Meet Christopher Sayegh of East KC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christopher Sayegh

Hi Christopher, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started building my life as an entrepreneur at a young age. Spending years working under other people had me really questioning what my life was actually about. It felt wrong, hours of my time were being spent in the end just to struggle. I spent 20 years as a cosmetologist, building my own clientele, at the same time I ran a recording studio and small sound company. It was a lot to juggle and eventually I just felt like I had spread myself too thin. With goals to travel I noticed my strategy was flawed. Being a hairdresser was too limiting, my clients were booking me through the holidays, and I could not really travel without losing clients or missing out on money. After about 15 years of doing hair, I wasn’t going to call it quits as I had built up sharp skills that I didn’t want to lose, so I removed my name from the public eye as a hairstylist, and went to school for Computer Science. Growing up I was always into technology and computers, so I went back to KU, graduated and started my own Web Company. called Dream.Pop Design – “Here to make your dreams pop”. I now still handle a small group in the hair world, and I am building my own business in the web world. It’s been really great. Money has been great, and all the perks with meeting new people are still there. I have been building web sites and graphics for about 5 years now. I handle a lot of social media accounts, and the numbers keep growing. I was able to relocate to a bigger, better home away from all the riff raff of the city, I can travel mostly whenever I want, and still be able to work from where I want. Last summer I caught myself closing a $3,000 project while sitting on a dock and watching the sunset. I still get to do what I love and that’s travel and perform on stage in a band. Because of what I do I was able to go on tour with Skid Row and Buchcherry and in between shows finish up projects and make money on the road. I am not dealing with companies overseas, and preparing for more great shows. I had dreams in my sleep of this life I am currently living when I was younger, and it just makes me more excited for the future!

Being a serial creative and entrepreneur is hard sometimes, there are still so many things and career paths that I want to explore. Sometimes all I think about are the cool business ideas I have and how bad I want to start something new. Eventually, I see myself owning a web consulting firm, a restaurant, and a booming online store of some sort.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Struggle 1: are not knowing how fast or slow money will come in, but I do know this. If you spend 40 hours a week catering to your business, you’ll make money that month. It’s been the cycle I’ve worked with. Some months I start with $0 and by the end of the month all my bills are paid with a little left over. Every year I see I make more and more money, which is a great feeling.

Struggle 2: Taxes and accounting for your own business can be overwhelming and tough. Seeing how much money Uncle Sam takes is jaw dropping and upsetting. It’s part of the game though, and I would prefer this feeling over being tied down to an office.

Struggle 3: Balance: Yes, the balance is hard when you’re first starting, working an hourly job to support my business goals, then coming home to work another 8 hours. It’s hard, but I make it fun. I crank my favorite music, and because it’s my home office, I can create the environment I want that’s energizing and inspirational.

Struggle 3: Money- I still feel weird asking my clients for money, or I worry about over charging them when my prices are fair.. The reality is, my clients want to pay me, they want to support me and pay my prices because they know they are getting the best.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in UI/UX design for websites and apps. I’ve built it all from Car sales sites, to bidding sites.

I focus my design on what pops, what brings attention, and how smooth it is to jump around.

My design inspiration comes from how colors make you feel, emotions and meditation.

What sets me apart from other web companies is my approach and my face to face collaboration with the companies. I give my clients an opportunity to join me in the design process. It can be hard though as inexperienced web builders tend to want to do thing “they” like, and in most cases it goes against my rules of a great website or app. It’s sort of like the musicians who think there is one tiny riff they are super proud of that needs to be the loudest part of the song. A Lot of older clients want to feel like they are creative as well, when they have spent their life managing a business and not really digging into their creative side. I enjoy being the vessel that helps them be a part of the process.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
-Personable
-Ability to work with and talk to difficult people
-Excitement
-Confidence
-Staying Organized
-Market research
-Learn how to work smart. Utilize technology to help you in getting jobs done faster without compromising quality.

Pricing:

$300 Per page with no template – Meaning I am building your template and light graphic work.
$150 per page w/ template and graphics already done by client
Hosting $240/year with full perks
Hourly rate $60/hour
Express Rate $85/hour with 48 hour turn around.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Dreampop.design