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

Justen, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Visual Lure is a full-service design firm specializing in logo design, branding, and custom search engine-optimized WordPress websites. Our core mission is to empower small to mid-sized local businesses—particularly fellow entrepreneurs—to thrive through impactful branding and strong local search rankings.

My passion for helping entrepreneurs and small businesses succeed stems from witnessing my father’s journey as a business owner. Growing up, he taught karate and operated two dojos—one in Belvidere, Illinois, and another in Woodstock, Illinois. While he faced significant challenges early on, his perseverance ultimately led to success, and I had the privilege of witnessing it firsthand. I deeply admired his determination and his desire to build something meaningful for himself and our family. That same spirit inspires me to dedicate my time and skills to helping other businesses grow and succeed.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have always been artistic, a passion my mother nurtured from a young age. She enrolled me in art classes and constantly supplied me with creative tools—pencils, markers, paints, blocks, Legos, and anything else that sparked my imagination. By high school, I landed my first paying job painting a Harley-Davidson sign cut out of metal. By the time I reached college, I was creating ad mockups for a small Chicago marketing firm.

Today, I’m the proud owner of Visual Lure, a full-service design firm specializing in logo design, branding, graphic design, and custom web design, with a particular focus on search engine optimization (SEO).

What truly sets me apart from my competition is my passion for helping clients succeed and the strong relationships I build with them. These connections keep me personally invested in their growth and achievements. There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing my clients generate more leads, increase sales, and close more deals.

For example, I recently began working with a local pool contractor who is building a pool for us. During a conversation, he asked about my work and whether I would assess his current website. The first thing I did was check their local search rankings—and I discovered their site wasn’t ranking on the first page for any of their primary targeted keywords. I shared this information with them, and they asked if I could help improve their rankings. I confidently said I could.

Fast forward to today, and their website is now ranking on the first page of Google for 26 highly relevant search terms. Leads have started rolling in, and I believe my work will help set them up for an outstanding 2025.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

Right out of college, I landed a job at a design firm in Alton, Illinois. After working there for a couple of years, I had a performance review with the owners where I asked for either a raise or the ability to freelance on the side. They agreed to let me take on freelance work, so I started designing for my own clients after hours.

A couple of years later, I had built up enough clients to take the leap and go out on my own—and I’ve been running Visual Lure ever since.

I’ll never forget the project that allowed me to make that transition. It was for a company called Big 3 Precision out of Centralia, Illinois. I had to take a half day off work to drive out and meet with their manager. I pitched them a complete rebrand, including new collateral materials and a full website redesign. I ended up closing the deal, and that project gave me the confidence and momentum to start my own firm.

Other key milestones in my career include being published in several highly esteemed books and industry publications, designing the complete branding for a professional photographer who was recognized as one of the top wedding photographers in the world, and, most importantly, helping small businesses succeed and thrive.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Aside from word-of-mouth, my top source of new clients has always been Google. I focus my personal SEO efforts on ranking #1 on the first page for “St. Louis logo design”—and that’s where you’ll almost always find me. Securing the initial logo and branding projects often leads to additional work, such as graphic design, collateral materials, and frequently, website design as well. This strategy has kept me pretty busy since I founded my company in 2001.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://visuallure.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/visual_lure/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VisualLure
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justenhong/

Image Credits

All image credits are to me, Justen Hong & my company Visual Lure.