Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Harkleroad. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Paul and Sarah Harkleroad, a husband and wife team, started Daor Design in 2011. Paul had just finished law school, and Sarah was doing freelance design work. Like any good new lawyer, Paul insisted we make the design business official and become an LLC, so Daor Design was born. If you’re wondering where “Daor” comes from, it’s “road,” derived from our last name and spelled backward. Our appreciation for design’s practical, functional side led to our initial focus on designing user-friendly forms for universities. From there, we expanded into logos and print design for small businesses, non-profits, and individuals. Over time, we’ve narrowed our focus to small businesses but expanded our services to include websites and marketing. Our relational-based approach lends itself well to going deeper with fewer clients and ultimately sets us apart from other design and marketing agencies. Our business has expanded nationwide thanks to the fantastic small business owners we serve and word-of-mouth referrals from happy clients. Over time, we’ve slowly built a small, trusted team to help us become the best in the industry at comprehensive brand management for small businesses. When small businesses succeed, our families, community, and country are better for it. That is why we do what we do!
Please talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned. Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not. Even though my husband and I always had an entrepreneurial itch, we’ve had our ups and downs as business owners. Some challenges have included finding our niche and learning to focus on who we can best help, saying no to requests outside of our area of expertise, and learning to hire, train, and run a high-productivity team. Managing a growing team continues to be our greatest challenge, but we’re incredibly proud of the team we have today. When we start to think we’ve got it figured out, a new challenge presents itself. For the first 10 years, we tried to outrun the struggle of running a small business. We kept telling ourselves that as soon as we reached the next milestone, things would get easier. They never did. With each new milestone, new challenges emerged, both exhausting and defeating. Over the last couple of years, we’ve learned to embrace the struggle. It is how we learn, grow, and evolve. Instead of trying to eliminate the struggle, we’ve shifted our focus to ensuring we can navigate challenges well. I expect we’ll still have challenges a year from now in running the business – my goal is to make sure we’re wrestling with different things at a higher level a year from now. Another ongoing challenge is the mental and emotional energy it takes to run a small business well. It can be all-consuming, especially for a husband and wife team, if you need to be more careful. Over time, we’ve learned to set boundaries on the business and invest in hobbies and relationships outside of work. We’ve found that when we make time for essential things like our faith, family, travel, hobbies, and health, we become better, more well-rounded business owners. It seems counterproductive, but the more we invest in life outside the business, the more it thrives. It is God’s way of reminding us to keep a healthy perspective of the business and not let things get out of balance.
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We’re based in San Antonio, Texas, but we serve small businesses across the United States. Our hand-picked team includes some of the country’s best graphic designers, web developers, copywriters, and social media managers. Although we take a results-driven approach to our work, we invest in our client relationships first and foremost. I always tell our clients, “The better we can get to know you, the better work we can do for you.” That approach serves everyone very well.
What do you do?
We help small businesses go from an incomplete, outdated, or ineffective brand – to one they’re proud of that attracts quality clients. Our services include logo design, website design, and digital marketing. We pride ourselves on taking a comprehensive approach to helping our clients build their brands and businesses. Most of our clients are small businesses that provide services like ours. Although we’ve worked with clients in dozens of industries, we specialize in helping small businesses with in-home services, construction, healthcare, technology, and consulting.
What sets you apart?
We’re not just a web design company or a digital marketing agency. You can find those anywhere. Instead, we take a comprehensive approach to help our clients build their brands and grow their businesses. Right up front, we invest time to get to know our clients, their pain points, and their goals. From there, we tailor our work to meet them where they are and take their business to the next level in a sustainable way that aligns with their long-term best interests. Our comprehensive approach allows us to get better results for our clients, maximize their ROI, and remove their headache of trying to manage multiple agencies to bring their brand, web, and marketing efforts together in a cohesive way. We’re also big on transparency. Many of our clients find us after being burned by another marketing agency. They’re understandably skeptical of the work we’ll be doing, the results they’ll see, and the amount of money it will cost them. So, we err on transparency with well-defined project scopes and timelines, regular performance reporting, and straightforward pricing.
What are you most proud of?
Since 2011, we’ve built over 600 brands for small businesses across the United States. We’re always looking for ways to serve our clients better, but our stellar online reviews, repeat clients and word-of-mouth referrals tell us we’re doing something right. We truly care about each one of our clients and their long-term success. The feedback we get from them tells us that they sense the level of care we bring to our work.
What do you want readers to know?
When small businesses succeed, our families, community, and country are better for it. That is why we’re so invested in helping our clients find sustainable success through effective branding and marketing services.
Can you talk to us about the role of luck?
I’ve never been a big believer in luck. Instead, I see our business as a gift from God and feel responsible for managing it well. Over time, we’ve learned to see Daor Design as a vehicle to create a better life for our clients, our team, and ourselves – in that order. When our clients are successful, our business grows and allows us to take better care of our team. When the clients and the team are happy – we’re so glad as business owners.
Pricing:
- Pricing is available upon request. We are usually not the cheapest option. Instead, we work to provide top-quality services at mid-range prices.
Contact Info:
- Website: daordesign.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daordesign/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DaorDesign/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/daor-design/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/daor-design-san-antonio-2
- Other: Google Business Profile (optional for reviews) https://www.google.com/maps/place/Daor+Design/@29.6544207,-98.5348787,9.37z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x865c6fd8c5b9a173:0xd1523d43632af8c6!8m2!3d29.4585735!4d-98.5143764!16s%2Fg%2F11f01v6gzy?entry=ttu
