Monica Seaberry has spent almost 20 years running Seaberry Design and Communications. With a background in fine arts, she's used her creative skills and business savvy to navigate market changes and maintain a strong client base a competitive field.

Transcript

Rachel Mandell (00:00)

today we are thrilled to welcome Monica Seaberry Monica has owned and operated Seaberry Design and Communications for almost 20 years. She's used her background in fine arts to kickstart a career in illustration and eventually graphic design.

Monica has led her firm through periods of challenging growth while consistently evolving to meet her customers' needs. Thank you so much for joining us today.

Monica Seaberry (00:23)

Thank you for having me.

Rachel Mandell (00:25)

It's our pleasure. So your entrepreneurial journey is a little, a little unusual in that you didn't start out studying business. You started out as a painter. Well, when you talk to us about how you went from earning your BFA in painting at Syracuse to running a design and communications firm.

Monica Seaberry (00:37)

Sure. Yeah, I took a different road. I guess it's the road less traveled. But I went from painting and having shows and then for money, I ended up getting a job at the Syracuse newspapers because my husband worked there Back in the day, newspapers used to have illustrations and graphics.

I said, you know what, I can draw that well So he went to his boss and he said, my wife says she can draw as good as what's in the paper. So they said, well, tell her to come in. And then, and then next thing I knew I had to draw Stevie Wonder, but I did it. And next thing I knew I was working at the Syracuse newspapers as an illustrator.

that was when there were illustrations and graphics and infographics. So I had a lot of fun with that. And so that, those skills that I got from that led me to be able to do graphic design. I was always kind of designing, even when in my paintings. When I went to Syracuse for grad school, I taught design.

So it was kind of a easy move.

Rachel Mandell (01:55)

And can you tell us a little bit about your experience in Chicago when you got your first, I think it was a job or an internship and how that exposure also informed your path?

Monica Seaberry (02:05)

Yeah. Exactly. Yeah.

When I was in high school, I was looking for a job so bad. was my senior year in high school. I would go everywhere. I mean, I was looking for jobs at McDonald's and I couldn't even get a job at McDonald's. So I just decided, oh, I just go home this day. My cousin calls me and she says, hey Monica, do you want a job? I'm like, I've

for job for months. And she happened to work at Foot, Cone, and Belding, which is now FCB International, I think it is. FCB International, yeah. And she worked at Foot, Cone, and Belding, and she asked me to come on down. So I went downtown in Chicago, and the job was in the mail room. And since I delivered the mail to all the offices, I got a lot of information. had to deliver to illustrators.

agents, the vice president. I, and I also went to the parties, which was a plus. I mean, I'm like 17 years old going to these advertising parties because every time they got a new client, they'd have a party right in the office and everybody was invited. Of course I couldn't drink, but it was a lot of fun. And I learned a lot about advertising from that internship, then from that job. And then I got an internship the next summer. after college in the presentation

Rachel Mandell (03:22)

really cool.

So we're going to fast forward because you take the skills and the experiences you've learned. And can you talk to us about how eventually you went out and started your own company?

Monica Seaberry (03:36)

Yeah. So I worked in Syracuse newspapers and that moved me to Washington DC, Syracuse newspapers was one Newhouse newspaper, but then I became the graphics editor for all the Newhouse newspapers in around 2008. Well, I knew something was going on when the

owners came in and said, you know, newsprint is costing a lot of money right now. why do they care about the cost of newsprint? Are they budgeting now? And, you know, just a lot of signs told me the internet was really booming. I was like, I don't think this is gonna, I think this is gonna change. I don't think this is gonna last long. And there definitely weren't gonna be infographics in newspapers.

So I thought, well, all the skills I have, not all that I've learned, I think I can go out on my own and do this. So I told a friend, I said, I'm gonna be gone in April. and I left my job at the end of February, 2008. Started the office in March.

Rachel Mandell (04:42)

and you're 18 plus years in now, right?

Monica Seaberry (04:45)

Yeah, 18 plus years in and in the same office building. And that was a funny story because a bunch of us went to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to canvas for Barack Obama. This is back in 2008. And we were in a like a rent a wreck, a big van, know, was a bunch of hippies. And one person said,

You know, I have to share my office and I don't have anyone to share my office. And I thought, I just left my job. I just started a business. Where's your office? And she said it was on P Street in DC. So I went to the office and I ended up sharing the office with her.

think I did that for maybe a year, a year and a half. And then since I had been in the building, I was able to get a lease to have an office of my own. Since then, I think I moved a few times.

Rachel Mandell (05:34)

amazing. So how did you get started? And we're wondering about like the most effective ways you got clients at the beginning. I know that you have a very high client retention over these years. So what's the secret?

Monica Seaberry (05:36)

Well, that was funny because I thought that I was gonna do brochures. I thought I was gonna leave the Newhouse News Bureau and do brochures and folders and things like that. So I actually went around to places. I didn't have that. I had done a lot of infographics and illustrations, but I just thought, brochures are the thing. So I went around with brochures that I didn't do

They'd say, did you do that? No, I didn't do that, but I can do that. And they're like, that's not going to work. And then I ended up with a client, And that client wanted infographics. I'm like, infographics? Well, that's what I've been doing all this time. I I was going to do brochures. And so I ended up doing infographics for that client.

I did a lot of infographics for government proposals and I did a lot of infographics for this client and the client is still my client now. Yeah, it was my first big client and he's still around

Rachel Mandell (06:41)

Wow, that's wild.

Rachel Semenov (06:47)

you start out with anybody to help you when you went out on your own or was it just you?

Monica Seaberry (06:53)

No help, had to, I was just, I would just make things up. I read a lot of books though. A lot of books and I still read a lot of books. on mindset and on branding yourself because I was really shy. I was like, okay, I gotta do something about this. That's not gonna work. You know, so about branding yourself and networking and going out there and just meeting people.

And I was so gung-ho that people would kind of be taken a back and say, well, why are you so excited? I just started my business. I just followed the books. They said, be excited. I was excited.

Rachel Mandell (07:30)

You've said a few things in our, in our prep call that I wanted to bring up because I thought they were such, so insightful So one of the things you said was you never lost money on a job you didn't take.

Monica Seaberry (07:41)

Yeah, I got that from a book and I don't remember what book it was. So I just want to make sure that if that writer is out here, I, you know, I'm giving you credit. But anyway, yeah, because, we've taken jobs before that you actually lose money on. so you have to really look and think about before you, you know, offer a proposal or before you really want to go after something.

Because sometimes clients can nickel and dime you until you just don't make any money. Or they can keep having revisions and revisions and you know you stipulate a certain number of revisions, but you also want the client to be happy. You can't ask them to pay for something that they don't want. sometimes that gets a little, the scope creep gets a little rough, but you have to bill for it.

We got a big job we were subcontractors on it, we ended up doing all the work. But we didn't wanna leave the job. I mean, we were glad to have the job, but we did so much of the work that we were losing tons of money. And you could think, wow, this job was so big, how could you lose money? But just don't be fooled by the amount

we had to hire a lot of people. Just ended up being really expensive for us.

a lot of times when people subcontract, they're subcontracting just to help the person get the job. And then they get the job and then it's just like, you don't hear from them. Or you don't know they got the job or they just dismiss you and they take the job themselves or they get you off the job.

a lot of our work is subcontracting, but I want to be the prime now. I want to be the prime all the time, if I can, you know.

Rachel Mandell (09:30)

And the other thing you mentioned, and I think this was from an advisor of yours she said higher, slow fire fast. You give us an example of a time when this worked for you.

Monica Seaberry (09:36)

yeah. Well, it's one of my coaches said that. And I couldn't understand, I'm like, what do you mean, hire slow, fire fast? Well, at hire slow, they want you to do four interviews so that you really get to know the person. And they say that at the fourth interview, the interviewee cannot pretend anymore. They're like done, they're like,

Another interview either give me the job or don't and so all the you know, the mask comes off and You see who they really are. Well, we did that we interviewed someone four times and it still didn't work out Because you just can't tell who the person is through interviews. So it's just gonna be trial and error and fire fast because when you see that

You're not making payroll easily. That's when you just have to, you you don't like, I'll get a loan or I'll, we'll scrape by or I won't get paid and I'll pay payroll. No, just, you have to just let them go. I mean, it's sad and it's terrible, but in order to save your business, it's the truth.

Rachel Mandell (10:51)

sometimes it's easier said than done.

Monica Seaberry (10:53)

Yes, it is. Well, they said it. Hire someone who can fast. You're like, oh, yeah, OK. But it's really difficult. mean, oh, it's gut wrenching to have to let someone go. But you have to look at your numbers. You have to look at your business. And you have to save your business. It's not about saving other people. And they'll be fine. And that's what the coach told me, too. She said, oh, they'll be fine. I'm like.

They'll be fine. They're not going to be fine. They're like my children. You know, it's my family. We're all friends now. And they were fine. Actually, maybe some of them were even better.

Rachel Semenov (11:28)

mentioned a couple of times that you have a coach that you hear really good advice from. What kind of role has that coaching played in furthering your business, furthering your career? How early on did you accept advice from a coach or seek one out?

Monica Seaberry (11:33)

Well, early on we got a coach and I didn't connect with the coach. I didn't understand what the coach was doing. The coach was doing a lot of numbers, but I found out that the coaching I need is mindset coaching. And so I need someone every day to get me up and say something inspirational and get me going. I mean, I do, guess,

Everybody needs a coach that's you know, gonna look at their numbers and tell them what to do But I need the mindset coaching and I love it and I read a lot of books on mindset Because you have to believe you have to believe in what you're doing if you have doubts then it it just doesn't work and when you believe in What you're doing you just have a completely different attitude about it

go after people in a different way.

Because you think about, I'm doing something good for them. Not I'm selling them this and I hope it works. No, you really believe you're doing something good for them.

Rachel Mandell (12:42)

I'm going to take that. You're coaching me now.

Monica Seaberry (12:45)

Really? Because

I've tried a lot. I've gone through a lot of different coaches. I just love the mindset changes. I started, you all, like everybody did, well, maybe everybody Thinking And Grow Rich. That was my first like mindset book for business. I think I... read that before I even started the business. I had never even thought that way before. There's different levels of thinking. some people just want comfort. And so they teach you how to leave comfort. It's not always going to be comfortable. If you want what you want, if you want to get it, it's not going to be comfortable.

Rachel Mandell (13:26)

One of the other things you mentioned You were teaching me about this concept in entrepreneurship and business building, the valleys of death.

Monica Seaberry (13:26)

just found out about it myself, but I found out about it when I went into it. There's this graphic out there that shows the valley of death, the different valleys of death. And this graphic says at one million, you're going to go into the valley of death. I mean, it sounds ridiculous. 10 million, you're going to go into another valley of death. And, and there are these valleys of death along the way.

And if you don't get out of them, then you're out of business,

And of course, I went into the valley of death and I think it's the best thing that ever happened to It's very hard and it's hard climbing back up, but when you're climbing back up, it's just so invigorating. It's just great to know that you're climbing back up and you're climbing out of it and that you're succeeding.

The thing that I couldn't believe is that everybody goes through this and you're thinking, how could every business go through that? But when you get to these certain stages, something could be outside for us. Something is going to happen. And the reason that something's going to happen is because this is another thing my coaches say. when you get where you are, you're not going to get.

to the next level with the same people or the same practices at all. say you're a million dollar company, you're not gonna get to be a $10 million company by doing the things that a million dollar company does.

You have to do something different. But the problem is you don't know what that is.

Rachel Mandell (14:59)

ultimately it made your business stronger, right?

Monica Seaberry (15:02)

yeah. And leaner and more profitable. Cause that's what it's about. I mean, it might be fun. know, we have a business and we're just doling out this money to everybody and everybody's happy. But did you make any profit? Did you hold on to anything? Like, no. That's not sustainable. you can't keep going like that. So then you're going to rebuild.

something's gonna happen and you're gonna rebuild. And then I'm watching it happen to other companies. So I'm like, wow, it's true. It's really gonna happen. Yep.

Rachel Mandell (15:34)

something breaks and then you get the opportunity to build it better. So build it better for your future.

Monica Seaberry (15:40)

Yeah. And if you really believe in it, you will do whatever it takes to build it better.

Rachel Semenov (15:47)

I'm just hearing such an analytical mind under all of this. mean, your background is in fine art but you have a business savvy and an awareness of the ups and downs of running a business.

And I know you've mentioned you read a lot of books, you're listening to a lot of advice, but was that a natural inclination for yourself? Or did you have to really seek out those business-minded traits to get where you are?

Monica Seaberry (16:16)

it was natural because I used to when I was maybe about 11 or 12 I used to get the seeds out of marigolds in my neighborhood I'd find the seeds I'd wrap them up in little packages and draw pictures on them and I'd go around the neighborhood and sell them

I also made posters that I would do portraits. And I went around the neighborhood and put those in people's mailboxes and then I ended up getting some clients doing portraits. So I was always doing that. But if you're a fine artist, you are already in business because that's just the nature of fine art. You're in business. And grad school teaches you that more than even undergrad.

undergrad teaches you skills, but grad school they teach you the business of I also between college and grad school, I went to this free school of business management in Chicago. After work, I didn't know why I was doing it. I just knew I just wanted to do this.

my parents are like, what are you doing? And I learned so much from that free school and actually our speaker at graduation A female owner of an advertising agency in Chicago.

a little things like that from a long time ago. just remember and you go, oh, that's why this ended up, that's why I ended up here. You don't even know what road you're going and you just make all these stops and next thing you know, oh, that's why I'm here.

Rachel Mandell (17:49)

One question I wanted to ask, you mentioned that, you know, when a proposal doesn't work out, you give yourself five minutes to mourn and then you move on. How do you develop this muscle of not lingering and moving on to the next?

Monica Seaberry (18:04)

I'm working on that, I'm working on that. So now I'm reading this, I'm listening to this book I don't remember the name of the book. But anyway, if you look up 117, you're gonna find this book. And it's all these ways that you just keep moving on. And there's a saying in a group I'm in, SWSWSW.

Next and at some will some won't so what next you know just keep going Just keep going and and I'm trying I'm working now on removing emotion from business So if somebody says no, I lose a proposal That has nothing to do with anything that my life. You know I just have to find the happy stuff keep going I Can't let that intrude on my life. So I'm lot more relaxed. Because last year I was working on worry. And because of that, I don't worry anymore. So this year I'm working on fear. That's what I'm going to conquer, fear.

Rachel Semenov (19:07)

just one right after the other, just gonna work through all the emotions until you have them all managed.

Monica Seaberry (19:08)

Yeah, yeah, have them all done. Then maybe you'll finally be relaxed and blood pressure will go down.

Rachel Semenov (19:15)

I have so many questions I can't fit them all in in the time that we've got, but I started working in an agency as an intern who was owned by a woman and she had started it decades earlier. And it was kind of an anomaly to have a woman running a creative agency at the time that she started it.

Have you ever felt that? Has it ever been a tangible feeling of noticing that you might be the only woman founder around? is that something that doesn't even cross your mind because it's not important in how you move through space?

Monica Seaberry (19:49)

It's kind of not important. I just always had my own idea and I'd never thought about being a woman or being African American. I just was like, I'm going to do this. And then, you know, sometimes when things don't work out, I'm like, oh, maybe it's because I'm a woman. Oh, well, you know, but I, at the time, I don't think about it.

But there, know a lot of women, well not a lot, but I know other women agency owners. remember when I said about that graduation, a woman was the guest speaker. So I just kind of didn't think that it was an issue. Cause I just looked at her. Yeah.

Rachel Semenov (20:24)

No, I love that. When you have someone that you can see doing it and it feels very possible, then it's like, why would I even doubt that it's possible? I've seen it. I know it can happen.

Monica Seaberry (20:39)

Right?

when I left in 2008, I had gone to visit an old friend of mine and her husband, I mean, I'd known them for a while and they were doing really well and her husband was a government contractor. And I'm like, what? Wait a minute, I live near DC. I mean, if he's gonna be a government contractor, I know I can do this. So that kind of got me.

going started starting the business at all because I saw someone else that I knew from before that wasn't a business owner and I'm like, wait a minute, you're a business owner? Okay, I can do this. But only when you see someone else that you feel like you can do it.

Rachel Semenov (21:27)

Yeah, 100%.

Rachel Mandell (21:28)

I love the, uh, the S the S what is it? S W S W S W. So what, I love that. I'm going to use that all the time. Um, but is there a place where folks can find you and Seaberry design?

Monica Seaberry (21:34)

Yeah, seaberrydesign.com. also, we have a social media arm, So that's seaberrysocial.com.

Rachel Mandell (21:55)

Awesome. Well, thank you so much for your time and insights. It's been such a pleasure speaking with you. So much fun. I hope you have a great rest of the day and we'll be in touch.

Monica Seaberry (21:58)

Yeah, All right, thank you for allowing me join you.