Rising Stars: Meet Katelyn Woodhams

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Katelyn Woodhams.

Hi Katelyn, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
After graduating from Colorado State University with my Bachelor’s of Art degree, I got my first lessons in running a business while working for a boutique portrait photographer, Photography by Desirée.

Though my concentration was in graphic design and metalsmithing, photography has always been a passion of mine, and retouching images in Photoshop while assisting with photoshoots seemed like a neat way to wrap up my senior year.

Little did I know I would become fascinated with the transformational experience that portrait photography provided people – allowing them to see themselves in a new light. I refined my retouching skills and learned the ins and outs of a small business operation over the course of 4 years with her: CRMs, pricing your services + selling packages, and providing a high-touch experience.

With everything in life, I tend to move very mindfully and quite slowly compared to most people. When I started my business, I worked part-time in my business and part-time at other jobs as I built up my client base, developed my systems, and gained confidence in the skills I had to offer.

One of my part-time jobs was at a Private Occupational School, the Digital Workshop Center. There, I began helping the owner, Stu Crair, with website design & the weekly newsletter campaign. I never imagined myself becoming a web designer/developer because custom coding was quite daunting. The website platform he used was WordPress, and he taught me about the power of working with the theme/builder he used, which is called Divi.

I got the nerve to go full-time in the fall of 2019 – just shortly before the pandemic. I built my first website with the bold confidence to just dive in and try to teach myself everything on the fly. Though the learning curve was STEEP, and there were tearful nights of frustration trying to understand domains, DNS, hosting and migrating websites, and unexpected downtime – I’ll never regret just going for it.

I made it through COVID with word-of-mouth referrals and kept a strong belief that the power of the law of attraction and the energy you put into all the work that you do bring more of that work your way.

Now-a-days, my goal at Fire + Flow Designs is to breathe life into my clients and their business by creating so much more than a “simple logo”. We do build and refine the visuals for their brand – but it’s my passion to help my clients discover that their strengths, values, + mission are what sets them apart from their competitors and attract their dream clients.

My hope is that the new brand and website we launch helps my clients show up with confidence and professionalism, build trust with their clients, and convert those that matter most.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Running a business has a learning curve, and building a website has an even steeper one. One of the hardest aspects of learning how to do business for me was setting boundaries. If that’s a challenge in your personal life (recovering people pleaser over here!), then doing that in business will also seem daunting and difficult.

The best advice I could offer someone starting out is to create systems & workflows that clearly outline what you do and what you don’t do. Especially when it comes to payment. One of my hard rules is I don’t work without a deposit, and I don’t deliver files or launch a website without a final payment – no matter the person or even a large corporation.

Then, use each time you learn a lesson about something not feeling good (i.e., when a boundary, even one you didn’t know about, is crossed) as an opportunity to create a better system the next time.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a graphic designer turned web designer/developer. I specialize in creating custom brands for small businesses & solo entrepreneurs in the service industry, interior designers, architects, massage therapists, healers, etc.

My brands are refined and cohesive all the way through to the website, with an obsessive attention to every detail. I care deeply about my clients and make sure they feel heard and at ease throughout the process, that their brand feels authentic to who they are, and that they attract their ideal clients.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those just starting.
The best advice I could offer someone starting out is to create easy-to-follow systems & workflows that clearly outline what you do and what you don’t do, especially when it comes to payment.

One of my hard rules is I don’t work without a deposit, and I don’t deliver files or launch a website without a final payment – no matter the person or even a large corporation.

Then, use each time you learn a lesson about something not feeling good (i.e., when a boundary, even one you didn’t know about, is crossed) as an opportunity to create a better system the next time.

Pricing:

• Brands Start at $1800
• Websites Start at $2200

Contact Info:

• Website: https://fireandflowdesigns.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fireandflowdesigns/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fireandflowdesigns/

Image Credits
Photography by Desirée