We were lucky to catch up with Hosanna Rull recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hosanna, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Is your team able to work remotely? If so, how have you made it work? What, if any, have been the pitfalls? What have been the non-obvious benefits?
If I think long and hard about how I became efficient at working from home, I would say it all started back in college. I just love what I do so much, I would create mock websites and mock designs on my spare time. When I had a 9-5 job, I always had freelance work coming in. So coming home from work and getting back to work on my laptop was the norm for me. When I got laid off from my job, I had so much freelance work coming in I didn’t even have time to look for another job. That’s when I realized I could actually make this work full time if I just put more effort into it. Little did I know that that “effort” I had to put into starting a business was going to be a lot… a whole lot! I worked everywhere! Mostly out of necessity to get the projects done on time and delivered to my clients. I’ve worked at every cafe known to man, in my car outside a closed Starbucks just to get wifi, and even at the gym. Even though the beginning phase was rough and carrying my laptop everywhere got tiring, a few years later I reached a point in my business where I had to set some boundaries and learn how to work from home more effectively. My home life and my business was all jumbled into one and I needed to separate the two.
Many suggest to separate work and non work spaces while you work from home but, I’m the opposite. I do have a home office but to me being comfortable is key. I either work on my bed or on the couch with my 4 dogs. My non-negotiables are my morning routine to focus on me like my skin care, brushing my teeth, taking my supplements, eating a full balanced breakfast and my morning stretches. I make sure everything I need for my work day is within reach like my laptop, charger, external hard drives, and a bottle of water. I try my hardest to eat lunch around the same time every day. I make sure to get some sun even if it’s just for a few minutes. My #1 boundary is my phone. All social media notifications are OFF. My email notifications are OFF. All of my clients I communicate via messenger are on MUTE. And my phone is scheduled to go on DO NOT DISTURB mode every day from 7pm til 9am. I check all of that on my laptop when I’m “on the clock”. This has made it possible for me to separate work and my home life, and so far it has worked great for me.
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
My business, iRull Designs, focuses on graphic/ web design and photography for combat sport promotions and businesses. I create promotions flyers, logo brands, and websites for businesses in the combat sports industry. I also do photography coverage for combat sport events. I eventually became known as the “fight poster designer” and other promoters were contacting me to design the promotional materials for their fight events. I started training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and met a lot of great people in the grappling and MMA community that has trusted me with my skills. I genuinely care that the promoters, fighters and athletes have a promotional flyer they are proud to share to sell their tickets. I do research before every design to make sure I am delivering a variety of designs and layouts. I continue to learn and now my main focus is branding. I design for combat sport promotions and business with their brand in mind. I have also created logo brands and websites for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu & MMA gyms, MMA management companies, and other combat sport businesses.
I’m most proud that even being a female in such a male dominating industry, I continued to push through all the obstacles and made a name for myself. It wasn’t always easy and I always felt I had to take the extra mile to prove that I am capable, creative, and that I run a professional business. I was often overlooked, but I just focused on what was in front of me because I knew deep down it would all work out. I’ve had the pleasure of working with many great regional combat sport promotions, Premier Boxing Championships, Showtime, Main Events, and many world champions!
Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.
My business was pure accident and basically a hobby turned into a my full time income. I grew up around boxing as it runs in the family. One day as I was training at a boxing gym, the owner found out I was a graphic designer and asked me to design the promotional flyer for his upcoming professional boxing event. One event led to another and soon fighter’s managers and coaches would ask me to design business cards, logos, and sponsorship packages. One day a manager asked me if I could take photos of his fighter’s fight and there I was ringside with my little digital camera without a clue of what I was doing. Knowing I needed better equipment I borrowed my friends professional camera but we both didn’t know how to use it. I did my best testing out every mode and setting.
The thing about me is that if I don’t know something, I simply ask somebody who does. But meanwhile I didn’t stop trying figuring it out on my own. I kept showing up ringside and with every event I learned something. Little by little I saved up to buy better equipment and with every event that I covered I got a little better. This was an expensive hobby with no real vision to making it my business. I was having fun while learning action sport photography. Eventually the quality of my photos improved drastically and promoters were hiring me to cover their professional fight events. I have kept designing for regional combat sport promotions and now promotions has reached out from all over the nation to work with me.
My business organically grew on its own. I took my craft and combined it with my love for combat sports and that’s how niche developed. My friends are my clients, my clients are my training partners, and I love how it all came together.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Definitely without a doubt my work ethic. I know for a fact that all my clients have 100% trust in me that their work will be completed and delivered on time. I couldn’t imagine running a business without absolutely caring about my clients. I know this has been one of the main reasons for my success.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.irulldesigns.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hosannarull/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hosannarull
Image Credits
iRull Fotos