Tell Your Story Through Website Design With Chelsea Pimienta
BY CHELSEA PIMIENTA
Hello! My name is Chelsea Pimienta and I am the owner of 23&9 Creative - a website design and website template shop. I am passionate about storytelling, design, iced coffee, and helping women bring their dream websites to life!
Tell us about who you are and about your early career experiences before 23&9 Creative.
I went to college at Ball State University and studied journalism graphics. A few days after I graduated I moved to NYC and started working as a designer at TIME Magazine while slowly building my little side design business - 23&9 Creative. It started as an Etsy shop selling resume designs and slowly but surely grew to create logos and branding and then website design. As I worked my way up at TIME, my nights became longer as I also was growing my business! Today, I am a Senior Art Director at TIME and still run my business “on the side”.
Share a particular life or business experience that you carry with you today.
I have very vivid memories of staying up until 2 or 3 am in my tiny New York City apartment (having to be at work the next morning) being SO excited about a new client and putting my heart and soul into the project. I try to harness that feeling for every single website client I get to work with today!
How have your early career experiences influenced you as a business leader?
My first business - Groovy Girl Designs - was selling glass bead bracelets when I was about 8 years old. Little me learned SO much from that business that I still carry today. I think one of the number one thing I prioritize is making sure the customer is taken care of. From the first interaction with my brand to every small one in between I strive for them to walk away with a great feeling and know that they are important to me.
The entire philosophy around my business stems from my college and early career experiences. Storytelling is at the core of how I interact with every single project. How do I tell my client’s stories through their website and lead their customers through their content? Everyone has a story to tell and this perspective helps me be able to come to every project with a fresh eye!
What do you like the most about what you do?
I love getting to work with small business owners from all over and hear all of their stories. I love hearing how they got to where they are today and their dreams and goals for their business. Being able to take all of that energy and put it into their website is magical!
What is your strategy for management and motivating those around you?
Writing out my daily, monthly, quarterly and yearly goals is a must for me! It keeps me on track with everything I have to accomplish and my team members a clear vision of what needs to be done. I use Asana for my team and it’s a great tool to keep me on track! In the day to day I write out 30 minute - 60 minute increments of what I need to focus on in that moment so I’m not distracted by the big picture. This works 90% of the time ;)
How has your business shifted over the last year?
My business grew a lot last year and I had to shift into a mindset of letting go of some things and hiring in help where I could! This was a huge step for me but I am so grateful for this learning experience. It was hard to let things go - and at the same time so freeing and it gave me more time to focus on the heart of my business.
“Magic happens when we focus on the part of ourselves and our business that brings us joy." What is one tip you can leave with us today about how you find and live your joy - in your life and business.
When things get busy and stressful, remembering the WHY behind why I do what I do and how I got here is always grounding and brings me joy! Seeing the journey, the people who have supported me and cheered me on and my happy customers always reminds me of the joy that this job brings! And I (usually) always take the weekends off. That is my husband and my time to relax, have fun and get to live the joy in our lives!
ABOUT CHELSEA PIMIENTA
Do you remember, the 21st night of September?
On September 21st, little Chelsea was born into the world (thank you, Earth, Wind + Fire for dedicating a whole song just to my birthday!) and I've been an entrepreneur basically ever since. My first business was called Groovy Girl Designs when I was 8 years old. I made and sold glass bead bracelets - and let me tell you, they were a hit!
I was raised in the most beautiful small town in northern Idaho. My mom taught me two very important things growing up: 1. How to scrapbook and 2. Who Martha Stewart is. So, it’s no wonder that by my senior year of high school, I was the editor-in-chief of my high school newspaper (shout out, Cedar Post!) and had a passion for visual storytelling.
I went to college at Ball State University to study Journalism Graphics and had about the best college experience I could have imagined (including meeting my husband!). I graduated with a job as an art director at a magazine in NYC and lived there for five amazing years. In 2017, I transferred to the magazine’s D.C. office and in 2019, married my college sweetheart in my hometown - the most incredible day of my life!
Just like a lot of you, 23&9 Creative is my side hustle. It runs on lots of late nights, numerous cups of iced coffee, and a passion for working with incredible women all around the world. I know what it’s like to wear all the hats in a business and start from the ground up. I started my business as a resume design shop on Etsy in college and have slowly but surely built from there. Started from the bottom, right?!
My mission is to be a resource, helping hand, friend, and website whisperer to get your business the online home it deserves. Ready to website with me?