The Mother Behind a Design Enterprise that Generated over $400,000 in Income in 12 months
Are you curious about design and are tech savvy?
Properly, we talked with Chisom Okwulehie and she or he shared her story of how she began a joint enterprise together with her husband, Juntero Design and Junero Expertise whereas working her full-time place as a Senior Architect within the authorities.
Chisom tells us in regards to the challenges she faces operating her enterprise with two younger kids and offers tricks to all working mothers.
She is one busy mama and we’re so impressed with all she has been in a position to accomplish!
1. Are you able to inform us about your journey in founding Juntero? What impressed you to start out it?
I excelled at my full-time job, however the need to run my very own enterprise lingered inside me. When the pandemic struck and the world slowed down, I noticed a possibility to make my dream a actuality. Nevertheless, I made a decision to start out small by taking over freelance tasks on the facet.
The journey started humbly. In 2021, I launched the corporate with my cybersecurity specialist husband. Juntero is an integrated firm that owns Juntero Design and Juntero Expertise. I personal Juntero Design, whereas my husband owns Juntero Expertise. My first gig concerned designing an advert for Certainly.com, which paid a mere $20.
Initially, Juntero Design’s gross sales comprised largely one-off graphic design tasks. Nevertheless, the corporate progressively attracted bigger tasks, corresponding to creating floor plans for small companies. I juggled nights and weekends between Juntero and my full-time place as a Senior Architect at my authorities job.
2. What specific challenges did you face as a mother whereas launching and rising your organization?
2021 turned out to be each pleasant and disturbing, albeit in a optimistic method. I discovered myself inundated with requests and tasks, all of which I dealt with solo. Balancing this workload was difficult, particularly whereas caring for my daughter and holding down a nine-to-five job.
Within the early days, I devoted my daytime hours to my authorities job from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Then, I transitioned to engaged on consumer tasks from 4 to seven within the night or through the early mornings on weekends. Managing this alongside caring for my youngster proved to be fairly demanding.
Regardless of the after-hours workload, I needed to refine my prioritization expertise and handle my time meticulously to make sure I accomplished all the things. I owe a lot of Juntero’s preliminary development to my supportive husband, who has been a useful co-parent all through this journey. My husband performs a pivotal position in my achievements. Along with his hands-on method, I by no means really feel like I’m navigating this journey alone.
3. What does a typical day appear like for you?
As Juntero expanded, I transitioned to delegating a lot of the workload to a crew of designers. Basically, it operates as an company the place I oversee a pool of proficient people and assign them duties.
Within the yr of 2023, I discovered myself personally dealing with solely about 10% of the workload, whereas over 30 expert architects, inside designers, and 3D modelers deal with the remaining. As of late, my position at Juntero primarily includes interacting with shoppers, managing advertising and marketing efforts, and supervising the crew’s progress.
Throughout a typical week, I commit roughly five to 10 hours to Juntero, making certain that all the things runs easily and that our shoppers are satisfied with our companies.
I don’t have a typical day. I juggle the roles of being a mother of a toddler and toddler, a spouse, an worker, and an entrepreneur. My days are in a relentless state of flux, filled with various obligations and ever-changing duties.
4. How do you steadiness the calls for of operating a enterprise with household obligations?
Balancing my household, a full-time job alongside operating a enterprise isn’t a stroll within the park; it usually results in burnout. Sustaining a wholesome work-life steadiness is essential for skilled success and private well-being.
From my expertise, mastering time administration is essential. For these managing a household alongside entrepreneurship, prioritizing time administration is important.
It takes appreciable group, confidence in a single’s skills, and efficient time administration expertise to maintain all the things in verify.
Studying to prioritize duties ensures productiveness whereas safeguarding towards exhaustion. It’s about finding concord between work and private life to thrive in each realms.
5. How a lot do you earn with your corporation?
Final yr, I generated over $400,000 in income and earned a $37,500 wage. This yr, I goal to double final yr’s income whereas elevating my wage to $60,000, allocating half of it to investments.
Along with my pension, I plan to maximise contributions to my 401k and different funding accounts to safe long-term monetary stability.
By specializing in doubling income and rising private revenue, with a good portion directed in the direction of investments, I goal to fortify my monetary place and guarantee a affluent future for my household by creating generational wealth.
6. What do you suppose are an important qualities or expertise for a profitable entrepreneur, particularly for mothers within the design/tech trade?
Essentially the most essential qualities for profitable entrepreneurs, notably for mothers within the design/tech trade, embody adaptability, resilience, and efficient communication.
As a mother navigating this field, multitasking and time administration are paramount. Being adaptable to market modifications and technological developments is important for staying related. Resilience helps in overcoming challenges and setbacks inherent in entrepreneurship.
Efficient communication fosters collaboration and consumer relationships. Moreover, creativity, problem-solving, and a development mindset are invaluable belongings.
Balancing enterprise obligations with household commitments calls for flexibility and prioritization. Finally, the flexibility to innovate, persevere, and join with others kinds the cornerstone of entrepreneurial success.
7. What platform/instruments do you employ for your corporation?
My main communication instruments with my various crew, comprising native and worldwide professionals, are WhatsApp and textual content.
For consumer coordination, notably with builders, builders, and design-related companies, I depend on Slack for ongoing venture requests associated to their month-to-month, quarterly, or annual subscriptions.
Interactions with owners and fellow enterprise house owners who require one-time cost fashions sometimes happen by way of textual content or electronic mail. For digital conferences, I are likely to depend on Zoom or Google Meets.
Manufacturing work is facilitated by numerous instruments corresponding to AutoCAD, Revit, Lumion, Adobe Suite, amongst others. To successfully manage and handle tasks, I depend upon Monday, a complete venture administration platform.
This array of instruments ensures streamlined communication, environment friendly venture coordination, and efficient manufacturing workflows inside my enterprise operations.
8. What recommendation would you give to different mothers who aspire to start out their very own enterprise?
To fellow mothers aspiring to start out their very own enterprise, I provide these insights that I discovered from my journey:
- Define Your Imaginative and prescient: Clearly define your corporation targets and imaginative and prescient, aligning them along with your passions and strengths.
- Begin Small, Dream Massive: Start with manageable steps, progressively increasing as you acquire momentum and confidence.
- Embrace Flexibility: Flexibility is essential when balancing household commitments and entrepreneurship. Adaptability helps navigate challenges.
- Prioritize Self-Care: Guarantee to prioritize your well-being amidst the calls for of entrepreneurship and motherhood.
- Search Help: Encompass your self with a supportive community of household, associates, and mentors who uplift and encourage you.
- Steady Studying: Keep curious and dedicated to studying. Search information in areas related to your corporation and private development.
- Have a good time Progress: Acknowledge milestones and achievements, irrespective of how small. Have a good time your journey and embrace the training experiences alongside the best way.
9. Wanting again, is there something you want you had identified earlier than beginning your individual firm, notably as a mother in your trade?
Reflecting on my journey, there are some things I want I had identified earlier than beginning my very own firm, particularly as a mother within the trade:
- The Significance of Delegating: Initially, I underestimated the worth of delegating duties. Studying to belief others with obligations may have alleviated a number of the preliminary stress and workload.
- Looking for Mentorship: Having a mentor, particularly somebody who has navigated related challenges as a mother entrepreneur in my trade, would have offered invaluable steerage and assist.
General, whereas there have been challenges alongside the best way, every impediment has offered precious classes and alternatives for development. Embracing the journey with openness and a willingness to be taught has been instrumental in navigating the complexities of entrepreneurship as a mother in my trade.
10. What’s your imaginative and prescient for the longer term development and improvement of your corporation?
To this point, our most distinguished consumer at Juntero is a property developer who utilized our inside design and 3D visualization companies to efficiently market a portfolio of properties, leading to multimillion-dollar gross sales over asking worth.
Wanting forward, I goal to propel Juntero’s development by forging strategic partnerships with builders throughout the US. Regardless of this focus, I stay dedicated to working with owners and small companies on smaller tasks.
I find pleasure in fixing folks’s issues and can proceed to offer personalised service to people and small enterprise house owners in search of our experience, making certain that Juntero maintains its dedication to each large-scale ventures and particular person shoppers.
11. How can others discover you- as we’re all followers of you now?
It is a fairly superior story of a husband and spouse duo. We love how they teamed as much as construct a profitable enterprise that works for his or her household. Thanks Chisom for sharing your story with us.
We will likely be following Juntero to see what occurs subsequent. Ensure you take a look at Juntero’s social hyperlinks listed above to search out out extra data.