Hi! I’m Stacey, the owner of Bombshell Design.

It was inevitable I would become a designer.

My Mum said I was always out in the backyard drawing. Drawing was my life. And I have always wanted to run my own business for as long as I can remember. I realised that my talents and love were in drawing. At university, I discovered a passion for digital art.

But on leaving uni and finding myself competing for a job in what was then a male-dominated industry, it was a lot harder than I imagined to find work. I had moved down to London where coincidentally I got talking to an old school friend and we were talking about how we both wanted to move back up north. We decided we would create our own jobs and set up our own business. At that time, there were no other design companies run solely by females.

The name Bombshell came from Emma sitting down with a thesaurus and finding the following definition: “a shocking and unexpected surprise” and we thought that’s it! That’s what we’re going to do with our business, create a bombshell in that industry. And we did. We won the Women in Business award, Young Entrepreneur category. That was massive for us.
A year later, Emma decided being a business owner wasn’t for her so I bought her out and I’ve been running Bombshell on my own for 18 years.
I love Bombshell. It’s my baby. My passion has always been my business.

When I relocated to Norfolk for 10 years, I took Bombshell with me and since my return to the North-east six years ago, I have focused on growing the business. It’s no secret that it was a tough time for me when I made the decision to move back home. But I knew I had to prove everyone wrong and pick myself up. I focused on my physical and mental health by teaming up with a personal trainer and focused my energy on Bombshell.

Now I have a team behind me: Andy, a graphic designer; Laura, who does my PR and marketing; and Jack, who does website work for me part-time. I have clients in Leeds, Manchester, London, the Highlands in Scotland and Dublin as well as locally. My aim is to have Bombshell Design as the go to digital design company in the North East.

And personally, I’m happier than ever. I married the love of my life this month and we live together in a lovely house with our crazy cocker spaniel Nancy (or Naughty Nancy as she usually gets called).

A typical day for me is to wake up at 6am-6.30am and have a strong cup of Yorkshire builder’s tea. Then I have some breakfast and take Nancy for a 45 minute-1 hour walk. By 8am – 8.15 at the latest – I am at my computer. I go through my emails and schedule and then I sit down with a proper pen and paper to do list. Although I work with computers all day, I’m old school when it comes to writing my to do list.

I then spend the day working on a client’s website or their social media. I try to schedule meetings all on the same days so I’m not in and out of the office all of the time. Connection is key so I will check in with clients over Whats App. I finish work around 4.30pm-5pm and take the dog out for another 45 minute walk. Then it’s home gym for 20-25 minutes, tea, soaps and Netflix and bed by 10pm. On Fridays, wine is a must have in the evening.

Starting the day and ending the day with a walk outdoors is so important to me. I’ll listen to a motivational or comedy podcast or music and for that walk I’m away from it all. It helps my mindset. My phone, which is normally always in my hand, is in my pocket. Having a break at lunchtime to get outside is important even when you’re in full flow. It’s only when you return to your desk refreshed and recharged that you realise you were actually starting to get tired and needed a screen break. It’s your own reboot.

I say that to everyone, ‘Don’t forget you’re a person and have some you time.’ Work can wait half an hour while you go for a walk. It does you the world of good, helps your business and you’re a better person for it.

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