We recently connected with Courtney Harvey and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Courtney thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you scale up? What were the strategies, tactics, meaningful moments, twists/turns, obstacles, mistakes along the way? We’d love to hear the backstory the illustrates how you grew your brand.
I absolutely love this question! A lot of creatives and service providers see the end goal or “dream income” and forget how much determination, blood, sweat and tears goes in behind the scenes of building and scaling a business.
When I first opened my agency, my only goal was to make a full-time income from home before my youngest son went to Kindergarten. It had always been my dream to be a kick ass mom AND kick ass career woman, and I was determined to have both. Bring the boys to school with their homemade lunches, and pop on the boss pants as soon as I stepped into my home office.
Having a monetary goal that has meaning behind it can make or break your income – and the turning point for me was when I actually did it ahead of schedule. I had given myself a year to do it, and when I hit that goal for 2 months in a row, I had this “oh crap…is this sustainable?” moment, which turned into many of those moments.
Learning to trust in myself and my ability to earn a significant income was a huge obstacle for me, and once I leaned in to that trust, so much shifted in terms of scaling my business.
Surrounding myself with like-minded entrepreneurs played a huge roll in my overall success. I think this plays a bigger roll in our overall happiness than we give it credit for! Stay close to positive people, those who are striving to make a difference, and those who practice gratitude alongside you! It can be so easy to get sucked in to the fear, into those thoughts that can creep in when you’re on the verge of doubting yourself. But being around the right people and influences can snap you out of that quickly!
When I started my company, I wasn’t dreaming as big as I am today. Scaling this business meant more positive impact for our clients, and our students, and our communities. The right people, the right mindset, good, honest work, and not being afraid of new opportunities will get you really far!
Courtney, 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?
I opened my business in 2017, and focused on branding design simply because I was tired of seeing clients pay too much for subpar designs. I graduated with my BFA in Graphic Design in 2008, and shortly after moved to NYC in hopes of launching my design career! Graduating college during the 2008 crash was tough, and it taught me to be resilient and resourceful when it came to earning a living. I took positions that paid the bills and covered the insurance, but always kept my hand in the design world.
I am forever grateful for all of the things I did prior to opening my business because it taught me to relate to people, and to their needs. What success means to one of us is not the same as you, and so on. This has helped me really create a personalized experience for all of my clients, especially in branding design! Many of my clients say to me “I don’t even have to tell you what I want, you listen to me and just create it!” It’s a wonderful feeling to be able to bring something to life that will allow my clients to full step into their craft and expertise.
We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.
I love connecting with my past clients and keeping up with how they are doing!
Offering a branding experience that makes them feel heard and seen is the first thing I do to ensure brand loyalty. Sending a welcome gift, even if it’s something small- can show your clients that you really appreciate them, too!
Honoring timelines and expectations throughout the process has become a number one priority for me, along with communication! I always send hand written cards to my clients to say hello and thank them for being a part of my business and life. Many of my clients turn into lifelong friends, which only helps to drive more referrals and brand loyalty!
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding part of being a creative service provider is allowing my clients to own their craft and be able to show up with confidence both on and offline. Branding goes so far beyond color palettes and pretty fonts- from the way you make people feel, to the way you speak to them, to how you deliver a service or product. Being able to see my clients thrive because they have confidence in who they are in their business means everything to me. Their success is truly my success, and I am always so happy to see our efforts together pay off 10, 20-fold for them.
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Raya on Assignment @rayaonassignment www.rayaonassignment.com