About Margo Snyder

Margo Snyder is a brand stylist, specializing in logo design and branding design, as well as web design. Snyder is also the founder of The Blog Loft, where she shares tips and ideas to better any business or blog. The blog loft is an online forum & community for bloggers, creatives, and solopreneurs.

Margo enjoys inspiring people, starting random businesses on a whim, connecting with like-minded people,  and contributing some kick ass ideas to the blogging community. Her goal is to move to Belize by the end of 2014.

Q&A:

What sparked your interest in design?

I’ve always loved drawing and creating things. When I first got into Photoshop, I would spend hours watching tutorials, and designing wedding invitations to sell on Zazzle. Once I learned Adobe Illustrator, it was the same thing. I spent hours watching tutorials and learning the different tools, and practicing. I really hate the period when I want to learn something but I don’t know how. So usually if there’s something I’m interested in, I commit to learning it as fast as possible. I obsess over it until I feel like I’ve got it down. Then I practice, make a lot of mistakes, and read some more, and watch some more tutorials. I love learning and learning design (especially web design) created enough of a challenge to me to keep me interested for years and years!

When you were a kid, what did you want to be?

I wanted to be a psychologist. I’ve always kind of been the friend that people feel comfortable opening up to, and I liked the feeling of helping someone. I went to school for 6 years part time, and got pretty close to a bachelor’s degree. I was working for myself making jewelry and selling it on Etsy, and I realized that I really liked being an entrepreneur. So from there, I kind of bounced around aimlessly for a few years, not knowing what I wanted to do until I found blogging & design.

You are about to launch BLOGLOFT.com, what made you want to start a community for creatives?

I was hanging out a lot on Twitter, and started to feel really limited by the whole 140 character thing. There were a lot of great conversations happening, and I met so many amazing bloggers. I realized the one thing we’re all missing is a community that makes it easy to find other bloggers to collaborate with and create real friendships. Facebook groups and Twitter chats are great, but I wanted to build this community specifically for bloggers. The content will all be geared towards helping bloggers and fellow entrepreneurs reach their goals, and get what they want out of blogging. Eventually I plan to develop a premium membership that will offer free WordPress themes, graphics, stock photos, and Tutorials, but for now the site will be funded by donations. I don’t want anyone to be limited by what’s in their bank account- I want everyone to be able to participate.

What was the hardest part about starting your own business?

For me, the time when the project is almost done- yet there is still so much to do. The beginning is the easiest part for me. I have the idea, I’m excited to get started, so I dive in, and I have high hopes. Once the project is nearing its end, I have a moment of panic. Having no money in the bank, and not knowing whether this is going to take off or totally flop. The fear of launching the site, only to hear crickets on the other end is a big one. But you just have to ask yourself- What’s the worst that can happen?

Most pivotal moment of your career so far?

I would say it was when I decided to quit school and learn web design. That’s when I really committed to being a designer. I learned graphic design on my own. Ok, what’s next? Again- I spent a crazy amount of time behind my computer learning learning learning. I don’t think I have any amazing talents- I am just too stubborn to let something I don’t know how to do get in my way. Once I learned web design, I could come up with an idea and create a website for it! That is an amazing feeling of freedom!

You mentioned you wanted to move to Belize in 2014, why?

My boyfriend and I actually have our lease signed and our plane tickets for October 5th! It was our big goal of the year and we hit it. We wanted to move to Belize because it’s beautiful, and we’re not winter people. Hating cold weather yet

living in Ohio just didn’t make sense to us. So we thought we’d move somewhere that’s the extreme opposite! Having the freedom to work from anywhere is the biggest perk of owning your own online business- and we plan to take advantage of that!

You stated you like starting random businesses on a whim, what’s the craziest idea you’ve had?

I wanted to (and still want to) start a women’t necktie brand. I even went as far as having my design printed on fabric and having a prototype made. I wear neckties sometimes, and you wouldn’t believe the compliments I get from strangers! It’s a

really fun fashion accessory that I think women are missing out on.

Where do you see your brand in 5,10 years?

I’d like to see it grow into an online portal for learning anything you ever wanted to know about blogging, design, photography. I see the core values of the community remaining the same over time- because no matter what, people come first. And that’s why community building is so important and will continue to be.

What’s your advice for someone that wants to make money with their art? (or a bit of advice for the reader)

Spend a lot of time reading, and learning. Find blogs dedicated to the topic of starting your own business- there are a lot of them! The Blog Loft will be one of many resources out there. The great thing about bloggers and entrepreneurs is that we love sharing knowledge. You’re not just going to take some pictures, and rake in that cash. You have to learn how to be in charge and on top of every facet of your business. Marketing, design, social media, content development, photography, web design, taxes. Those job descriptions are all on you and are all equally important to the success of your business.

You call yourself a STYLIST, how did you come up with that concept?

Well, I really wanted to put a unique spin on describing what I do. I’m a graphic & web designer. What I do, is I take a brand name, and I style that into a complete look.

You are an avid knitter. Do you think that being a designer helps in creating patterns to knit?

Again- knitting for me was one of those things that I refused to give up on because I wanted to learn. My boyfriend would look at me ripping out stitches of a scarf I’d been working on for 2 weeks and ask “Why do you bother knitting if it makes you so mad?”  But I just kept learning and practicing and eventually started making my own patterns. Anything can be easy once you learn how to do it.

LINKS:

http://eyesofstyle.com/about-2/
https://twitter.com/TheBlogLoft
http://theblogloft.com/