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

Mackenzie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Taking care of customers isn’t just good business – it is often one of the main reasons folks went into business in the first place. So, we’d love to get a conversation going around how to best help clients feel appreciated – maybe you can share something you’ve done or seen someone do that’s been really effective at helping a customer feel valued?

I have the unique opportunity to work in many different fields, one of them being wedding planning! One of my favorite things to do for couples getting married, is to take whatever money they spent on their deposit, and find little ways throughout the process to treat them, and make them feel excited about the wedding! Whether that is sending flowers upon booking, booking a masseuse to come to the hotel morning-of, or leaving an Erewhon gift basket in their getting ready room. It’s one of my favorite aspects of my job, incorporating “unreasonable hospitality” wherever I can! Pouring into clients is something I can do as a creative small business owner that really stands out to them and makes the experience even more memorable than hiring some big agency.

Mackenzie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Mackenzie Lauren Creative is a female-led creative studio inspiring connection through bold, intentional design. I focus on two avenues of design: Event Design and Branding/Web Design.

For Event Planning, I do primarily weddings. I love being able to come alongside my couples and implement unique, beautiful details to their day that really speak to their personal vision; whether that’s executing a bold art installation, designing a beautiful invitation suite, or helping them come up with the overall design direction for the event as a whole. Being a small part of someone’s new favorite memory makes my heart so happy.

On the flip side, we have Branding and Web Design. When the pandemic hit, I pivoted to this and have gotten to work with some of the BEST people. Having the opportunity to help anyone create something so new and so personal is such an honor. I love that I am constantly trusted with something as huge as a person’s brand. I do a ton of exploration and pre-work to make sure that I understand the exact direction that my clients are heading in. From there, we can develop a Logo Suite, Brand Guide, and cohesive Website! There’s a ton of extra stuff in there, but I won’t bore you with all the nitty-gritty details.

Have you ever had to pivot?

As previously mentioned, the pandemic really took my business for a ride. As someone who is newly self-employed, it was a really scary time. No one was getting married in the context of a large gathering anymore, and that was the sole setting for my work to take place.

However — I definitely felt empowered enough to really lean into that and find the need that people had at the time.

I knew so many people looking to find work and start new brands, so I decided to be the one to help them do it! At the end of the day, this is what I knew for certain: My “why” is people: connecting with them, supporting them, and bringing them up with me. This life is not one that’s supposed to be lived alone.

So being able to take that, and re-apply it into this new venture really helped me remain true to who I was pre-pandemic and pre-pivot.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

As someone who owns a business, I get to make the big decisions; and I get to choose to *always* prioritize people.

So let’s say that I have a discovery call with a potential client, and they tell me all these amazing things about their vision for their new business. It feels super aligned with my brand, and I know this business is going to be beneficial for so many people. BUT they mention “I just don’t have the money to launch now, so I’ll do it later when it feels more comfortable.”

Lots of businesses would never take on that client. But why not? Maybe it doesn’t make financial sense at the time, but I am the person who gets to make these decisions. That’s a huge benefit of having your own business, getting to do unconventional things that leave clients feeling excited to work with you, and excited to build the future. And what service am I doing to humanity (dramatic, I know) if I am not going to actively take part in helping you make it happen?

So then, I get to put them on a really small payment plan, help guide them, and teach them what I know about jumping into a passion project. That way they can launch it NOW, when they have the momentum to start it really well.

I love that this line of work allows me to not only create beautiful things but also befriend so many amazing creatives and be so inspired by people. My brand is a reflection of that. It’s connection-driven, ever-changing, bold, and fun.

Life as a full time work-from-home mom can be really lonely. But granting myself permission to lean into my business and build it into something so unique and true to me keeps my cup full.

Contact Info:

• Website: mackenzielauren.com
• Instagram: @mackenzielaurencreative

Image Credits
My branding photos: @itsmaddyking I do not own mood board inspiration photos, and other brand-specific photography used in brand photography is owned by the mentioned clients.