Daily Inspiration: Meet Megan Byers

Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Byers.

Hi Megan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
When I think about what my business offers today, it’s hand in hand with what I loved to make and create in my childhood. My main modus operandi as a kid was to play a “real life” game, and if I could make stuff on the computer to compliment those imaginary realities, it was half the fun. I had spreadsheets of all my books so I could run and organize my own library, and made my first website for “course materials” that I was teaching my twin cousins in our pretend university in middle school. I wrote and designed a gag magazine called “Old Fart Magazine” on Word, over-utilizing clipart on every page. What sealed my fate as an internet kid to core was the virtual world of Webkinz, a pet collecting game that I still shamelessly play to this day. I was (and still am) completely enamored with what computers can do. It just felt like if I could imagine it, then there was some way to make it on the computer or find it on the internet, and that ambition exposed me to so many mediums and skills.
All of these little side projects and hobbies naturally progressed into studying computer science. I had big dreams to work with Google, my earliest internet fascination, but it took two internships to realize that working for someone else meant working under their terms. I loved so many different “types” of computer work between graphic design and web development, and using one skillset every day was the opposite of what made me so crazy about computers in the first place. My first advocates were the family and friends who knew me as a “computer whiz” and I’m forever grateful that they enabled me to try out offering what was originally my hobby, as a service. Six years ago, I graduated, applied for one job, got rejected, and decided I’d make my own.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I struggle most with being my own boss, ironically enough. It’s up to me to get everything done, to enrich myself and grow, to do my taxes. Earlier this year, I was let go from a dream project before seeing it finished, and that was both painful and humbling. It’s hard to see yourself finally doing the exact type of work that you always envisioned and not succeeding, but it’s been even harder to differentiate my feelings of failure from the reality of why I failed and try to use that information to figure out what’s next. I have a solid work ethic (albeit, terrible discipline) and over the years believe I’ve done a good job of acknowledging where the cracks are, but it’s a constant battle of changing my own habits without an external force to pressure me.

I don’t think any career is a smooth road – but mine has at least been very kind to me. My creativity will never be required to fit within the design rules of an agency or someone else’s vision. I work in so many different mediums – digital art, graphic design, animations, video editing, data entry, web design, programming and everything in between, and often within the same project, which is infinitely engaging and interesting to me. I have the world’s most flexible schedule, which has allowed me to live a very colorful life in-between Twin Lakes and Denver, and support / spend time with the people in my life in ways a lot of folks can’t offer. I’ve been welcomed into the passions of almost a hundred individuals and small-businesses, and share bonds with my clients that are far more personal than any I ever shared in other jobs. At the end of the day, my job is what I make it in every way imaginable, and that is priceless to me.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Design Elixir is an all-in one, one-woman creative studio specializing in web development and graphic design for small businesses. My specialty is designing and programming websites, but I take the “all-in-one” part of my pitch seriously. I’ve helped set up POS systems and fixed computers, done data entry and edited together hype videos. I’ve programmed full booking platforms, and designed everything from stickers to billboards to newspapers to full brand identities. I try to provide a solution wherever I hear a problem, to make technology work for people. Because when it does, it’s amazing!

My bread and butter is a custom website. Website builders like WordPress and Squarespace are amazing and have brought so much accessibility to people without coding experience, but I strive to see a more interesting internet than just generic templates. I love good user-experience and the feeling of trust that it brings when you encounter a site that possesses it. And above all, I like my sites to feel like the brands/people they are representing.

I’m most proud of my portfolio website. It’s the perfect tribute to how I fell in love with computers and came to create this job in the first place – a mix of illustrations, graphic design and code. I had a vision, and barely the skills to execute it, but in building it, I put myself through my own personal boot camp of the skills I was striving to offer. Six years later it hasn’t been updated with any new projects, but I believe the experience and concept of the site captures my creativity, and who I am better than any one project could.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I’m a big believer in things working out, even when they don’t go as planned, so I’m not sure if I think of many of my choices as a risk. On paper, the biggest risk I’ve taken is starting a business and the lack of security that comes with your income. It’s stressful at times to go a month without a paycheck, but feels far less stressful than disliking what you dedicate a majority of your life to. Money comes and money goes, but your life is just going. If financial insecurity is a risk, but a career I love is the reward, then it’s entirely worth it.

Pricing:

• Basic Website Build – $3500 (majority of my projects fit within this pricing option)
• Logo Sheet – $2000 (includes 5 logo variations, color palette, fonts)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://designelixir.studio/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/designelixir.studio/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganraebyers/

Image Credits
First photo of me on the phone with my first big client – credit goes to Elliot Whitehead
Megan Byers