Meet Mallory Ulaszek of Presence Agency
Kelsey, my business partner, and I linked up at a cooking club back in 2012. I had no idea that I had just met my future business partner, but in 2014 we started a company with two clients as we were moving on from our past careers. Our first two projects, a website build and a food festival, created the framework for our company and outlined our core offerings. A year into our business we began exploring how we could solve issues or streamline processes. Our company is about to celebrate our 6th year in business, with our main work being with Week of the Website – a company we started to build websites in 1 week. We have built over 200 sites using a proprietary process that helps make building websites fun, easy, and efficient.
At the risk of sounding trite, I hold true to the idea that struggles are what define the character of your work. Failure is just another learning experience of how to not do something. I think building a business is incredibly difficult and requires taking a part of yourself, planting it and hoping it will grow into something. Sadly, sweat equity is not something you are monetarily compensated for, so passion is key. There are days when you wonder how long you can go without a paycheck. There are days when you aren’t connecting with your team. There are days when you feel like the wall you’re up against is akin to climbing Mount Everest. But with passion leading the way (and a little distance), those struggles end up being something you look back on and wonder “what was all the fuss about again?”
We specialize in a process called Week of the Website. It was born out of frustration as we watched our web development projects carry on for months at a time, often taking two steps forward and one step back. We knew there was a way we could tackle being transparent with the client, while preparing them for the task at hand and keeping it fun and economical. We consolidated the entire design and development phases into one by creating a 5-day active build period where the client is fully engaged and the site is finished by Friday. Watching websites come to life that quickly is rewarding on a weekly basis, but the joy we get from witnessing the clients surprise and awe makes it even more enjoyable.
Success is a state of mind. For me, it’s about if I am staying true to myself, if I am being a good team member, and if I am dong good work. If I go to bed at the end of the night knowing I did those things to the best of my ability, I feel successful.
