Spotlight on courage: Emily Charette, design studio owner

Empathy and creativity is what drives this small business

Emily Charette is a self-described ‘boss babe’ and owner of the branding and web design studio, We Are Charette. She says one of her most important roles is acting as a communicator between her clients and the audience they want to reach. It’s one way Emily ensures that her studio creates something of value to clients.

She attributes this skill to an innate sense of empathy that comes with being a woman entrepreneur. Being a female business owner has literally helped Emily keep her business afloat and her customers happy.

Bonus: How did Emily discover Hiscox?

She wanted to bid on a government-funded project to create the brand elements used for the city of St. Augustine’s 450th anniversary event. In order to qualify, she needed business insurance. After a quick Google search, Emily found Hiscox and purchased a policy in minutes and … she won the project!

Watch Emily in action in our exclusive video with her.

My name is Emily Charette and I am owner and principal designer of my studio, We Are Charette. I started my business because I was a creative person. My specialty is helping my clients communicate with wit and clarity. We really like to create brands that are engaging – something that kind of creates a conversation between them and their customers. I kind of think of myself as a counselor between the two of them. I help them talk to one another.

Being a female entrepreneur, I have a set of soft skills that I feel like are kind of my hidden super powers: Things like empathy and communication. Those come in handy in a design studio because I have to empathize with my client and their target audience and kind of create that bridge of communication between the two of them.

Occasionally, there are scary moments that happen when you own your own business. I had this issue with a client where I was worried about a lawsuit and it was really distracting me from my job, my clients, my kids, my sleep – all those things. And someone asked me, ‘Don’t you have business insurance?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I do.’ And I called up Hiscox and they just kind of talked me through it and they were like, ‘Yeah, you’re covered and this is okay.’ Knowing that I have a partner by my side that I can trust, means that I’ll be able to take those risks with a little more confidence. 

Learn more about how Hiscox can help protect your small business.