Dreamers Into Doers -- marthastewart.com

Doers of the Week: Maureen Anders and Adria Ruff

What were you doing (careerwise) when you decided to create your own business?
Adria’s background was in the fashion industry and Maureen has an engineering and medical sales background. After having kids, we were both stay-at-home moms who did freelance design work on the side. Adria worked in photography and graphic design, Maureen created artwork and handmade invitations. We were complete strangers until a preschool open house in January 2010. In the hallway before parting, we realized that we had a lot in common – the love of all things paper, design, and parties. From there, a wonderful friendship formed and we decided to embark upon a business together. With both of us devoted and passionate about graphic design, we hoped to change the face of celebration style for those who love it as well.

When did you start your business?
February 2010 -- seems like yesterday!

When did you know that you could really make a go of this?
When our sales kept increasing each month -- we couldn't keep up with the workload.

What inspired you to do this?
We had both designed handmade invitations in the past and realized how time-consuming the assembly process was. Our love was the design element of creating invitations, and so we developed a business where we can focus on new designs daily without handling the production aspect. (We sell digital printable designs and outsource professional print services).

What was your start-up cost? How did you get the money, and what did you use it for?
Since our business was online and we were selling digital printable designs, we had almost no start-up cost. Time was the upfront investment.

What was the biggest obstacle?
Our biggest obstacle was prioritizing work time versus family time. Our shop is open 24/7, so trying to find a way to manage great customer service and realistic work schedules was difficult at first.

Did your friends and family support your dream?
Absolutely! Our husbands are constantly cheering us on and helping out with our new work schedule. Our kids have become the best of friends, since we are together a lot.

How did you maintain your confidence when doors were closed in your face, when people didn’t get it or said “no”?
We haven’t experienced that yet. (Thankfully!)

How long did it take you to get everything off the ground?
We opened immediately with seven designs, and have constantly been adding and growing our portfolio. We are still getting off the ground and offering more and more to our clients each day.

How long did it take for your business to become profitable?
The first month, we had a profit. Since our costs were minimal, we were able to bring in an income.

What’s the hardest part of what you do?
This partnership has been a learning experience for us. We love having each other for inspiration, but there are times when we have to make compromises, and we are both very opinionated people. The hardest part has been tackling obstacles with work expectations.

What's the most fun part of what you do?
We love to sit in one of our studios, blast music and draw together. Staging photo shoots to feature our products is also a contender.

Where do you work from?
We both have home studios where we work.

Do you have employees?
We recently hired two amazing design editors, Becky and Caryn, and a fabulous social media director, Carrie. Their help has allowed us to focus on what we love—design!

How have you been using social media to grow your business?
We hired Carrie a couple months ago to help us keep up with social media. We realized how crucial the networking portion of our business had become as we grew. We are using social media to network and seek out new business opportunities daily. We also love keeping in touch with our fans.

How did you learn and acquire the skills you use to make your business successful?
Adria has a BS in fashion design and has three generations of business owners in her family who have taught her business skills. Maureen has a BSE in engineering and grew up around design with interior designer parents. We are both self-taught in graphic design.

What's the best piece of business advice you ever received?
Do what you love, and success will follow.

If you had it to do over again, what, if anything, would you do differently?
We ramped up so quickly that we wish we would have given ourselves more time to fully organize our collections.

What is your favorite product that you offer?
We love our holiday printable design collections! They were a lot of fun to design and stage for the photo shoots, and our clients seem to love what they offer.

What is your best-selling service?
Our custom design service. New clients are always coming to us with creative themes for us to translate with our graphic work.

What advice would you give to Dreamers who haven’t become Doers yet?
If you are dreaming, then you probably should be doing. To get where you want to be, set your goals high and work hard (and don’t look back!).

Keep Up with Anders Ruff Custom Designs
AndersRuff.com
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Comment by Swank Sweets on January 11, 2011 at 7:48pm: Hey ladies! Just now seeing this....so well deserved!! So happy for your success! :)

Comment by Rebecca-FreshChick Design Studio on December 15, 2010 at 2:07pm: woohooo!! So awesome!!!! Congrats!!! Much, much deserved (;

Comment by Janis Elspas - MommyBlogExpert on December 13, 2010 at 9:51pm: Maureen & Adria - What awesome news. Congratulations on being named Dreamers Into Doers of the Week -- you really deserve it!

Comment by Jill - Modern Cupcake on December 13, 2010 at 2:48pm: Congratulations ladies!! You deserve it!!

Comment by Lindsay~LCVintage on December 10, 2010 at 3:16pm: Congrats!!

Comment by Lisa G.~ Polka Dot Pound Cake on December 10, 2010 at 9:08am: Hello and Congratulations!

I love your cheerful designs and the baked goods look amazing...and delicious!

Wishing you continued success and dreams fullfilled,

~Lisa

Comment by Kim - The TomKat Studio on December 10, 2010 at 12:19am: Congratulations on the fabulous feature, ladies!

Comment by Icing Designs on December 9, 2010 at 4:17pm: Congratulations!!! Loved seeing all of your work, it gorgeous!! Great interview too!!

Comment by Anders Ruff Custom Designs on December 9, 2010 at 3:49pm: THANKS so much everyone!
Hi Leslie!
That is a cool idea! We do custom designs - from scratch - to match the vision our client has... if you ever need something custom, let us know!
andersruff@gmail.com

Comment by Bridal Couture Girls on December 9, 2010 at 1:25pm: love, love your work! I have an idea and can't find it anywhere. what about an invitation for older couples (50+) getting married that are not going to have a wedding ceremony, but are having a wedding celebration/reception. I can't find designs or invitations like this.

Comment by Carrie, DoodleZ Designs on December 9, 2010 at 12:33pm: Congratulations! Love your work and your Christmas collection -- very classic!

Comment by Rebekah {A Blissful Nest} on December 9, 2010 at 12:18pm: Congrats ladies! Very much deserved!!

Comment by The Savvy Moms Guide~ Bri & Amy on December 9, 2010 at 9:18am: Congratulations Ladies! We LOVE what you do (but you already know that!!!) So deserved. We could not be more thrilled for you. Smiles~

Comment by backyardcolorado on December 9, 2010 at 8:25am: Great job! Wonderful work!

Comment by Bird's Party on December 9, 2010 at 8:07am: I'm a fan! And love the advice! :)

Funny and also true how family support is crucial in this business no matter who is the Doer of the Week, that's a re-occurring pattern!

Way to go ladies! Great partnership! :)
XOXO

Comment by Jessica - Pen N' Paperflowers on December 9, 2010 at 6:59am: I know...right?! (about the Elfed sign).
Such a small world and with internet access it becomes almost miniscule!!
Congrats again!!!

Comment by oh goodie designs Style.Inspired on December 9, 2010 at 1:35am: heck ya!! these are 2 talented ladies!! buckle your seat belts, this is just the beginning for you 2!!