0–100 (The Catch Up)
See what I did with the title. Yeah, you see it. That’ll be a reoccurring theme. Just saying.
Hey everyone, Welcome to the second installment of our series.
Not too much has gone down since the last post as it’s been a pretty crazy couple of weeks for me.
With that said though, I figured I would update everyone on the origin story of the company and where we are today.
I started operating as a freelance graphic/web designer back in 2015 after becoming certified in Front End Development. This was through a government-funded initiative known as “Code Louisville” which was using the Treehouse platform to teach students coding languages to secure better jobs. It was here I learned the basics of coding and designing for the modern web.
After struggling to build a systematic process for on-boarding and working with clients I stumbled upon education company, The Futur, who’s claim is teaching “the business of design”. I was immediately hooked and joined The Futur Pro Group. It was refreshing to have a private group of business owners going through the same struggles as myself and being able to share and learn from each other’s experiences in a safe, judgment-free environment
A few months later, I purchased their star product “CORE”. A strategy based framework with similar teachings to that of design thinking and Google’s design sprints. It’s used to align designers, team members, and project stakeholders to a mutual vision for accomplishing their goals.
Things started changing.
I began taking myself and my business more seriously. I became fascinated with the strategic thinking and planning behind design work and running a successful business. I loved finding new processes and frameworks to solving my problems, and more importantly, my client’s problems. This enabled me to slowly get the confidence to begin to charge more. With that said I’m still not charging what I’m worth in comparison to value I can provide. But that’s a work in progress as well.
It was Christmas 2017 when my wife first got me an Echo Dot. I had obviously heard of the Echo devices and Alexa platform for a while now and my ears perked up with curiosity similar to that of a pup whenever I was viewing the commercials. I just never acted on this impulse, justifying to myself that I’m far to busy with the work in my current wheelhouse to take on learning and embracing any new outside skills. See, I couldn’t just participate by owning and operating an Alexa enabled device, I knew I would want to create in this field but the idea seemed far too abstract at the time. So needless to say I was very happy with the Echo dot and being able to learn more about Alexa.
Fast forward a month later and Gary Vaynerchuk releases his fifth book, “Crushing It”. I purchased it on Amazon via pre-order, received my copy on the release date and I immediately dug in. Imagine the feeling of “it’s time to act” meets “what perfect timing” I’m experiencing when Gary breaks down Amazon Alexa and the entire voice-first movement. Comparing it to the buying of beachfront property in Miami years ago, the gold rush, and the original days of Google, as this is the new search engine of the future.
I had read enough to understand the opportunity that existed for early players in the voice industry. I began researching how to create voice apps (called “Alexa Skills” on Amazon Alexa enabled devices) by searching through Amazon’s site, YouTube, stackflow, and more.
That’s when I finally did it. I created my first Alexa skill, a flash briefing to give creatives a daily design brief for spec projects to sharpen their skills in March 2018.
By May I had unofficially started my agency and began acquiring clients. It was a bittersweet feeling as each client acquisition was a huge adrenaline rush and a burst of inspiration but also pure anxiety enhancement and imposter-syndrome fuel. But I told myself if it scares me then we’re headed in the right direction, so I continued to push along.
In September 2018, Ally Branding Agency officially opened its doors for business and I had publically announced the company’s arrival. Since then Ally has built over 35 voice apps for the Amazon Alexa and Google Home devices.
I’m looking to get back to establishing our expertise in branding and web design/development. Since I’ve opened up shop, we have only had 3 web and 1 branding projects respectively. Our work is primarily voice apps at the moment though I would like to make branding, especially brand strategy, a larger percentage of our work.
Regardless of what type of project we’re working on at Ally, it always starts with designing the user experience and brand strategy. It is imperative that we push the brand narrative forward while focusing on a user-centric approach to the project that delivers an enjoyable and frictionless experience to the end-user.
That’s exactly why I jumped at the opportunity to go back to Treehouse for an online boot camp to become a certified User Experience Designer when invited to their beta program for the new class, at the start of this year.
This was an incredible learning/growing experience and while my first boot camp went well this was different. I was more focused, less intimidated. I had found my voice and my place in the design/tech space, in this instance anyhow. And it was because I entered in under the title/persona of “student”. Not professional, expert, authority, or any other title for “I know more than you.” This was one of the most impactful and effective ways to eliminate the overwhelming feelings of imposter syndrome.
It also didn’t hurt I had a few years of experience and client engagements under my belt. Nor did it hurt that I had been researching user experience design and the strategic processes that must take place before the design process starts through amazing platforms like The Futur.
This time I was not only completing projects but I also went for extra credit on each project all while doing peer reviews and assisting students in our dedicated slack group. It slowly began to feel like I found my niche within the intersection of design and tech. Web design, marketing, visual design, etc. all have interesting aspects but none of them keep me as engaged and passionate as UX design.
In the middle of my cohort, I was approached by the student success specialist for the UX program to become a “Slack Champion” or someone who helps the other students by answering questions, sharing resources, and reviewing their peer’s work. It was an unpaid position, but I was all in.
First of all, I took it as an honor and secondly I took it as an opportunity to be noticed by the Treehouse staff. The plan has always been and continues to be: “get my own thing off the ground” but I have always loved the culture, the platform, and the people at Treehouse and would be happy to work with them in some capacity. It was a no-brainer.
I graduated from the UX Techdegree Program in April. Shortly after I was invited by my student success specialist to become a paid part-time contractor at Treehouse. I would do much of the same tasks as a “Slack Champion” but in greater detail and during scheduled shifts. I immediately accepted and I’m still currently working in the same position.
It has been quite fulfilling to help give back to the platform that enabled me to do so much in the digital space. It has also been extremely fulfilling and satisfying to help other students learn and grow. It was never something I expected to do but once I started I can tell this will be an aspect of who I am and what I do for life. It was also a major switch up from my full-time “9-to-5” which was anything but fulfilling.
And that’s been my personal/professional journey thus far. Everything I’ve learned has helped shape my business and myself personally.
Now it’s time for Ally to get back to intertwining classic branding principals and copywriting/storytelling techniques with the latest innovations in digital marketing. It’s at that intersection, that sweet spot, that we find our differentiating elements. Our X-Factor if you will.
With that said I’ve gone back to the drawing board so to speak to build the newest iteration of the Ally brand. I’ve started by creating what I’m calling the “Brand DNA” document. It includes everything. I’m talking stylescapes, design systems, sitemaps, wireframes, positioning statements, customer profiles, the definition of the culture, etc.
I’m focusing on defining what I’m calling the “Big 3” in the Brand DNA doc.
- Defining our niche
- Defining our target audience/customer avatar
- Defining our business model
In our next installment, I’ll go over the results of defining our “Big 3” and building a system of process for my agency. Everything from on-boarding clients, managing projects, contracts and legal, etc.
