Welcome to Pepper’s very first blog post!
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As your badass business BFF, we are here for YOU.
We *know* how hard it can be managing your to-do lists and making time for things you care about – like your dog, your kids, a partner, a special hobby…Probably your dog first though right?
Pepper is about balance. We want to share with your businesses and people that inspire us, and we can’t get enough of!
We had the pleasure of catching up with Biz, from LA-based startup Dubsado. Dubsado is a business management software that enables creatives, entrepreneurs, people like us – and you to be your best business self! Check it out!
Hey Biz! Your nickname is neat-o. You’ve got to tell us where it came from!
Hey!!! Thank you! It was actually given to me by Becca (the cofounder of Dubsado). When we were about 2 years old she could not say Elizabeth so she called me Bizabeth and it just got shortened to Biz. It stuck my ENTIRE life and now I tend to go by Biz more than Elizabeth.
What kind of exciting things do you do on a daily basis at Dubsado?
I feel like not a single day is ever the same for me. I oversee a lot of the operations of Dubsado but I also am involved in the community aspect of it as well. I get to talk to so many business owners and find out how we can help outside of getting the business running through Dubsado. I handle a lot of partnerships and those are super fun to figure out how Dubsado and other companies or conferences can work together in order to help out business owners.
What do you enjoy the most about your job?
My favorite part of my job is definitely the awesome team. I love all of my day to day responsibilities but this team is incredible. I have known Becca and Jake for many years. Becca and I grew up like cousins. But the whole team is seriously family. I am so lucky to be part of a team that is so passionate about helping others.
If you could travel anywhere for a business trip, where would you hope to go?
Man, this question is hard because I am a travel junkie. I will go any and everywhere! I have never been to Asia and it is on my list. So maybe Tokyo. But on a smaller scale, I would love to go to Texas and Tennessee for Dubsado. We have so many awesome Dubsado users in both of those states in the US and I would love to meet them all!
Can you describe how awesome it is to work at Dubsado?
Dubsado is an amazing place to work. We are constantly trying to innovate and move forward so having an entire team that is super excited about that is so great. Aside from working towards bigger and better, we love to have fun together. We have a ping pong table that doubles as our conference room table as well as one of those arcade video game machines. The competition can get pretty fierce but it keeps things interesting!
What is one of the biggest things you’ve learned about business being a part of an exciting startup business?
One of the biggest things I have learned at Dubsado is that there is no job too small. You have to be totally ok with wearing multiple hats! Also keeping an open mind and being willing to pivot. There have been countless times where we started in one direction and had to pivot towards another direction and it worked out better than we could imagine!
Is there a magic trick to balancing your work and personal lives?
Oh man, I have no idea. But if you find out the magic trick, please let me know! I think something that I have learned from Jake and Becca though, is trying to do things with intention. Focus on work 100% and not try and juggle all the things at the same time. That way you have your focus on work and then intentionally switch gears to personal life and you can be 100% with family and friends. Giving part attention on too many things just makes things way harder. Also… DUBSADO!
If you could offer one piece of advice to our creatives about how to have a sustainable business, what would it be? For us, we really believe that a work/life balance is the key.
I would say in regards to work/life balance to create a schedule and stick to it. When you are running your own business, it is very easy to let your work spill into your personal life. Creating those boundaries of personal time and time to devote to your business is so important. It is so easy to get burnt out when you are not allowing yourself to have personal time and are on vacation glued to your emails.
How would you define the big, broad term of being “creative”?
Defining “creative” is tough, and I would say my definition changes ALL THE TIME with the more I learn. I actually feel like most entrepreneurs can be classified as some sort of creative. Being daring to use your ideas and talents to create products or services for others is how I like to look at it.
Do you identify as a creative and if yes, what do you dabble in?
I would say depending on the day. HAHAHA. I have the ability to be a creative but I thrive in the more structured and business minded side of things. I am trying to get better at the graphic design side of things. It is something I love to play around with, but I wouldn’t say I am a graphic designer by any means. Maybe one day!
If Dubsado was actually a genre of dubstep, what would you imagine that it would sound like?
This is great! Jake actually listens to a ton of dubstep when he is working on really complex Dubsado stuff, so I love that you ask this. I think it would be super heavy base. Maybe even venture out of dubstep and into a little bit of trap. 😉 But who knows. Maybe Jake will start producing some music one day! The possibilities are endless and only time will tell.
Thanks for catching up with us, Biz!
We love using Dubsado — and can’t wait to show all of our clients how awesome it is too!
Hope Mikal
Communications & Marketing Wizard
Pepper – Your Badass Business BFF
