Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Miller
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
As a young girl, I remember trying different business ventures; selling friendship bracelets, daylilies, up-cycling furniture, etc. I have always had a strong creative bent but because of my upbringing didn’t lean into my visionary & entrepreneurial giftings.
I was raised in a conservative Mennonite home and am the oldest of 7. With a big family, money was always tight and I had a drive to have a bit more money of my own.
My Dad started a custom cabinet shop and my mom started a greenhouse business. Both businesses are thriving. I worked in both businesses. Looking at it from this angle, I guess the entrepreneurial bug was always part of who I am. It just makes sense. However, at the time, I didn’t fully grasp that.
In my teens and 20s, I worked in a number of different industries each of which shaped me into the person I am today and taught me skills that I took into starting this business. I worked at a cabinet shop, managed a greenhouse, was a cna at a nursing home, wedding and portrait photography, and dabbled in graphic design.
In 2015, I was offered a graphic design position at a local print shop and this is where my knowledge and love for the craft bloomed.
In 2016, I got married and left the print shop. I started a job that quickly became unenjoyable. It lacked creativity and the environment was toxic. I decided to begin a graphic design company to give me a creative outlet – Inspire Design Co. I began focusing on wedding stationery. When the business didn’t grow as quickly as I wanted, I hit the road cold calling. Within six months, I was able to quit my job and run my business. I used my knowledge of the print industry to provide service that the local print shops weren’t able.
In 2019, I hired my first team member, an admin assistant.
Our first child was born in 2020. In the following months, as I battled postpartum depression and anxiety, I went into therapy. As I learned more about myself and began to heal from trauma, I became more passionate about work and my purpose here. I began leaning more heavily into business growth and in making a difference in our local community and the clients we serve. I continued to hire more team members as needed.
In late 2021, we moved into a physical office space. Up until that point we were exclusively a remote team. There were growing challenges with this model for us with our clients receiving a consistent experience. The following year, we saw the most growth we ever experienced previously.
This growth was a result of the physical office space and working with a coach who pushed me more and more into my visionary giftings. He was also visionary.
One thing I learned during this time that if you put yourself out there to look for clients/work that it also has a way of finding you, even in unexpected ways.
I had the dream of becoming a full service marketing agency and began working toward that. Slowly adding new services.
Our systems couldn’t keep up with the influx of clients and new service offerings and in 2023 the business nearly failed. Cash was beyond tight and we maxed out our line of credit over and over again.
That summer, I began working with another business coach. Her strengths were in organization, thinking logically about decisions, and understanding money.
She introduced me to a sales coach who I met with because I was interested in sales training, since I thought that might be part of the problem for the business failing. He asked me a lot of uncomfortable questions about the business numbers and at the end he told me bluntly that I couldn’t afford his services and that if I ever want to have a fighting chance for my business that I better get clients who pay for recurring services. While we had that, it was very minimal at the time. This was hard for me to hear, but it ended up being the best “no” I ever received.
I immediately implemented changes in our sales system and began handling every single new lead, pitching full marketing services.
Slowly we began signing new recurring clients and by the end of the year we began seeing light at the end of the tunnel.
2024 was the year for me to learn to delegate more. I was pregnant with our second child and our bookkeeper was pregnant with her fourth both babies were due two weeks apart. The year was spent tightening up systems and setting them up for continued growth as we continue to serve our clients marketing services.
A female owned business goes through drastically different seasons based on the owner and the place her and her family are in. Managing it all as the owner has been incredibly challenging and has taught me so much about building systems and communicating with my team and clients, both of which are things that I find myself being weak in.
We are now a team of seven. I have dreams of continued growth, while providing excellent service and results for our clients.
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?
It has not been smooth. There have been incredibly difficult seasons. The most difficult being when the business nearly failed. The stress of keeping a business running and providing jobs while running out of money is something I can’t describe.
In the midst of this challenging season, I had a miscarriage. It truly felt like so much of my life was crumbling at the time. I lost direction and the ability to plan properly. I was so fearful about planning because it seemed like the plans I put into place would fail.
As I stated before the business rests heavily on the owner and the life she is in.
It is key for the business owner to pay attention to the energy he/she brings to work as this deeply affects their team members.
As you know, we’re big fans of Inspire Design Co. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Inspire Design Co is committed to inspiring positive lasting change in our community and beyond through excellence in the marketplace. We endeavor to make every interaction with us positive and give life to others. We want others to feel like they’ve finally found a caring friend who has expertise in marketing and will help them to grow their business without the stress that comes with marketing when under experienced/qualified.
Let’s be real most business owners didn’t start their business to do marketing. That’s where we come in – to take that off their plate.
We specialize in bringing cohesion to businesses’ on and offline marketing endeavors. Taking their vision and executing seamlessly across multiple channels. Each business is as unique as its owner, so we take that approach with their marketing. Each marketing plan is built based on the businesses unique needs.
Our custom approach with a personal touch is something that has set us apart.
We hear time and time again of people who have worked with marketing agencies where they felt pushed into services that they didn’t feel would work as well for their target audience. We never do this – we listen to their needs and provide relevant solutions for those needs. Marketing should be collaborative. A business owner knows their business the best and they’ve seen what has worked. We are happy to lean into the business owner’s experience in their field and use it to inform the marketing we do for them.
Our service offering is broad: marketing strategy & management, branding, social media, photography, ad management, google ads, websites, graphic design, and more.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
God – ultimately, I’m a believer and am so grateful to him for sustaining me and providing. In the last 6 months he’s provided team members sometimes even before I knew I needed them. He has been my rock.
My husband – he has stood by me through every season of business. He’s cheered me on and supported me. He’s also listened to my dreams and ideas and sometimes told me that my idea is a terrible one. lol. He balances me quite well!
My therapist – she has walked with me through dark times and helped me to become a better person. She’s facilitated healing in ways I never thought possible.
My business coaches – the one lit a fire under me and helped me to lean into who I really am. The other has helped to ground me and bring organization to the chaos that is in my mind. Both very different, both so needed in the different seasons.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.inspiredesignco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inspiredesignco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inspiredesignco
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-miller-605259159/
