I met a young lady at a E-women Network meeting that has her own business. She is very impressive, I really wanted to share her inspiration with you.

Amani Seay  is the 17 year old owner of My Awesome Logo , a graphic design firm. I love to see young people doing positive things and making a difference. I had the opportunity to speak with her about how she manages to balance her business and enjoy her teenage years.

UM: When did you start My Awesome Logo?

AS: I started My Awesome Logo four years ago. It started out as an joint business with my brother. However, we decided to do our own individual things.

UM: Where did your entrepreneurial spirit come from at such a young age?
 
AS: My entrepreneurial spirit comes from my parents. They have their own business. When I was 10 years old, the recession hit and I saw my friends parents being laid off. Some of the families had to downsize and just seeing that struggle, I told myself I did not want that for myself.

UM: What services do you provide?
 
AS: I start by taking my clients through the branding process. My services range from launching their product. It could be an event or a book, their logo and web design. My most requested service is logo design. But I can cover all materials related to a client’s  business. These items can be postcards, brochures and business cards. The client usually comes with an idea or sometimes we start from scratch to build their brand.

When the client has a idea but is having a difficult time implementing it, we do step by step strategic planning and research to be specific and focus on their target audience.

UM: What is the best thing about having your own business? What is your least favorite?
 
AS: Being able to structure everything, while being flexible as well. I control my paycheck and salary. I can decide to take a new opportunity or not.

My least favorite thing is I am the boss. It’s kinda hard monitoring and balancing my time. This is where my structure comes into play. But my friends are awesome and most supportive.

UM: Do you find your age play a part in getting new clients?
 
AS: Some people are open to me being young, and flexible with fresh ideas. Some people are not as open. They may look at my experience or background,  but I put in the work, I’m always improving my skills.

But for the most part the clients I serve are looking for a new and different perspective to reach their audience.

UM: How do you balance being a young adult and being a entrepreneur?

AS: I stay healthy and I have a group of friends that pull me away when they see me concentrating on work too much. I love to have fun so they may tell me to get off a business call so we can go have fun.

UM: Name three things you do for fun?

AS: I love to dance, all styles of dancing. I thought my career path would be in dance.  I like cooking and being in the kitchen creating food with an artistic flair which includes spicy food and my love of Tex-Mex. Lastly, I like hanging out with my friends and going to the movies.

UM: What would you like to share with our readers that I did not touch on?

AS: I would like people to know that Graphic Design was not my initial goal or becoming an entrepreneur. When I was not be able to dance, I did some soul searching. I went into a deep depression because I loved dance. But I asked myself what was I good at? What did I enjoy? I wanted to be creative so I started taking online classes in graphic design. I learned about Adobe products, did an internship for a non-profit. I also learned from my current mentor for the last two and half years, Tamara Dever, with TLC Graphics and now I have my own business.

UM: How can our readers learn more about your business or services?

AS: My website is http://myawesomelogo.com/

#amaniseay, #myawesomelogo #business @ujimamagazine @sunflower_vir #graphicdesign #tamaradever #entrepreneur

Damita Miller-Shanklin

Photo by: Bold Photography