Shelley and I met online several years ago. I was fascinated by her business and this is the interview that resulted. There's so much wisdom here and reposting it today couldn't come at a better time. With so many people hurting over our current economic state, we're all looking for ways to earn more money-even if it means starting a new business or finding capital for a current business.

I understand you are a project coordinator for graphic design and printing projects. What does that entail?

I do very little hands-on layout and design; although, I do write and edit copy and act as art director on many projects.

Was there anything particular in your life growing up, or as an adult, that helped lead you down this career path?

When I was a child, I enjoyed writing immensely and often wrote customized verses, song parodies, and poems for birthdays and special occasion cards-for family and friends. I received a lot of encouragement and praise, and that helped me determine that writing would be a part of my career path.

I also enjoyed public speaking and received a degree in communications with a specialization in Radio and TV from Cleveland State University. During my first two jobs in radio, I spent the majority of my time writing and editing commercials and the rest of my time devoted to being an on-air announcer/DJ.

When I became a wife and mom, I put my career on hold. But I was determined to start a business I could operate out of my home once the kids started school. It was a high priority for me to be available to my kids. Since I took such joy in writing and creating greeting cards, I just thought I should follow my passion.

In 1985 Gifted Greetings was born. A mutual friend hooked me up with an artist; she and I began a partnership. Together we created and delivered-ala singing telegrams-large, poster-size greeting cards. My partner painted the recipient's portrait/caricature, and I wrote the song parody or verse. Then we personally delivered the cards, along with our goofy adlibs and impromptu "skits," wearing tuxedo shirts with blinking bow ties, and black slacks. A friend then commissioned us to custom-design her business's holiday card, which caused us to think-hey! Another market! So we began soliciting local companies and universities to design and print their holiday cards in volume.

Once you decided to become your own boss, how did you find the capital to start your business?

My partner and I were rather unorthodox in our approach. We started our business very part time and raised our own meager capital by creating "calico cattails," a country craft, popular in the mid 80s. We made the cattails with donated scraps of fabric which we sewed and stuffed with free carpet padding remnants. All we needed to buy was the dowel sticks, which we stained and inserted into the cattails. We sold the crafts at a local county fair, while advertising our greeting card services.

We also cleaned my partner's husband's office to earn capital. We were determined not to borrow money from our personal bank accounts, no matter what it took. Once we started selling our cards, we were off and running and quit the craft and cleaning biz. There were very few expenses in running the business at that time. We were never in the red, even from the get-go.

Do you have any suggestions for new start-ups when it comes to finding the initial capital to start a small business?

It's trite but true: think outside the box.

Read entrepreneurship articles and books on start-ups, and then if necessary, throw out all the stuff you just read, and listen to the voice inside you. If a person is not able to find the initial capital somehow, some way, then he or she is probably not cut out to own a successful business. It takes passion, drive, talent, self-confidence, guts, and energy to make a start-up work. I don't know the exact statistic, but I think a huge majority of businesses still fail in the first two years.

If you're a young mom with small children who need your attention, start out slow and part time so that your expenses and time are minimal, and you can make money as you go.

With capital in hand, what was one of the first things you did to get your business off ground floor and how did it turn out?

I made flyers and mailed them to all the media outlets in our city. I also followed up with phone calls. We were deluged with free publicity because we were offering something rather unique, totally creative, and enormously fun. The TV, radio stations, and newspapers ate it up. We were shown delivering our "singing greeting cards" on local television numerous times, and even made the Associated Press. And since the publicity brought us lots of new business, we were able to pocket most of the income.

What was the most difficult thing about starting this particular business venture?

Dealing with a partnership, and the spouses of the partnership! Everyone had a differing opinion as to how to operate the business-which sometimes caused stress. We received tons of encouragement from family, friends, and our customers when we began our business. The only negative input we received was from an accountant friend who told us we'd never sell our huge, creative cards for more than $5. They eventually sold for over $325.

And another thing-(you've got me going) once we began printing holiday cards en masse for businesses, we learned we knew NOTHING about printing. Going through the process was often painful for us, and especially for our printer-lots of time spent educating ourselves.

I split with my partner in 1987 when I moved from Columbia, S.C., to Atlanta, GA. The hardest thing I encountered was starting my business all OVER again, without being able to have immediate access to my emotionally-supportive partner. But I scratched and clawed and got it off the ground.

Did you ever have a business blooper? If so, what was it, what happened, how did you resolve it, and what did you learn from it?

I've had fortunately very few business bloopers over the last twenty years, but examples that come to mind are:

1. I misspelled "millennium" on 5,000 greeting cards that had to be reprinted. (I used one "n".) I learned to make sure the client sees the FINAL proof before going to print, regardless as to whether or not it holds up the job and misses the client's deadline.

2. I unsuccessfully sued a firm that owed me several thousand dollars. I was one of 150 vendors suing a company that went bankrupt. I learned that I should trust my instincts. This was a foreign-owned company that came across as a little "sketchy," and I should have insisted on a deposit upfront. I requested one, but didn't get one. I should have stopped the design process and cut my losses.

3. A printer and I had a misunderstanding regarding a mutual client. The printer had been billing my client for some printing jobs, and I had also been billing my client for the same jobs-the printer should have been billing ME. One day I received a call from the client, who noticed the double billing on one of my invoices. It then occurred to me that my client had been double-billed for various print jobs. I did some checking, found four invoices that had been double-billed, called the printer, called the client, and ended up deducting $4,000 off my client's next invoice. Fortunately, this was a client I have had an excellent relationship with for twelve years, so there was a level of trust built in. I learned that if you're going to make invoice mistakes in a business relationship, wait and do them years AFTER the relationship starts and takes hold, so you have some credibility! The level of trust between my client and me has not changed one iota.

4. My latest blooper-if you want to call it that-involves a small claims suit I've filed against a business owner who refused to pay me a sales commission on a project I coordinated. Because I feel so strongly that I was wronged, that I am owed the money, and that this person needs to be confronted and held accountable, next month I'm going to small claims court 650 miles away. The law dictates that I need to go to where the defendant's place of business is; and unfortunately, it's not in my locale. But fortunately, I have family in his locale, so at least part of the visit will be enjoyable. I learned that just because a friend refers you to someone to do business with, don't take the "someone" for granted. I've been burned a few times by friends' references.

Update: There is now an outcome: the case has been settled out of court. I remained resolute and true to my convictions through the entire process, was patient, and refused to accept anything less than what I was owed. I have signed a settlement agreement, and in forty-eight hours will receive my entire invoice amount, plus legal fees from the defendant. I will not need to travel 650 miles to settle this case, or have to worry about collecting from the defendant. (That burden would have fallen on me.)

What method of advertising have you found works best in regards to not only getting the word out about your business, but helping you turn a profit?

Honestly, the best advertising has been the free publicity I received when I began my business in Atlanta. I always tried to find a unique angle to get the reporter interested, and made numerous cold calls and sent a few press releases.

Outside of that, I've not done ANY advertising. I currently have a website under construction, but only due to peer pressure. I haven't done flyers in years, never had a brochure, etc. I make cold calls to potential clients, and send a cover letter along with samples from my portfolio. I follow up with another phone call/appointment. That seems to have worked well for me.

Why do you think this works so well?

My husband would like to know the answer to that too! He says I have "something that can't be described," and he "doesn't know how I do it." I don't know how or why my method works. God's grace? Blessing? Favor? Maybe I've been gifted with certain instincts and abilities. Believe me, I'm not so fortunate in other areas of my life. We all struggle with something.

Having been in business for awhile now, 20+ years, what lessons can you instill in others with regards to customer service?

Regarding customer service, there's hardly anything more important in a business relationship. I've heard that you can be the most technologically-adept person in the world, but if you're lacking in human relations skills, you're going to fail in business. Customer service is totally, absolutely critical to your success.

If someone was looking into becoming a graphic designer, what advice would you offer?

Today of course, unless you're a self-taught genius, a degree in graphic design is necessary, as well as obvious talent, people skills, responsiveness, follow-through, and attention to the details. I look for the whole package when hiring graphic designers.

Could you take one week of your business and mix it up to give us a broad overview of what a typical day would be like as a graphic designer?

Here's a typical week as a graphic design project coordinator:

• Wake up around 6:45-7:00 am,
• Grab some coffee and quiet time,
• Play tennis or aerobic walk 45 minutes to an hour,
• Eat breakfast,
• Check email,
• Respond to high priority emails,
• Call printers and designers to check on pending jobs,
• Deal with computer maintenance issues,
• Do paper work such as filing, invoicing, balance check book, pay bills, etc. ,
• Call paper supplier,
• Write a few holiday card verses to go with various concepts,
• Meet with designer to go over card concept for client,
• Call an illustrator to discuss three mockups,
• Call client to ask how they thought the latest brochure turned out,
• Make appointments to meet clients for lunch,
• Email client to brainstorm about various concepts for their project,
• Go back and forth fine-tuning ideas,
• Gather research for a project,
• Make more coffee (half-decaf, half regular),
• Eat something high protein for lunch in between,
• Go to printer to look at proof,
• Get proof couriered to client,
• Get advice from my CPA husband on some bookkeeping issue,
• Begin process of doing quarterly sales taxes,
• Make a social phone call,
• Respond to personal emails,
• Get organized,
• Do research for small claims suit, and
• Work on pro bono editing project for charity.

Most of the above is not in any particular order-it's all about putting out the biggest fire first.

Click here to learn more about her business, http://shelleyhussey.net/home/

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