Inspiring Conversations with Kristylee Gogolen of Tandem Design Lab

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristylee Gogolen.

Hi Kristylee, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
When I first started coding, I really loved the combination of design and code and using code to create something beautiful. I was always told growing up that I had to choose between math and art. Which did I like better? I could never choose. With web design, I didn’t have to choose.

Coding is something that just made sense to me and I was immediately passionate about it. I wanted to see if I could make a living from it. About 17 years ago, I had a few connections and was able to get my first freelancing gig. The pay was terrible. I had to quit my job to do it, without knowing where future work was going to come from. It was absolutely terrifying.

For the first few months, I worked my butt off. I probably worked 16-20 hour days as I had to do a lot of studying and researching to get myself up to speed. It was brutal, exhausting and exhilarating. I loved every minute of it.

My first job turned into a long-term client, and then a few long-term freelance clients. Eventually, I started picking up clients of my own as well. I enjoyed working directly with the clients, as I was able to get a front-row seat in their story. Becoming an agency and phasing out freelancing was the logical next step. As I’ve gotten more work, I’ve also had to hire more people as well. It’s been a slow and organic progression. I’ve always been mindful about growing naturally so as not to overextend ourselves. Any business is risky, but you can also be smart about the risk.

About 10 years into the business, I met my future husband who was also a web designer. We decided to rebrand and join forces. This has really elevated the business because it has allowed us to find bigger and better jobs and be more selective about the types of businesses we work with. It’s been a fun and glorious adventure.

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?
There have been a lot of struggles along the way. It’s really hard to make a steady income in the beginning. I had to quit my job when I started freelancing. I only had small amount of savings, and there were some very lean months.

The hours and the stress also can be brutal. With entrepreneurship, there’s no one to get support from. You can’t go ask the boss how to do XYZ because there is no boss. There’s also no one else to blame when things go wrong or no one else to fix any mistakes. The stress can be overwhelming sometimes.

The only way to learn is to get your hands dirty. The path to success is paved with failure. Failure is so prominent sometimes, it’s all you can see. But failure is the best way to really learn how to do something well. You have to try all the wrong ways to find the right way. This can be very disheartening while you are in the midst of it.

As you know, we’re big fans of Tandem Design Lab. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We are a boutique web design agency. We specialize in heavy-hitting websites that become a valuable tool in your business, whether that is through solid Google rankings, booking apps or shopping carts, or custom-coded plugins that are unique to the business. We are problem solvers at heart and excel at custom solutions when out-of-box software piece isn’t enough.

What does success mean to you?
Success to me is really hard to define. As entrepreneurs, we are always pushing forward, moving the goalposts so to speak. So you have to be deliberate about marking your successes.

For me, I try to look back once in a while and remember where we came from. This business has supported me for years, and now my husband and I, as well as helped to support other families. It has also helped many businesses be successful over the years and support their own families. These are all things that we can be proud of.

Contact Info:

• Website: tandemdesignlab.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coloradowebdesign/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coloradowebdesign
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/tandemdesignlab