Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Karabaich.
Taylor, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
The idea behind Design Strength started as something a little different than it is today. Over ten years ago, I wanted to merge 2 passions of mine—graphic design & fitness (which is how each part of the name came from). My husband and I were competitive obstacle course racers (OCR) for years, and I began wanting to train others in addition to working as an art director. I started small, slowly building a client base for both personal training and graphic design, all while continuing that 9-5, corporate design job (that I worked so hard in college to get!). The growing pains were tough, as I juggled 3 jobs and continued to race on weekends.
I stumbled across an ad one day, of a small marketing firm looking for a part-time freelance designer. The hours were flexible, the workplace was close to home, and the pay was decent. It was the perfect opportunity to meet my financial needs, as well as have extra hours to continue to build my small business and train for OCR. I soon realized that the personal training portion of the business needed to take a backseat so I could make room for the influx of design job requests and maintain my own fitness.
It took about 5 years for Design Strength to really start to take off, and it was time to part ways with my part-time position at the marketing firm to put 100% focus on Design Strength. Word-of-mouth is a strong form of marketing, because everyone I did a logo for, or a little brochure, ad, etc., was referring me to their friends, colleagues, start-up businesses, and even bigger corporate clients. I always thought building businesses meant spending thousands of dollars on marketing and advertising, but for me (up until this point), it was all in focusing on providing quality design work for an affordable price.
Once I was fully on my own, I could manage more work and the business doubled it’s revenue in 2 years.
The jobs also grew from simple logos and print design to websites and marketing campaigns. I then had to start hiring subcontractors: Other designers, illustrators, web developers and copywriters. This is where the business stands today—taking jobs of all sizes and utilizing my team of contractors, where needed, to continue to provide amazing work that is above our competitors.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Almost 3 years ago, I had a baby. That was the biggest bump in the road for the business (and my obstacle racing journey). There was a gap of time I was really scared that any time off would negatively impact my business. I worked every minute my daughter was asleep or with friends/family. I couldn’t have done it without the support of my mother-in-law who took over as her nanny until she started daycare last year.
Now, any current challenges are because I have overbooked myself (I have a really hard time turning down business). But, I truly love what I do and working under pressure often helps motivate and push me! I do believe my time spent obstacle racing really helped me to overcome these bumps in the road. I know it is temporary pain and I will get through it stronger.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I work with every size organization, from start-ups to established brands to non-profits. My day usually is filled with logos, branding, print/digital/social media/ web design. I specialize in logo and brand development for new businesses.
I am most proud of being able to adapt as a designer throughout the years- I started as ONLY a traditional print designer, then shifted to adding toy design, package design, web design and social media design. The diversity of my design experience has really helped me run the business as well as generate a larger area of work.
What sets me apart is my typography skill—it is REALLY hard to find designers that understand how big of a role a font plays, and how to pair fonts. I am the girl who spends thousands of dollars on new fonts instead of designer shoes.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I am always in search of talented graphic designers to work with on new projects! Support can come from design and development help in the office, by sharing new work opportunities that may be a good fit, or by sharing amazing vendors in the design community.
Contact Info:
- Website: Design-strength.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/designstrength/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/designstrengthmarketing/
