We had the good fortune of connecting with Erin Chmelik and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Erin, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
For almost my entire career in corporate there was a nagging feeling that it just wasn’t for me. I had gone to college so I figured the next logical step was getting a job at a company where I had benefits and a stable salary. I actually didn’t even had a clue that there were other options. But after years of going from job to job and not really seeing any clear path for me, I decided I needed to make a change, a BIG change. I was working remotely for a company based in Australia and traveling around the world being introduced to people who were also doing the digital nomad thing but working for themselves and that was the first time it really hit me – I loved the lifestyle and freedom but I didn’t want to be tethered to a company that could take that away at any moment. While I was working remotely I started doing web design on the side, first with my own travel blog and then some friend’s businesses and so far and so on until I had my first paying client. It took me about a year until I was ready to drop the corporate job and go solo. My thought process behind it was routed in freedom, freedom to choose my own hours, to charge what I was worth, to work with who I wanted to. I love that the evolution is ongoing, at any moment I could choose to focus on something else but now I know that working for yourself is not the scary unknown that I thought it was. 

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
My business is called Hello Rising Tide, it’s a creative collective of women-owned businesses that work together to provide our clients with a holistic offering from branding to website, SEO and digital marketing. I think what sets us apart is 1. our network of resources that can help support you wherever you are in your business journey and 2. Our intentional and strategic branding and website design process. We really dive deep into the purpose, mission, ideal client, unique factors of your business to give us clarity in everything we do going forward. It’s a multi-step process that delivers an amazing end result that will grow with your business. I would say that my path to creating a business wasn’t always easy but I also felt like this is what I was meant to be doing and because of that alignment some things really did fall into place. What I’ve found is that it’s all about creating relationships, community and working together to support each others businesses. I want the world to know that Hello Rising Tide stands for the idea that a rising tide lifts all boats meaning that we lift each other up and if we can support one business in their journey we know that they will then help hundreds of people in theirs.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would start with getting coffee and breakfast at River and Roads and then going for a walk in City Park. Dinner at Avanti where there is a great view of the city. The next day we would go to the museum of art and tour around downtown Denver. The next day take a trip out to Boulder and hike the flatirons and have lunch in Boulder. The next day tour around RINO, have a drink at Improper City and dinner at Super Mega Bien

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many people who played a role whether small or big in my journey but there is one in particular that really helped me do the work that allowed me to start a business with the right mindset and her name is Jacki Carr. Another shoutout would be the 4 Hour Work week- I read this SOOO many years ago when I barely even knew what being an entrepreneur was but it planted a seed. I loved the freedom he spoke of and the innovative ideas, it really stuck with me. I definitely work more than 4 hours a week but there are parts of his lifestyle that I definitely have now.

Website: https://hellorisingtide.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellorisingtide/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hellorisingtide

Image Credits
All photos are by Beth at Yellow Feather Photography

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