Need Some Design Inspo?

Billy Rae Whittaker is an accomplished business owner, located in the Raleigh, NC area. She is the proud owner of BRIMDesign, a full-service, “one-stop shop,” as she says, for all of your branding needs, including logos, video, photography, and social media.

This accomplished wife and mother brings a whole new meaning to the phrase, “young entrepreneur.” She started her business at age 14, and over the years the business grew through word of mouth, referrals, trial and error, and people believing in her. She transferred to Bob Jones University and studied Graphic Design, with minors in Bible and photography.

The first thing Whittaker does when someone asks her to give them a new look is a phone consultation. This tactic “gives me opportunity to get to know the client,” she says.

Graphic design and branding can be intimidating for some people, but Whittaker has a process. For logo design, her process is a bit unconventional. She lets them know there will be 15-30 thumbnails for them to go over and look at, a “blanket of concepts,” Whittaker says. She numbers the concepts and instructs the client to use the number system to provide her with feedback. She then takes their comments and makes more changes. “Clients are a lot more at ease when they are involved in the process in a controlled way.”

“I always knew that my end goal would be to work for myself,” she says. While working for a large automotive agency, she learned about corporate business. “They are just like me on a bigger scale.” She realized that she was definitely capable of working for herself.

When asked what her advice would be to someone first starting out in this industry, Whittaker says, “I would definitely build relationships.” Throughout our conversation, she continued to place emphasis on the fact that networking and building connections is at the very heart of success. In addition, not letting yourself be stretched too thin is an important thing to remember. Whittaker says, “It’s really hard to be creative when you’re feeling like ‘bleh’.” Be relevant to what you want to do with your life and be careful what jobs you take and how much you charge. “There’s only so much of you to go around,” she says.

People from all areas of life can look at Whittaker and apply her ideas to their own situations. Whether you are years into running your own business, or still in college, it is a good idea to take what Whittaker says to heart: “Remember that everything is about relationships, from the smallest job to the biggest job.”

Check her business out at https://www.brimdesign.com/.