Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Hokuf.
Hi Sarah, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started in the Advertising industry in the late 1990s when I was only 20. I was able to work in the industry while going to Hennepin Technical College at night for Electronic Publishing. I did this for 7 years! I was 26 years old and was Supervisor to 10 graphic designers at Northern Tool & Equipment. After I got a web design degree, I decided to go off on my own and start freelancing. I started Evolve Creative in 2004 – slowly growing my client list. I built small websites (when they were all in HTML), and designed logos and other print material for a variety of businesses. I learned some hard lessons by losing money when clients didn’t pay for print work that I personally paid for. Or didn’t pay for my services when they were in financial trouble. But I made sure to have enough money saved, so I never lived paycheck to paycheck. It was great having flexibility in my schedule and could live anywhere. When I got married, I moved to my husband’s small town, and I was able to keep my clients. We moved a few times since that year and Evolve Creative continued to grow. In 2014 I started bringing on freelancers to help with larger projects, until I became incorporated in 2015 and everyone was on payroll! We now have a team of 9 talented designers, developers, marketers, and our own videographer. Our company is in Bemidji, which is a growing lake and woods town in northern Minnesota. We are able to work with companies all over the country, while living an outdoorsy lifestyle, which we all love! On January 1, 2020, I sold the majority of Evolve Creative to an LLC owned by two local companies and I remain the Managing Director. Later that year I won Entrepreneur of the year for our Chamber of Commerce awards. My husband won this a few years before me, as do a lot of men. So I was honored to be chosen!
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s not always a smooth road. Getting the right team together makes a huge difference. To be a manager means leading and teaching, while doing what’s smart for the company to make a profit . So sometimes tough decisions have to be made to let an employee go if they’re not the right fit or if we don’t have enough paying work to support them. Being a small team, means wearing many hats. So we all have to be good at multiple roles as well. Selling who we are and winning big projects is a skill and it can be really hard! Sometimes we struggle with getting larger brands to realize that our small team can do as good, or better, a job than the large metro agencies!
As you know, we’re big fans of Evolve Creative. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Evolve Creative brings your vision to life through expert creative solutions. We thrive on helping brands figure out their unique selling point and then crafting unique digital assets to promote them. We specialize in corporate graphic design, branding, website development, product packaging and videography.
We stand apart from the larger agencies by focusing on our relations, honesty, and our work ethic.
We have such talented people that are all perfect in the roles they’re in. We have been knocking out some pretty awesome videos lately and that’s an area we continue to grow. We are looking for brands that want to promote their product or tell their story.
The industries that we have been working a lot with our: outdoor & recreation brands, aviation, resorts, and restaurants. Our designers love packaging, so we’re happy to work on those projects.
https://www.evolvecreative.com/
https://www.evolvecreative.com/wp-content/uploads/Evolve-Capabilities.pdf
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Being outside. If it’s a nice day out and I’m sitting inside, I get a little antsy. If I get a little time outside, doing anything, it means I had a good day. I am also happy making others happy. I like to serve people.
I love my kids so much so they make me the happiest. They are ages 10 and 12 and such wonderful people.
My faith is also a big part of my life. We love our church family at Bemidji Evangelical Covenant Church and I help out in the community where I can. I’m also on the board for the United Way. In all boards and church, I help out with marketing and computer work.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.evolvecreative.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evolvecreative/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/evolvecs
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC74A3ijAUX7L9FG495O9zAg
Image Credits
Andrew Hanson
