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

Alright, Laura thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

The short answer: YES! Starting my own business was one of the best leaps of faith I’ve ever taken. It’s challenging at times but more often satisfying and rewarding!

Having worked a “regular job,” I can’t say that I wonder what that would be like. Just like any job, working for someone else vs. working for yourself has its pros and cons. When you work for yourself — at least in my case — it’s hard to turn off or set aside work. When I was an employee, I worked set hours, clocked in and out, and left work at work. As a business owner, specifically one who primarily operates on a computer, I have to be intentional about setting work aside. Emails and projects are almost always accessible. Plus, I just ENJOY work.

The dream of a regular job most often arises for me when I’m gearing up for vacation. A current example: Next weekend, my husband and I are heading on a weeklong beach getaway to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary. Yay! Although exciting, preparing to take this much time off is not usually stress-free. It’s not a matter of looking at my available PTO, putting in a request with my employer, and allowing my colleagues to handle any projects while I’m away.

Instead, my last two weeks have looked more like working longer hours, keeping my nose to the grindstone, and getting ahead on projects so that my clients are well-prepared for my absence. Because I don’t have employees, I am solely responsible for my projects. I don’t have another person to share the workload, and I unfortunately don’t have a clone! So, while it’s a perk to take time off “at my leisure,” it comes with a fair amount of upfront work to be able to do it.

It’s in these moments where I have lingering thoughts about working a “normal” job. But, having taken several vacations since starting my business, I remind myself that my clients are gracious and that time off is so necessary.

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?

I was the unusual individual who decided what I wanted to do when I was a fifth grader. Somehow my dream of becoming a graphic designer never wavered. I went on to Kansas State University to get a Bachelor of Fine Arts in graphic design and a minor in journalism and mass communications.

Before I ever entered the working world, I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur someday. Both of my parents are entrepreneurs, and while their career paths could have deterred me, their examples ultimately solidified my desire to own my own business.

I knew owning my own business was my end goal — even before starting my first job. A week after graduating from K-State, I started working at an amazing marketing communications firm, where I received incredible mentorship and honed my skills.

Five years later, I felt God telling me that now was the time to start my business. Although this was THE DREAM, I had not envisioned getting here at 27-years-old. I thought this was in my future years from now. Doubt and fear, of course, crept in. I believed in God’s guidance in this new venture, but I was also afraid of what people would think: Why would you leave the security of a steady job, and one that you love no less?! Are you sure you know what you’re getting yourself into? Don’t you need more experience? Aren’t you too young?

Despite my inner critic, I powered through. I should’ve remembered that Kansas City is an extremely encouraging place to start a business. My bosses at the time were incredibly encouraging of me, even though it was a hard goodbye! And everyone I told was so supportive of my new business — at least to my face! 😉

That’s a long story to get into what I do now…

I am the owner and designer behind Design on Purpose, a graphic design business focused on helping business owners present their brands purposefully and consistently. Simply put, I design logos, write copy, and build websites.

Because I am a one-woman operation, I am usually able to offer a more competitive price and quicker turnaround than a large agency. I really aim to provide a customized experience for my clients rather than offering a one-size-fits-all solution. I truly want to help other new and small business owners succeed!

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

As I mentioned earlier, I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I’ve always been very driven and self-motivated, and I hardly remember life without a side hustle. When I was in high school, I started doing design work for my church. From that point on, I just started saying YES to anything and everything. Friend needs a tattoo designed? Sure! Family friend wants a family portrait illustrated? I’m in! A classmate wants a logo? You’ve got it!

Beyond saying yes, I also sought opportunities that supported my craft. Even in high school, I was heavily involved in yearbook, and I took whatever graphic design and photography classes were offered. I took summer internships and worked toward leadership opportunities in college. My light freelancing in high school turned into a few regular, low-maintenance clients through college.

When I started my first job, I kept freelancing. (Hopefully it goes without saying, but moonlighting was allowed!) At this point, I just thought, why not make some extra money on the side?! By the time I was thinking about starting my own business, I had done enough freelancing to realize that I could replace my full-time income if I went full-time with my existing client load. Pretty exciting!

Of course, the first step was a scary leap of faith! It really helped that I’d built some business over time, but it was still intimidating to jump into relying on JUST my freelance work. But I’ve kept my momentum, and my business has grown!

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Morgan and Michael Lennington was a read that greatly impacted my processes! It helped that I read it early in my business, when I was trying tactics to see what worked best for my business.

The subheading of this book explains its premise well: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months.

The book outlines a process for narrowing down long-term goals into specific, actionable steps within a condensed timeframe. Often, we look at all there is to accomplish in a year, then tackle those goals at the END of the year when time is almost up. The philosophy is that 12 weeks allots enough time to accomplish big tasks but also creates an ideal sense of urgency.

When I created my first 12-week year, I got laser-focused on three goals that I broke into a series of tasks. One of my goals was related to hitting a certain income goal within 12 weeks to support an overall business income goal. A couple of my tasks within that goal were related to securing a specific number of projects and contacting/following up with a certain number of prospects.

Around this time, I also read The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes, which taught me new time management techniques that I’ve paired with my learnings from the 12 Week Year. Concepts like “touch it once” and estimating time for daily tasks have helped me be even more efficient in my business.

Contact Info:

• Website: designonpurposekc.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/designonpurposekc/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurauber/