We were lucky to catch up with Shawntae Kennebruew recently and have shared our conversation below.

Shawntae, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

In 2002 I was planning my wedding and needed wedding invitations. I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for so I decided to make them myself. The invitations came out better than expected and I received many compliments from my guests. From there, services have grown into other avenues of graphic design such as, banners, flyers, announcements, menus, place cards, digital media, business cards and custom wrapped treats.

Shawntae, 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?

During the health crisis my skillset began in custom obituaries and memorial booklets. This is now my ministry. I aim to design custom keepsakes for families. My business tagline is “Let me put your personality on paper!” My goal is to put specific elements related to the loved one so that their personality will shine. I sit with families to learn about their person. For instance, one client’s mom loved to travel. I asked which countries she visited and I designed a passport with stamps from the countries she visited. It was different and unique and my client loved it!

I understand it’s not an easy situation to discuss. My focus is on the person’s life and putting something together for memories.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Keeping my social media account current by posting pictures of my projects and engaging with clients when they ask questions. I set up a booth attend bridal shows, fairs, etc. in order to show my products. And I give out samples with my contact information so that they can reach me at a later time if need be.

I also develop relationships with local event planners to tend to come back for repeat business. There is always some type of event going on where my services and products are needed. I especially love working with them collaborating on their designs. Sometimes it can be a little challenging matching with their design, but I’m always up for the challenge.

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

There was a time when I desperately wanted clients and I would discount my prices just to maintain clientele. I ended up losing profit just to gain a client. It proved to be counterproductive. I then decided to have budget friendly options as well as higher end products to widen my client base. This has been a better solution to reach more people.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slkdesigns/