Untethered is now launched!
It's finally here. A dream, although still in its beginning stages, is starting to come true and feel real. I always knew it would happen and that I was meant for life outside of a traditional 9-5 and certainly outside of an office cubicle, but few are lucky to make "the dream job" a reality until well after the age of 30. At 29, I feel proud and more than satisfied that I'm making it happen now. The invaluable work experiences and great people who I have worked for and with have molded me into the designer that I am today and played a huge role in getting me to this point. I will always be beyond thankful for them — and they know who they are.
Entrepreneurship and self-employment has always ran in my family. My grandfather and uncles ran a successful home improvement business for several decades before I was born and throughout the beginning of my childhood. My father and older brother also have and continue to make a living in the horse industry, through the outlets of shoeing, training, showing and sales. The idea of being my own boss always appealed to me, but not in the way that it might entice others. When the average person thinks of running a business, they might stereotypically think that a typical day consists of sitting at home, answering a few calls or emails, working on a job if they feel like it, running errands, shopping, or even relaxing from time to time. And, while some days can and do consist of a few of those activities, more often than not, the dream job is not always "dreamy." I can honestly say that I have been aware of that and have been and continue to be more than willing to stay focused, work harder than anyone, be passionate about my work and my clients and know that running a business often and absolutely goes beyond just the hours of 9-5. A lot of late nights and weekends are spent on not just client work, but business development and internal marketing — managing website development and maintenance, social media monitoring, admin time spent answering emails, securing projects, staying up-to-date with accounting and networking (online and in-person at events.) Being an entrepreneur and a creative one at that, is not what people might think it is — but after freelancing and growing a respectable client base the last few years, I know that there is also nothing like the pride and reward that you feel when a project launches successfully, a client sings your praises and recommends you to everyone and you can literally see your business growing before your eyes. No, it's not always dreamy, but one of the biggest reasons that people start working for themselves is to indeed create a "dream job" and life that is flexible, less-stressful and makes you feel "all the things." It's a "baby" that you pour your heart and soul into, time, patience, sweat and tears — but oh, the end results are so sweet.
With that, I look forward to so much sweet ahead (although I know there will be a lot of down times, too) — managing my current clients and keeping them beyond happy, booking new clients, exciting and different types of projects, selling more design packages that help beautify others' businesses and brands and leaving room for surprises of what's to come that I can't even begin to expect right now.
"Untethered" has such a personal meaning to me and I put much time and thought into choosing it for my business name. As stated on the about page of this site, when I was 17, I underwent a spinal fusion surgery and now live with two, stainless steel rods in my back, due to scoliosis. The biggest culprit to my scoliosis, which was discovered later, was a "tethered spinal cord." It was being restricted from moving properly, so it had to be surgically untethered. "Untether" is defined as "to release" or "free." Not only do I live with an untethered spinal cord now, but I live my life and run my business untethered as well — with freedom that I create for myself and my clients. And, I'm just getting started.