Kathie is the co-founder of Bluchic, which specializes in creating premium WordPress themes that are chic and feminine for the female entrepreneurs & bloggers going from hobby to serious business. Kathie believes Done WELL is better than perfect. She knows first-hand all-consuming self-doubt that entrepreneurs face when waiting to hit “publish” on a new site. That’s why she combine her design expertise and her husband’s coding passion for bringing you themes that take the details off of your plate so you can focus on your big picture plans.
“Armed with her eye for design and her husband’s coding know-how, they started to build their own, and soon fell in love with creating chic, feminine WordPress themes targeted at female entrepreneurs.“
How long have you been in business and what do you do in business?
Bluchic was launched in January 2012. I’ve been in business for more than 5 years. Not accounting the time where I was a freelance web designer prior to Bluchic. I create pre-made WordPress themes that are chic, feminine and designed with specific creative niches in mind, just for women in business like you.
What is your career or educational background that led you into this business?
I graduated from Graphic Design school, majoring in Advertising in 2006. After that, I worked as a graphic designer in the F&B packaging industry for almost a year before I took the plunge to quit.
I then explored the web design industry, stemming from the frustration of not finding chic WordPress themes that were the right fit for my own blog. So, armed with my eye for design and my husband coding know-how, we started to build our own and fell in love with creating chic, feminine WordPress themes targeted at female entrepreneurs.
Little did we know how much we would learn, grow and achieve in that time.
How do you practice work, life, balance?
I recently wrote a blog post on this because this topic popped up again and again when I surveyed our email list at the end of 2016 and asked them what type of topics they wanted to see more of on the blog and in our email newsletters. Here is the link to blog post https://www.bluchic.com/time-management-business-owners/ What I do is to admit that I can’t do it all, prioritize and plan ahead. I tried to do it all and soon realized that I cannot be the perfect business owner, mother, sister, wife, friend every single day.
There just is not enough time to do well in all of those categories every day.
I try to pick three priorities for each day and focus on those. Some days, this means I prioritize family time. Other days, this means I’m focusing on our business and aren’t hanging out with friends or family as much.
In the end, this strategy works a lot better because I can stop feeling guilty while focusing on a certain priority because I know that I will be focusing on a different priority the next day. I also outsource some of the business tasks so I can focus my energy on the task that I love doing.
What does your business teach other small business owners and what are some of the changes that you have seen?
We make it really simple to build a WordPress site that looks great, whether you’re a WordPress Wonder Woman, or “not techy” at all. By creating your own site instead of hiring a web designer means you have full control over the biggest asset of your business. No more waiting on anyone else’s schedule, paying for minor adjustments and you get to challenge your brain!
Some of the changes that I have seen to my business are with the customers. A customer of ours used to cringe when she gave people her business card, afraid of what they’d think when they visited her site. Now, after using a Bluchic theme, she shares her site with pride and confident that her website is attracting the right visitors, also building her credibility as the best solution to her potential client’s problem or needs.
How does your business offer that signature touch in comparison to your competitors?
Through direct, personalized Support. When you purchase a Bluchic theme you’ll get unlimited support directly from us – the developer and designer duo, also founders of Bluchic. Since we know every detail of our themes inside-out, we’ll solve your issue quickly and with zero fuss, so you can get back to building your dream business and website.
What would 1 bit of advice that you would give to someone thinking about starting a business be?
To never compare yourself with anyone. You might think that no matter what business you have started, there are already so many people doing it and better than yours. But no one is going to do it the way YOU will. Remember that because that’s what will set you apart.
What is 1 fun tidbit about yourself that you would like to share?
My husband and I like to collect vintage items, like a typewriter and an old fan. We turned this hobby into a side project by doing a vintage rentals business for weddings & events. It was fun before we closed it down for good when we had our little one.
Can you give us some deets’ on some of your upcoming business plans?
This year I’ll be trying things that are totally outside my comfort zone (webinars! masterclasses!) which scares me and makes me very nervous. I can start to feel down on myself because I’m so terrified of doing a horrible job at these (#perfectionistproblems) but I know it will help our business as well as help me grow as a person.
Are there any other business gems that you would like to share about your business experiences, plans, or lessons?
Building a site for your business idea is not an overnight process. The end product is as much a journey as it is a destination and waiting for things to be perfect will only hold you back and have you feeling frustrated with the process. There is always time to review and make changes to your site, so just start. Don’t let perfectionism hold you back.
REMEMBER THIS
“If You’re Not Embarrassed By The First Version Of Your Product, You’ve Launched Too Late”
Get to know more about this CEO with Priceless Plans?
Instagram: @hibluchic
Twitter: @bluchic
Facebook: https://facebook.com/bluchic
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/hibluchic/
Visit her website: www.bluchic.com/
