Growing a team for your business, with Jamie Starcevich of Spruce Road

Are you ready to start growing a team for your business? Today’s interview has wonderful tips for you. I’ve always felt a real kindred connection with today’s guest, Jamie Starcevich of Spruce Road. Although she doesn’t offer web design anymore, we have somewhat similar design businesses. We talk about so many things and she shares her insights into managing teams, working from home, moving around while she grows her business, and the transition from working in-house design studio jobs to starting her own business. I also found out in this interview that Jamie is pregnant so she was able to talk about running her business while getting ready to be a mom.

Topics we cover:

— Jamie’s transition from studying architecture to realizing graphic design was a better fit for her
— Her journey from working at in-house design jobs, what it taught her about working with clients, and what eventually led to her decision to strike out on her own and start Spruce Road
— Moving around regularly for her husband’s job and what it’s like to grow her business while they’re on the move
— Honing in from offering all types of design to really focusing on branding
— The strategy Jamie uses to stay focused in her business
— My new foray into designing typefaces
— The surprising reason that Jame hired her first team member
— What it’s looked like for her to grow her team
— Why Jamie doesn’t want to be in a position of being booked 6 months in advance, even if it would create greater income stability
— How she lets clients know if she doesn’t think they’d be a good fit working together
— Learning to trust your team in order to delegate important tasks to them so that you can grow
— The difference between branding and illustration
— Why Jamie decided to diversify her income by offering products and courses
— The personal values she’s been following as she’s grown her business
— How Jamie balances having enough contractors in her network so that she can cover all of the work she has coming in
— What we both do when a client wants work done that’s outside of the scope of their contract
— How Jamie bulks task and divides out her week so that she can stay focused
— The books we’re reading that are helping us stop glamorizing busy and being more present in the other areas of our lives
— How Jamie’s preparing her business and life as she gets ready to have a baby

Show Links:

— Kate Baird
— Rich Dad, Poor Dad
— Inspiralized
— Coloors.co
— Rising Tide Meetups
— Present Over Purpose
— Make It Happen
— Pinegate Road Typeface Foundry

Tweet it!

Tweet: Growing a team is all about finding people you trust as much as you trust yourself. http://ctt.ec/NMkvF+

Tweet: Diversifying your income streams is a smart way to increase financial stability when you’re self-employed. http://ctt.ec/4I5Eo+

Tweet: Bulking tasks and assigning certain tasks to certain days of the week is a great way to stay focused. http://ctt.ec/25W0d+

Tweet: “In our industry, it’s kind of glamorizing the hectic and busy…and it’s easy to fall into that.” – @SpruceRd http://ctt.ec/0edhc+

Connect with Jamie:

— Website
— Instagram
— Twitter
— Pinterest
— Dribble

Connect with Pinegate Road:

— Instagram: I’ve been LOVING sharing some daily happenings with the new stories feature — hope you’ll follow along there!
— Pinterest
— Facebook
— Twitter
— Are you interested in becoming a client? Get in touch about working with Pinegate Road to build your brand foundation!