Women in Business - Blair x Biancon

At Girl and the Sun, we are constantly inspired by the women in our community who are changing the game and chasing their dreams. In this series, get to know some of the amazing women behind our favourite local businesses as they share their stories to success!

This week, we're chatting with Rebecca and Jess, the creative minds behind Blair x Biancon, a full service creative agency located on the Gold Coast. 

For anyone who may not already know, what does Blair x Biancon do? 
Blair x Biancon is a full service design agency. We are a small busy team who love to dedicate our selves to each project we work on and go the extra mile to tell your story. We believe everybody has a story to tell and we are here to help you tell yours through incredible imagery, design and web. We simply love what we do. 

How did Blair x Biancon start out - could you tell us a little bit about this journey?
Rebecca: It all started with self belief and trust. I used to work in hospitality on the Sunshine Coast and in my spare time I was always building websites, creating businesses and diving into self development, I just loved it. I had so many moments where I felt I wasn't living life on my terms or fully stepping into my potential. I craved the freedom to spend my time designing and creating! One day enough was enough, I quit my day job and went all in on my desires for financial freedom and purposeful work. Within a few weeks I moved to the Gold Coast and everything changed. I began freelancing my website services full time and was so happy, more and more work flowed in and I decided to lean into the abundance of projects and expand the team. And then I ran into Jess...
Jess: I had just gotten back from the UK and running my own media business. I was in the Gold Coast for a meeting and ran into Bec at my favourite cafe. She told me she was doing a lot of web design and absolutely loving it, and I thought to myself "If we combined businesses we would be unstoppable! I need to be a part of this!" So when she posted on her instagram account that she was looking for someone to join her in creating a bigger company I jumped at the opportunity and messaged her. Then Blair X Biancon was born - the dream team creating some amazing work.

Jess: Seeing an idea come to life. We all imagine things right? Concepts, products, designs… Well take something you’ve been thinking about and imagine it coming to life. It’s like planting a tree and seeing it grow. To be so proud of something you have created. To me that’s the most rewarding thing. 

As creatives, what is your greatest source of inspiration? 
Rebecca: As a visionary my greatest source of inspiration is seeing the possibilities, seeing into the future of what could be - day dreaming. I dream big for myself and also dream big on behalf of my clients. Anything that isn't "normal" is inspiring to me. I don't believe in limitations and I find that personal belief creates excitement and creative inspiration.
Jess: Im inspired every day, through art, nature, books… everything. I spend a lot of time flicking though old books and reading poems and short stories, but instead of seeing the words on the page I see the picture beings drawn by the letters. I also do a lot of people watching, sitting in cafes with a latte and almond croissant. I find great inspiration in people, and how they move, laugh, dress, and react to others. There’s so much inspiration around us every single day, we just have to be aware of it.

You recently helped bring the Girl and the Sun website to life with an amazing new facelift - could you share a little bit about what this process was like?
Jess: This is Bec’s incredible expertise so I’ll let her take the reins on this one. Rebecca: This process has been exciting. The planning for design and sourcing of inspiration is always a fun process especially when working with beautiful brands like Girl And The Sun! Let's be honest, sometimes things don't always go to plan...the process started a little bumpy with some technical issues but this was soon solved and it has been a process of pure creation and working from a place of joy to really pour love into the unique site.

What type of brief or project do you enjoy working on the most?
Rebecca: Website design and strategy would be my favourites. Creating a captivating website with purposeful strategy behind the design and seeing that hard work successfully increase sale conversions is a very rewarding process for me.
Jess: I love the concept to creation projects where we take an idea and help bring it to life. I also feel so inspired by campaign photography, especially fashion. As a little girl I always dreamed of shooting for the cover of vogue and it’s a dream I plan on bringing to life at some point. I have an absolute passion for creating awe-inspiring imagery for clients.  

As a female led business, what advice would you impart to the next generation of women? 
Rebecca: Believe in yourself and dream big! There is more support than you may think for women in business, it's incredible.
Jess: Don’t let anybody tell you you cant. As much as we wish this wasn’t something that still existed in this day and age there will always be people who think because you’re a woman you’re less capable. My mother always told me that I can do whatever I damn-well want to do and pushed me to reach my dreams, no matter how unattainable they are. It was because of her that I believed I was a strong, accomplished woman and gave me the self belief I needed to pursue my dreams. You are more than capable of achieving anything you want. Big or small. Your dreams are possible. 

Can you reveal any upcoming plans for Blair x Biancon? 
Jess & Rebecca: We have so many exciting things in the works, one being a podcast focusing on the real struggles and real joys of being a women in business in this day and age. It will be an honest and true representation of creating an agency from the ground up, mixed with a little humor as we have a bit of fun with it. Other plans are much bigger, some may say too big but that’s never stopped us before. We’ll leave you with a little hint - it will include champagne and a big ass yacht. 

Do you have any words of wisdom to any creatives who may be looking at taking the leap into running a business?
Rebecca: Just start. Create momentum whether this is simply by making a Pinterest board or developing a business plan and don't be paralysed by perfection. You will learn and adapt as you go and most importantly don't be afraid to ask others for help and support - join a community of entrepreneurs or other likeminded people.
Jess: Starting a business is scary as hell, don’t get me wrong, but it’s also so exciting and rewarding to be doing something for yourself, to be making your dreams come true. Putting it off won’t get you anywhere except years down the road, regretting you didn’t take a chance… Maybe you’ll fail a few times, make mistakes and wish every now and again that you took the easy route but I promise you that you will be so glad you took the leap. After all, the future belongs to those who believe in the power of their dreams.