We recently connected with Reggie Holmes and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Reggie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?

My business is called Enthuse Creative. To enthuse means to fill with joy and happiness. The irony lies in the fact that my journey to entrepreneurship started with two experiences that definitely did not fill me with joy or happiness. These situations would create in me a desire to venture out on my own. The first was a layoff I experienced in 2009. In the midst of the Great Recession, I was let go from my full-time design position at a university. I was devastated, and I had difficulty finding a role similar to what I was doing before. This was my first “adult” job and I got a rude awakening as to how things work when there is a market downturn. For a few years, I struggled to find a creative role that was similar to my previous job. I went to work for a security contractor, spending long days and nights inside government facilities doing work that seemed like the farthest thing from creativity. The work was safe and comfortable, in one sense, but it deprived me of what I learned I needed, which was to be in creative spaces, using my God-given creative gifts. I used a lot of the downtime in that role to research and develop the skills that would eventually lead me to stepping away to start my business. I never again wanted to be in a situation where someone could take away opportunities– instead, i wanted to create my own opportunities, and hopefully some for others. I also wanted to be in a creative role all the time, using my knowledge and creativity to help businesses and organizations, to tell stories, to share important information. This led me to start Enthuse Creative. Creativity, and the ability to use it to help others is what truly fills me with joy and happiness. This is also what I love to spark in my clients and colleagues when I help them achieve their branding and marketing goals.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started Enthuse Creative in 2013 and I am in my tenth year in this business. I am a brand strategist and designer. I started out calling myself just a graphic designer, but when I would introduce myself this way at events, it always felt inadequate. Coaches and mentors helped me realize that the way I work with clients is really as a strategist first, then as a designer. I am a consultant and creative, and I believe I do both equally well. I am a thinker and a doer, and I love to work with business owners and nonprofit directors who want to leverage the power of branding to grow their organizations. Today, I still do lots of design work, but my principal focus is helping business owners solve challenges related to how their brands are positioned and perceived in the marketplace, for example, awareness – do enough people know we exist? or clarity – is who we are and how we are different evident in what we say or show online? These are a couple of ways that I help my clients. I am proud of the work I’ve done to help dozens of clients over the past 10 years and I am excited about continuing to refine my own brand and offerings and help many more clients grow their influence and impact in the future.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

A goal driving my creative journey is what I call helping every business owner become a brand owner. Brand is a widely-used term that is slapped on a number of things, but many small business owners think about their brand as a thing that goes “on” the business. My work and approach is focused on helping them think about how the brand goes “in” the business, and how that makes a big difference in terms of culture, talent attraction and retention, differentiation and brand story. I don’t just want to do beautiful, award-winning work, I want to connect people to the brands they create, so that brand is not just something that looks good, but also is something that creates positive meaning and connection. I want small businesses to leverage the same branding principles and practices that large corporations use, and to be able to use them to stand out and grow their businesses. Brand is not just something that belongs to the big companies with big budgets– it’s a tool that can be used effectively and thoughtfully to create value for any business.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source of new clients for me has been word-of-mouth referrals. I have always been fortunate enough to receive a lot of introductions and leads from colleagues and connections. This has been the principal way my business has grown. I used to do a ton of networking, and the first 5-7 years of my business, that was a main business development vehicle. I had to step back from networking at the same level for a number of reasons, so I needed a new approach to make quality connections and win introductions. Over the last 6-12 months, I have worked on developing a list of 12 power partners in 6 connected industries that I can build strong referral relationships with in order to give and receive better-qualified leads and opportunities. I am intentionally working this deeper vs. wider approach and it has been successful thus far. I look forward to expanding upon this approach and being able to get and give quality introductions to my partners. I have also recently retained a business development support person to help facilitate and manage leads and introductions and that is off to a promising start as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://enthusecreative.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/enthusecreative
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/enthuse-creative/

Image Credits

Rassi Borneo