60 Seconds with Louise Ladd

Monday 11 November 2024

Tell us about your organisation and your role within it.

At Pretty Little Docs, I usually help two types of people: 1) those who have the skills to design beautiful, professional documents but lack the time, and 2) those who don’t have the skills and have spent "three hours down a rabbit hole" and still don’t have something they like at the end of it. Sometimes it’s a bit of both. My aim is to take over the design element so that clients can simply hand over their content and branding guidelines and focus on the core of their own business. The relief this gives the entrepreneurs I work with makes me so happy.

What has been your career journey so far?

After completing a Master’s in Multimedia in 2006, I moved from website development to software development over the next 13 years. But I think I missed the creativity and the opportunity to have something that was entirely mine. Running your own business isn’t easy, but the flexibility, fulfilment, and joy of helping other entrepreneurs makes it worth it every day. I founded Pretty Little Docs in 2021 after leaving a software development job in December 2019 to pursue a career in Professional Organising. Needless to say, I had to abandon that fairly quickly with Covid, but while moving my business online, I discovered a passion for designing PDFs and other documents. I’ve always been a creative person (I have a bookshelf stuffed with wool, material, threads, and crochet hooks), and my technical background seemed to blend really well with this newfound passion for designing guides, e-books, presentations, etc. I seem to have come full circle from designing beautiful revision timetables in my teens!

Describe yourself in three words.

Creative, conscientious, friendly.

What is the one skill that helps you the most in your role?

I think my technical background really supports my current creative role. I understand how my clients need to integrate the documents I design for them into their website, workshops, etc.

Do you have any advice for others in your sector?

Don’t be afraid to try a bit of everything when starting out to see what you truly enjoy and who you enjoy working with. I designed everything from flyers to pop-up stands for all kinds of clients, but I found that I loved creating workbooks, lead magnets, presentations, etc., especially for clients like coaches and course creators. If I hadn’t tried it all, I wouldn’t have found my niche and ideal client.

Are there any exciting plans in the year ahead for your organisation that you can share with us?

I’m especially passionate about supporting those who want to run courses and programmes, whether online or in person, by designing materials that enhance their content. I hope to niche down into this area in the future and am already building collaborations to offer a more comprehensive suite of support for course creators.

Who is an inspiration in your career?

I took an online course with an American woman named Cathy Heller in 2020 about finding your passion and taking it online. She took a bold leap when she was 37 and about to have her third child and simply went for it. She instilled in me the mindset to try things, do it messily, and figure it out along the way without expecting to be 100% perfect—because who needs that pressure? She’s now wildly successful and such an inspiration to me.

What’s your favourite break-time snack?

A boring answer: a couple of boiled eggs (protein!). A more exciting answer: a big chunk of Tony’s Chocolonely.

If you had to pick your soundtrack song to get you through the working day, what would it be?

"Fear" by Ben Rector. Apart from being really fun to sing along to, it’s all about feeling the fear and doing it anyway!

How can your fellow Women in Business members keep up to date with you?

Connect with me on LinkedIn and Facebook, or follow along on Instagram.

Monday 11 November 2024