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

Hi Katelyn, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

In 2017, I had been working for someone in a Director of Communications position that allowed me a little bit of creative freedom, but not as much as I needed to truly make a difference. Part of my job responsibility included being the Editor and Designer of an in-house magazine in which local businesses would advertise. There was a point in time when more and more businesses needed assistance with designing their ads because they had no one to do it for them. At first, it started as one or two sprinkled into one publication; however, it began to pick up as more businesses caught word that I could help them with it, and I began charging separately for it.

Around that same time, I had friends who began reaching out to me for assistance with their websites and logos and I would take on the tasks. At that point, I still had my full-time job and would be working 9-5 only to come home and work more, sometimes until 2 in the morning, just to make both work. It got to the point where I knew I had to make a change—I was going to have to either quit this new creative side hustle I had stepped into or quit my 9-5 position.

The decision was so tough. In one hand, I had a 9-5 with a position that I had worked hard to get, a promised paycheck every 2 weeks, and health insurance; however, I felt limited from my full creative potential and wasn’t truly happy. In another hand, I had built this side hustle doing the things I loved to do that allowed me to flourish creatively and, in turn, see other businesses flourish from the resources I provided them with; however, I had no promised income, no health insurance, and no back-up plan.

But I had drive and a passion.

I remember sitting down with my fiance (now husband) at the time and discussing my dilemma. He looked at me and said, “Katelyn, what’s the worst that can happen? You fail and find another job who would happily hire you?” And then asked, “but what’s the best thing that can happen? You create a successful business doing what you love to do on your own terms?”

And I knew then what my decision was. The following day, I prepared my 2-weeks notice and began prepping to take the risk of what would become the most pivotial points in my life and my career—I opened my own Brand & Web Design business.

Was it exciting? Yes.

Did I know what I was doing? No.

Did I learn to hone my skills? I did.

Was it scary? Terrifying.

Was it worth it? Absolutely.

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 name is Katelyn Parsons, Owner of Good Golden Creative Co., a Brand & Web Design company, and Co-Founder of The Wandering Spirit mobile bar.

In 2014, I became intrigued with the subject “branding” in my living room. I dipped my toes in a few jobs where nothing felt consistent and impactful. In fact, nothing was impactful because the brand foundation was not there. I realized that the only way to help others genuinely make an impact with their businesses was to open up a brand & web design company myself that could provide them with the resources and coaching they need to succeed and do so confidently—so, that’s exactly what I did. Good Golden Creative Co. exists to help business owners launch their businesses with success and confidence. Seeing a business succeed and stand out using the tools that I provide them with is one of the most rewarding things. Branding, web design, and foundational coaching are my passion, and I hope that by sharing that with this world I can help others share theirs.

I offer custom branding, strategic web design, and business set-up and coaching that gives businesses the confidence to put themselves out there in the world and succeed.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Growing clientele is one of the biggest challenges I see others in my field of work struggle with. Most of those people do excellent on social media, show up with a beautiful brand and website, and offer a lot of digital value to their social media audience. yet still face the challenge of sometimes not having one sales call for weeks, even months.

I found myself getting asked the question, “How are you getting work?” often and really began to think about the difference. I noticed that, while those people were asking me how I was getting work, I was asking them, “How do you find so much time to grow your followers on social media and post all of this amazing content?”

I noticed the differences in my focus from others’ then, but it really hit me when I was taking a course with leading industry experts when I asked them that same question and shared my struggle of having low followers compared to “everyone else.” The course leaders asked if I was getting booked and I shared with them how I was booked for months in advance and just had a hard time finding time to grow my followers. One of the leaders bluntly told me, “Well then who cares about a number.” It shouldn’t have taken that long for it to click for me, but it did at that moment.

My business developed SOLELY from being involved in my community—I joined my local chamber of commerce, I joined networking groups, and I showed up, physically. When I got a job, I went so above and beyond that no one could say anything but positive things about working with me and were passionate about referring me to anyone who needed that same service. Eventually, my business began thriving from referrals and my reach spread across state lines. For me, it wasn’t showing up on social media that grew my business. It was showing up physically in my community.

When anyone comes to me for advice on growing their business, I encourage them to just get OUT. Get involved in things that have nothing to do with your business. You will be exposed to other like-minded people who will remember YOU, not what you posted or how many followers you have.

And I still have less than 1k followers, LOL!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

At about year three in my business, I felt I had reached a cap in everything—my workload capacity, my income, my patience. I was struggling to stay motivated. I stumbled across a fellow designer’s Instagram story where she talked about how she was finally on track to scale her business to 6-figures. I knew this designer from a course she and I took together just 6 months before that and she had JUST started her business. I couldn’t wrap my head around how she had made that happen, while I was stagnant. She told me about another course that taught her how to scale her business. Naturally, I looked into it, and, naturally, it was way above what I could afford. I decided to take the leap and invest in that course because at that point, I had to pivot in one way or another or I couldn’t sustain my business.

And so I did.

This course completely shook up everything I had perfected up to that point. When I had packages that I considered to be for a more high-end clientele, they told me to ditch them. Where I had everything set up in my business that allowed me to bypass sales calls and people who didn’t fall within my price point, they told me to stop. They pushed me so far out of my comfort zone that I truly considered just giving up on everything. But I persevered. I retrained my brain and way of thinking about business. I COMPLETELY pivoted from everything I was doing. And that was the second most important pivot in my professional life. I pushed through the ceiling I thought was closing me in. I stepped out of the box I thought I was a slave to. And my business flourished into a 6-figure business, solely from that pivotal moment.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.goodgoldencreative.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/goodgoldencreativeco
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/goodgoldencreativeco

Image Credits
Elle Burr Photography