We recently connected with Brittany Wong and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Brittany, thanks for joining us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

It takes commitment. The same way I’m committed to my family, I have to commit to my business. For me, there is no plan B. I’ve spent most of my adult life being the primary income earner for my family. So it was really important that my business succeed. But “success” looks different to different people. For some people it may mean making a million dollars. For others it might mean being able to match your partner’s salary. My idea of “success” has varied a lot since I started my business in 2019. I also find that I’m very easily influenced by the people and leaders I listen to. That has thrown me off course on more than one occasion and when it happens I usually find myself crying at my desk a few months down the road because I’m trying to live a life or achieve a goal that isn’t what I want. So first you need to define what success actually means to YOU, and then commit to making it happen. You have to show up even on the days you don’t want to and just find a way to make it work.

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.

I own a creative studio called Happyland Creative and we create brands and websites for small businesses. I got my degree in graphic design and have been working professionally as a designer since 2008. I really only chose the field of design because my mom told me I should. I never was much of a “big dreamer” growing up so when it came time to decide what I wanted to do for a career, I really had no idea. But I had always been creative and artistically inclined so my mom suggested graphic design. It sounded fun to me so I gave it a shot. Turns out I loved it!

I worked for a number of years at a small agency (working remotely before remote work was a thing), and it was there that I was introduced how to design websites and, even though I was working for a company, I learned what it takes to run a creative studio. I was the only designer on staff for a good portion of my tenure at that company and had lots of on-the-job-learning and communication with clients.

I never imagined running my own business. I’m not much of a risk-taker. But after a number of years at that company it started going through some changes that I didn’t want to stick around for. I applied for tons of other jobs but couldn’t even get an email response let alone an interview. My situation started to become so uncomfortable and I didn’t know how much longer I could last there.

One day I was visiting a friend in New York City and as we were coming up out of a subway station I had a completely out-of-the-blue vision. It was like a flash of lightning in my mind—I saw that I was going to open my own business, I saw that it was going to be called Happyland Creative, I saw what the logo would look like, I saw what kind of clients I would have the type of projects I would work on. I saw it all at once as if it had already happened. I’ve never experienced such a moment of clarity like that before.

So I started to think about the idea of working for myself. I started to crunch numbers and wondered if I could really make it work. I tried to look at it from every angle possible and it was all adding up, except I couldn’t get past the financial insecurity of it all. Until one day I was listening to a podcast (I wish I could remember which one) and the speaker said something along the lines of how you actually have *more* financial security being self employed than you do working for someone else. As a business owner, you have multiple clients. If you lose a client you still have others you’re working with and you create processes and systems to go out and find more clients. But as an employee, you work for one company—one client—who can, at any time, let you go. Essentially, all your eggs are in one basket. It blew my mind and made SO MUCH sense to me. That was the moment I decided to go for it.

Like most business owners I flailed around for the first couple of years just trying to figure it all out. It was until the past two years that I finally started to feel like I was coming into that clear vision of my business. I leaned hard into my love of retail and product businesses and learned what kind of problems products businesses struggle with and how I could help them. Ever since turning my attention towards product-based ecommerce businesses I feel like Happyland Creative is thriving. I’m really passionate about helping small business owners dream bigger for their business. We believe every small business deserves to have a big brand that could stand out on the shelves of Target.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Engage with people. I think the word “engagement” is started to feel a little diluted because of how often we hear it on social media, but the truth is really you need to engage with people and draw them in. I’m naturally an introvert, but I know when it comes to my business I need to put on my extrovert pants and talk to people even when I’m uncomfortable. Think of it like a farmers market or a craft fair. There are all these tables set up selling goods and products that someone wants you to buy. As the customer, which table are you going to be the most drawn to? The one where the seller is sitting down behind their table watching the people go by? Or the one where the seller is standing in front of their table, greeting each person as they walk by and inviting them in to their booth to have a look around? Chances are the more engaging seller is going to get your attention enough that you might buy something.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I absolutely loved Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull, one of the founders of Pixar. It’s a great memoir and business book about the origin story of Pixar. It’s highlights the importance of partnering with the right people, doing things differently, committing to a goal, staying flexible and responsive to the ups and downs, and growing a massively successful business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.happylandcreative.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happylandcreative/

Image Credits
Avalyse Photography Marilla Kay Photography