Stick-to-itive-ness

Ellen Hamilton was born with an entrepreneur’s heart.  Couple that with her ability to learn from her mistakes it was only a matter of time before she became her own boss.

 

Ellen created Yellow Dot Studios in the early 1990’s and produced graphic designs as she was taught in college—using paste-ups, crops marks and overlays.  She worked her business and was getting paid, but as computers began to change the graphic design industry she began to give more and more of her profits to pay a typesetter.  She needed her own computer.  She began temping, working at a variety of jobs until she found herself working as a receptionist, and no longer doing any business as Yellow Dot.  

 

“I had a Bachelor of Arts and an Associates Degree in graphic design.  I was MOTIVATED to use my degrees.”  Ellen eventually found a job for a publishing group and was using those degrees, but due to some internal issues with the company many of the employees’ workloads were light.  She found herself sitting around.  This motivated to self-publish two calendars, doing the work on her calendars at home.

 

“I used my own money to do it, but [the calendars] didn’t make money.  So I started to do more work outside of the design firm.  I am married to a Scottish man and we travel abroad regularly.”  She took pictures on the trips and created a web site called ‘Ellen’s Images,’ which still exists today (ellensimages.com).  Ellen hoped that people would access the site and buy her images for commercial use.  She put about six months of time and $4,000 into the site, and did not have any return on her investment.  She decided she needed some help.  She called the Alexandria Small Business Development Center (ASBDC) in her town, Alexandria, VA (www.alexandriasbdc.org).  “I explained to them what work I had done so far and their comment was ‘There are some business ideas just are not good’.  They suggested I go for a walk in the woods and regroup.  I needed to find a way to approach my business differently.” 

Around this time Ellen was reading The Millionaire Makerby Loral Langemeier and a phrase from the book kept coming into her mind:  “Do what you know.”  She realized that photography was a relatively new skill for her, and that her design skills were what she knew best.  She resurrected the name of her first business, changing it from Yellow Dot Studios to Yellow Dot Designs and she was off to a quick start.  She worked with the ASBDC to create a business plan and define her target markets.  Her business is ideal for anybody who needs something designed for print, or posting on the Internet.  Now she is actively working to build her customer base by networking, marketing her company, producing a monthly newsletter and directly contacting businesses in specific industries. 

 

Her near-term goals include increasing her number of customers and getting a recurring job like producing a catalog or annual report.  Eventually she would like to get an inexpensive office space outside her home and hire other employees.  And, she has a goal to offer her employees health insurance.  “There is no point in jumping before I am ready,” says Ellen, “but I know where I want to take this business.”

 

 

You can learn more about Ellen’s business and find her at the following contact sites:

Yellow Dot Designs

www.yellowdotdesigns.com

ellen@yellowdotdesigns.com

Phone:  703-328-8046