Julia Frenkle is the CEO of Opus Design. Julia is a thought leader, influencer, visionary, and successful entrepreneur. Julia provides the leadership and energy that has inspired the creation of Opus Design. Julia Frenkle joins other leading CEOs and Founders taking part in our Leader Roundtable Interview Series. The DotCom Magazine editorial team is delighted to have Julia join us for our Leader Roundtable Interview.
Julia, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy day for this interview about your company, leadership, and entrepreneurship.
1. Julia, please tell us about Opus Design. What is the elevator pitch?
We are designers, developers, and strategists passionate about empowering good by serving mission-driven companies and organizations. We believe that the best design is purposeful. Design that enables and elevates organizational objectives and successfully addresses the audience’s needs.
2. What is the one thing that makes Opus Design great?
The quality of our work. Our designers and strategists create purposeful, user-friendly, and beautiful design that allows our clients to deeply connect and engage with their target audiences.
3. Please tell us what is the key to being a great entrepreneur?
Creativity — and I don’t mean that in an artistic way. A creative person is someone who can create, someone who has ideas, can be nimble and evolve. Openness is also very important. There are always opportunities but you have to be open to embrace them.
4. What is the best advice can you give to a young entrepreneur just starting out with a new venture?
There are a lot of free/affordable resources out there to help you get started. Seek them out and leverage them as much as possible. It will help you plan, gauge risks, and make informed decisions. I would also advise not to take on debt if at all possible. Start small and self-fund your business with the first revenue/profit you earn. Without debt, you can be freer and control risk.
5. What is the one thing that you, as a person, want to be known for?
I would like to be known for someone who is fun to work with, a really good designer, and someone who is motivating and enabling team members to do their best work.
6. When building a business, what is the one most important thing to keep in mind at all times?
Creativity and persistence. No matter at what stage you are in building a business you have to continuously be creative to seek out opportunities and overcome challenges. Persistence is key, giving up or taking “no” for an answer is not an option. The question is not “Can we do it?” It’s “How do we do it?”
7. When hiring employees, what is the one most important thing you look for?
I look for people who truly care about their work, show curiosity, creativity, and passion for what they do. It’s also important that they are collaborative and will fit into our warm and welcoming team environment.
8. What is your “Why”? Why do you get up in the morning?
Promoting good through purposeful design is what makes my work worthwhile. Our clients are nonprofit, education, and food organizations with inspiring missions. I’m proud that we support and enable their impact on the world with the design and branding work we do.
9. What is the one thing that makes a great company?
The people. A company is its people so the team is what matters most. People bring skills, perspective, culture, creativity, and diversity. A company that develops and supports its people is a great company.
10. What is the one thing that makes a great leader?
A great leader has to embody creativity, curiosity, persistence, empathy, and collaboration. You need to be creative as well as persistent to overcome challenges. You need to be curious to seek out new opportunities. In order to lead, you need to collaborate with your team and listen to team members’ perspectives and needs.
Julia Frenkle, thank you so much for participating in the DotCom Magazine Leader Roundtable Interview Series. We very much appreciate the time you spent helping our readers learn more about what it takes to build a great company and become a great leader. We wish you, your family, and of course Opus Design, nothing but the best.
Thanks again!
