183: How to Start Your First Business with Kristen Harris of Portfolio Creative 🎨

Kristen Harris - Portfolio Creative Interview

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Background on Kristen Harris of Portfolio Creative:

Kristen Harris is a Certified Staffing Professional through the American Staffing Association and serves on the ASA National Board of Directors. She is also the Co-Founder of Portfolio Creative, which is an award-winning staffing and recruiting firm that focuses solely on the creative industry.

Thirteen years as a designer, art director, and creative manager for corporate marketing departments gave her an eye for talent and a passion for working with creative people. After years of wishing there was a better way to connect companies with creative people for projects or positions, she and Catherine decided to fill that need themselves.

She supports the creative and business communities through work with organizations like CSCA, CCAD, CODC, WBEC ORV, and Franklin University. Free time is filled with dog walks at Whetstone Park, reading, cooking, yoga, and a variety of crafty pursuits.

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

  • [1:31] Portfolio Creative is a staffing firm in Columbus, Ohio, and Kristen Harris is one of the founders. They are a company that connects clients with creative talents.
  • [6:22] The core of their business is being an effective matchmaker between their client and the creative people such as writers, graphic designers, fashion designers, and web designers. Kristen gives a more detailed description of their company.
  • [10:18] Being a woman-owned business isn’t that much of a big factor in this type of industry.
  • [12:27] Kristen offers some advice regarding certifications and which ones you should go after.
  • [16:18] She went to Columbus College of Art & Design, which is an art school, and worked at Victoria’s Secret even before graduating.
  • [18:17] After 12 years working at Victoria’s Secret, Kristen experienced an inner career crisis and felt that she could not continue working there. She’s always had this idea about starting a business where companies can easily find freelancers.
  • [20:16] In January of 2005, Kristen and her co-founder started Portfolio Creative.
  • [24:45] Kirsten’s business partner was a co-worker at her previous job. She found someone that would be a perfect fit to become her business partner.
  • [29:31] Six-Week Start-Up is a workbook that is highly recommended by Kristen for entrepreneurs planning to start a new business.
  • [35:15] Kristen and Austin offer more valuable insights when starting a business.
  • [37:10] She never saw herself becoming an entrepreneur.
  • [39:09] Starting Portfolio Creative was smooth sailing for Kristen and her business partner. They had the right connections that quickly evolved into a lot of referrals.
  • [43:20] Kristen offers one of her biggest recommendations involving being open to your business partner and knowing your limits.
  • [49:21] During their first year, they landed their very first big client, which proved to be a game-changer for the business.
  • [56:54] She shares some advice regarding the ups and downs of business.

This Episode Sponsored By:

  • [11:49] Paul's favorite interviews are the “Failed” ones… which he finds awkward and super-entertaining. If you want to hear them check out Patreon Episode #2 & #17.  Sign-up to listen to them here: millionaire-interviews.com/patreon
  • [22:09] Ryan become a member because he was inspired by the story of Charles Bonfiglio of Tint World. So, if you want to hear episode 165, listen here: Charles Bonfiglio Interview
  • [34:03] Al Jones thoroughly enjoyed listening to the Charles Bonfiglio Episode as well… In fact, the reason he became a Patreon Member was because he wanted to listen to the rest of the interview, which can only be accessed by members. You can check Part II of that interview here: millionaire-interviews.com/patreon

Fabulous 4 Questions:

  1. 📖 📚 Favorite Book(s)?So many! Fiction: Good to Great by Jim Collins, Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, Five Dysfunctions of a Team (or any Lencioni book), Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell , Your Best Year Ever by Michael Hyatt. Fiction: Alice in Wonderland, Gone With the Wind, any Steinbeck, Shirley Jackson's Lottery.
  2. 🙌😎 Favorite Amazon.com purchase? Robot vacuum cleaner
  3. 🌱💸 Favorite Tool that's GROWN your Business? Google suite
  4. 💭💡 BIGGEST Challenge keeping your Business from GROWING? Expanding beyond the city where we've been based for fifteen years

Key Point from the Interview:

  • “You’re gonna have ups and downs, you’re gonna have amazing highs but you're gonna have some lows too that you really have to figure out. And so, every year is a little different, and you go into it with all your plans and your goals, and then you figure out how those would all probably get rearranged as the year goes on, but that’s part of the fun of it I think.”

Resources Mentioned:

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