Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Troy Henry. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Troy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about how you got your first non-friend, non-family client. Paint the picture for us so we can feel the same excitement you felt on that day.
I had minored in graphic and web design in college to support my major, but it turned out that I loved the creative craft and started using it during college and after college both in my day job and for friends. Once I realized I loved the craft I started my first business under a different brand. It was a crude start, but my first paying client came from out of the blue. While many of my clients are referrals, my first one did not know me from Adam, but I am so thankful they put their trust in me. Maybe it was because my pricing was too low, but regardless I was thankful for the first opportunity.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I enjoy all creative fields and have dipped my toe into many services such as photography, videography, flying drones, and such. My main three services that I have excelled at are under web design, graphic design, and printing. All of creative work is usually in support of those main services.
My clients have told me that what they liked about my work that caused them to work with me, was my ability to make clean designs. This involves as much white space as possible. It often means that I approach a draft of the design with the thought, “what else can be removed that will still leave the core message intact?”
Have you ever had to pivot?
I initially mentioned how I started my first business under a different brand, which was entirely started to help ministries and churches, but I started to have businesses ask me to help and I realized that if I was going to continue getting more business clients, then I needed to rebrand. I quickly changed it to my name, as most of my clients were referred to me and this made it easy for them to connect the dots.
Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?
I started my business with $500 from my own checking account, but this was used only to open a business banking account as I needed a minimum. I spent very little of this as I got my first paying client very quickly. I used my MacBook Air and it was off to the races. As the business grew, I reinvested my earnings back in the business. I upgraded my computer after the first year or two to increase my efficiency. I have added software and other tech to my business each year as the business grows.
I often help a lot of new or businesses that have been started within a 1-2 years. Often these clients have limited marketing budgets, just like I did when I first started. I advise that they invest what they can upfront for the most impact and then keep investing as the business grows.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://troyhenry.design
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/troyhenry.design/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/troyhenry.design
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/troy-henry-design/
- Other: https://maps.app.goo.gl/tQHoMpyhamKtmb2G8
