Building Brands and Websites for Success with Meg Mothershed, Co-owner of Mothershed Design Co.
About this episode:
Meg Mothershed is a brand specialist and co-owner at Mothershed Design Co., a boutique brand and web design studio near sunny Denver, Colorado. Together with her husband, Josiah, they help small businesses succeed by creating brands and websites for a variety of companies. They work with their clients to tailor each brand to meet their unique needs.
Topics Discussed:
How Meg helps companies rebrand and improve web presence for success
Why she enjoys working with small businesses most
Why being a small business works to her clients' advantage
How she creates balance between work and life
About Meg:
Meg Mothershed is a brand specialist and co-owner at Mothershed Design Co., a boutique brand and web design studio near sunny Denver, Colorado. Together with her husband, Josiah, they help small businesses succeed by building brands and websites that stand out, attract the right customers, and drive growth.
Read a raw, unedited transcript of this episode:
Thank you for joining us today, Meg.
Thanks so much, it's great to be here.
You have a background in fine arts illustration. Your bio says you are a problem-solving bundle of energy. I love that. Tell us about your business and how do you think your mix of illustration, strategy and problem-solving helps your clients?
My husband, Josiah and I own mother Ship Design Co. So, boutique branding and a web design studio near Denver, Colorado. We work with service-based businesses. My husband and myself are both designers to come from a design background. I have that fine arts illustration background and that problem-solving piece is really crucial to what we do. We don't just make things look good. We make sure that what we're doing actually solves our client’s problems to help them better reach their goals. We start every project with a strategy session and or we do deep dove into our client's business, understand their audience, the competition, to really lay the groundwork and foundation for every project before we start. So when we say we do our homework up front before we actually start designing it's really a combination of, solving a client's problem and then executing that in a visual way, whether that's through branding or web design or very often both a lot of moving pieces that can be very complicated, but our job is to make it easy for our clients.
And I love hearing that because going through the design process, I'll send an email to someone about a design. It's very hard to type that out. So it's great that you do that deep dove for clients, and I'm sure they love a brand refresh every now and then.
Definitely. And I think you touched on something great where, most people are not super visual and that's OK. That's our job is to pull that out of you and understand what you're looking for or what needs to happen. So, it's a big part of what we do, too, is we don't like to give our clients any necessary homework or things to do. We have a lot of discussions began our strategy sessions because it's hard, but that's our job to handle that first.
Why is it important to rebrand when the time is right?
I would say if a lot of times our clients, they've been in business for five or 10 years and what they're doing just isn't necessarily resonating with either who their audience is now or they change as business and their vision is changed. So, it's no longer reflecting where they're trying to go. So, I'd say if you're one of those boats where what you're doing just is, maybe your website or your logo or a combination of everything just making you feel really stuck and held back, that's the right time to start talking with the brand designer to help you reach that next step. Because how you're presenting yourself to the world, right? Whether it's again on your website or your social media or whatever it might be public facing, that's really what's going to help attract the right people to you and help you keep moving forward. So, I would say, if you're one of those boats where what you're just doing is no longer working, it's time for time, for a reason.
It's so true and things change so fast today. It seems like rebrands are needed quicker today than ever before. I am going through a podcast cover art rebrand right now because at one point people were using microphones and now no one has their microphone it's always fun to have that fresh perspective, though, I think for the business owner as well, it adds that increased energy.
Yeah. I think a big part of what we do, too, is giving our clients the confidence they need to continue moving forward and marketing themselves and promoting themselves. I think I hear a lot from clients when I first started to work with them is that they feel stuck, they feel held back and they don't like what they have. So, they don't want to keep putting it out there in the world, right? If it's not a good reflection of them in their business. So that confidence piece? Yes. And now I feel happy and confident to go out and start promoting myself is a big part of it to that mindset shift as well.
And today it seems like there's so much coming at us with, sell your products or service this way. Why do you suggest that a website is the number one sales tool?
I always compare a website to a storefront, whether you're selling products or selling services. I always tell people, picture yourself walking down the street, there's a bunch of shops in either side. Which stores are you going to go into if your storefront is really busy or cluttered, or even if you look closed, right? No one's going to come into your store. But if it's welcoming and inviting, it's attracting the right people. Those people are going to want to come into your store. So, it's kind of a helpful reminder of how to think about your website. It's always visible, right? It's always on. So, it's important that you know that it's top notch and is representing your business well. And a couple other things, too is that helping you stand out from your competitors looking at what other people are doing and making sure that you're standing out and really communicating your value? That's something that we talk a lot about with our clients is how do we communicate your value and make sure it's easy to understand visually organized well. It's really a combination of things, but your website should really have everything someone needs to know in order to want to reach out and contact you or go ahead and buy your product. So, it's a really important piece and should do a lot of the sales work for you.
And I like that you do that deep dove, because not all web designers do that. Take it a step further to think through the sales process and how you're going to win clients and close business.
Definitely. Yeah, that's a really big piece, because we do believe your website should be your number one sales tool in that way. So yeah, thinking through that funnel aspect to and determining what pages you need on your site, what's the path someone's going to go to the end result to the CTA there? So yeah, that's a huge part of it. What do you like the most about what you do? Well, I love working with small businesses. We're a small business. I love working with other small businesses, and we work with other, much larger companies and corporations. And it's just honestly not as satisfying to work with them because you're not making much of an impact in comparison to working with small businesses. So, love working directly with small business owners. We understand the problems that they're facing and the things that they're going through. And so you can just really relate to each other. There's so much better and it's really rewarding to see that impact that you're making on their business, helping them grow, feel more confident so that at the end, that's really what we love to do.
And probably more of a personal one on one conversation other than working with teams.
Definitely. Definitely. Most of the time we are working directly with the business owner or owners or otherwise. It's very, very small teams. And so, yeah, I love that client intimacy you can get and then just continuing to build long lasting relationships that way, which is great. It just again makes everything so much more rewarding and honestly, just fun to do. Yeah.
How do you approach management by either managing a project or managing teams?
Yes, I love project management. I say that's my middle name. That's a big part of my role with our company. My husband, Josiah does more of the heavy lifting on the creative side, and then I have a bit more of the business side of the business. So sales, marketing, communications and project management are a big part of what I do. And I think in some ways, being a small team ourselves helps us and is also a bigger challenge when it comes to project management. I'm not we're not handling huge volumes of projects or clients at a time, but because we are such a small team, we have to be really specific. We power a lot in our time and energy are just the two of us. So really, I think the biggest thing is just scheduling our time really, really well. And communication between myself and my husband being the best that can be really, really helps.
It's unique to find someone that has that strategy and management side and also the creative design side.
Yeah. Well, that's why there's two of us, but it's hard to do everything being all in one person and realize that early on when I joined him in the business, that having defined roles definitely helps. I mean, there's only two of us, so we get our eyeballs on everything that goes out of here. But having defined roles and responsibilities and playing on each other's strengths and weaknesses in that way has been really key to our success.
You say it's never too late. How can a rebrand help a business reach the right audience, increase revenue and receive the recognition that the business deserves?
Yeah, you touched on some great things there. Knowing your who your audience is and who you're trying to continue to get more and more of in terms of who you're working with is really crucial not just doing the same things and expecting that to work each time, but revisiting what you're doing and who you're talking to and how you're talking to them is a really big piece. And so by speaking to the right audience in the right way, you're much more likely to actually attract the right clients to you. And then as well as standing out for you from your competitors, I think that's something that we tend to do. Maybe once, right? And then just kind of forget about what everybody else is doing, but continually looking at who your competitors are, what they're doing, or just stay ahead of them in terms of how you're presenting yourself. Are you talking about your services and your offerings is super important as well? So, by doing those things and just making sure you're staying current those are going to really help you ultimately instruct the right people will stand out from the competition and ultimately drive that growth forward.
That's really good advice and actually have an avatar sitting on my desk to remind me of who exactly I want to talk to and the type of person I want to reach. And it's interesting because sometimes we think, Oh, I want to reach everyone, but at times we reach the most success when we speak to specific people about specific topics.
Definitely. I would absolutely agree with that. I think it's hard to say no to anyone. Even deep down, we know they're probably not the right fit or just not a great match. It's hard to say no, and I think that's something that takes a lot of practice and just time to get better at. But then once you do know and you and you get used to that, you know even more when someone is the right fit for you and for your business and how much you can help them, then it just makes you that more excited to work with them and vice versa. Just Lisa Butter and Russell.
Yeah, and you're reminding me of another conversation I had with someone who was afraid to niche down because she thought, I don't know if I'll have enough clients and her business actually exploded once she got more specific.
Yeah. I mean, I hear that all the time as well, and that's something that we were afraid to do initially too. We started out much more general design studio. We can do anything which might be true, but that doesn't mean it's a good thing to be able to do. So yeah, we saw Leanne is down to focusing on just branding and web design, and that is it's.
Can you tell us a client success story or one of your favorite stories from clients that you've worked with?
Yeah, I have a number of them, but I think someone in particular stands out to me is a client who had been in business for about 10 years and doing really well. But just how they were presenting themselves was no longer relevant to where they were trying to go. They change some things about their business model. They're really trying to grow their team. And so we came in and helped them define that vision of where they're trying to go and then rebranded them, gave them a new website. And it set them up for future success. They got featured in industry presentations and just really helped them feel much more confident and gave them the drive to continue moving forward towards that vision. So that was a great one, and another one in particular was a local client who he does. He's a screen printer. He does amazing work for some really big music venues. But just communicating about his services and what he does and the value of what he does was not his strong suit or very humble, nice guy. And so we came in and helped him. And then through helping this new website, he's gotten way more work and just does a lot of that sales work for him and could not be happier that he doesn't have to rely on just talking to people to do that. So, yeah, just really anytime there's something really rewarding and you're helping people achieve what they're trying to achieve. That's just been great.
That has to feel so good. And you bring up an interesting point with, someone that's an artist wants to focus on their art. They don't want to focus on the sales or the marketing side. So, it's great that you can come in and help someone in that way.
Yeah. And most business owners, with some exceptions, of course, we're not natural salespeople, right? Yeah, you have to learn or hire out or hired someone to be on your team to do it sometimes. But yeah, if we can take that off your plate, you are take a lot of it off your plate. That's the goal. And again, especially with a website where it's out there all the time, anyone can come to it 24-7 doing that work for you, making things easy for both you and for attracting the right clients, the right customers. It's a win win for everyone.
I believe that magic happens when we focus on the part of ourselves and our business. That brings us joy. What is one tip you can leave with us today about how you make sure to find and live your joy? That's something we've definitely learned over the past few years, and I would say the biggest thing and you hear this a lot, but it's balance and I think that's different for everybody. For us, it means setting firm expectations for ourselves and for our clients and setting boundaries too for example, we since we are so limited on our time and block everything else. I'm always looking to schedule calls versus just picking up the phone and calling someone or having them call me and setting up those expectations and boundaries just leads to much more of a seamless, smooth process for everyone, which then can feel much more balanced and enjoyable. And one other thing we've done is that we have within the last four or five months or so that we've been closed on Fridays, so we only work Monday through Thursday, and that one in particular has been huge for us. It's much more literally balanced, right? Four days working, three days not. And that has been wonderful and has really brought a lot more joy back into our business because it is more balanced and can just focus our time more evenly.
It's interesting because when you love what you do, it can be hard to stop working and it's great that you put in those boundaries. And I've actually thought of taking Fridays off too, because when you work so hard and sometimes late into the evening, you could just get so consumed and work that especially if you love it and it seems you and your husband do. You don't stop working. So, it's great that you're taking that specific time. And I'm sure setting it up in your head at that Friday is off allows you to create some special moments and do some interesting things that maybe you want to just work through the day and not have experienced. And it definitely frees up more time to have more experiences outside of work. And when you do love what you do and especially when you work from home, like many of us do, especially now, it's hard to set those boundaries of stopping and starting work and even different days. And so it's been, yeah, just helpful for us and something we plan on continuing forever. Now I can't go back.
Right, right. I know sometimes I put my phone in another room and I think, OK, I'm not. I know not every industry can do that. Doctors, sometimes, if they're on call, different people can't. But sometimes I put my phone away and think I'm just for the next hour. I'm not even going to look at it. And there's just something so freeing about that when we're so attached to our technology today.
Definitely. Yeah, having those healthy boundaries in place, I mean, obviously help you yourself, but ultimately helps your clients as well, because you're better able to show up and be present and be better rested and have more energy when you are working with them. So, yeah, it's a win win for everyone.
So true. You and your husband are building a fun and successful business. Can you please share with our listeners how and where they can find you?
Yeah, you can visit us at Mother said design dot com, check out our brand and website packages and we'd love to talk with you