PressCassandra Bryan Honored With 2023 Women in Business Award

WBJ Q&A With Cassandra

• 

  Other than work/life balance, what is the most significant professional challenge you have faced and how did you overcome it?

  I consider the most significant challenge I have encountered to be the realization that the evolution of my business
  required a shift in my role. In order to facilitate continued growth, it was essential that I transition from an active
  designer to a more managerial position, focusing on the overarching operations of the company.

  This necessitated the recruitment and training of skilled individuals who could not only maintain our high
  standards of design but also inject their unique perspectives to elevate our work even further.

  This transition was personally challenging, as my initial motivation for establishing the business was deeply
  rooted in my passion for creativity and design, and I had no prior experience in management. I experienced a
  sense of loss, having to relinquish the creative duties that had originally inspired me to create the business.

  However, as time passed, I discovered a new sense of satisfaction in offering opportunities to emerging creative
  talents, allowing them to pursue their passions. The evolution of my role has been a challenging yet rewarding
  journey.

• 

  Describe your most outstanding business accomplishment.

  My proudest professional achievement is the conception, growth, and ultimate establishment of my business into
  a thriving creative agency. Upon taking a bold step away from my secure role at an ecommerce website company
  in 2009, amidst a challenging economic recession, I committed myself to founding an enterprise that could
  provide high-quality and cost-effective services in website design and digital marketing.

  With no initial industry connections or financial backing, I navigated the market through sheer perseverance. This
  allowed me to seize opportunities to present my services to key company decision-makers and secure vital
  contracts. Early stages posed significant challenges as I grappled with unfamiliar tasks, such as establishing
  pricing structures, drafting proposals, hiring and managing staff, as well as implementing business processes.

  Through dedicated efforts in cultivating and preserving client relationships, my company, Cassandra Bryan
  Design, has grown exponentially. Today, we are proud to be a team of professional designers, programmers,
  writers, and marketing specialists. We are honored to support numerous businesses in Wichita, creating
  instrumental tools to help them market their services and expand their operations. Our journey has been one of
  relentless dedication, consistent hard work, and an unwavering belief in our vision.

• 

  Describe your most significant contribution to the Wichita community.

  Before I founded my company, there were few agencies in Wichita that dedicated their focus exclusively to
  website design and development. Numerous companies offered this service as a component of their wider creative
  offerings. Our distinctiveness, however, was rooted in our concentrated effort to construct superior websites that
  demonstrated excellent Google rankings, while also ensuring a user-friendly interface for clients to manage their
  daily updates.

  I firmly believe that our commitment to excellence helped contribute to an overall raising of the standard within
  the Wichita web design industry. We provided an affordable, approachable alternative to some of the higher end
  agencies that typically only serve larger businesses with bigger budgets, while consistently providing the level of
  service and quality of work that rivaled the best available options.

  We’ve provided high quality websites and marketing strategies to hundreds of our fellow Wichita businesses
  contributing to the local economy.

• 

  What is the most important thing you have done to improve the climate for women in business?

  The technology industry has traditionally been male-dominated, a trend that was particularly pronounced
  when I founded my company over 14 years ago. From the start, it has been a core commitment for me to
  ensure gender equality within our organization and foster career development for all talented individuals,
  regardless of their gender. I take pride in the fact that our team maintains a balanced representation of
  men and women, with our longest-serving employees being women.

  Beyond providing opportunities within Cassandra Bryan Design, both my team and I have committed
  ourselves to mentor young women embarking on their professional journeys, including those venturing
  into entrepreneurship. This mentorship extends our influence beyond our business, as we strive to uplift
  and inspire the next generation of female leaders in the industry.

  Despite our small size, I firmly believe that we have contributed towards improving the professional
  landscape for women, even if in a modest way.