We were lucky to catch up with Bernadette Capulong recently and have shared our conversation below.

Bernadette, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

I believe that hard work makes dreams come true because it’s what built BC Design Haus. I regularly tell my team that if we can’t see a clear solution to a problem, we don’t give up, we work together to figure it out. I’m vocal about embracing challenges, because I believe they give us opportunities to learn, grow, and get better. BCDH is here today because of this grit and tenacity, and it’s what we apply every time we help build a brand.

In the early days, we ran entirely out of my kitchen. It was here that I learned what it meant to “hustle,” and in less than two years, I managed to build a small, but substantial client base and get a taste for what it was like to be my own boss. It took a ton of work, but boy, what a feeling!

Building a business from nothing and seeing it start to flourish was unlike anything I’ve experienced. It gave me a deeper respect for my parents, who uprooted their lives and took a chance on their dreams when they immigrated to the U.S. I often think witnessing their courage is what sparked a similar drive in myself.

In 2015, I adopted my son, and found motherhood to be the most rewarding and challenging adventure yet. I soon realized that leading by example was the most important gift I could give him, and this motivated me to take BCDH to the next level—growth.

Growing the agency has always been about connecting with the right people—clients and staff—who relate to our mission to use personalization, creativity, and agility to solve problems and deliver meaningful brand experiences. Finding these people and staying true to our mission has allowed us to grow our team and expand our services. It’s what enables us to produce consistently innovative work for clients across industries, and it’s the reason we were able to thrive during the Pandemic, despite many obstacles.

If there’s one thing I know, it’s that we’ll always be presented with new challenges. It’s how we approach our solutions that set us apart.

Bernadette, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My background in graphic design led me into corporate packaging (Nestle, Mattel, P&G), where I learned a great deal and enjoyed a fruitful career for many years. In 2009, I left the corporate world and began freelancing, partly out of necessity and partly out of a desire to start my own business. This experience gave me the taste of creative freedom and professional autonomy I needed to start building something of my own. That’s how BC Design Haus was born.

Over the next 6 years, I worked hard to grow the agency and eventually incorporated it in 2015. As BCDH grew, we also evolved and adapted to changes in the industry and the world. From humble beginnings—a niche design agency with less than five employees operating out of a co-working space—to the full-service branding and marketing agency we are today, our larger, fully-remote team resides all over the country and brings their individual talents, dedication, spirit, and diverse perspectives to everything we do.

In a relatively short time, BCDH has developed a strong reputation for innovative, high-quality work, and we’ve expanded our reach from L.A. to clients across the country.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

No journey is ever completely smooth sailing, there are always bumps along the way. One of the most challenges times in my life when I incorporated my business, because it was at this time that I also began the process of adopting my son. To say it was a lot to juggle at once, is a huge understatement, but this experience challenged me to grow in ways I never could have expected. It also shone a light on how leadership and parenting are in many ways, quite similar.

There were times when I felt like I wasn’t giving enough to my business and times when I felt like I was failing as a mother—usually occurring simultaneously—and it was because I was spreading myself too thin in both areas. I like to think of myself someone that can do it all, but it was when I learned to ask for help from the people in my life that I lean on for support, that I learned the real meaning of resilience. I learned that I cannot show up fully for anyone or anything else if I don’t give myself the grace and permission to recharge.

It took a long time for me to learn that when I try to do everything myself, I can’t give 100 percent 100 percent of the time. I used to view asking for help as a weakness, but now, I see it is one of my biggest strengths. It’s what’s kept my family and my business afloat in challenging and unpredictable times.

Have you ever had to pivot?

The pandemic happened just as BC Design Haus wrapped 2019—one of our most financially viable years to date. To remain open, myself and my team were forced into a remote working environment, which was a huge transition for us. We had to learn how to work without seeing each other every day, and this really challenged us from a collaborative standpoint at first. We had to relearn how to work together—and connect with our clients—in a totally new environment, but thanks to my team’s willingness to adapt and all of the hard work we put into staying productive, we were able to keep the business running almost as seamlessly as before.

BCDH has also had to pivot in terms of our services to stay competitive in recent years. In a digital world, it was no longer enough for us to just offer packaging design services, so we invested resources into growing our collective skillset and hiring new people to expand our offerings. We are now a full-service creative marketing and branding agency, that in addition to package design, offer a number of services including web design, social media management, email marketing, print and digital advertising, and brand strategy.   

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bcdesignhaus.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/bcdesignhaus/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bcdesignhaus/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bc-design-haus-agency/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/bcdesignhaus/