Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in branding and marketing but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Tanya Gagnon, Brand Strategist at Miss Details, located in Scottsdale, AZ, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Miss Details is a Scottsdale, Arizona, branding firm with a focus on connecting brands with hearts. Through a unique balance of creativity and strategy, we have supported 800+ businesses across a wide variety of industries in elevating their brands by creating meaningful connections and memorable experiences for their audience. Our clients are service-based businesses looking to create authentic, memorable brands and marketing material that help them grow.

Tell us about yourself

I originally started out in the interior design space and always pushed myself to full sensory experiences. I had the opportunity to design new concepts for big-name brands and eventually started my own business, creating memorable events, themes, and graphics for those events. Over the years, that evolved into helping my clients create 'wow' experiences for their businesses and developing memorable, experiential brands. Today, my focus is on helping businesses understand where they should spend their time and money on their marketing and branding—and then providing them with the strategic design to make it happen.

It's also really important to me and to the Miss Details brand that I balance out that creativity with a business owner's practicality. I know how hard it is to run your own business—I learned that at a young age by watching my dad, who was an entrepreneur himself. I know how easy it is to get overwhelmed by all the little details and to feel like you have to take care of all of them by yourself. When I work with my clients, I bring all my years of creative branding and marketing knowledge and balance it with a business owner mindset. Having someone on your team who's been where you are, and can help bring clarity and direction to your brand, can make all the difference in the world. I really love being that person for my clients.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

When COVID hit, I lost 60% of my clients within a week. Looking back, I am proud of how I overcame the challenge. At first, there were tears, but once the initial shock wore off, I took the opportunity to work on my business and build my website, content marketing, email marketing, and social media. Basically, I had the time to do for myself what I did for my clients. I put systems in place that generated new clients, and today, being busier than ever, we still have our company marketing systems in place. My business is in a better place, with more of the clients we love, better ongoing marketing systems, and more profitability and growth!

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

One of the hardest things about being a business owner is also one of the best things - The fact that it is up to us to constantly be filling our pipeline with new business. Learning to ride the wave of work is a challenge, but it also allows me to be the one to choose the projects and people I work with. That means I get to enjoy every interaction I have with my clients, and I am able to give them my all.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Define your core brand strategy before you reactively create marketing material and content. Having a consistent message and defined differentiators will help you stay on track.
  2. Surrounding yourself with other entrepreneurs and business owners is wonderful for support; however, it can be distracting at times. Shiny object syndrome is real.
  3. Have a good understanding of what numbers you need to monitor for success. These numbers can be bottom-line sales, email sign-ups, or downloads. Understand what these key metrics mean for your business.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://missdetails.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Miss.Details.Design
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/missdetails/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/missdetails/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/missdetails/

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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