We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kelly Kumler. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kelly below.

Kelly, appreciate you joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

Before starting my business in brand and website design, I was an elementary school teacher of 7 years. I loved teaching and working with the kids, but always felt this tug to do something else.

In 2021, my son was born. I took 6 weeks off and went back to the classroom and quickly realized the balance between mom and work was nearly impossible. So by the end of that school year, I quit my secure job as a teacher to start my own business, which is terrifying enough, but even more of risk: I really had no idea what my “new business” would even be.

I ended up taking the first couple of weeks of that summer digesting every podcast, YouTube video, book, etc. I could find to figure out what the heck I wanted to do. It all boiled down to my love of digital design and marketing strategy and became Kelly Ryann Co.

Although the risk didn’t even stop there. A few weeks later, we found out I was pregnant with baby #2. I definitely had a moment of panic thinking I should just go back to teaching, where I was not happy but I was at least safe. After a moment of total freak out, I leaned in to starting my business and have been growing ever since! Even while having a baby at home.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a boy-mom, wife, margarita fanatic, and lover of a midday walk. I am also the owner and designer at Kelly Ryann Co., a brand and website design agency for wedding professionals. KRco. is actually the second business I have started. My first was a wedding stationary business where I created semi-custom designs to sell on Etsy as well as custom designs for clients. I quickly learned I really preferred digital design over print and I was obsessed with the “running the business” side of my side hustle. Realizing these passions, I started brand and website design, where I could implement marketing strategy, SEO, and brand positioning alongside these beautiful designs I built for my clients. After my little stint in the wedding industry, it became a pretty natural transition to jump into working with wedding professionals.

As I leaned into brand and website design, I developed my strategy-first mentality, where we spend a ton of time upfront learning the details of each wedding business to develop a marketing strategy that will support the brand and website design. I always tell clients that my business has two pillars: driving traffic and converting traffic. We believe that you need both to succeed in the wedding industry which means strategy and SEO have to come alongside eye-catching, stand-out-from-the-noise design.

I have now built custom Showit websites, created detailed brands, and implemented full SEO strategy for 50+ wedding vendors. I have had the pleasure of working with wedding planners and coordinators, photographers, florists, hair and makeup artists, DJs, live bands, and venues.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I love this question because I think I am definitely still in the early phases of building my reputation. When I first started my business, I didn’t understand how I would see the same faces on different podcasts and webinars. How did all of these people just become BFFs?!

Ultimately, I think there are two things that have helped me build my reputation within the wedding industry.

1. I was the girl that would randomly reach out to people on Instagram to ask if they wanted to get a virtual coffee. Sometimes people ignored me, but most of the time they said yes. Through these random meet and greets, I’ve made some real friends and people I can lean on when business feels insane. I’ve also built relationships with fellow wedding industry marketers to refer clients to, and get referrals from.

2. I have invested a lot of time (and some money) into learning the wedding industry. I am not a wedding professional so I am not in the trenches with the florists setting up for 3 weddings in one weekend or the photographer so backed-up on editing they feel like they are drowning. Knowing I don’t have that background, I’ve really made it a point to learn and understand the industry as much as possible. And with that, learn what success looks like in the wedding industry, what matters in wedding industry marketing, and especially what is DIFFERENT about this industry than others. I think this has allowed vendors to trust me and my expertise.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

There are two books and one podcast episode that have shaped SO much of how I run my business.

The first being Profit First by Mike Michalowicz. This book really helped me set a foundation for how to pay myself. I started my business using this model and am so glad I did. I am not sure I would really understand how to pay myself, how to grow a team, or how to limit expenses if I didn’t.

The second book is Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller. I highly recommend that anyone in the marketing industry should read this book, especially if you work with brands and websites. Or, if you plan to create your brand and website yourself, definitely read this one!

Finally, the single podcast episode that plays back in my mind often is The Heart and The Hustle podcast episode 303: How to Work a 16 Hour Workweek. I don’t work a 16 hour workweek, but I do typically work about 25 hours per week. I started my business so that I could be a present mom AND do something I love while contributing financially to my family. I always hear stories about business owners starting a business and then realizing they work 24/7 and that just isn’t a reality for me. In this podcast episode Shay Cochrane, owner of Elevae Visuals, talks about how she has always worked fewer hours because that was all the childcare they had. She also says that her business probably could’ve grown faster and bigger had she put more hours in, but that wasn’t her goal. That really resonates with me often as I balance part-time childcare and growing a business in a sustainable way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kellyryann.com
• Instagram: @kellyryannco
• Facebook: Kelly Ryann Co.

Image Credits

Brooke Wilson