We recently connected with Kelly Thompson and have shared our conversation below.

Kelly, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

Both of my parents are entrepreneurs (My dad is a dentist who started his own practice at 26 and my mom is a self taught interior designer) and from a very young age they were always planting seeds about future careers and creating a direction for your life. We were raised with the idea that good ideas and hard work could get you anywhere and they were always “fanning the flame” of our independence, encouraging us to explore our passions and think outside the box. My family is a family of doers, movers and shakers and we were always raised with a YES mentality.

I remember as early as 8th grade my mom told me to make a list of things I might want to do and research which colleges excelled at those subjects and that we could go visit them. I always wanted to go to school in California so she said “Let’s do a road trip!” and on spring break we visited every school on my list and I got to visualize and dream and explore which ones resonated and which ones didn’t and why. It was such a fun visioning moment for me and really set the stage to DREAM BIG.

Another story that comes to mind is about managing money. I was in 2nd grade and my dad wanted us to learn about money— how to use it, save it, what things costs and how fast money goes. So he got us 3 kids together and said he would be giving us an allowance but first we had to come up with a budget. He explained what a budget was and said ” Write down everything you think you need and how much it cost” etc. He tells the story that at first we wrote down a “wishlist” like it was Christmas and he said no this isn’t what you want but it’s what you need. But eventually we got to a number and we had a strict allowance growing up and any extra we wanted we had to work for. He taught us about interest, saving, and all the terms but in simple kid friendly ways that I truly believe changed my life. I remember all my friends thought it was so weird I had to buy my own toothpaste etc. but that exercise alone was incredibly eye opening at that young age. It gave me a sense of ownership and responsibility around money and choices. I learned quickly where my values were and what my time cost.

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 am Kelly Thompson, a graphic designer and owner/founder at KTOM Creative. KTOM Creative is a boutique branding studio located in Austin, TX that specializes in branding, package design and illustration. In laymans terms, think cool beverage brands you notice when you are at a bar or interesting packaging you see on the shelves at Whole Foods, or what restaurant signs catch your eye as you drive by etc. That’s what I create!

I have worked on a wide variety of projects over the years but I pride myself in building unique brands and telling each story in a way that truly resonates with people. Most of my clients find me when they have an amazing idea but they can’t seem to get it to translate to “paper”. I help them hone in on their true essence and bring it to life in brand form (ie. logo, packaging, website, social etc.)

I like to tell my clients I studied “communication design,” not just graphic design. I am not just making something look cool, but I am really trying to communicate a specific message and tell the story in a way that people understand and are drawn to.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

I think people under estimate being a people-person! I think what has set me apart beyond having good work is being easy to work with. I have invested in my people skills, my relationship skills and my process is tailored to the business owner mindset, not my designer mindset. Its a different set of values. I find so many clients relieved when I speak their language and not just design talk so they feel like “Oh, she gets me! She gets it. I feel great hiring her.”

Business owners are extremely busy and often weighed down by decision fatigue and generally just want ease and flow as much as possible. I am always trying to see how I can delight and surprise them and come up with win-win scenarios that can eliminate obstacles in their path.

I think my clientele keeps growing because my clients 99% of time turn into long standing relationships and they continue to hire me and spread the love. They are happy with the work, how they are treated and they can’t help but share that.

Referrals, backed up with good website is a killer combo.

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

One small thing I started offering to manage cash flow was an option to pay 90% up front for a discounted overall cost. I needed cash fast and I had a fat proposal on the line and I knew I would get it but I wanted all the money sooner so I gave them a nice offer if they paid upfront and it saved me. Now I started offering a version of that in all my contracts since it brings me good peace of mind to be sitting on cash ;P

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ktomcreative.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ktomcreative/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-thompson-09662b19/
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/howdy_ktom/

Image Credits

Personal Photo Credit: Andrea Mendoza