Meet Erin Dooley: Founder & President

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

Hi Erin, what’s one piece of conventional advice that you disagree with?
“If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” This is categorically false – especially if you are a business owner. Owning a business is by far one of the most challenging things you’ll ever do. And there will be days when you work harder than you’ve ever worked in your life – BECAUSE you love what you do. And you care about your clients, your product or your employees. When you figure out what you love to do, and you choose to start a business around it, that love will drive you to work longer hours, be more determined and face mountains that would never be in your path as a regular employee at a mediocre job that bores you. But you will feel more fulfilled and – I believe – happier in the long run because you’ve worked so hard for something you truly love. 

What should our readers know about your business?
I own a web development + digital marketing firm based in Denver, CO. We specialize in completely custom websites and e-commerce stores, which can be a breath of fresh air in an industry now plagued by DIY website builders and templated designs. 2021 is our 5th year in business, which seems so crazy because I used to get antsy and make a move about 2 years into every corporate or consulting job I ever had, prior to starting this business. Building a business from the ground up is by far the most difficult, yet rewarding, things I’ve ever experienced. There have been times where I’m so stressed out, I’ve had to go see a chiropractor because I can’t move my neck. There have been other times where I’ve signed that big account and felt on top of the world. Building a successful business is about patient, steady growth. This growth is achieved by constant learning and pivoting based on successes or failures. It’s also about integrity. No matter the industry, if word gets out that you take care of your customers and you do what you say you will do, it will spread like wildfire and have more people coming to your door than you ever expected.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
In my opinion, Denver is one of the best cities in this entire country. Being from the south (North Carolina) originally, and living in New York City for 4 years after college, I’ve lived in or traveled to my fair share of great American cities. Denver is not a huge city, which makes it charming and easy to navigate. It’s a quick drive from the most beautiful mountains you’ve ever seen, and it surprisingly has awesome weather pretty much year-round. Denver has a ton of great breweries you can check out and a rapidly rising food scene. There are lots of walkable neighborhoods, a great art museum, a zoo and botanical gardens right in the city limits, plus a ton of parks.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My Dad. He owned his own business while I was growing up and I watched him endure the struggles, glories, wins and losses of business ownership on a daily basis. Therefore, I went into business ownership with no impractical or fanciful ideas about how challenging, yet rewarding, it can be to own a business.

Website: https://www.sidekickwebstudio.com/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sidekick-web-studio
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sidekickwebstudio/