Alexis van den Berg: The Long and Winding Road to AV Creative Designs

For Alexis van den Berg, the road to her own business was a long and winding one. Family hardship forced Alexis to take a break from her fine arts and illustration schooling early on. “I was still working random jobs here and there when my boss from the restaurant I was working at heard that I was going to school for illustration,” says Alexis. “He asked me to create new branding for some new restaurant concepts for his business, scooped me up and had me start work at the corporate office.” Alexis found that brand design was a big step up from illustration, but it was a career she felt drawn to. “I found that graphic design was a beautiful marriage of art, technology, and business that I enjoyed,” Alexis says. “I decided that this was something I needed to go back to school to educate myself. I took out loans, went to school and began my new career path.” During three internships, one on the Jim Henson lot, Alexis learned about the branding industry and found that she wanted to help people by using her creativity. After graduating, she worked for a while as an in-house graphic designer, but soon she realized this wasn’t exactly what she wanted to do. She began freelancing on the side, helping small businesses starting up. Not much later, Alexis decided to make a full-time business of it, and in 2017 AV Creative Designs LLC was born. It’s been going gangbusters since. “The best feeling in the world is when past clients come back a few months later, and they send you pictures of the logo or other projects you worked on together with some updates on how their business is doing. I live for that.” Alexis also made another smart decision. She hired 1-800Accountant to help with her taxes and bookkeeping. “Taxes were such a gray area for me,” she says. “I thought I was doing things right, but 1-800Accountant gives me the guidance I need with all of my taxes. It also helps that my LegalZoom account is linked up with 1-800Accountant, so it feels like all of my business information is together in one place. Each time I meet with Vanessa, I breathe a sigh of relief because I feel like everything is buttoned up nicely.” Not surprisingly, Alexis is looking to grow her business even more. “I am definitely working on expanding my client base and hopefully hiring some talented graphic designers to work with me in the future,” Alexis says. “I can’t wait to be in a position where I can create some jobs!”