Randa Clay is a designer who specializes in WordPress theme development and customization. She currently blogs at her site, RandaClay.com, as well as manages her own freelance design business. Randa is a proud mother of 2 and a busy online entrepreneur.
Name: Randa Clay
Location: Dallas, TX
Age: 39
Site(s): Randa Clay
Twitter: @randaclay
Brian: Hi Randa, thanks for agreeing to this interview. Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your background on the internet.
Randa: I am a designer and marketing consultant specializing in custom WordPress sites. Beyond graphic design, my background includes work recommending, coordinating, executing and analyzing marketing initiatives for large brands, such as The Limited, Victoria’s Secret, Goody’s, Express and more.
Beyond designing for clients, I also own several kid-oriented web sites such as freestuff4kids.net and funplacedatabase.com. My most important job, however, is raising two noisy little boys.
Brian: Your social media life has had quite an influence on your ability to pick up client work, traffic, and attention. Describe how you use social websites (Twitter, Flickr, etc.) to market yourself and your business.
Randa: The main social media site I use is Twitter. It’s absolutely great for networking, traffic, getting help with problems and social interaction. I do tweet my recent posts, but I don’t really think about using it to market myself. I think that just happens naturally as you interact with people in a genuine way.
Brian: You run your own web design business while simultaneously raising a family. How do you manage your time? What applications or tools do you use to stay organized?
Randa: I manage my time by doing work in short bursts and doing lots of work when everyone’s asleep. I’ve finally found an effective to-do app at teuxdeux.com. Also, my house is a wreck sometimes. I don’t have time for everything, so boring stuff like cleaning my house often falls by the wayside.
Brian: How have you grown as a designer since you started your own business? What factors played a part in your growth and development?
Randa: Over time my focus in designs has been increasingly on the clarity of the message of a site- what impression is a visitor going to get within the first 5 seconds and how quickly they’re going to understand your message and the actions you want them to take. It’s great to make a “pretty” design, but most important is the function of the design to deliver the message.
As for factors that have contributed to my growth, I think looking at a lot of good design, reading blogs and books recommended by good designers have all played a part.
Brian: What advice would you offer to young entrepreneurs looking to establish themselves in the online world?
Randa: Obviously, having a professional, super-sharp web site is key. Really develop your brand image before you spend a lot of time networking. Design a great logo, clarify your message – what do you do well and why should someone hire you to do it? – and make that message as clear as possible on your site.
Then, make friends and network like crazy. Engage other designers in conversation, by using your blog and through Twitter. Once you get to know them, let them know what you do well and that you’re looking for projects. Find ways to help others and do it for free. It will all come back to you in the way of business.
Thanks again to Randa Clay for this insightful interview. Please feel free to leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below!
