"Don’t let other people’s judgements stop you from achieving your goals."
Stephanie de Gruchy Tweet
Introducing Stephanie de Gruchy, the Director of Loubel Designs, a Branding Design and Social Media Management agency based in Sydney, Australia.
Stephanie is a female entrepreneur who has disrupted the branding and social media industries by providing creative solutions to her clients, helping them achieve their marketing goals, and stand out from their competitors.
In this interview, she shares her experiences and insights on the biggest challenges faced by women entrepreneurs, how she overcame them, and the lessons she learned along the way.
Check out more interviews with entrepreneurs here.
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Table of Contents
Thank you for joining us; please introduce yourself to our readers.
Stephanie de Gruchy: Hi there, my name is Stephanie de Gruchy and I am the Director of Loubel Designs, a Branding Design and Social Media Management agency based in Sydney, Australia.
Can you tell our readers in what ways you are disrupting your industry?
Stephanie de Gruchy: I am disrupting the industry by providing various creative solutions to help my clients with their most crucial pain points.
Not only does my business provide branding design and strategy, but we also create social media strategies and graphic design services that help our clients to achieve their marketing goals, stay on brand and stand out amongst their competitors.
Did you become a disruptor by choice or by necessity? Tell us more about the journey.
Stephanie de Gruchy: I believe that it is a combination of both. I saw an opportunity within the industry to provide these two services to clients, which I believe work hand in hand with each other; particularly now that we live in such a digital age.
The need for business branding and social media branding and strategy has definitely increased over the past few years and will continue to do so. Therefore, I believe if I have the knowledge and skills to provide these two services to my clients to help them, then it is my obligation to do so.
Now for the main focus of this interview: Many readers may wonder what are the biggest challenges women entrepreneurs must overcome to be successful?ore about the journey.
Stephanie de Gruchy: I think being a female entrepreneur comes with its own unique challenges, but I would say the two biggest challenges that we face, as I have experienced these myself are balancing responsibilities; such as family, relationships, as well as trying to be an entrepreneur and create a successful business.
It’s certainly not easy, especially when we feel the pressure from society to be the perfect spouse, mother, daughter, friend etc. as well as a strong leader and businesswoman.
The second biggest challenge I would say is overcoming the fear of failure. It’s quite difficult at times to not let your insecurities get the better of you and to try and block out the voice of self-doubt.
I have been told ‘no’ and ‘you’re not good enough’ several times since starting my business and it’s important to not lose sight of your ultimate goals.
You just have to try and filter out the noise, take in the feedback, and learn from your mistakes in order to keep moving forward.
How did you overcome these obstacles? Who helped you during these difficult times and how did they?
Stephanie de Gruchy: I think one of the most important things in general and in business is to have a good, strong support network. I have gotten through many tough times with the support and guidance of my family and friends.
If it wasn’t for them cheering me on, giving me strength and providing me with a different perspective, then I probably wouldn’t be where I am today.
How did these lessons shape the way you conduct business today?
Stephanie de Gruchy: The experiences and lessons I have learnt have taught me to be more confident in myself and my abilities. I am much more confident in the way I conduct my business now, compared to when I first started.
Since taking my business full-time, I have hired employees, outsourced services, increased my prices and I just understand and know what I’m worth and what I have to offer, which is crucial when it comes to entrepreneurship.
What advice you wished you had received when you started, that you’d like to share now with aspiring women entrepreneurs?
Stephanie de Gruchy: The best advice that I wish I had received when I started would be to just start! Don’t wait for the ‘right time’ or the right opportunity; just seize your moment and go for it!
Because the more time you let pass without taking the risk, the more you will regret not starting sooner. Don’t let other people’s judgements stop you from achieving your goals.
Out of all of your proudest moments as an entrepreneur, is there a particular one that stands out the most?
Stephanie de Gruchy: That’s a tough one, but I would say so far my proudest moment as an entrepreneur has been running my business and all the challenges that come with that, whilst also becoming a new mum and just finding the balance between the two.
I certainly haven’t gotten it down pat, and I’m not sure if I ever will, but I’m proud of what I have been able to achieve during this time and that I am making it work as best as I can.
What do you plan on tackling during the 2023 year? Share your goals and battles you expect to face.
Stephanie de Gruchy: I have lots of exciting things planned for this year, including new services and packages that I want to provide to my clients to give them the best value and results.
I’m also working on changes within my own business which will all be revealed in the next month or so. I think the biggest challenge for me this year will be continuing to find that work-life balance and not overworking myself to the point of burnout.
It’s great to be passionate about your work, but it’s also crucial to be conscious of how much time and energy you are putting in and to not let yourself get overwhelmed.
I’m sure our readers will be very thankful for the insights you have shared. What is the best book you’ve gone through lately and please share some take away lessons from it.
Stephanie de Gruchy: I recently read “Atomic Habits“ by James Clear, which was a great read! The key lesson here is that even small habits can have such a powerful impact on our lives, even if we don’t see the impact immediately.
Therefore, it is important to create a framework to keep our habits on track and make them as easy to adopt as possible. In time, we will see the result.
Thank you so much for your time, but before we finish things off, I do have one more question for you. When was the last time you did something for the first time, and what was it?
Stephanie de Gruchy: The last time I did something for the first time would be when I hired my first employee late last year. I have never gone through the process of hiring someone before, but it turned out to be a great learning experience and one of the best business decisions I have made so far.
Jerome Knyszewski, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Stephanie de Gruchy for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Stephanie de Gruchy or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
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