Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Eloise Stewart. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Eloise, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

The last seven and a half years of my life have been a risk! My life as a business owner has been made up of risk after risk – but each of those risks, however big or small, has led to an ever evolving business and career.

My real risk taking started before my business ever began. The seemingly small risks kept adding up:
Deciding not to get a fully-paid PhD degree to have a secure, tenure track, academic career was a risk.
Deciding to stop applying and interviewing for jobs I knew I didn’t want was a risk.
Deciding to instead consider the possibility of starting a business at 25 was a risk.
Finding a business consultant to share my dreams of a business with was a risk.
Transferring my last $300 from my personal savings account to a new business checking account was a risk.
Putting myself out there on social media for the first time was a risk (it still feels pretty risky!)
Offering services to help others in their career and business was a risk – but I was determined to google myself through it.

Small risk leads to big risk. Big risk leads to life changing moments. And the biggest risks I’ve taken have come in the form of people and purpose.

I started as a one-woman show. And then I needed help with the areas I didn’t love. So I hired a social media intern, which turned into a part time employee. Then I hired a brand photographer, then a part time designer, then a social media coordinator, then a design manager, and then a project manager. Now I get to lead a full time team of talented and hard working women. These women have dedicated their time, faith, and talent to this business and I don’t take that lightly. It’s a risk to lead and it’s a risk to dream. And it’s an incredibly scary and tangible risk to add payroll to your business!

Every risk I have taken was necessary in order to lead a business based on purpose and not a paycheck. Not to say that paychecks and profit aren’t necessary and important but I refuse to allow it to be the only reason why we do or don’t do something. I refuse to sacrifice purpose for a higher “paycheck”. I have made decisions that mean that I may make less money, that I won’t get a raise, that I might struggle.

When I started my business, I had two main areas of services: The first was based on personal branding and career services. I had been teaching at the University level and loved teaching students and helping them navigate their careers. I also loved helping micro/small businesses with creative work. So with my background and education in design and my love for teaching and coaching, I offered career services to college students and professionals while also building my services in small business branding and design. I knew early on in the business that I needed to pay my dues and build a reputation. I knew I needed to learn a lot and gain experience. I knew I needed to serve different clients from different industries of different sizes over and over and over. After 4 years, I had written 500 resumes and helped 100’s of professionals. I could have kept going but I knew that my long term goal was not to be a resume writer. So I took a big leap of faith and a risk and stopped offering the career services in 2020. Half of the business would need to be made up for in other ways. When I took the risk to cut part of my business, we had the most profitable year (in a pandemic!). I have learned that refining, though risky and scary, is what leads to growth.

As we focused on business branding, we also faced more challenges. Good challenges in the form of new creative work and problem solving but also in the form of imposter syndrome. I was comfortable with career services and personal branding. But the land of business branding led to a lot of marketing and advertising. And for some reason I didn’t feel I had any right to be in those areas. I also had NO desire to be a marketing agency. I wanted to educate, train, consult, and inspire. So I guess the next risk was leaning into something before I felt ready and finding my own way within it. I started helping clients with their branding, marketing, communications, and strategy. This is when the team started growing and the risk of people began.

As the business grew and evolved, so did my burnout. I was unwell as a professional.
Thankfully I had a friend who patiently and persistently encouraged me to complete a program on time, stress and burnout. It was the best decision I could have made for myself and my business. I learned the material, realized my warped workaholic mindsets, and began changing things in my life to be well. Then came the next risk – taking what I learned and sharing my story with other women in business. I rewrote the content and very vulnerably shared it with others. And it did well. Really well. And people kept hiring me to teach it to others.

As 2022 approached, I was ready to finally make the first steps to the long term dream – owning a business that was built on my true purpose – the purpose of helping others. We slowly started firing ourselves from our bigger projects and retainers and began focusing on small business, project-based work, and teaching/training. It seems more than risky, almost crazy to cut your sustainable income while growing a team. But that risk was exactly what we needed to do. It was not overnight. It was not smooth. But there was a peace in the midst of the chaos and risk.

When we started narrowing our approach and letting clients go, we were allowed to focus our energies so that we could begin writing and sharing content that helps others. We shifted the business model for eloise design co, and that allowed us to help grow businesses and brands well from the inside out. The realignment also allowed us to work behind the scenes to create the beingwell content, website, and podcast. I partnered with my patient and persistent friend from years earlier and we launched a second business named beingwell in 2023. Is starting a second business while still working on your first a good idea? It’s definitely a risk!

Sometimes we need to make decisions that don’t appear safe, popular, or guaranteed.
Why do we do this? Why do I keep doing it?
I think it’s because purpose is more valuable than a paycheck to me and I would rather keep changing and evolving than remain uncomfortably comfortable.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I founded eloise design co in 2015 to help professionals and businesses discover, create, and communicate their brands. The business’s purpose is to not just to create but to teach, mentor, and demonstrate. I lead a team who works hard to create relationships with our clients in order to teach and equip them to grow their brands and businesses well. I serve as a consultant and connector first, meaning that my goal is help a client decide and take the next right step in their business.

My experiences in design and teaching have provided me with a unique skill set and perspective that allows me to serve many different types of clients. I am a two-time graduate of Auburn University with a Bachelor of Science in Apparel Merchandising, Design, and Production Management and a Master of Science in Consumer Behavior. After working in the apparel industry, I returned to my alma mater and taught courses in the Apparel Merchandising and Design program. After finishing my contract with Auburn, my husband and I decided to build a life in Opelika, AL to start my business and serve clients across the country. We have settled in the historic area of Opelika and have renovated an old home that serves as our home and office. While running Eloise Design Co., I teach and speak on branding, relational marketing, and professional development and wellness.

I believe every successful brand is personal. And when the person is not well, the brand suffers. My newest yet most impactful project is my program called beingwell. beingwell was created as I sought to “be well” as an entrepreneur in a chaotic world. I now teach workshops and retreats to help professionals examine their relationship with time, stress, and mindsets so they can show up stronger both personally and professionally.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Relationships. Every successful opportunity, project, collaboration, partnership, etc. in the last 7 years came from relationships. Showing up, meeting people, getting to know them (not just connecting on LinkedIn), and serving or supporting them first. Generosity of time and support of other businesses has opened doors for my business. When we start our businesses, we focus on our immediate circles of influence for support but as we grow we tend to leave that strategy and focus on broader marketing and advertising strategies. Those are good and successful but we can’t forget the power of relational marketing. I tell clients all the time (and remind myself) – It’s not just who you know, its who knows you and what they know.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

As someone who wants to help others and serve others, I had to unlearn or learn that I am not our client’s savior. I can’t solve all of their problems. I won’t always be the solution. This can be applied to new clients and existing long-term clients. As a new or young business, the tendency is to take on as much business as you can to build your portfolio and credibility and reputation. But this can become dangerous if the hustle mindset takes over and we never say no. If we don’t realize that not every person that comes to us is our client or customer. I learned this the hard way … multiple times. But I also see this in existing clients. Where the trust builds and you are known for helping. Where is the line drawn? Where is the boundary so that you don’t serve beyond your scope and responsibility? This is something that I will always be learning as we serve.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.eloisedesignco.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eloisedesignco/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eloisedesignco
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/eloisedesignco/
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/eloisedesignco/

Image Credits
We took and own all of the rights to the images – eloise design co.