Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in web design but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Michelle Jones, Founder of Michelle Jones Creative, located in Charlotte, NC, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Michelle Jones Creative (MJC for short) is a Charlotte, NC web design agency that helps businesses launch easy-to-manage custom websites so they can focus on their profits and leave the tech to overwhelm behind. Our clients include mid-sized B2B & Service-Based companies positioned for growth, as well as Marketing and Communications agencies who need to bring on a web design partner for their clients.
Tell us about yourself
While I have always had an interest in design + technology and have an undergraduate degree in Entrepreneurship, I started off my career in the Urban Design and City Planning field post-graduate school. After working for local government for a number of years, I quickly learned that the bureaucracy and politics of trying to achieve creative endeavors weren't for me.
While working for the government, I was searching for a creative outlet, so I started a (now retired) blog about fashion + lifestyle in 2009 and quickly learned that the creation of the website and bringing together the design, photography, and writing was where I really came to life. Then in 2014, on my 33rd birthday, I walked into my boss' office and turned in my notice to leave not only my job but the career I had built over the last ten years, to pursue running my own web design business. And eight years later, here I am still doing what I love each and every day helping other business owners grow their businesses through strategic web design!
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
As a behind-the-screen kind of person, I'm not one to go after flashy awards or achievements. I find it's the small everyday moments that feel like the biggest accomplishments in the long run. Like when a business owner tells me I've made their life so much easier after the launch of their new website or helped them increase their revenue so they can scale their business, those are the moments that feel the most accomplished to me.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
I often joke that running a business is a lot like juggling, and at any moment, you're just waiting to drop the balls. So keeping all the balls that come along with running a business, marketing, communications, client experience, project management, finances, etc., are the biggest struggle, but also what makes running a business exciting! I've found bringing on people with the necessary expertise is the best way to ensure you keep all the balls in the air and, most of all, avoid burnout as a business owner. Secondly, like many entrepreneurs, I love my business and the work I do, so it's hard to shut it off and direct my attention to hobbies and other things I enjoy.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Build and tend to your network - A lot of people will say your network is your net worth, but to me, it goes beyond that. The connections and friendships you make along the way are not only your support group; they are the people who help you build and grow your business. Had it not been for the connections I made while being a local blogger, I could have never grown my business to what it is today.
- Honor your word and do what you say you're going to do - My dad was also an entrepreneur for 45 years, and this is a lesson he started instilling in me at a very early age. If you make a promise to someone or tell someone you are going to deliver something, you do it. This ultimately helps you build a positive reputation, and people will want to recommend you to others.
- Always be learning - Whether it's through books, free online resources, or paid educational tools, if there's something I don't know, I go out and learn everything I can about it. That way, even if I am not the one doing the work in that area (for instance, SEO or copywriting), I can still speak intelligently to the client about their needs in those areas across their business. The old adage holds true: knowledge is power.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.michellejonescreative.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mjcreativeCLT
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mjcreativeclt/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pmichellejones/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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