Arpitha Sylvester

Be obsessed with what you do! Have a positive mindset and make it happen for yourself. Always remember, where there’s a will, there’s always a way.

 

Arpitha Sylvester is a graphic and website designer who is passionate about helping female biz owners.

She’s on a mad mission to help women get more traffic, more clients, and more sales through a beautiful logo and a strategic website. In a perfect world, every female entrepreneur would have on-point, strategic visual branding so they could to live their dream in the online world.

She has been designing graphics and websites since 2012. Since then, she has worked with dozens of clients from around the world, including ginormous brands like Renault and Google.

After working on so many projects, she noticed a pattern with small business owners: they don’t need more skills or expertise. They need razor-sharp branding that speaks their clients’ language – and converts them into eager buyers. And she’s determined to create beautiful branding, one ladyboss business at a time.

She is also own an online lifestyle store, Girl Boss Boutique, which she started in Feb 2018.

Where did the idea for your company come from?

As a teenager, I’ve always been passionate about sketching, designing and being creative with my computer. Graphic design was an obvious transition I saw coming. As an eighteen-year-old, I self-taught myself and started freelancing locally just to gain some exposure and talked to a lot of women who owned their own businesses and soon discovered that something was not right. I saw huge potential in every woman but they never had anyone to lead them in the right direction. Then I started Just Arpi Design agency, since having a logo and a website is the first phase of any business, I realized if I can help every woman with a professional logo and a website, and in the process educate them on how to build a business and work with SEO, it would already take them 10 steps ahead of their competition and get them more traffic, more client, more money and ultimately leads them to have more freedom.

I’ve read somewhere that ”business should pay for business”. So, once my design agency started doing good and I got some profits from it. I immediately invested that into starting another business. Hence, the birth of Girl Boss Boutique, It is an online e-commerce store that sells lifestyle products. I’ve always been fascinated with the whole e-commerce business idea and wanted to get my feet wet and with some guidance and a lot of research, I’ve started it and now slowly getting a hang of it.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

I wake up at 5 am, have some quiet time for myself and meditate. Then, I make breakfast, which is usually a healthy green smoothie for me and my husband and after sending him off to work, I start my day by taking a look at my calendar and jumping straight into the tasks that need my brain power. I work till 1pm straight and then take a break and watch a series, then I get back to work till 6pm. Then I begin making dinner and after that I workout and then take a shower, have dinner and spend the rest of the night with my husband till he sleeps and then I work from 10pm to 11pm.

I find it productive if I sit on one task at a time and give my complete attention to it until it completes. To boost my productivity, I play some upbeat songs.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I am a visual person, I like to envision my project before I get to work. I use Trello and Evernote for all my planning. First, jot down the big tasks from my project and then break it down into small chunks. Bringing ideas to life is something that I enjoy the most, all you need to do is plan and most importantly execute it.

What’s one trend that excites you?

I love how everything is moving from offline to online. It’s crazy that people can work from any part of the world and get connected to their team. I love that technology can give us that flexibility and freedom that did not exist 20 years ago. I love it when I see entrepreneurs who are so focused on making it happen and thanks to technology that everything is on their fingertips.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

I am a self-disciplined person, it was really difficult in my early years, but now I am a pro at it. When I set a deadline, I make sure I stick to it. I always make sure I time every task I do so I know how much time I’m spending on a particular project. This way I know that my time is well used and I am being productive.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Haha! Oh my goodness… I don’t know where to start.
1. Don’t be hard on yourself, just keep learning from your mistakes and enjoy the process
2. Just make connections and network with a lot of people. Be good to everyone you meet, you never know how they would be of help in the future.
3. Sometimes, just take a day off to breathe and reflect on life.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

I think women are the best strategists and way better at business. Just think about it, they are amazing multitaskers, popping a baby out and doing all the home chores. They are caring and loving in a genuine way! They take ownership of there tasks and give their everything.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

a. Planning!!! I couldn’t stress this enough. There is a popular saying, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. This leads me to become a futuristic thinker.
b. Also, carry your laptop everywhere, you never know when you would have some free time to jot down some ideas or just get some work done.
c. If you want to make your dream happen for you, be so obsessed with it, that all you do is think about it while you sleep or do any other activity!

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

Communication and building relationships! As a service based business, communication is key when it comes to growing a healthy relationship with our clients. I love to network a lot and build relationships with everyone I meet. I’ve come to realize that all our best clients are people who I meet online or offline and have a personal connection with.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

Earlier in my e-commerce business, I’ve partnered with a business partner who left me hanging mid-way. It took me more than 6 months to figure out everything and get my business together. It was the hardest months of my business. I overcame that phase by just spending more time organizing and just doing things at my own pace since I was still learning about e-commerce and setting up a business.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

How cool would it be to have a PA for yourself all the time? We can create an app that would help you book your tickets, tell you what is next on your calendar, or even make reservations for you. I think it will do really well since many people think they are wasting time on these small tasks.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

I recently spent a bomb in hiring a business coach. I think it’s the best investment and love it so far! I’ve been learning so much from her and grown so much in my business as well.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive? How do you use it?

Evernote is the best. I have my whole life planned on it and I cannot live without it. I even have it integrated with my calendar.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

“Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill is my favorite book. I recommend it to everyone who talks to me about business. This book changed my mindset towards business and life in general.

What is your favorite quote?

“If you don’t build your dream someone will hire you to help them build theirs” – Tony Gaskins

Key learnings:

• Be obsessed with what you do! Have a positive mindset and make it happen for yourself. Always remember, where there’s a will, there’s always a way.
• Always keep learning, It can be learning from your mistakes or taking new courses. Remember entrepreneurship is a way of life and not just a 9-5.
• Develop self-discipline, it will set up apart and take you a long way in your business journey.
• Be passionate about what you do, people see it!
• Make a plan and stick to it! Be consistent in everything. Make long-term and short-term plans. have a to-do list and prioritize tasks.

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