Cheryl Walters of CheronaWorks
Meet Cheryl Walters, founder of
CheronaWorks, a marketing company.
How did you start your business?
For a long time, friends and colleagues asked for marketing help on the side. Then last year my boyfriend’s company, Graybach, in Over-the-Rhine, asked me to design a new website for them, and I decided it was time to make it official and file a business name.
How did you come up the idea for your business?
The idea was a natural extension of my background. I was a marketing director for several Cincinnati companies over the past 10 years. Since I worked mainly for startups or small companies, I understood the struggles of working with small budgets and limited resources and felt offering my services without hefty agency fees and overhead costs would work best with this type of client.
What resources here did you take advantage of and how did they help?
Soapbox is great for staying abreast of up-and-coming businesses in Cincinnati. It offers insight into how they achieve success, as well as the changing struggles of entrepreneurs.
What does a typical day in your business look like?
I work out of my home, so I’m lucky enough to avoid getting stuck in rush hour gridlock now! The majority of my business comes from referrals (which I like to believe speaks to the satisfaction of my clients), so I work on lead generation whenever there’s a lapse in work. Otherwise, I’m either meeting a new client, working on proposals to land a project, or tackling the project itself, whether it's a logo design, website or social media campaign.
What’s next for you and your company?
I just started pursuing my business full-time when I was laid off from my corporate job this past February, so my long-term goal is to not only keep adding companies to my client list, but to develop those I’ve already worked with into regular clients who rely on me for their day-to-day marketing. Not every company can afford to add a marketing employee to their payroll, but they still have branding and marketing needs!
Interview by Robin Donovan