We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Stephanie Mays a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Stephanie with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
I get my work ethic from my dad. I have always known him to be a hard worker. No matter how big the obstacle or challenge, he goes and faces it boldly. He taught me a lot of things that traditionally, a woman does not grow up knowing how to do. I worked with him as a teenager doing construction work; from laying tile on the kitchen floor to laying shingles on a roof. Growing up with experience in doing hard physical labor, removed any fear or resistance to doing hard work. It really just comes natural to me. I am the type who is determine to get things done in a reasonable amount of time and with the best quality possible; even if I have to do it by myself.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a web strategy consultant and website developer for my company S. Mays Designs. I focus on helping non-profit organizations and faith-based entrepreneurs and business owners develop their branding and websites using a strategic approach. This way I am able to help them make meaningful connections with their target audience and position them to become leading competitors in their industry.
When I develop a website for my clients, it is customized to fit their brand and to help them meet their business goals; whether it be to build brand awareness, increase their income or make their internal processes more efficient. I believe that every business website should serve as a digital business partner that will help fulfill these goals and not just another cookie-cutter website that serves as an online brochure.
I would say that the most exciting thing about me operating my business is seeing the God-given vision for my client’s come to life; it is an honor to be a part of the manifestation of it.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
My faith has made the biggest impact on where I am today. Through my faith and knowing that God is with me in this journey as I strive to fulfill the vision he gave me, I have had the confidence to step out and do what needed to be done. The imposter syndrome would creep up occasionally, but my faith in knowing who I was created to be and what I was created to do, and knowing that I have the backing to do it helped me to overcome and walk boldly on my journey.
The qualities and skills that were most impactful in my journey are my organization and time management skills and my commitment to professionalism. Time is very valuable to me and I never like to waste it. One major thing that causes time to be wasted is the lack of organization. Staying organized helps me to maintain efficiency in my business and planning and scheduling keeps me on track with completing projects and tasks in a timely manner. Organization and time management also tie into my commitment to professionalism because it is easy to maintain professionalism when you don’t have to cut corners, rush or compromise due to a lack of time as a result of being unorganized.
The best advice I would give on developing or improving in these areas are to know your craft well and continue to learn so that you can always give a professional presentation, start planning your day and writing out your schedule so that you can make the most of your time, and put systems into place early so that you can make processes as easy as possible; don’t wait for the business to come in, get organized now.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
One book that has played an important role in my development has been “The Win Without Pitching Manifesto” by Blair Ends. This book changed my perspective on sales as a creative. A lot of creators in industries like graphic design, web design and anything art related tend to fall into the position of the “order taker”, when in fact, as the professionals, they should be the one prescribing the solution to their client’s problems. This book has been a vital key to the foundation of my business structure, from on-boarding to execution.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.smaysdesigns.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smaysdesigns
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SmaysDesigns/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smaysdesigns/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/smaysdesigns
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl7DyZN2JxuVOLxl1ObwF4g
- Other: TikTok : https://www.tiktok.com/@smaysdesigns
Image Credits
Stephanie Mays
