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Meet Trailblazer Haylee Powers

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Haylee Powers.

Haylee, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I had the typical 9-5 job right out of college, this seemed great. I was actually going to be getting paid a real paycheck every two weeks. I also got hired for what I had always wanted to do- graphic design. I started at CBS doing news graphics. All I had to do to keep this great job was to show up, give all of my time (ok, just 40 hours a week), design boring work that looked OK and be happy and thankful that I had a job. After all, I had made it. I had health insurance and a 401k!

The truth is, I was happy and thankful that I had a job, until about year three out of five. I knew I needed to do more with my life and the urgency of wasting time was slowly weighing on me. If no one has told you recently– you are dying, and so am I. Our time is limited and that realization was a catalyst for what would come next– Bad Bitch Branding.

I created Bad Bitch Branding to empower business owners through brand strategy and design education. Honestly, Bad Bitch Branding has been an experiment all along and it evolves every year into what it is truly meant to be. It was almost a protest for me at the beginning, it was a glimmer of hope for what my life could become. A loud badmouthed, yet empowering and loving life. So, here we are, it worked!

Since then, I have been teaching through Bad Bitch Branding on Skillshare while changing up the brand to help small business owners and designers. I have also created Romeo (Romeobranding.com) where I work with restaurant brands to tell their story through brand design.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
A smooth road? Is any road to the good stuff smooth? I suppose the road could have been smooth if it was paved, but I don’t go that way.

I think it is good to celebrate the bumpy road along the way. My advice would be to keep going even in the face of defeat and uncertainty. There will always be uncertainty and doubt but the real power lies in pushing beyond that. I once heard a quote along the lines of “The real workout begins when you want to stop.” and I think that applies to entrepreneurship as well.  If you are standing up for something, creating something new — if you are an artist or entrepreneur, you are taking the hard path and you will want to stop… don’t stop. Keep building every day.

You will learn along the way, remember to take dance party breaks too.

We’d love to hear more about Bad Bitch Branding | Romeo.
The Bad Bitch Branding mission is to empower small businesses and designers through education and tools that are typically hard to come by, too expensive or filled with a bunch of industry jargon.

So much of the media coverage is focused on the challenges facing women today, but what about the opportunities? Do you feel there are any opportunities that women are particularly well positioned for?
I believe that if you want to do something, you need to do it. If you want a job you aren’t being hired for–skip the middleman and do it yourself. No one will give you permission if you wait for someone to see your worth. I try not to think too much about the challenges facing women because I believe that will set me back. Have there been experiences that I have gotten the short end of the stick because I am female? Yes. BUT, I just try to kick a lot of ass and demand respect from any treating me badly.

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
Jonny Edward- Photography, 3D Design Gareth De Nobrega

Getting in touch: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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