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

Lauren , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with 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?

My customers are small business owners, usually solopreneurs, so hiring my web design and marketing services is a big investment for them. I want my customers to feel seen, heard and appreciated. When I work with a customer, I ask them a lot of questions about their business, their brand, their business goals as well as about their lives, what types of charities they like to support, hobbies, even food/drink preferences. When they go through my onboarding process, I send them my new client questionnaire to ask many of these questions as well as we meet 1-2 times so I can really understand their brand voice and personality. When a web design or other design project wraps up, I show my appreciation by gifting my client with an item with their branding (anything from a nice cup with their logo to an office sign to business cards) as well as a non-material gift, usually a donation to their favorite charity or a gift card to a restaurant they enjoy. For my monthly retainer clients, I give them gratitude gifts each November. It’s typically a donation to a meaningful charity and a small item from another small business. I want them to know how much I appreciate their trust and investment in me while also supporting other organizations. One of my favorite gifts was a curated box of local items, like candles, tea, etc.

Lauren , 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 love helping heart-centered women entrepreneurs showcase their expertise and brand in custom Squarespace website designs. Whether it’s their first website or they DIY’ed their initial website and need to uplevel their branding, I want their voice, passion and personality to shine on their website. For me, getting to combine the technology and creativity in designing a website is a dream job. I also love using the Squarespace platform for it’s affordability and ease of use, so that my clients can easily maintain their finished websites themselves, if desired.

Past clients have shared with me that I am a great listener and truly want to capture them in their website, while also encouraging them to go outside their comfort zone and be their best, most authentic selves. They have also shared that I am a calm presence, make them feel empowered, and easy to talk to (no question is too small!).

From a young age, I loved to be creative and crafty. I loved making jewelry, learned how to sew, and created picture books and magazines. In high school, I was the yearbook editor, losing myself in hours and hours of page design and editing. However, I was never “the best” at these creative arts.

In college, I built upon my love of languages and cultures and switched from magazine journalism to international studies. I developed an interest in helping others and began my career working with students in higher education. I still sewed and painted as a hobby, and this worked for a while. However, it never quite felt totally right, like I was sort of living in my purpose but not really.

With the support of my spouse and after having a second child, I learned about freelancing and decided it would be a great way to be available to my children while continuing to have a career and support my family. After working as a marketing virtual assistant for a few years, I fell in love with web design. I pursued additional education in web design and found that I could help others while getting to be creative and using my organizational skills.

As a third-generation entrepreneur, I also realized that I love the freedom and flexibility of being my own boss. I can’t imagine going back to working in a traditional work setting. And, just like seeing my students succeed in my former career, my greatest success is the success stories of my clients.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My primary goal in serving other businesses as a creative service provider is to use the God-given talents and unique way that I see the world to create a beautiful and effective product to meet their business goals. I want to showcase their expertise and what makes their brand unique through a well-designed website. I am also driven by the mission to show that informally-taught designers can still be experts in their profession. I have always been a creative person but never believed that I should continue formal education for my passion. I want others to know that you can always grown and learn, no matter what age or at what level of education that you start.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A lesson I had to unlearn was that just because I wasn’t perfect at or formally educated in my profession doesn’t mean that I can’t learn how to be a great designer. At a young age, I loved to be creative, but I was never “the best” student in my art classes. I recall in my high school art classes going in to work extra on my projects because I was slower than the other students and needed extra time. I wasn’t a “natural.” I considered my creative passions to simply be a hobby and nothing more. However, as I worked in and got a master’s degree in an unrelated field, I felt such a lack of passion and boredom. It wasn’t until I leaned back into creative pursuits that I realized that I can learn the skills necessary to be a great designer.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.elleelaine.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elleelainedesign/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-mcenaney-elle-elaine/

Image Credits

Kate Mundo