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

Hi Navare , thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a time you helped a customer really get an amazing result through their work with you.

During the 2020 pandemic, I came across a lead for a project by my business partner for a non-profit organization in Austin, TX called Building Promise USA. They were in need of a new website design as their non-profit was beginning to grow. At the time, they didn’t quite have the budget for the web project due to a lot of businesses being impacted by the pandemic. But something in my spirit told me to work with them regardless, get creative and work with their budget. So I listened to that small voice and moved forward with the project.

I was sold on working with them as soon as they told me their mission. Their mission is to dismantle the cycle of incarceration and unemployment among people with justice involvement and behavioral health challenges by providing transitional and support services and programs to them. I realized I was not just making a website for their organization, I was helping to make an impact in changing lives and communities.

Once the new website was completed and published, the Executive Director of the company insisted that I be a part of the planning process for their events, intake forms, partnering businesses & organizations, and other resources they had to offer. I took him up on his offer and was all on board for this opportunity having no clue what it would lead to.

Fast forward 2 years later, I was invited by my client to attend a series of meetings to discuss the planning process for an event called H.I.R.E. The event was going to offer jobs, resume writing, food, and laptops to the formerly incarcerated individuals in Austin who attended both days for this event. Along the weeks of planning and searching for funding, the amount of partners for this event tremendously expanded upon our wildest imagination. The planning for this event started with a few local businesses and organizations in my client’s network to be partners in making this event happen, but ended with tech companies, Lyft, Indeed, and the University of Texas joining to make this event happen.

I helped strategize and create an intake form on the client’s website to qualify attendee’s for this event. The marketing campaign for the event generated increasing traffic to their website, and the intake form allowed us to track data from all registrants and attendees, establishing a database for the client. The event was a huge success, resulting in Indeed donating over 50 additional Apple MacBooks and additional funding. And that’s not all, from the success of this event alone over 100 formerly incarcerated individuals were able to get hired for a job and my client to generate over $750,000 in unsolicited funding and grants. Indeed has now partnered with my client to help take this resourceful event nationwide. And because of their success, I have the opportunity to now redesign their site again to accommodate their brand’s growth and all of the additional offers they will be providing nationwide. This opportunity has allowed me to grow my business and expand my team as well.

The key takeaway from it all is don’t just focus on making new customers and getting sales. Focus on building relationships and solving real problems for your clients. Relationships are worth more than money.

Navare , 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?

My name is Navare Carter. I’m 31. I was born in Washington, DC, raised in PG County, Maryland. I recently moved to Houston, Texas. So, I began my journey as a designer back in 2010. I attended the University of the District of Columbia where I received my AAS degree in graphic design. It was the 2nd semester of my Freshman year when I discovered that I wanted to be an entrepreneur. From that day forward, something sparked in me. I branded myself while I was still in college and began freelancing, and making an income while I was still in school.

I eventually launched my LLC for Intuitive in 2015 to make the business official. Our services include brand strategy, brand identity design, and web design. But at Intuitive, we like to call it something different. That’s because most small businesses struggle with “leveling up their brands,” so we created “brand therapy” so you can overcome that “stuck” feeling. We make branding simple. No more confusion on who you’re showing up to serve, what to do next in your business, or persuading people to buy your offer. We use brand strategy and design solutions to guide you from where you are, to where you want to be. Delivering that peace of mind you’ve been searching for.

This process has allowed me to become a multi-award winning brand strategist and web designer.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Along my journey, I’ve failed a lot and had to start over several times. I would say the biggest setback I had in my business was a few months after I had first started. I was 23 years old and I was still living at home with my parents. I had more faith and ambition than I had money at that time. And one day, tragedy struck. My Dad had came home one night and passed out in the middle of the floor while walking to the kitchen, causing him to fracture his elbow. That fracture led to nerve damage in his arm, causing to lose his job and to be on longterm disability permanently. He was the breadwinner in my family at the time, so in 3 months tops we had to move so they could downsize. Causing me to have to move out before I was financially ready to.

I immediately went into survival mode, but kept the mentality of “I don’t know how I’m going to do this, but I’m going to do this.” I went through months of long nights and early mornings, couch surfing at friends’ houses, and even staying in my car when I had to, but I never stopped working at my goals and my business and until things became financially better. I literally had to do whatever it took because my life literally depended on it. Through it all, I never quit.

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

It’s not wise to leave your 9 to 5 to hop into your business full-time until you’re profiting enough in your business to quit your job. I had to learn this the hard way. So, back in 2017 I was working for a non-profit organization (that I won’t name) full-time and my business was doing pretty good with consistent clientele. I had just won 2 major design awards and opportunities were knocking galore. My job was starting to get in the way of me taking advantage of opportunities for my business. So much so, that it was starting to become a dilemma between going to work at my 9 to 5 or call in and do client work for the day.

I eventually got tired of juggling both, and in December of 2018 I decided to quit my job and go into business for myself full-time. Dumb idea! At that time, I was obsessed with watching all of those motivational videos on YouTube about stepping out on faith and chasing your dreams. I did have a lot of clientele, interviews and what not but I was in for a rude awakening.

Long story short, the hype I had lasted for about 3 months and work began to dry up. I had no idea what seasons were my busy seasons and which seasons were my slow ones just yet. I wasn’t consistently making enough income every month to pay my rent and all of my bills in my business before I had quit my job. I only had 2 months worth of rent saved up before I had quit. (I know, stupid!) But I lasted for about a year, in business full-time before I fell flat on my face and had to move back in with my parents, get a job and start all over again.

Looking back, I don’t regret none of it because I got a crash course of entrepreneurship the hard way and it showed me how much I believed in myself. I was ready and willing to risk it all for my dreams.

Moral of the story, clout does not equal income. I repeat, clout does not equal income in business. Save up enough money while generating enough money in your business before you quit your day job and go into business full-time.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.intuitivecreate.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/intuitive_create/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/intuitivecreate/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/navare-carter/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Intuitivecreate
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/intuitive-silver-spring-4?osq=Intuitive+Brand+Consultancy