We recently connected with Maria Alcoke and have shared our conversation below.

Maria, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I love this question because it’s something I have pondered on and off for the past 7 years of running my design agency full-time. There are many benefits to running your own business. You have the ability to create a flexible schedule for yourself, you can choose your hours and work as little or as much as you want – but all of those decisions come with consequences. It’s easy to disregard boundaries around work when you run the show. You have to hold yourself accountable to your commitments and be disciplined in a way that differs from the kind of discipline that comes with working a “W2 job”. As a business owner, I don’t receive benefits as I would working for a corporation. I pay for health insurance, I manage my own retirement, I don’t receive the 401k match that many W2-paying jobs offer. While I don’t have to take into consideration “PTO”, I am responsible for the operations side of my business and managing any contractors that I hire, so in many cases, the work never stops. It has been a long time since I’ve worked in corporate, but I have this vision that I would have better boundaries around work, that I would have a team to lean on when things got challenging, and that “work-stuff” wouldn’t live inside my head – although I also realize the grass is aways greener. What I concluded was that, for me, getting a “regular job” would actually mean taking the easy way out and it would keep me “safe”. I’m sure you’ve heard the cliche sentiment that the magic happens outside of your comfort zone. I was starting to feel uncomfortable in my business because I knew that it was time to level up, it was time for growth and growth can be incredibly uncomfortable. I realized that it wasn’t the “regular job” I was seeking, it was the security that I imagined a regular job would provide. Once I was able to work through that, things changed, my mindset changed and I am moving through the discomfort as I work to grow the business that make me so happy.

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 grew up in Maryland, received my BFA in Photography with an interactive media minor from the University of Delaware and received my MA in Digital Arts from MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art). After graduating with my Masters Degree, I moved to San Diego, CA. I spent a little over 8 years in San Diego, first working as an in-house web and graphic designer at two action-sports companies, then transitioning into a high school teaching position at a charter school teaching 9th and 12th grade Multimedia. I spent 4 years teaching and throughout my career-path, I was often took on freelance design work to either build websites or create graphics or branding material for various clients. I got married in San Diego, a year later I got pregnant and at that time my husband and I made the decision to move back east to be closer to both of our families. Once our first child was born, I found myself torn between going back to the corporate space or building a base of freelace clients. I was getting referrals for design work, so I took the opportunity and in 2016, I officially incorporated my LLC. From there, my freelance work evolved into a full-service design agency that continues to be 100% referral based. We offer website design and development, website maintenance and support, brand identity and brand strategy, as well as graphic design for digital and print. We’ve recently expanded our offering to social media management, SEO and copywriting services to really build a one-stop shop for creative solutions and digital marketing. I believe the thing that sets us apart from other larger agencies is the personalized experience we provide to each client. We are conscious and strategic about how many clients and projects we take on at any given time to ensure a premium experience. We work in a full partnership with our clients from the initial exploratory session, through project launch and in many cases, continue to support the client through website maintenance or ongoing consulting to help them grow their brand. I’m deeply passionate about building relationships that last and client retention is something I’m incredibly proud of. We continue to pay attention to trends and understand our clients’ needs in order to give them the best service possible and the growth that we’ve experienced over the past couple of years.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One lesson that I have had to unlearn as a business owner is charging what I’m worth. I started freelancing right out of college. A family member referred one of their friends who was launching a new business to me and asked if I could build them a website. I had absolutely no idea what to charge. I came up with a price that felt fair without too much consideration. As I continued to build my skillset and gain more opportunities, I started to get a better understanding of pricing based on experience. Over the years, I’ve struggled to increase my rates, even as the skills, expertise, and quality of work have improved. It took me working with mentors and coaches to really start to understand the value that I provide. It was scary to ask for more, I felt the feeling of imposter syndrome and thought “what if they scoff at my rate?” I had to dig pretty deep to get to the real root of this feeling, but essentially, it was a self-worth issue. Growing up, I learned that it was best to be a people-pleaser, that I should not inconvenience anyone or create confrontation. This has allowed me to be a very well-liked and personable individual, but it was another example of how I stayed safe. If someone didn’t like my work or my rates, it felt like a direct reflection of me – that I was somehow a bad person for asking for what I was worth. This has been a process and I have to give credit to all of my past mentors, my business coach and my therapist for helping me work through that old story of my worth.

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

When speaking to our clients about what they like about working with MariaVida Creative, there is a common trend about our agency – we are ‘easy’ to work with. We understand the work and do what needs to get done so our clients can focus on their zone of genius and continue to work on their business goals. We provide peace of mind to the client, have consistently exceeded our clients’ expectations and we listen to our clients’ needs. That has truly things helped to build our reputation – our clients know that their needs are being met – it is one thing off of their plate. My team and I consistently show up and are proactive for our clients and consistently deliver the same personalized service regardless of the client’s project or budget.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mariavida.com
• Instagram: @maria.alcoke
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-alcoke-898ab6182/

Image Credits
Joe Tito Photography Cornerhouse Realty