Rebecca Simeone Lennon

Tell us a little bit about what you do (business, career, etc.) How did you get started in your field?

I graduated in 2006 with a BA in Graphic Design. I remember at the beginning of my career 14 years ago as a Junior Graphic Designer my very first supervisor told me I should rethink being a graphic designer because she didn’t think I had the talent to succeed. 

After some soul searching, I decided to leave my first full time job out of college to start my own business, Rebecca Simeone Designs, LLC. I used this opportunity to teach myself graphic design and learn as much as I could about the career I wanted. While my LLC has been a pride point in my career and has also helped lead me to other job opportunities, that business has warped and changed over the years to a freelance graphic design business along with family, lifestyle and landscape photography. 

While my LLC is a cornerstone in my life, 4 years ago I had the opportunity to join a small business called DLS Discovery for a full time position. The company wanted to expand its current high volume print capabilities to focus more on color print. As a graphic designer I never knew how valuable it would be for me to take a job in the print world. I learned the digital print world from the ground up and DLS started offering graphic design services to businesses which was a powerful combination. After a year of building the color print department it was time to hire more staffing. Fast forward to 2020 and DLS has been very fortunate to build a successful design and print part of the business with 4 full time employees and 2 part time employees.

What is an accomplishment that you are most proud of?

While I’m proud to have maintained my LLC for how long as I have, having built a print business from the ground up has been my career’s biggest highlight. There were days I really questioned what I was doing with my career at DLS because of not having a background in print. But hiring the right team has ultimately made me a better graphic designer, storyteller and sales person. What has been accomplished as a team in just a little over 4 years and the client base we have built based on trust and honest communication has been really exciting to watch.

We heard that you’re now running a young professionals networking event. Do you find that it is a struggle for women to come out after hours as they balance work and home responsibilities?

I often used to spend time going to every networking event possible. About a year ago I really assessed what I was doing in the community and what organizations I was giving my time to. I needed to find that work life balance for myself, and for my life at home. I was coming home nightly so wound up and stressed that something had to give. I think ultimately though you, as an individual, need to identify what is important to you both personally and professionally. I really do love sales and networking, but I also love working out and being home to spend time with my family. Finding that balance and having friends, family or a partner that supports your individual needs for personal and professional growth is hugely important. That said, yes I think for women it is extremely difficult to pick and choose what we want to do with our careers. As women we are natural caregivers, we want to make everything right and by nature we want to control everything in our lives. Giving into those entities and building a support network that encourages your personal and professional choices certainly helps with the struggle.

Jane Clark, Co-Founder of BrandSwan