Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Fortenberry & Gwen Mocilnikar.
Jessica & Gwen, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
We’re Gwen & Jess, co-founders of Hey Hello Studio. We both went to school for graphic design at Kent State. Oddly enough, we were there at the same time, for the same thing, and lived on the SAME STREET, but never met each other.
We finally crossed paths years later while working at American Greetings, one of the largest greeting card companies and creative studios in the country. We worked there together for almost 10 years, honing our design skills and building the branding & marketing expertise that prepared us to start our own business.
At one point, we were part of a small internal think tank responsible for driving digital innovation. We learned how to uncover real customer problems, come up with viable solutions, and create strategic business models to support them. That experience taught us a lot of the business & brand strategy we use in our business today.
But we’re still artists at the end of the day, and especially while we were working heavily in business strategy, we really needed a creative outlet. So, we bought a bunch of watercolor paint, hunkered down in a conference room, and taught ourselves how to paint. We fell in love with using hand lettering to create quotes and art prints, and eventually started an Instagram account to share our art. Then, because we’re entrepreneurs at heart, we created an online shop & started selling our artwork printed on products. That was our first business, It’s Friday Designs.
It was just a passion project at the time, but it got us dreaming about what we could do in the future. We were feeling less passionate about our day jobs and more excited about this side business.
We started meeting once a week at a brewery to try to work out a viable business plan for the future. We looked back at it recently, and we had basically outlined Hey Hello Studio. We described the type of person we wanted to serve, created a list of services, and dreamt about what it would be like to only do work we were really passionate about — which is exactly what we have today. We started seriously talking about what would need to happen in order for us to leave our jobs…but then life got in the way.
Gwen had just gotten engaged & was planning a wedding. Jess had a five-year-old and was going through a divorce. Sometimes in life, too many things are changing at once, and you need one thing to be stable.
And at that time, our corporate jobs were the stability we needed.
So, we decided to close down our business and hoped we would come back to it later. That moment — actually closing our LLC — felt like such a failure. We had talked so much about our big plans and dreams, and it felt like we just weren’t capable of doing it.
We realize now how common it is for entrepreneurs to try & fail multiple times before it all clicks into place. It feels like once you begin, success will follow a straight line until you reach your end goal, but it rarely ever does. Usually, it looks more like a big, squiggly mess with a bunch of starts & stops, failed attempts, and a LOT of imposter syndrome.
Everything happens for a reason, and we’re really happy we ended up staying at American Greetings because we had one of the opportunities that has helped us the most in our business today.
We led the marketing creative for the stationery brand Papyrus, and we also helped launch a new brand called Paper Rebel at Target. We designed the website & online shop, created social media content, worked with influencers, and grew its online presence. We really got to experience building, launching, and scaling a brand in every way. And that’s exactly what we do today!
Eventually, the company did a big restructure, we got moved around, and we decided it was time to move on. The hard part about making that leap from corporate to entrepreneurship is you’re usually making good money and have job security, and it’s so scary to throw it all away. Also, Gwen was pregnant, which is a real consideration that women have to take into account when it comes to leaving a steady job.
It felt so hard to give that up, even though it seems so silly now. Of course, that extra cushion of money and security is not worth being unhappy. But not until we built what we have now did we fully realize that.
We side-hustled for a while, put every penny in the bank, and finally secured enough ongoing work that we were able to devote ourselves to Hey Hello Studio full time. That was Feb 24, 2020. Three and a half weeks later, Covid was here, and the world shut down. (More in the next question!)
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Starting a business in a pandemic definitely wasn’t the plan! But we feel fortunate to work in a digital medium, where we could keep taking on clients and working remotely. We were actually able to grow our business during the pandemic, which is incredible, but we constantly felt like we were juggling a million things and didn’t have steady ground to stand on. The hardest part for us was dealing with the closure of schools & daycares, and having to take care of kids while also trying to work.
But it also taught us to stay really flexible within our business. We gave ourselves permission early on to make shifts anytime we felt we needed to. Sometimes it can feel like going back on a decision is a failure, so you end up staying firm in something that no longer makes sense. We always say, “We made that decision using the info we had at that time. Now we have new data, so let’s make the best decision with what we know now.” During 2020, we got a lot of new data and made a lot of shifts, and it’s taught us to stay really agile & flexible.
We also have a physical studio, and we do our best work when we’re together, so the absence of that during Covid was really hard. We love brainstorming, bouncing ideas off each other, and getting inspired together. There’s a big part of creativity that comes from being in the room together, and it just isn’t the same over Zoom. We probably didn’t even realize how important that was until we got back into the studio and realized how much happier we were, and how much better the work is. One of the great things about working with us is that you get a balance of both of our creative perspectives and design styles. It gives our clients more options to choose from and creates some really innovative and unique designs. So, working collaboratively again has definitely continued to make our work stronger.
The unexpected perk of the pandemic is that we became really good at running our business 100% digitally, while still making it feel good for our clients. We’ve discovered digital tools that make our process efficient without feeling disconnected. For example, we use an app called Loom as a way to add context and a personal touch to our communications. Instead of writing things out in an email or scheduling a meeting, we send a video screen share that allows us to explain our design decisions visually and create a real connection.
We also use an app called MarkUp to make it easy for clients to give feedback on our designs and websites. Traditionally, agencies love to “present” their work to clients in a meeting and have them react to it live. We’ve found that our clients much prefer receiving the creative and having time to digest it and form their thoughts. We build in several days for them to reflect on it and get back to us, and it has made a huge difference in their ability to give great feedback. All these things have helped us create an amazing process that our clients rave about. And it’s allowed us to work with clients across the globe, from the US to Canada to Europe and even Australia.
Another big learning for us was evolving what “success” looks like. Working in the corporate world had conditioned us to believe that growth was the ultimate goal… the more work we had, the more people we could hire, and the more money we could make. That was how we understood business to work.
So, in our first year, we took every single job that came our way. We did a lot of things we didn’t even enjoy, but it felt like if someone was willing to pay us for it, it would be silly to pass on the opportunity. We ended up with so many clients that we had to hire a team of designers & writers, an Operations manager, a VA, and a few others to help support us. Before we knew it, we were the bosses, and instead of designing or connecting with our clients, we were spending all our time managing the team of people we’d hired to handle the volume of work. We had completely lost sight of why we started our business in the first place.
We took that opportunity to ask ourselves what we really LOVE doing… what lights us up and makes us excited to get up in the morning. And we realized that it’s when we can go really deep with a client and learn everything about their business, what makes them unique, and how they’re truly different… and then bring that to life through a custom-designed brand, website, and social presence.
So, we stopped accepting any work that wasn’t that. We decided we didn’t want to run a big team, so today it’s just three of us — Jess & Gwen are hands-on in all the creative work, and our Operations Manager Rynn keeps everything running smoothly. We’ve also built-in time to teach and mentor through digital courses, which really lights us up. We learned that the perfect business for us is small and intimate, and we’re learning new ways to scale through automation rather than scaling through people. It’s been really fulfilling and joyful.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We’re an intentionally-small design studio, and we use our branding and design skills to help other entrepreneurs (mostly women) launch & grow successful businesses.
We do this in two ways: through services & courses.
//// SERVICES ////
In terms of services, we offer branding, website design, and social media design. Most of the time, clients hire us for all three, which we call “The Whole Shebang.” It’s really beneficial for businesses to do all three at once because it allows the branding and messaging to be cohesive across all touchpoints, which leads to higher brand awareness and lower overall marketing costs.
**BRANDING**
Branding can be a truly business-changing experience. We’ve seen our clients go from barely promoting their business and feeling hesitant to direct people to their website… to posting on social media every day and basically shouting from the rooftops because they feel so proud of their brand and website.
Once our clients feel confident that their brand matches the quality of their product or service, we often see them double or triple their prices. Witnessing them fully realizing the power of a polished, professional & strategic brand makes us feel like we’ve done our job really well.
But we don’t just make things look good… we find out what makes a business TRULY different and irresistible, and we bring it to life. (And then we make it look good, of course!) The result is really strategic, unique brands that stand out from the crowd.
With so much noise, especially in the digital space, it’s SO important for brands to be able to stand out. That’s why we spend a ton of time upfront getting to know each client and uncovering what’s unique & different about them. This ensures that we’re not just making something that looks good on the surface, but is strategically created to achieve the business’s goals.
One big way we’re different from other designers is that when we create brands, we don’t just create a logo and a color palette and call it a day. We start with a robust brand strategy that includes brand positioning, target audience, ideal client avatars, and more. We identify the most important messages the brand needs to communicate, and the vibe & voice it’ll use to get those messages across. Then we build out a full logo suite, so they have a logo version that works for every situation, and marks and stamps to add variety and personality. The final step is to develop the visuals — a color palette, photography direction, and a graphic style that includes patterns, textures, illustrations, and typography. All these elements together create a brand that has a ton of breadth and depth. Everything looks cohesive, polished and professional, while leaving room for a lot of interest and variety.
We’re also obsessed with making the branding process FUN. We realize that design can seem intimidating, and creating a brand to accurately represent your business can feel really daunting. But we don’t want our clients to have to worry about any of that. We’ve spent years perfecting our process to make it enjoyable and easy on them. All they need to do is show up, and we have the tools and tricks to get their vision out of their head and uncover what’s special about them — even if they can’t see it themselves. We love when our clients tell us that they feel heard and seen, because it means we did our job.
The other place we put a ton of focus is offboarding, which is giving them all the tools, training, and templates to put what we’ve created for them into action. We’ve heard so many stories from our clients of negative past experiences they had where someone created a brand or website for them, and they had no idea how to use it effectively or update it as their business grew. We never want that to happen with our clients. They should always feel equipped and empowered to use what we’ve created for them, and know we’re always here to support them.
**WEBSITE DESIGN**
Once we’ve created a strategic, robust brand, we bring it to life on a custom website. Once again, we start with strategy by creating a user journey map, which identifies the main goal of the website and all the information a visitor needs to acquire on their way to completing that goal.
For example, if we’re building a website for a salon, we start by putting ourselves in the potential client’s shoes. When they first arrive at the site, what would make them think, “I’m in the right place,” or even better, “Yes, this place totally gets me”?
Then, they probably want to collect basic information on where the salon is, what services they offer, and what stylists are available. Before they’re ready to pull the trigger and book an appointment, they may need some additional reassurance. That can often be done through testimonials, FAQs, or details on what the experience will be like.
Finally, we want them to have a plethora of opportunities to complete the goal — in this case, booking an appointment. All these things together add up to a site that converts at a much higher rate.
We also have experience in User Experience Design, which means we know all the little things, like call-to-action language and button colors, that also contribute to a high-converting site.
A business’s website is often their strongest sales tool, and it should be working for them all the time. We put a lot of effort into making sure our clients not only feel proud to promote it, but when they do, that it’s consistently converting leads into customers.
**SOCIAL MEDIA DESIGN**
We didn’t originally offer this service, but we realized that our clients would have this amazing new brand and website, but would be missing the tools to actually get it out into the world.
So now, once we’re done creating a client’s brand & website, we pull together a social strategy (always strategy first!) that identifies their primary goals, recommended tactics to reach those goals, content pillars, content formats, and even a posting cadence. Then we start ideating, aiming to come up with new, innovative ideas that will catch attention and engage their audience. We bring it all together in a suite of branded templates that are 100% editable and can be used for hundreds of social posts.
Our clients consistently tell us that this is an absolute game-changer for them and makes it so much easier to promote their business. When they’re struggling to come up with something to say, they know they can pop open their templates and there are tons of ideas waiting for them.
If you’re interested in our custom design services, you can find more information at heyhello.studio/services. We’re typically booked out 2-4 months in advance, so we recommend getting in touch ASAP!
//// COURSES ////
Our mission is to help other women launch and grow businesses so they can experience the freedom & fulfillment of entrepreneurship. It’s our passion and it’s why we show up every day. One of the ways we do this is through custom services, and the other is through digital courses.
**OH HEY, NEW BRAND**
Our first digital course, Oh Hey, New Brand, is designed for businesses just starting out, who aren’t ready to invest in custom branding.
We talked to so many entrepreneurs who weren’t confidently promoting their business because
they didn’t feel legitimate. They knew they needed a polished, professional brand, but they didn’t have a ton of time or money to invest and were stuck with two equally bad options for branding — pay thousands for a custom designer, or spend a ton of time trying to DIY it. So, we created a third (and better!) option.
Oh Hey, New Brand is a 6-week, step-by-step digital course that makes it easy + fun to create a polished, unique brand—including a logo, color palette, fonts, graphics, and more. It includes all the guidance, tools, templates, and support needed to create your brand in just a few weeks — even if you have zero design skills.
As a member of the course, you get lifetime access to 40 step-by-step video trainings that walk through our complete branding framework, including how to create a logo, color palette, brand strategy, graphics, and more. You also get access to the Resource Vault full of tools & templates, like 50 pre-made logos in our Logo Starter Kit, and access to our proprietary Special Sauce finder to help you identify and monetize your uniqueness.
We know how important feedback is in the creative process, so in the course, you also get our expert design eyes on your work four times during the branding process. We give personalized feedback on what you’ve created and make suggestions on how you can continue to refine it. Members continually tell us this is the most valuable part of the course. We also have a private community for members to ask questions, seek advice or post-work for the community to weigh in on.
For new entrepreneurs, not feeling confident in their branding can be a huge barrier to success, because if they don’t feel legitimate, they’re less likely to promote themselves. It’s also important that any business has a strategic brand that will attract the right customers — ones that can see and appreciate their value.
Instead of trying to perfect their brand on their own without a plan, not attracting their ideal customer or charging a premium, we help them create and launch their brand in only 6 weeks using a proven framework and with the support of expert branding designers and a supportive community alongside them.
The brands our members have created in this course have blown us away. When we first started, it was a bit of an experiment to see if we could actually teach non-designers how to design a brand. But through a little trial & error and a lot of templates, we have achieved that goal, and we’re so excited every time we see a gorgeous new brand born out of this program!
If you’re interested in learning more about Oh Hey, New Brand, all the details can be found at heyhello.studio/ohhey.
**SIX-FIGURE CREATIVE LAB**
We created our second course, Six-Figure Creative Lab, to help other designers learn how to run a successful design business.
We hear from a lot of designers who struggle to make a sustainable living running their own design business, and feel like they have to take every job they can get. We used to be there, too. It took us a long time to get our business off the ground, and when we finally found success, it wasn’t by hustling harder or offering more services. It was by fundamentally changing our mindset & our business model. We stopped presenting ourselves as freelancers, and instead, decided to narrow in on a specialty and build expertise in one area. It’s been incredibly successful for us, and we love teaching other designers how to do the same.
The course includes a curriculum that covers everything from business strategy to packages & pricing to messaging & marketing. We also give members ALL the templates we use in our own business — proposal templates, sales call agendas, client email examples, and a ton more.
We’ve run this course with and without one-on-one support, and we’ve found that the members are much more successful with the support and accountability. So, we’re re-launching the program to permanently include one-on-one coaching, group coaching, milestones, feedback, and regular check-ins.
This has been one of the most fulfilling things we’ve done because we get to watch designers go from feeling frustrated, overwhelmed, and often not making enough to support themselves… to running a profitable business, doing work they truly enjoy and having a healthy work-life balance. It’s so gratifying to be able to open up our business and give everything we can to other designers, so they don’t have to go through the same struggle we did.
If you’re interested in learning more about Oh Hey, New Brand, all the details can be found at heyhello.studio/sixfigure.
What do you think about happiness?
Working together! We feel so grateful to have found each other and become design soulmates 🙂 Not only do we work well together and balance each other out, but we also just really like each other!
Also, we love bringing our clients’ visions to life. When we first meet someone and they’re struggling to represent their business in a way they can feel confident about, or they can’t see what’s special about them… it kills us. We absolutely love learning people’s stories, what makes them unique, and helping them show that off to the world. We end up becoming friends with all our clients, and cheering them on and watching their success makes us so happy. We credit a lot of our success to making fans out of our clients, which allows us to run almost 100% on referrals. (PS. We get the rest of our business from organic posting on Instagram!)
We also absolutely adore collaborating with other female-run businesses. We have met so many amazing friends over the past few years, and the sense of camaraderie in this industry is incredible. Women are so great at lifting each other up, and we feel constantly supported. We’re always looking for new ways we can pay it forward and help pull other women up.
Contact Info:
- Email: hi@heyhello.studio
- Website: https://heyhello.studio
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heyhello.studio/
Image Credits
Sharon Hughes Photography
