I decided to invest in myself and grow my team.

If you had to give advice to another business owner, what would you tell them?

Step outside your comfort zone, try to network with other entrepreneurs in your area, connect and engage with them on social media, do what it takes to not feel like you are walking the path of a business owner alone - the bigger you can make your circle, the more confident you will become in yourself.

If you could go back and give yourself advice in the first 6 months of owning a business, what would you tell yourself?

I would tell myself that my time is valuable and worth appropriate compensation. I think there is a time and a place for doing certain projects for free and to enhance your portfolio, but when a client hires you, you should charge what your time and experience is worth. I also believe I would have gotten further in my business more quickly if I would have hired out one or two small things that took up a lot of my time that I didn't enjoy - bookkeeping and CPA services, for example.

What is your favorite product/service? *Provide link if possible.

Brand Design

What else do you want our readers to know?

Even if a new entrepreneur can't invest in branding/website services right off the bat, my best advice is to spend time choosing a color palette that you connect with and at least keep a consistent color running with your content and that will put you one step ahead!

If you're a small business owner, take the time to chat with Sarah about your branding. If you don't have branding, we highly recommend investing!

Learn More about Swell Design

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