We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Unlock Collective a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Unlock thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

Yes, we are truly happy as business owners! After leaving jobs where we felt constrained and unable to make impactful decisions, starting our own business has been incredibly fulfilling. Being able to help passionate entrepreneurs while building something meaningful on our own terms has made all the difference. What really drives our satisfaction is seeing the direct impact of our work and being able to support small businesses in creating sustainable, human-centered practices. Breaking free to pursue our own vision was one of the best decisions we’ve made, and we haven’t looked back since.

Unlock , 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?

We are a queer-owned and operated, creative design and consulting agency. We empower our clients to stand out by embracing what makes them unique instead of following the crowd. Our creative magic brings big ideas to life for small businesses and entrepreneurs who need a brand identity, website, or marketing strategy that feels genuine.

Our driving force for creating Unlock Collective was seeing the passionate dreamers who wanted to share their gift with the world but struggled with the business and marketing side of things. When working with countless businesses over the last decade, we made a powerful observation: in a world where capitalism and big businesses often overshadow small businesses- our community of entrepreneurs needed allies who truly understand their challenges.

Our economic system is not built for these types of visionaries, and yet they persevere. We wanted to step in with clarity and guidance for all the things that felt overwhelming or unreachable. Woven into our work with clients, we will always advocate for building sustainable practices and building human connection as foundations for resilience.

We believe everyone brings their special magic to the world, which is why we champion community over competition. The only way to thrive in this late-stage capitalistic landscape is to build networks of support. As part of our mission, we created an event geared toward to our community of queer and ally-owned small businesses. We host a quarterly small business networking group that was built to create space for folks who tend to feel uncomfortable or unwelcome in mainstream networking groups and to connect local queer businesses, professionals & allies all for free.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

We strive to foster a business that is majority referral-based. We adore when people shout us out and focus deeply on building the client connections that will support that goal. A lot of our method is based in “Unreasonable Hospitality” (shout out to the fantastic book). We carefully curate every point of contact with clients—from calendar booking to milestone celebrations to post-project follow-ups—to create an exceptionally fun and collaborative experience. We treat each client as a long-term partner in our success, aiming to deliver such outstanding service that they naturally think of us when someone needs similar support. We maintain these relationships through snail-mail, newsletters, social media, and offering helpful resources long after they’ve worked with us. To show our gratitude, we always send thank you notes and gifts to those who refer others to us. This meaningful gesture demonstrates how much we value their support of our business.
When we started our business, we committed to showing up as our most authentic selves to draw in the people that we would really enjoy working with. We are out and proud and bring that queerness unapologetically as part of our business’s identity. It not only connects us with other like-minded folks in our community, but we hope it inspires others who may want to do the same but worry about it negatively affecting their business. Our experience has been that it is actually the opposite and our authenticity brings us our ideal clients. We also love working with our ally-owned businesses and we enjoy bringing them in on our queer joy throughout our collaborations.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Our social media presence grew organically through genuine community engagement, not through chasing followers or trying to become influencers. Instead of focusing on analytics and growth hacks, we showed up as our authentic selves – sharing our work, celebrating our community’s wins, and being transparent about our journey as business owners.

The connections we’ve made through social media have evolved into meaningful relationships and real-world collaborations. While we recognize that social platforms can be unpredictable and sometimes overwhelming, we view them as tools for community building rather than marketing channels. This approach means engaging thoughtfully, sharing our genuine personalities, and prioritizing meaningful interactions over vanity metrics.

As natural connectors, we find joy in introducing like-minded business owners to each other and fostering relationships that extend beyond the digital realm. Our DMs are always open for authentic conversations, whether it’s sharing resources, offering support, or simply celebrating each other’s successes. This community-first mindset has created a ripple effect, building a network of supportive entrepreneurs who uplift each other.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://unlockcollective.co
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/unlockcollective
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unlockcollective
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/unlockcollective/

Image Credits

Josh Coen