We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kelly Zugay. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kelly below.

Kelly, appreciate you joining us today. One of the most important things we can do as business owners is ensure that our customers feel appreciated. What’s something you’ve done or seen a business owner do to help a customer feel valued?

Over the past 8 years, we have been honored to serve thousands of creative small business owners and founders through purpose-driven, connection-focused brand and web design. Along the way, we have learned how client appreciation plays a meaningful role for all small business owners; when a client is comparing one small business to another, it’s often the connection they feel to a business — to their unique style, approach, expertise, or client experience — which makes all the difference. In fact, when proposing custom brands and web designs to our clients at With Grace and Gold, we recommend showcasing what sets your business apart — from the kindhearted way you serve your clients, to the smooth process you create for your clients. Letting clients know they are appreciated and valued not only equips you to create an elevated experience, but it also empowers your past clients to share about and recommend your business.

We believe client appreciation begins with first communicating about your unique approach to client appreciation. The beauty of being a small business owner is: client appreciation can look and feel differently from one business to another. What do you value in the client experience you create? What have past clients valued about your business? What would you want prospective clients to know about your approach? From website copywriting and social media marketing, to newsletter marketing and client-facing resources, there are ample opportunities and mediums for sharing about your unique approach to client appreciation.

Next, we believe client appreciation continues with creating a smooth and step-by-step process. By doing so, you will create a welcoming, easy, and engaging process for your clients to journey through. By creating checklists, a client welcome guide, or resources to equip your clients for success, you are communicating how you care about your clients’ success. Further, we believe client appreciation continues with personal communication — actively listening to your clients’ needs and addressing questions and concerns in a kindhearted way.

Finally, at With Grace and Gold, we value client gifting — going above and beyond to provide personal and thoughtful surprises to clients both during and following their experience. Floral bouquets, gift boxes, branded or monogramed products, and photo albums are just a few gifts we and our clients at With Grace and Gold have chosen.

Altogether, we believe and have seen first-hand, creating an elevated, meaningful client experience can be accomplished in a well-rounded way — beginning with the way you communicate about your client experience, continuing with the kindhearted, personal way you serve your clients, and concluding with kind gestures. This well-rounded approach can help clients to feel truly valued, taken care of, and engaged in a process they are likely new to and unfamiliar with. In a community filled with many extremely talented small business owners, your client experience can make all the difference in what sets your business apart.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Since 2014, With Grace and Gold has provided elevated, connection-driven brand and web design for thousands of small business owners and creative founders worldwide.

When forming With Grace and Gold, we had a vision for a small business that would be a life-giving experience for all involved, inspiring others to create healthy boundaries, raise their prices to work with only the best clients, and construct possibilities they never thought possible.

With Grace and Gold is not only our company name, but also our email signature — a phrase formed with the belief that life should be lived with simple elegance, goodwill, and a zeal for that which is precious — time with those we love. It’s why we practice and preach serving clients well but also creating the kind of life you want to lead outside of work hours — whether that means creating a place you’re excited to call home, traveling the world, or simply spending time with people you love.

All these years later, we consider ourselves sisters, one another’s loved ones as family, and this business as our legacy. We don’t see our work as simply creating design assets; our clients’ success matters deeply to us. We pour a great deal of heart, purpose, and strategy into every design we create, treating each business we serve like our own. We’ve seen firsthand how the right design can raise the bar in your business and help you see next-level success — and it’s our clients’ shared passion for growth that drives us each day.

Honored as Showit Designer of the Year, we provide an elevated, unparalleled custom brand and web design experience — equipping small business owners and creative founders to begin a new season of growth, purpose, and joy.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

When With Grace and Gold began in 2014, it was common for small business owners to not only serve others through their particular craft but also as educators for those who want to pursue their craft, too. Kelly’s background in education, a Master of Arts in Teaching, compelled us to add educational offerings to With Grace and Gold — offering educational resources to equip and empower fellow designers to run successful design businesses.

Along the way, though, we realized we had been offering education for fellow designers simply because we had seen fellow small business owners add educational offerings to their businesses. We struggled, because having educational offerings as part of our business didn’t feel aligned with our overall vision and goals for With Grace and Gold.

At the heart of our business is a passion for serving creative small business owners and founders through custom brand and web design — and having educational offerings only took away from the core purpose of our business. When we removed educational offerings from our business, we experienced greater clarity within our business, and we created more space to become better, more skilled brand and web designers.

Through our experience, we learned: It’s OK to focus wholeheartedly on our artistry. As an example, being a strong photographer doesn’t need to mean educating others in photography business ownership — or being a strong designer doesn’t need to mean educating others in design business ownership. We learned how doing things differently or running your business in an unexpected way can be refreshing, create a greater sense of purpose, and also create clarity for you and for your prospective clients.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

There is a particular goal and mission driving our creative journey. At the start of our business journey, “hustling” and “glorifying busy” was all too common. Following our own season of burnout, we knew we needed to go back to the drawing board and strengthen our business — learn to set boundaries while serving our clients well and experience greater peace of mind while running our business. We believe in serving clients wholeheartedly but also creating the kind of life you want to lead outside of work hours.

What drives us is a desire to create brands and web designs to truly work on behalf of the business owners and founders we serve — designs rooted in connection, service, and growth.

What drives us is a desire to help small business owners and founders create not only the business they love, but also the life they love beyond their business. We believe, through brand and web design, your online presence can equip your business for meaningful growth and success — while also building a personal legacy to be excited about and proud of.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.withgraceandgold.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/withgraceandgold
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/withgraceandgold
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/with-grace-&-gold/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/withgracegold/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnh88wJ7HjI68JllNNoFiNA
• Other: Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brand-it-build-it-podcast/id1495235793

Image Credits
Lauren Kirkbride Photography