Exploring Life & Business with Cara Miller of ZIV

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cara Miller.

Hi Cara, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I started doing side work during college. This continued through my early career. When my daughter was born, I had a year of maternity leave and decided to formalize this into an official business.

It was still a side hustle for a number of years, until 2011 when I went full-time with ZIV. I had always worked for various creative marketing and digital agencies, designing brand identities, marketing collateral, but primarily focused on designing digital experiences.

This included working for companies like FedEx, Wyndham Worldwide, Duke Energy, and CIBC, even designing a grocery delivery app in 2003. Along the way, I did my master’s in Design Management/Interaction Design from the University of Kansas, as well as earned a Registered Graphic Design certification (a design equivalent to the bar exam).

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As much as I’d like to say it has been a smooth road, it has had its challenges. As an entrepreneur, your weaknesses and vulnerabilities are exposed. There are people who are not honorable and will take advantage of you, and when you are someone of integrity, you tend to assume others are also that way.

It’s a hard lesson to learn that people will betray you, take from you, and not deliver on what they promise. On the financial side, maintaining cash flow can be a challenge. I have been fortunate to have had support through the Enterprise Center of Johnson County’s mentoring program, Leawood Chamber, and the Small Business Development Center at JCCC, as well as great advisors through Pixel Law and Grant Associates Accounting.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about ZIV?
ZIV is a Hebrew word that means bright light and brilliance.

At the core of what we do is helping our clients shine so they gain more business. Our services are focused on brand strategy, product development, and marketing. Everything we do balances creativity with research and analysis, intuition, and ideation with analytics. We find this combination really accelerates marketing results. We do our best work when we align with businesses that are missional in their efforts to bring about a sense of well-being and goodwill to their customers and communities.

Our team has done some amazing work. Locally working with Lead Bank, Precision Windows, and Physical Home Defense  to name a few, supporting various agencies who needed UX expertise had us working internationally with the New Zealand Automobile Association, Four Seasons, and Cisco. Nationally working with one of the most a well-known eye care health company, and executive leadership brand have all been remarkable as well.

One of the things we get most excited about at ZIV is supporting female entrepreneurs in the developing world. Whether it’s retraining for sex trafficking survivors or supporting female entrepreneurs in the developing world with tools and supplies, every year a portion of our profit goes towards this cause.

Any big plans?
We are continuously working on improving our services and delivery. On the horizon, we have our own internal R&D lab, where we are developing a mental health app, as well as looking at how we can more broadly help marketing managers deliver.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: letsziv.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/letsziv/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/letsziv
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/letsziv
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNYNgk5tE1OefZY1OxiIf0Q/featured

Image Credits
Alethea Miller Lindsay and Lovejoy Xero

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