Our community is full of business owners than understand and know the joys and struggles of running a company. Each month we feature a new business owner from the EnMast community in our Member Spotlight. It helps put some faces to the site and develop some camaraderie — we know what it’s like, we’ve all been there, too.

Meet Marty Vernon! Marty is the owner of EDUCO Web Design, a Chicago web design firm that specializes in user experience and mobile development. He’s a really cool guy. You can find him on Twitter with his cool avatar picture at @martyvernon. 

Name/Company Name:
Marty Vernon/EDUCO Web Design

What title did you give yourself (i.e. owner, president, CEO, founder)? Why did you choose that title?
Partner/Director of Business Development
It felt like it was the most clear way to express who I am to the organization and my role

How many people do you have on your team?
3 – Myself, Partner/Creative Technical Director, Project Manager

Best part(s) of being a business owner:
Autonomy. Getting to design the way our business should work from the ground up.

Most challenging part(s) of being a business owner:
Responsibility. Having to design the right way our business should work from the ground up

One thing you wish someone told you before you started your own business:
Seek out the advice and expertise of others before you try and re-create the wheel. I know we assumed that no one would willingly share the secret ingredients of their success, but other business owners know that the quality of the product isn’t just the ingredients in the recipe.

Your business outlook for 2013:
Looking very good. We are re-designing our company website, kicking-off a content marketing initiative and creating an editorial calendar to make sure we stay on track. We are looking at possibly joining Vistage a group for CEO’s and executives to share issues, accomplishments and stories. And we have gotten our Budget in order.

What has been the most valuable thing about being an EnMast Member?
Getting access to all of the great resources, knowledge and skills that Brad has developed over the years of helping other creative agencies grow their businesses. His perspective on our specific business and the industry as a whole have been invaluable.

What is your favorite tool on EnMast?
So far, the small business budgeting template and videos. We just sunk our teeth into this one and it has been a real eye-opening experience. It is helping us better anticipate what we need to do in terms of revenue and what actions we need to take to get there.

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Curious about the budget template Marty mentioned? It’s one of our best gems on EnMast. You can buy it separately, or get it plus complete access to our small business library when you become a Pro Member.

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