Today, 31 May, is Web Designers day! It is also the kickoff of the Show Up, See, Be Seen interview series. Each month(-ish) you will have the chance to meet a woman who embodies the spirit of SUSBS. I call them SUSBS Superstars.
Our first SUSBS Superstar is Kronda Adair, a woman who reinvented her career path by going to school for web design. Because we live on opposite coasts of the United States we have physically been in the same place only once in spite of having known each other [OMG has it been that long?] years. Thanks for agreeing to be our first SUSBS Superstar, Kronda!
What are your name and age?
Kronda Adair, 47
Where do you currently live?
Portland, OR
What are your interests outside of your job/career?
For the last few years I feel like growing my business has consumed my life, but I’m starting to shift the balance. I like reading dead-tree books, riding one of my five bicycles (preferably with my wife Jessica), going to coffee or on walks with friends, traveling, especially by train, seeing movies and more. I’m working on redeveloping a letter-writing habit which I really enjoyed in my first stint in college. Jess and I have two spoiled cats and are planning to get a Vizsla puppy in the fall of 2018.
What do you like most/find most interesting about yourself?
I think my lack of fucks about what other (random) people think of me is one of my finest and most useful qualities. It’s an attitude I’ve had for as long as I can remember, but I feel it’s really become refined in the last few years. I credit my mom with really modeling this attitude and giving me the example of always demanding respect. I’m also super sappy and a really good writer.
Please share the evolution of your job/career path to this point in your life.
I went to the University of Oregon right after high school, but left after a couple of years. In my 20s and 30s, I worked a lot of retail customer service jobs – Starbucks, UPS, Kinkos. Then when I was working at a small startup as a project manager, I had a meeting with one of our developers and decided that looked like a nice career where I could work for myself. So I went back to school, eventually getting a scholarship and graduating with a degree in Web Design and Interactive Media from the Art Institute of Portland.
After that I worked at a local web agency for two years, but was ultimately fired for ‘culture fit’ which is a thing that happens a lot in tech if you’re not a white dude. That was the catalyst for me to go out on my own as a freelance developer and I started my business in January of 2013. Over the past few years, my business has evolved and I’m now serving clients as a digital marketing strategist, helping them define their message before we build a site for them. I’ve written more detail about my business journey at https://kronda.com/my-nerd-story
When you were 20 what did you think life would be like after 40, and how does your life now compare?
When I was 20, I couldn’t conceive of being 40. Not that I thought I wouldn’t live that long, but I just had no idea what life would be like. Turns out it’s pretty good. I have a wife, a home, 2 cats and a great community of family and friends. I get to work on my terms and reinvent myself at will.
What does the phrase, “Show up, see, and be seen,” mean to you as it specifically applies to being over age 40?
To me that phrase is just another way to define how I move through the world. It’s my default, much to my wife’s dismay sometimes. She’d like me to put less of my life on the internet. 🙂
If you could tell your 20yo self one thing, what would you say?
Start a business sooner.
What do you see for yourself in the future (10+years)?
I’ll own more than one business, but spend less time working and more time with family, friends, and traveling.
Where can you be found online?
Business
https://karveldigital.com/ http://twitter.com/karveldigital https://facebook.com/karveldigital https://instagram.com/karveldigital https://youtube.com/karveldigital
Personal
https://kronda.com https://twitter.com/kronda https://instagram.com/kronda_k
Thanks for the opportunity!
One response to “SUSBS Superstar: Kronda Adair”
This is wonderful! Thank you for introducing us to Kronda! Women are so often told to be quiet about our skills and passions, to not celebrate ourselves, it was so refreshing to hear her talk with pride and confidence about herself.