We recently connected with Katherine Papatheodore and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Katherine thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

My business already started, and I didn’t even know it!

As a multi-passionate grad student, I found myself stuck in a pinch. I was going to school for clinical mental health counseling and needed some extra cash to keep me afloat while I worked my way through the program. Even though I was in grad school for counseling, I still always dreamed of having a creative outlet/side-hustle. I was a competitive dancer growing up and fell in love with storytelling and creative expression, as well as studied communications in my undergrad. It’s funny though that I never considered a career path in communications because I told myself I wanted to be a therapist from quite an early age. Although, getting through grad school is no easy task. So I needed a quick and easy way to make some extra cash that wouldn’t interfere with my current schedule. Working remotely on my laptop was my first thought, and doing work online was the second. I had seen some creators videos on social media preaching about starting your own online business and how much freedom comes along with it, which was very intriguing to me. So, I thought why don’t I just try it out, in a very relaxed & easy-going way as a side hustle (little did I know it would change my life). Growing up chronically online has made me perfectly equipped with all of the knowledge, skills & witt I would need to have an online business and manage social media for other businesses. So I decided to go for it.

I booked my first clients (all referrals and personal connections) for social media management as a Virtual Assistant, which really seemed to fall into my lap. This boosted my confidence immensely, and made me realize I can actually make a stable income off of being creative, and I don’t need a master’s degree to do so. This was a truly eye-opening experience for me because I had grown up with the predisposition that I will need to go to college & attain a master’s degree in order to be successful, especially in the area of counseling. To later find out that I can make a living off of being creative, which was one of my other true passions besides mental health, shocked me to my core, so much so that as I continued to go through my master’s program, I became less and less interested in it and wanted to focus more and more on my business. I felt as though I had to put all my effort into this if I was going to succeed, and it felt so good to know that I was investing in myself.

Fast forward a few months, and some of my clients inquired about website design and graphic design for their businesses (again fell into my lap). This is where things really took a turn for the better! After working on those projects, I felt like my third-eye was opening. I was fulfilled. I was motivated. I was excited for the future. All things that I hadn’t been feeling about my masters program. After some difficult consideration (lots of crying and questioning if this was the right decision) the decision was basically already made for me – to drop out of grad school and go full force into my creative online business, specializing in Web Design + Branding. And since that day, I have’t looked back.

Katherine , 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?

My name is Katherine aka KPVIRTUALLY & I’m a Web + Brand Designer!

I’m a retro lover who is obsessed with web design, storytelling, and branding. I somehow found myself in this industry after trying to pursue a career in counseling, but soon realized that the creative space was the right place for me. I started out as a Virtual Assistant offering services such as Social Media Management, Email Management, Graphic Design, Blogging etc. for creative and artistic small businesses. From working on some web design and graphic design projects from my first few clients, I realized I wanted to specialize in Web Design + Branding because I fell in love with working with other small business owners and making their stories heard & alive. Being able to make your website and branding scream YOU is what I love most because each business owner is so wildly different than the next.

The services I currently offer are Branding, Template Customization Web Design & Custom Web Design, and I primarily use Showit as my web design platform. I have experience using Squarepspace, Wix, WordPress, and other web design platforms as well, but I have found that Showit is the bomb because of the full customizability, which allows me to represent you authentically and accurately on your website.

When people inquire to work with me, often times I hear that they feel as though they have a disconnect between how their products/services/work/personality is in real life versus their website. Or, they are looking to move their services in a different direction & rebrand their entire business. How I help them is accurately and effectively translating YOU and your brand onto your website in a way that is authentic, spunky & totally unique. I truly value getting to know each and every one of my clients to their CORE through extensive branding and design strategy questionnaires in order for me to fully understand how you want to be represented. Through that process, I get ready to rock ‘n roll and design your website specifically for you.

My disco-retro-rockstar universe is unique to me because of the individualized approach I take to bring out your inner-retro-rockstar online. Everyone deserves to feel INCREDIBLE and CONFIDENT about their website, and making you feel like a 70s rockstar is my way of bringing your personality alive through the screen. I have so much fun creating with other business owners and getting to know people for who they are and what they represent. Being able to give people confidence and level-up their life is something that I cherish deeply.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

As an online business, it is no secret that most of my new clients come from the online space. Specifically, Instagram has been a huge tool I’ve used to grow my reach and attract new inquiries. Interacting with other business owners and creating genuine connections and content on Instagram has been a really powerful strategy. Also, it’s really fun!

Although, I have also found that a close second for new inquiries is in person networking events. When I really started to go full force into my business, I pushed myself to be uncomfortable and go to networking events where I knew NO ONE. Meeting people in real life and referrals are such a powerful source of new clients, and I have definitely seen that put in action. Even months later after we had met and had brief conversations, I had found some people reaching out to me asking to work together!

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

It’s funny because I feel like my goals are constantly shifting – and I think that is totally okay. One of my main mantras is to be constantly growing/leveling up. I’m obsessed with personal development and evolvement, and I think letting myself and my business grow into whatever it wants to be is how I approach my mission. Maybe I’ll have employees one day. Maybe I’ll start offering digital products. The sky is literally the limit, and I think that is the mission.

Although, being financially free is definitely always in the back of my mind… lol.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kpvirtually.com
• Instagram: @kpvirtually
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092376447235
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-papatheodore-b11013292
• Other: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kpvirtually/

  Pinterest: https://pin.it/5b4YCsCkR

Image Credits

@alexandrae.photo
@creativeconceptsbylauren
@photographywithnatalie