We thought it would be fun to have a little Q&A with Alex VandeHei & Elizabeth Ikard, HeiPro Digital’s co-owners!

What is the most exciting part of owning your own business?

Alex: I get to create my days -- ultimately I get to choose when I want to work, how I want to work, and what I want to work on. Plus I control our destiny, how successful our business is, and how much money I make (the sky is the limit when I’m not restricted by a yearly compensation review from an employer). 

Elizabeth: Honestly the opportunity to dream something big, and actually make it happen. It’s incredibly addicting. And I’ve found that personal growth is essentially a requirement of starting and growing your business because typically the biggest roadblock to achieving your business goals is yourself!

What advice would you give to someone thinking about pursuing their own business venture?

Alex: Just take the leap and never look back. Either you’re all in or you’re not. Stop waiting for the perfect time, opportunity, amount of money, etc. and just start.

Elizabeth: The biggest game-changer for me when I was getting started was putting pen to paper and confronting what my ACTUAL fears were about starting my own business (not being able to pay my bills, failing, embarrassing myself, etc.). Once I did that, I realized that all my fears were either unfounded/kind of absurd, OR they were completely ‘figure-outable’. So, my advice to anyone who is scared or nervous about starting a business would be: figure out what your worst-case scenario would be, mitigate that scenario, and then take decisive action!

What is the biggest adjustment you have made to your work/life balance during quarantine/COVID?

Alex: Lucky for me my life has been, for the most part, the same. We’ve always been a remote team and I’ve been working from home for the last 3 years. Zoom wasn’t new to me at all. 

I think the biggest adjustment for me has been shielding my mind from so many opinions on how we handle this pandemic as a country. I tend to get very stirred up about it, especially since my second business, The Nest (a co-working space in Downtown Green Bay, has been super affected by COVID. Emotions are high and it’s important to me to keep my sanity by not watching the news and not following social media so closely. 

Elizabeth: My husband and I both work from home so honestly not much changed in terms of our work life. But we love going out to restaurants, museums, parks, etc. in Dallas as a way to get out of work mode. So when that option went away, we had to get creative! We got bikes, and started going on picnics, started going on daily walks, etc.

Where do you find your creative inspiration?

Alex: I am not your creative guru, that is Elizabeth for sure! I think just in general for me to feel inspired or creative I just need to have my cup filled first. Making sure I’m taking care of myself and giving myself time and space allows me to be creative. Also, when Elizabeth and I get together, I find tons of inspiration as we brainstorm!

Elizabeth: To feel inspired creatively - going on walks by myself and noticing details in architecture and nature. I’ve found that beauty is literally everywhere, it just depends on how you look at it. (I’ve quite literally been inspired by the patterns in a concrete barricade before, haha! It eventually led to a design element on a project 😂.) 

I also have to give myself the freedom to be curious, and leave my stresses/worries at the door. I used to have major imposter syndrome when it came to being creative; like I didn’t have a right to claim to be a designer or be creative. That’s so ludicrous! Half the battle was getting over that and allowing myself to fall in love with colors, texture, shapes, lighting, etc. Design for me is super intuitive, and it took me a while to pay attention to and/or give credence to that.

How did your passions lead you to become an entrepreneur?

Alex: I’ve grown up in an entrepreneurial family my whole life. I knew from a young age that I wanted to be an entrepreneur, I just didn’t know what I would do. My marketing passions led me to focus on digital marketing in my MBA program at the University of St. Thomas and actually my first blog post is all about how I got HeiPro started and became a “mompreneur”. PS. This blog post was written fall of 2017, so a lot has changed since then!

Elizabeth: Completely opposite from Alex, I never ever ever ever thought I would be an entrepreneur because I HATED my business classes in college. 

However, I’ve always been a self-starter and am pretty fiercely independent. I stumbled into starting my own business because of being frustrated by an office job. I wanted to live a full, beautiful, adventurous and well-lived life. And quite frankly, I was so irritated at the thought that my employer would only allow me 2 weeks a year to do the things that meant the most to me - travelling to see my family, go on trips, take time off to work on my own interests, etc. 

I really just craved freedom to determine my own life. I lost interest in having a comfortable life and decided to trade it in for a more risky but far more rewarding one!

How do you counteract home-life distractions and low-motivation as a full-time Work From Home entrepreneur?

Alex: Lucky for me I have a dedicated beautiful home office in the lower level of my home. It literally is as if I go to work. I don’t have distractions of laundry or Netflix because it is my dedicated workspace. Also, my kids are in full-time childcare, so gone are the days that I need to juggle watching my kiddos while balancing work. 😊

Elizabeth: Honestly, there are some days I let it all get to me, and when that happens, I know that something is out of alignment. Batch-working has been miraculous for my sanity. But there are days when having an infant and working full time is really stressful and there are tears involved (hint - and it’s not just baby Liv that’s crying.) 

Most days, I take advantage of her naps and use them as gifts of time to be super-focused. When she wakes up and fusses or has a hard day, I try and see it as God’s reminder to slow down enough to see/spend time with one of the most beautiful gifts ever given to me. 😊

When I’m not motivated? Hm...I’m almost always motivated, so not having that feels WEIRD. When I’m unmotivated, I’ve learned that it’s an indication that I’m approaching burn-out and I need to take some time off/unplug. I love what I do so so much, so being unmotivated means I need to take a step back and recharge.

What do you consider your biggest entrepreneurial achievement?

Alex: Growing my business to the point where I could bring on a partner (and pay her!) and also an official employee!

Elizabeth: Just that - creating a successful business from scratch. After that - being completely financially independent. Seeing the chain-reaction of my work/our company affecting other people’s business success. 

Can you give us a little sneak peek into your 5-year plan?

Alex: Five years is a long time! So much can be accomplished (and change) in 5 years! How about we say… get to be a $1MM+ business?! 

Elizabeth: Ah! So much has changed WILDLY in the two years that Alex and I have worked together...the first thing I think of when I consider our 5 year plan is being an exceptional, full-service digital marketing agency, so that we can be a one-stop-shop to help businesses of all sizes, from start-ups to multi-million dollar companies.

Time for some fun questions...

What are your hobbies outside of work?

Alex: Family, family, family. Our lives pretty much revolve around our kids, so I sometimes don’t feel like I have any personal hobbies.  We love going to our cottage, lake life, and spending time together.

Elizabeth: I’m a bit of an energizer bunny in that I find it really hard to relax by watching a movie or being still. We recently moved into a house and I love spending my free time coming up with cool landscaping designs for our backyard, decorating the house, working out, reading biographies of people who inspire me or have had a different life experience than me, planning our next stop for our family’s ongoing National Parks tour, taking courses, etc.

But honestly my favorite-favorite thing is hanging out with my husband. He’s so cool. And now we have a baby so spending time with her is pretty rad too.

What are your pet peeves?

Alex: Not knowing what’s for dinner and not feeling inspired to “create” from my fridge. 

Elizabeth: omg a dirty kitchen and dusty floors. I lose my mind/cannot focus until those are clean. That and slow/hesitant drivers. 

If you were a kind of beer, what kind would you be?

Alex: Definitely an IPA, preferably a citrus IPA. I’m pretty bold and a little sassy sometimes, but I’m easy to like and get along with!  My favorite IPA is Deschutes Fresh Squeezed.

Elizabeth: A slightly sweet, malty amber. My two favorites are Thirsty Goat and Alaskan Amber. If I were a cocktail, I’d be a margarita or a dirty martini. None of this has to do with these being my actual beverages of choice (WINK WINK)