Meet Lisa Richardson in Douglasville

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Richardson.

Lisa, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My Dad brought home a computer when I was eight years old and encouraged my brother and me to see it as not just a tool, but a natural part of our home and work life. When I was crying over being bullied at school for being a nerd, that computer was a place to get away, along with the romance novels that I still love. Computers and technology have had a large role in my life, and my business is a natural extension of that relationship.

Fast forward to grad school, where I was working to advance my career in higher education. My goal was Dean of Students at (insert-small-urban-campus-here). However, as the “resident tech geek” in our department, my research assistantship consisted of assisting faculty members in teaching their online courses and creating their professional web pages. I discovered that I enjoy balancing the structure of code with the art of communication much, much more than navigating the politics of college administration.

When I moved to Atlanta in 2008 after finishing my courses, I was straddling the line between education and business. The day I went into premature labor with my youngest son, my employer at that time called to let me know that I would have no position for me to return to when I was discharged. As a single parent with an eight-year-old and a newborn, I had to figure out my income options quickly. My first website client found me on Facebook through a friend, and I was off to the races.

I wasn’t planning to start my own business back then, but life made that decision for me. Ten years later, we’re still in our house, and that first forage into web development has become drlisadotco.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The biggest struggle for me has been my ongoing battle with Shiny New Idea Syndrome. Freelancers and entrepreneurs who are encouraged to always have multiple streams of income are particularly susceptible to this challenge. After all, the highs and lows of project income can be very, very high, and very, very low. Fear of those lows can make you lose focus on your primary business goals as you frantically pursue financial security.

The way I’ve learned to manage SNIS is to ask myself:
1. Will this move me toward my strategic goals within three months?
2. Do I need to stop my regular work longer than two weeks to make this plan work?
3. Will this new offering be useful to my existing clients or a new market I want to enter?
4. Would I be considering this if I didn’t need the money?

Being broke sucks. But it also makes you creative. Resiliency has been the key to keeping my spirits up when clients walked away in the middle of projects, payments didn’t come when promised, and bills turned into disconnection notices. As long as you keep getting back up, you’re not done.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with you – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
At drlisadotco, we build platforms that help people learn, grow, and play together, no matter where they are. We’re a web development company that focuses on building member communities and professional learning networks for business associations and social groups. What’s special about us is that our foundation is built on adult learning practice and education administration, not just technology and design skills. I’ve built a touchy-feely tech company, and that makes me happy.

Our clients typically take us on for our diverse consulting expertise and holistic approach to projects. We’re vested in the success of their organization in the long term, rather than just building a portal and leaving them to manage it. When they choose us, it’s because they feel comfortable with us and trust us to help them make their business better. We don’t build websites, we build relationships. That’s what I’m most proud of.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Several of our clients are launching big projects next year under our guidance, and we might be even more excited than they are! We’re planning to grow our team so that we can support our clients in more ways. As we narrowed our focus, we’re also expanding the depth of our services to help our clients achieve their goals. How many web development companies staff the events they help you market? This transition to a holistic marketing consultancy is something we’re managing very carefully so that we don’t fall into the SNIS trap again!

I’m also looking forward to developing one of my pet projects into a separate community platform next year, but I can’t share those details yet!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://drlisa.co
• Phone: 470-215-6223
• Email: hello@drlisa.co
• Instagram: instagram.com/drlisadotco
• Facebook: facebook.com/drlisadotco
• Twitter: twitter.com/drlisadotco
• Other: LinkedIn.com/company/drlisadotco

Image Credit:
Franklin Brown, Lisa Richardson

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