We recently connected with Billy Rae Whittaker and have shared our conversation below.
Billy Rae, thrilled to have you on the platform as I think our readers can really benefit from your insights and experiences. In particular, we’d love to hear about how you think about burnout, avoiding or overcoming burnout, etc.
As any true entrepreneur or small business owner will tell you, it is sometimes the most difficult thing to hone your skills or craft toward one particular avenue and leave the rest of your ideas alone, for now, or indefinitely. Burnout comes from when we take on work that doesn’t align with our passion, or from when our original passion shifts into a new place and we are still trying to stick to closely to the original dream. For me personally, I had to start getting real with myself about what I truly was passionate about, what I had time for, and what direction I wanted to go with that time and my resources. Once I found the ability to say no to things that were outside the parameters of my true goals, the burnout gradually faded away. Now that doesn’t mean I haven’t had to relearn this lesson along the way, but it certainly comes easier each time I grow into a new season and have to let old things go.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I own and direct a digital branding agency that specializes in coming alongside of small businesses in just about every sense of the word. Not only do we give businesses everything they will need for the professional and virtual image but we spend hours coaching and educating them on how to grow and achieve their goals.
It is not enough to make a great logo and an aesthetic website for a client. They need to understand how to truly leverage their brand in order to allow it to work for them. Good design should function as a medium for communicating and eventually capturing ideal clients and customers.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Taking time for the details is certainly something I was raised to do. That way of thinking was also reinforced when I progressed through the design program at my alma mater. It taught me that you don’t always have to come up with something new and innovative, you just have to take something that already exists and make it better.
Additionally, I would have to add that in doing so, you also need to have a sense of resolve against what systems and opinions might be “typical”. In all industries, there are areas where the professionals within said industry approach things a specific way because “that’s how it’s always been done”, but a good business owner knows that to expand, you have to approach things from a different perspective and be confident enough in your vision to disregard the naysayers.
Being your own cheerleader while maintaining a healthy sense of awareness can be a challenge in itself, but if you don’t buy into your own vision and goals, how can you expect anyone else to? So stick with your goals but be humble enough to maneuver, adjust, and learn when it is appropriate. In time, your authenticity will attract the type of customer and client you dream of serving, all while shaping your character into someone that is worthy of owning a business and serving a community with it.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
How do you sum up a lifelong commitment from two amazing people in one answer? My parents gave me so much and did their absolute best to position me for success, I could expand on that for ages. In narrowing it down, I would have to say the most impactful thing my parents did for me was teach me to be a person of integrity and character. I do not just mean someone who appears to be doing “right” and “honest” things…I mean someone who pursues truth (albeit not always smoothly) in all aspects of life…from personal to professional. They taught me to do right first and always, to make sure I was doing the inward work before claiming I was accomplished in the outward work. They taught me to not just live with a plan but live with a purpose. And most importantly, they taught me that I would need to keep loving God and loving others as my overall and everyday mission to ever be truly successful in this life.
Contact Info:
- Website:www.brimdesign.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brimdesign/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BRIMdesign
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brimdesign/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6zaL7ZB_kAC_UuSbdEqryg
