Today we’d like to introduce you to Leah Dossey.
Leah, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Something snapped inside me the day I was sitting on the floor of my office holding my toddler. He was burning up with fever. He had chills. He was tugging on his ear. My boss walked in and sized us both up and said, “Don’t forget you have a meeting to run at 3:30 today”.
That. Was. It. I was done. A few months later I came home and announced to my family that Mommy had quit work. I thought there would be panic. Instead, everyone cheered. In the spring of 2005, I decided to go out on my own. Again. This time it would work. It had to. Third times the charm, right?
I started off slowly, as I imagine we all do, and figured things out as I went. The internet was really more of a toy than a tool for most folks at the time. The iPhone wasn’t even a thing. Texting wasn’t even a thing. A lot of people still didn’t have cell phones… So I went to the biggest venue online I could think of at the time – eBay – and started selling logo designs for $50 each. From there I built my portfolio. Added myself to contracted work sites. Gained a few more clients. Then some referrals. Things started to grow.
In 2008 I was honored to receive a call (the same day power was restored to my home after Hurricane Ike) telling me that I was one of 25 recipients of the First Annual Sam Walton Emerging Entrepreneur Award. Part of my award was a year of free business coaching which proved to be invaluable in helping me develop processes and hire team members.
By 2010 I had full and part-time employees as well as contractors, my revenue and reputation as a designer were growing each year and I felt on top of the world. Then life happened. In the span of 2 years, I divorced, lost two parents and found myself in an abusive relationship. Everything I had built crumbled around me and with the exception of a project here and there, the business wasn’t doing any business. I was a mess. I was broke. I was depressed.
In the midst of all that a blog post I wrote about how to wash your hair without shampoo (a process called “no-poo”) went viral. I wound up on national television (Inside Edition) talking about how I use vinegar in my hair and it doesn’t end up smelling like a salad. I make many of my own all natural products from laundry detergent to deodorant.
I’d love to say there was some miracle moment that turned it all around but there was not. It took a lot of personal work. A few years of personal work, in fact, to begin to turn things around. I’d take any job that came my way but my family and business were far from thriving.
As I renewed my commitment to “return to myself” I began to do things that no struggling person should do. I began to travel more. Often. I’d go with friends to their cabins or beach houses. I camp here and there and everywhere. I’d drag my kids on road trips and we’d eat bologna sandwiches in the car while driving through the Colorado Rockies wishing we could whitewater down the Arkansas river yet happy to wave at the folks rafting by us all the same.
I signed up for belly dancing lessons. I started walking 2-6 miles a day. I got 3 dogs. I decided to get my Coaching Certification. I traveled over the entire West, seeing 10 states in 27 days. I hugged Redwood trees, I saw killer whales off the coast of Washington state, I experienced it rain on Monument Valley and learned that it gets down in the 40’s at night on the North Rim of The Grand Canyon.
Work started to pick up. I adopted some hard rules for myself that included taking one 3-day weekend a month to go camping. I still travel all the time. Last October I got to tag along and experience closing the NASDAQ and see myself 7 stories tall on Times Square (THAT was a trip, y’ll).
My kids were doing well. They were older now. My toddler was starting high school and my oldest was going off to college. In fact, my oldest had been accepted to a private university and received a generous partial scholarship and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. My youngest son started high school and is concurrently working on his Associates of Arts.
People were reaching out to me on Facebook, “Hey, I know you design websites and such, can you help me with a project?” By February of this year, I was blessed and overwhelmed with more work than I could handle. I hired a business coach. I hired an assistant. I work with talented production artists and designers. I tripled my revenue in 3 months. I did a happy dance.
And here I am now, still learning, transforming and growing as a person and a business.
Now that I really think about it, if there had to be a catalyst to any of this, I would say it was my oldest son going off to college. He had a dream. He had worked hard. There was no way in hell I was going to say, “Son, I know you got that great scholarship, but Mom can’t afford to pay the rest of your tuition to send you to school.” I just wasn’t going to let him down like that.
My journey is not over – no even close. I have big plans for Blueleaf Creative this year – including the revamp of my website (which I’m working on now) and plans to start doing some public speaking. I want to help other business owners understand marketing in the digital age. I have big plans for myself this year that include seeing some tropical blue water and some snow-topped mountains. Once you begin to be true to yourself you realize that you can do amazing things. I have volunteered as a leader for the Boy Scouts of America for the last 12 years.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
-Hurricane Ike
-Hurricane Rita
-Hurricane Harvey (or as I like to call it “The Flood”)
I have an autoimmune disorder that causes severe joint pain and limits my mobility (some days worse than others). I learned that you have to have a support structure in place for your business that is strong enough to withstand anything life (or the weather) throws at you.
If I’m being really honest, the biggest challenge was swallowing my pride and getting back down to work after I let everything fall apart. I’d love to say that external factors were the cause, and though there were external factors involved, at the end of the day it is my responsibility to see my business, my life and my family thriving.
Death, chronic illness, depression, grief and abuse are all tough things to deal with – but I got to a point where enough was enough… and slowly… very slowly… I started to make changes and improvements. Everyday, in some small way, is better than the day before.
Blueleaf Creative – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Bluelaf Creative was started in 2005 and is located in the spare room down the hall. (I love working from home – and to get to be able to do that for the last 13 years has been awesome – thank you internet!)We design logos, websites, brochures, banners, booths, catalogs, book covers, magazine ads, postcards, and more. Basically, if it can be printed or posted to the web then we can design it.
More importantly, we help our clients figure out what they need, what they don’t need and how to make the biggest impact with the budget they have. We do a lot of consulting and advising. At the end of the day, I see us as a partner to our client’s success… and I feel privileged to included in that. I loved being hired to design an acrylic display to be used by one of my client’s on Shark Tank. I couldn’t wait to see her (and my work) on the show. Alas, prior to filming a crew member dropped the display and it was unusable.
Looking back, I have to say that relationship is what sets us apart. We are a small design studio. We are invested in our clients and their success. I make sure that we take the time to really get to know them, their project, and the desired outcome. This isn’t just about making something pretty – it is about making something that is beautifully effective.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Ease. Freedom. Independence. Creativity. Abundance.
When you create something that you feel is truly brilliant and you just look at it and think, “Wow. I did that.” That is success to me. That includes everything from my kids, to my design work to my flower garden.
Pricing:
- Logo Design Starting at $499
- Websites Starting at $1,499
- New Business Start-Up Package (Logo, Business Cards, Single Page Website) $999
Contact Info:
- Website: www.blueleafcreative.com
- Phone: 713-292-6537
- Email: service@blueleafcreative.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blueleafcreative/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/creativewisdom
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/blueleaf-creative-spring
Image Credit:
J. Fleet
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
