We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Laura Jorden-Krolczyk. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Laura below.

Laura, appreciate you joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?
Earning a full-time living with a creative business takes a lot of hard work and dedication. I often hear people say they want to become an entrepreneur to take control of their own time. The truth is when you become a creative business owner, you actually spend MORE time working. In the beginning, you may work 8 hours a day or you may find yourself working 10-12 hours a day. You are almost never prepared for the amount of time it actually takes to run your business. Growing your business is key, learning to network, provide excellent customer service, and always make sure your work and products are top notch. These valuable lessons have helped my company continue to grow and allow my business to become successful.

Laura, 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?
Someone once told me, “Follow your dreams or you will be working for someone that did.” After many years of working for others, I decided to start my own creative business. Monogram Markets provides custom embroidery, digitizing, and design services for large and small businesses. Most recently, we expanded our business offering personalized products online via our website, Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, and Etsy. We always try to offer the best customer service and our customers know that if we make a mistake we will do everything we can to make it right.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
A huge lesson that I had to unlearn is that we are all human and we all make mistakes. No one is immune to making mistakes, but if we simply apologize and carry on as before, we’re in danger of repeating the same errors. You can’t learn anything from a mistake until you admit that you’ve made it. So, take a deep breath and admit to yours, and then take ownership of it.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses across all industries has made resilience more relevant and necessary today. A resilient business owner knows how to make tough decisions for the organization and also to reach out to the team to address their changing needs. Resilience involves developing critical skills entrepreneurs need so that they can get back on their feet despite the crisis and make the necessary changes to overcome the challenges faced by their businesses.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.monogrammarkets.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monogrammarkets/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Monogrammarkets
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MonogramMarkets
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/monogrammarkets/ https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdkSPJFN/

Image Credits
These are all my photos