Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Mays.
Hi Stephanie, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
When I graduated high school, I was not sure what I wanted to do. I believed that college was the next step since that was the societal norm, but even then, I was uncertain as to what I would go to college for. I assessed some of the things that I enjoyed and decided to focus on writing. I enrolled in college with a major in English, but after one semester, I found it to be quite boring and I couldn’t see myself spending the rest of my life or even a good bit of it teaching English classes. So, I moved on to the next area of interest, fashion. Unfortunately, as with the English major, something just didn’t fit. I decided to take a break for a while and really figure out what I wanted to do.
During the time I decided to figure out what I was going to do with my life, my siblings and I had formed a gospel singing group called Amayz. With traveling and singing different places, I realized that we were in need of a way to market ourselves and stay connected with our audience; we needed graphics and we needed a website. I began to learn about design and even found an online certification course for website development. I signed up for the courses and little did I know, that this would be the beginning of my love for coding, website and graphic design. I didn’t realize at the time, but graphic and website design and development were somewhat of a combination of my two major interests. Though I wasn’t designing clothes, I was still putting textures, shapes and tones together to make something unique, and combined it with my love for writing.
To fast forward a bit, after taking the courses, I decided to focus my pursuit for high education in the area of web development. I got my Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Design with a major in Website Design. After graduation, I jumped out into the world of self-employment and worked as a freelance designer. As I strived to build my clientele, I worked additional jobs to make sure I could sustain myself. Unfortunately, those other jobs started to take precedence as the business was not flowing in the way I would have liked. It wasn’t until 2018, that I decided I wanted to go all in and really push myself. I formed my business officially, and began my journey as a business owner.
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?
I wish it had been a smooth road, but then again, if it had, I would probably not be where I am today. During the freelancing stage, one of the major struggles was me not knowing the value of what I was offering, so I didn’t price correctly. I knew the creative and technical part of the industry, but starting off, I didn’t know the business side. I found that I was burning myself out because I didn’t charge enough and I was allowing scope creep, because I didn’t have terms in my contracts to protect myself. I also dealt with the “imposter syndrome”, feeling like I was not good enough to charge more but, this was because I had not found my niche market and the customers I encountered were always looking for the cheapest option and didn’t understand the value of what I had to offer.
I know I could have avoided a lot of the struggles had I had a mentor at the time, but I thank God that I discovered an event called Word Camp, where I met other website developers and industry professionals that helped me to see the errors of my ways. I discovered resources that helped me properly structure my business, reframe my offers, and used the lessons learned from past mistakes to protect myself, find my focus and make processes more efficient.
As you know, we’re big fans of S. Mays Designs LLC.. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
S. Mays Designs LLC. is a brand strategy consultancy and website development company working with the faith-filled and business minded. We help faith-based business owners and mission-driven organizations design their brand and professional brand identity, and develop their websites to function as their digital business partner. Our mission is to help position these brands as leading competitors in their industry and to dominate in their industry for the Kingdom of God.
The major thing that sets S. Mays Designs apart from others in the digital design space, is the fact that we are strategy focused. We don’t just send you a questionnaire and design something based off of vague answers; we help to develop a strategy for the success of your business and implement that strategy within the design of the brand and the website. We Define, Align, then we Design. This way we aren’t just creating something that’s nice to look at, but a solution that helps you meet your business goals, make meaningful connections with your target audience, and sets a firm foundation for consistent growth. I am proud to say that the strategy first approach has helped my clients to increase awareness, make their internal processes more efficient and boost their revenue streams.
Currently, there are three major service packages that we offer: Foundational Brand and Web Strategy Consultancy, our Signature Web Design Package, and our Elite Branding and Web Design Package. We have options for businesses who need to find their focus, who know they need a change but aren’t sure what to do, who need to rebrand, and who need a new website because their current site is not a reflection of their growth or professional image, or simply because the website is just not producing results. I want to see good brands grow and make a large impact, but they don’t always have the tools to do so, so with each package, I curated the perfect process to help make that happen.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Currently, I am adding to my team, so I am looking to connect with freelance professionals in web design and development, graphic design and UX / UI design, who are passionate not only about design, but helping others see their vision come to life. I am also looking to connect with referral partners so that I can help others connect with their ideal customers and build a network of resources.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.smaysdesigns.com
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/smaysdesigns
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/smaysdesigns
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/smaysdesigns
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/smaysdesigns
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl7DyZN2JxuVOLxl1ObwF4g
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@smaysdesigns
