We recently connected with Billy Whittaker and have shared our conversation below.

Billy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you tell us about an important lesson you learned in school and why that lesson is important to you?

Growing up, my mom and dad had decided, just as I would be entering pre-k, to begin homeschooling my siblings and myself. Personally, I was homeschooled up to the age of 15 and then began taking courses at our local community college for both high school and college credit (a.k.a dual enrollment or dual credit), as did many of my homeschooled peers.

I will never forget getting to one of my first classes at the college and my instructor telling me how excited he was to have another homeschooler come through his door because of the excellence of the work and the love for learning that my peers, who had come through this program before, had exemplified. This was the first time I realized what a huge benefit homeschooling had been to me personally as it related to my desire to be constantly learning and my academic advancement.

Now I understand that not everyone prefers to learn the same way; some enjoy more social atmospheres, and some have more reserved preferences. There is also usually a certain stigma involved with the term “homeschool” unfortunately… but in my case, it was the catalyst to the early establishment of my business and the foundation for being a lifelong learner. I am infinitely grateful my parents took that route with me. I still consider home education invaluable to the family unit and a prime opportunity for the creation of early entrepreneurs and visionaries. It facilitated a mindset growth from such an early age, and it allowed me to process the opportunity in front of me from elementary school on. What a life-long gift.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Well, now that they know a little about my educational background, you will also understand that after school, I was just as supported by my parents to keep discovering. Their unwavering belief that I could be whatever I wanted to be, with hard work and discipline, has always rooted a confidence in me that I could create a future I loved with the Lord’s blessing. When I was in my elementary and middle school years, this dream first manifested as a small jewelry-making business. But it was the need for an online presence for that business that quickly landed me in the world of design and entrepreneurship.

It was actually first working on my own brand that I realized these particular interests would bring together all the passions I had in me as a child – creativity, entrepreneurship, and serving others. I’ve always had a little “business bug” and tried several, somewhat comical, business ideas through my middle school years, but the business I finally launched at 14 was the one I knew I would pursue in some variation for the rest of my life. It was for that business, BRIM DESIGN, that I started doing small jobs for the people I knew and got my foot in the door with several pro-bono projects. But as time went on, the Lord, my family, our amazing clients, and a fantastic team, have grown my little business into what it is today.

I maintained BRIM DESIGN as a side-gig up to and through college and even when I began working corporately after receiving my BFA, I freelanced on the side while my corporate workplace used my photography skills as their own incentive services. I have always been blessed with opportunities for unconventional growth, this was just one of many.

After two years of corporate work, I knew the time had come to step away from the security of a 9 to 5 and trust that God would take care of the details and bless the hustle I had put into making this dream a reality. It had always been my desire to sustain my lifestyle on a business I had built, and now the time had come. Since the day I left my 9 to 5 I have worked at and grown BRIM DESIGN full-time alongside my amazing team. It has been our great privilege to serve small businesses of all sizes and professions.

Today, our primary goal is that everyone who encounters BRIM DESIGN will go away more personally and professionally enabled than before. Our standard of excellence and building life-long relationships with our clients is not only our highest priority but our deepest passion. Our team makes their dreams more tangible with award-winning design, photography, videography, social media, and coaching. We literally build businesses from the brand up!

The most valuable thing we get to do every day is to step into the story of all these incredible small business owners and to elevate their message and mission in a way that is truly unique and effective. We feel so privileged that they trust us with their story and that the majority of our clients are long-term partnerships.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

When I get asked this question or questions like it, my mind always jumps back to being 14. No, our primary clientele is not broke teenage girls, but it is very important to me that this business be respectful of not only the vision and the dreams of a small business owner, but also of their resources and time.

I would have loved a more senior creative/entrepreneur to take me under their wing and mentor me about starting a creative business from scratch. If I had, I would not have wasted as much time or made as many mistakes. I also wasn’t in a position to have any money to pay a professional to build out my brand so the first several years were a little too DIY. And finally, I would have loved for someone to pull me aside and tell me that if I had just focused on building genuine relationships, the sales would sort themselves out. But that wasn’t my situation, and so I try to take those needs and fill them through our business to provide other small businesses as much of a kickstart as possible.

We even developed a sponsorship program to cover the entire creative cost of a brand, website, and image development for an up-and-coming business. It is used multiple times a year and has kickstarted numerous small businesses, non-profits, and organizations through the years.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

In our years of experience, we have found brand loyalty to be directionally proportionate to loyalty to our clients. If you build authentic relationships with people, if you shop local and refer their businesses, if you support their mission, and even if you check in on them from time to time (appropriately) as a human being…brand loyalty is never an issue.

On the technical side of brand loyalty, there is a set standard and expectation for what a client will experience when they work with your business. If you build and maintain a quality experience, they will choose to work with your business over a competing company every time. Peace of mind and seamlessness are crucial for the client experience. Ask yourself what would equal a perfect experience if you were using a similar business, and work towards creating that within the parameters of your own business. You should always be working to improve the client experience.

Brand loyalty within the company is often overlooked, but it is just as important to the success of your business. If your team members/employees don’t believe in your business, then their work will reflect that. If they love their work atmosphere, believe in the company mission, and feel they are in a culture of growth – that will be translated to the success of your business.

People first every time – the rest will take care of itself after that.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.brimdesign.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brimdesign/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BRIMdesign
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brimdesign/