Interacting with Sabrina is feeling like you’ve known her for years- this is exactly how she makes her clients feel too which has made her super successful in her biz- AND it’s all from a genuine place! Sabrina empowers female founded businesses through visual communications with her very own founded business: Design Maters- a place where business and design intersect. Read on to learn how Sabrina fights societal injustices within the female entrepreneur + her biggest piece of advice for beating the small business statistics!

1. Tell us about who you are and your journey to where you are now!

I’m a first-generation Guyanese immigrant and one of few females in my family to start my own business, also the first to have embarked on an effort to establish myself in the creative industry. I grew up in the New York, New Jersey tri-state area, a family in construction/ real estate, so I think this has influenced my aggressiveness towards attaining goals and constant state of learning to improve myself. It framed a 3-dimensional outlook on my entrepreneurial life. My family has always had a lot of influence on this as they didn’t have the opportunity to attend higher-level learning but they’ve built businesses from scratch so in a way I felt I had to make something of myself, it was the right of passage. I am fortunate to have had a well-rounded 15 years of experience navigating all sorts of creative and marketing roles that I can safely say its shaped who I am today. I’m a mom of two beautifully wild tots, a wife and design consultant. I serve corporations, small businesses and individuals. It all boils down to “branding” and that’s my specialty.

2. What is the mission of your brand? How does it empower women?

My brand’s mission is focused on combing design and business strategies for a future of work context. My brand’s persona is assertiveness. Everything I aim to achieve with my client’s work is embodied through this idea.

Building that memorable brand equity in the mind of my audience has always been important to me. Through this conduit, I’ve not only been able to help male and females, but I’ve been able to support many female leaders inside the organization and within small businesses who’ve established themselves in their careers. I’ve provided creative services to help elevate their brand to a wider audience. It gives me great satisfaction knowing I can help in that respect and that at the end of the day will always be empowering to me.

3. How do you collaborate with women working towards a better world?

It wasn’t until lately when I started lifting my head above water that I realized that there were other women just like me. You start to attract what you put out into the world. Like the laws of gravity come into play. I try to set an example by leading by example. When I first set out on this journey, I could only count 3 women that I looked up to that inspired me and now 5 years later… being a female owned business is not so much a new phenomenon. I’m now a certified WMBE (Woman Minority Business Enterprise) with the state of New Jersey and I’ve grown to expand into a huge network of forward-thinking female CEO’s who all have the same drive and spirit. I think it’s the best time more than ever to help support other females. I try to attend these focused events; support my peer’s celebrations and achievements and we all uplift one another. I tend to work with females on my engagements and hire a lot of creative talent that I’ve built some long-standing friendships with. I’ve even mentored some young women who’ve grown to become my inspiration. They’ve gone off into the creative world to do some amazing things and I couldn’t be any prouder. That’s the most rewarding feeling yet.

4. What is the biggest challenge you’ve had to press through as a female entrepreneur and what are the steps you’ve taken to overcome it?

There are always challenges when you are an entrepreneur let alone a female entrepreneur. The biggest challenge was realizing that throughout the many stages of development in my career, I would get derailed by people. Everyone has an opinion, it’s how much of that you take with a grain of salt and how much you don’t. There is a side to the business world that no one tells you about. You should always ask questions; you should always ask the “why” to know the “how”. The more you advance, the more you realize, you have to voice what you want. People aren’t mind readers. You have to make yourself be heard, otherwise, someone less qualified will speak and get the opportunity you should’ve had to begin with. It’s first come first serve. That’s the tough reality and I learned it the hard way. But you learn from these mistakes. There is a vulnerability factor that no one talks about and sometimes you have to have a little bit in order to grow from these setbacks.

5. What advice would you give to a female entrepreneur in the beginning stages of launching her brand or business?

So I will say this… the statistics say most small businesses fail after the first 5 years. I really hate statistics, and I like proving them wrong. It’s always been fuel for the fire. It’s lonely, and you have to have the determination and daily fire to pick yourself up and motivate yourself to keep incrementally meeting those goals. I always feel I swim against the natural stream of a river. A majority of people would rather look the other way and tell you to play the safe route because they are too scared. Don’t put value nor invest time into what others think. It would weigh you down.

Being on this road is partly taking risks and you HAVE to trust your gut. You won’t realize it, but it will be exponential as you put in the time and work. You will learn through trials and tribulations what to do and what not to do. No one can really guide you because your journey is really what will define you. In any industry with any job, I think it will always boil down to how you communicate with people and how you can cultivate relationships.

It takes time to build a brand and even when you do, you will constantly evolve, grow and change. You have to be ok with it and learn how to navigate rough waters with a collected rationale. Continuous learning will help you grow. Especially a time like now. And lastly, don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s the small moments that count, how you start your day, who you share your energy with, how you encourage yourself. Be good to your health and your mental well-being.

6. What sets your brand apart from others?

My brand is based on alliances with other big brands that mirror similar unifying principles. It is based on responsibility, integrity, empathy, accountability, reputation, and adaptability in order to create the right atmospheric success. I’ve aligned myself with other brands that have the same fundamental values because I see the overlap with how I live my life and in a way you become a brand ambassador to their brand whether you know it or not. It’s how I lived by definition and how I’d like for my children to live by. Be humble, kind and be the best of your ability.

Meet Sabrina: Design Maters