Behind the desk with Madie Spence
Meet Madie Spence, the founder and lead designer of Lerue Creative. For over two years, I’ve supported Madie with her studio, ensuring everything runs smoothly behind the scenes (especially as her own family has grown!) Keep reading to learn more about Madie’s journey, how Lerue Creative started, and the role I play in supporting with daily operations.
Natalie: What inspired you to start your business, and how has it evolved?
Madie: Throughout university and my first few years working full time, I always had design projects on the side. I applied to do freelance graphic design work for a startup company in my first year at Ryerson, and then more and more people would ask if I could do design work for them. It was mostly friends and family at first, but then I started getting messages from referrals outside of that circle and that’s when I started to think… maybe there’s something here. It wasn’t until I was about 3 years out of university that I became more curious about entrepreneurship. I never felt a calling to climb the ladder at the two companies where I worked full time, and I started daydreaming about creating something of my own. In November 2019 I officially took Lerue Creative full time and things have been evolving and improving ever since! I used to say yes to every client, had too many projects going on at once and didn’t have a niche. But over time, I’ve really honed in on my web design and branding skills and found myself working with more and more female founders. Change truly is the only constant, but I love running this business deeply!
Natalie: What challenges were you facing before working with NT Virtual Co., and how has our partnership helped address those?
Madie: I found myself doing hours and hours of admin work and I felt like the constant juggling of my task list was taking up precious brain space. I knew I needed a partner who could help me execute those tasks but also suggest improvements on my systems. NT Virtual Co. has done just that and has even gone beyond and connected me with many designers and community resources that have helped us scale and manage my maternity leave.
Natalie: How do you stay organized and focused as a business owner? Do you have any go-to tools or habits?
Madie: I rely on our tech stack quite heavily, collecting inquiries through Dubsado, which is connected to Notion, which we use to track projects, hours, task lists, marketing, and more. Our Notion database is evolving daily, which I love! The key to making these tools work for you is making sure that you really use them. That may seem obvious, but if you have a task tracking software but constantly write your tasks on paper, that system won’t be helpful. Or if you don’t direct all of your email inquiries to your inquiry form, that system won’t be reliable either! That’s a note I have to remind myself of often…
Natalie: What’s been one of the most rewarding moments in your business so far?
Madie: I recently presented a live workshop for Squarespace and Monday Girl, which felt like a pinch-me moment. I have designed on Squarespace for years and they reached out to me in 2023 to partner with them to educate entrepreneurs in Toronto about the platform. Collaborating with Monday Girl and presenting to their incredibly eager and invested members just felt like the perfect match.
Natalie: Lastly, what advice would you give to someone who’s thinking about hiring an admin expert?
Madie: You won’t know how powerful and helpful they can be until you try it! Every business is different, so you may not be able to look at someone else and picture exactly how it will work for you, but it is absolutely worth taking even baby steps to start. Getting comfortable with delegating can be challenging, I know I’m still working on this skill, but I couldn’t be happier that I started working with NT Virtual Co. over 2 years ago!
Stick to your zone of genius.
Whether you need a partner who gets into the nitty-gritty, day-to-day of your business or you just need someone to check things off that neverending to-do list, we’ve got you covered.
