"I learn and advance better with practical experience, learning as I implement and iterate, so the Juno program was great for my learning style," says Emma. "I enjoyed the relaxed learning environment and the people the most. I’m still very close with a few people from my cohort."
The program allowed me to completely shift career paths without having to go to school for 2-4 years.
Throughout the nine weeks of Bootcamp, Emma coded web projects from scratch and got to flex her design skills at the same time. She knew exactly what she wanted to do once she graduated: build a small agency and be her own boss.
And she did just that! After working a few years as a freelance web designer and web developer, Emma founded Rhubarb, which later became Banan Creative.
Advantages of running your own business
There are many perks of working as a freelancer and running your own business:
- you can choose to work on projects you're passionate about
- you can work remotely wherever you'd like - whether an office, your home, a cafe, or a hotel
- you can set your own flexible schedule
- you have control over the growth of both your business and your role
After two years of focusing on web design and development, Emma saw a new opportunity for Banan Creative: marketing. She realized that the agency already had a deep understanding of how to market their clients' products and services, since they were working so closely with them during the web design and web development processes. Adding digital marketing and content creation to the agency's services also helped move them from a project-based structure to recurring retainer revenue.
As Creative Director, Emma oversees all of the creative and marketing strategy for their clients.
"This role better allows me to use my core strength, which is building deep and trusting relationships with our clients - some of whom we’ve worked with since day one," she says.
The agency focused on the natural and organic food industry early on, and it remains the core industry that they work with today. Some notable projects include marketing, content, and/or mobile app design for Way of Will, Pilsner Urquell, and Blissco Cannabis.
"I love to plan the big picture for our clients' work and manage how that comes to life!" says Emma.
