Today we’d like to introduce you to Téa Luehne

Téa, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?

I have always been a creative person, when I was little I loved to paint throughout my middle and high school years I was heavily involved in art classes. When I graduated high school I was going to college for a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and soon realized that wasn’t giving me a creative outlet. I was working at a job that wasn’t giving me that outlet either and I wanted something which allowed me to be creative while working with other people.

In 2020, I started out copywriting and ghostwriting blogs for brands and businesses which slowly transformed into social media graphic design and when I created the website for my business on Squarespace – my love for website design made its debut. Between 2017, when I graduated high school, and 2020 when I started my business, there were so many learning curves and growth opportunities along the way. But even since 2020, my businesses has grown into something I’m incredibly proud of. I’m back in school getting my degree in Business Administration and Marketing, I left my 9-5 job and am fully self-employed, and I have gotten a chance to work with some incredible clients. I had the incredibly opportunity to design a website for two college basketball players that sell merchandise as well as wanted something they could take with them into their professional careers. I designed a website for both Casey Morsell at NC State and Drew Pember at UNC Asheville. It was such a cool experience, and it truly was they foyer into where my business is today.

Throughout the past 4 years, I have found my niche, created incredible relationships with clients and other business owners, and built a business I am proud of.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

I feel like every business owner can agree that it’s never a smooth road. There are always obstacles to overcome, hurdles to jump, and times where you feel like you’re not going to get where you envisioned you’d be. When I started in 2020 up until March of this year (2024) I was working a full time job, going to college, and running my business – now I’ve only eliminated the 9-5 to replace it with the 24/7 work of running a business, but there were a lot of late nights, tears shed thinking I wasn’t good enough to be doing what I was doing, and feeling imposter syndrome creeping up. People say that entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone, and I couldn’t agree more. It’s a rough road and I had to really dig deep within myself to find what I truly wanted and how I wanted to help other business owners – and keep that mission in mind – when things got tough.

As a 24 year old that owns a web design business and is going to college, stress and challenges are inevitable, but I truly believe that every late night, hard project, close deadline, and stress was worth it because of where I am today.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Téa Rae Designs?

I specialize in creating Squarespace websites that empower women business owners through unique and minimalistic designs. It is something that I’m incredibly passionate about and I want to be able to help other women owned businesses feel seen and heard and have a website that communicates, authentically, how they feel about their products or services.

I am focused solely on women business owner empowerment by providing a high-level client experience that goes above and beyond while making you feel heard and understood. I do this by creating an elegant website for you that excites, engages, and converts casual visitors into paying clients. I understand that as business and marketing strategies change, your website needs to adapt as well, and by having an appreciation for the simplicity of design that’s focused on the user-experience above all else.

I wanted to create websites for women-owned businesses that took them from feeling frustrated, stressed, and confused about why the great products or services they’re offering aren’t converting customers or clients. To feeling excited, liberated, inspired, and relieved that they have a site that allows them to truly showcase what they offer to customers and clients and will convert viewers into purchasers. They feel grateful and with a renewed sense of purpose and drive to continue providing their products and services to their clients in a new way.

I not only understand where you are, but I understand where you want to be — because I was there too!

I currently offer from-scratch website builds where I design the perfect website for your brand or business from the ground up as well as website redesigns to help you refresh and revamp your current website. If you’re not in the market for either of these, or you’re on a tight budget, I also have premade Squarespace templates available that you can use to give you a head start on your website.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?

I don’t like to call it luck, but I do think that the universe has a way of giving you signs and pushing you in the right direction when it comes to your life choices and the path you’re meant to take. The universe played a big role in my business recently when I left my 9-5. In February I was hospitalized with an elevated heart rate for 3 days due to high stress in my life. When I got out I took a leave of absence for a month to figure out my heart issues and at the end of that month I decided to go full-time with my business and quit my 9-5, which was an incredibly difficult decision to make. I actually loved working there and was so grateful for the experience and the relationships I made there, but the stress and the overwhelm was starting to take a toll on my health and that took priority.

If it wasn’t for this seemingly bad luck, or sign from the universe, I don’t think I would be fully self-employed right now and I would still be working that 9-5. I am so grateful for everything that’s gotten me to this point in life, and the incredible projects I’ve gotten to work on, the clients I’ve gotten to work with, and the other incredible business owners I have gotten to interact with because of this shift.

Pricing:

• 4-page full website design starts at $2,800
• 4-page website revamp starts at $1,800
• Individual website page design starts at $850
• Premade website templates range from $280 – $450

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tearaedesigns.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/tearae.designs
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559095584106&mibextid=LQQJ4d