Today we’d like to introduce you to Alicia Thompson.
Alicia, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Growing up in UpState NY, I always knew I was going to be more than a small-town girl. I dreamed of moving to a big city and working for a design firm, preferably in advertising. And, thanks to an amazing support system (homefront, friends and teachers) I was accepted into the Columbus College of Art and Design right out of high school. I studied Advertising and Graphic Design and graduated with a BFA in 2013.
While I was in college, I began freelancing with local small businesses, doing branding, marketing, social media, in-house display marketing and website content creation. This was the first step on my road to becoming an entrepreneur and I was determined to learn more and gain more experience in my field. Thankfully, during junior year, I had the opportunity to intern in the production/design department at Limited Brands for Bath and Body Works. I did this internship for two semesters and loved the corporate lifestyle, the people, the workload and the future promise it had.
After college, my life took some unexpected and challenging turns, so I decided to move back to my hometown to work at a local ad tech start-up. I was excited. It was my first “big girl” job after college. Of course freelance had never stopped and the goal of one day having my own marketing/design firm was still a dream. But, this senior designer position could not have been a better job right out of college—I learned a lot;It was an ideal position, but after four years, my heart needed more. I have always been a person with a lot of drive and ambition but once again my career was not first. I had spent a lot of time focusing my attention on getting my life back on track and in the meantime met the love of my life, got married and started planning our move to San Diego.
So, here we were, a married “military couple” moving to San Diego while also finding out that we were going to be having a baby girl. Not wanting to further push my career in the shadows, I started marketing myself. That’s where thompsoncre8 really ignited. I knew it was time to work at home and stop job-hopping. I needed a paycheck to pay for our bills, so I found some marketing and design jobs to build my resume but what I was really focusing on was building my brand. Thompsoncre8 eventually became my full time job where it evolved into what it is today: Thompsoncre8 is an independent marketing and design contract service for small to large businesses, including start-ups. It has been a great journey since moving to San Diego. A roller coaster at times, but a fun one.
Has it been a smooth road?
Smooth sailing has never been my way of life. The road that I am on has taught me so much. I have climbed hills, I have gone down some very windy paths and I have coasted. Honestly, early on, I really struggled with putting myself first and making myself the priority. My business, my career and my happiness eventually became higher on my list of priorities BUT it was a long struggle to get there. I strongly believe that everything in my past happened for a reason and that the roadblocks I had to overcome were placed to make me stronger. I met my husband in my darkest of days and I have built an amazing foundation with him.
Looking back to one of my biggest hurdles was when I was laid off. I was 7 months pregnant and my husband was about to head outon his first deployment. I was not scared, though, because I knew it was time to make this business a bigger priority and make money doing what I love. I took to social media, met some amazing military spouses and joined a few entrepreneur and mentor groups. After one month of networking I was making more money than I had been before the layoff and I was relaxing in my bed with my huge baby bump. Once the baby came, I had a few weeks to get used to motherhood and I picked back up work all the while enjoying my baby girl at home. It was a blessing.
If I could preach one thing it is to understand that we are worth more than our struggles and we can overcome our past and any roadblock life throws at us. Hard work is everything, when you put in the work you see the results.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Thompsoncre8 story. Tell us more about your work.
My background is built on the expectation to think creatively in any medium. I have worked in print, digital, retail, corporate and small business environments. Aspiring to be a jack-of-all-trades, I am comfortable working cross-departmentally with sales, IT and other creatives. I have led marketing and creative departments for the last six years. My responsibilities have included maintaining brand identities, constructing brand strategies for social and marketing projects, working with developers to enhance company software, planning and organizing events and handling print marketing.
I love all of my clients, but I especially love assisting other small businesses and other military spouses. Cultivate Creative Design, The Rosie Network, AMSE, Blue Star Families all have been dear to my heart. My list goes on, but small businesses that have a lot of drive and ambition are ones that I love assisting and teaming up with. As an independent designer, I loved working for Le Chocoholique in Columbus. It was one of my first brand design jobs and will always be in my heart. What sets me apart would be my personality. I am honest and hard working. I work around the clock to make sure deadlines are met and the client is happy. I am fun to work with, understanding, I listen and I will speak up if something needs to be revisited.
For good reason, society often focuses more on the problems rather than the opportunities that exist, because the problems need to be solved. However, we’d probably also benefit from looking for and recognizing the opportunities that women are better positioned to capitalize on. Have you discovered such opportunities?
I think women are capable of anything they put their damn minds too. If you want it, get it. Earn it, fight for it and get it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thompsoncre8.com/
- Phone: 5182222467
- Email: alicia@thompsoncre8.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thompsoncre8/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thompsoncre8/
Image Credit:
Geena Crawford Photography
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