Pow.wow

Dava Guthmiller

Dava Guthmiller has done what so many women only dream of – she turned her passion into a business. As Founder and Creative Director of Noise 13, a graphic design studio, Dava focuses on what she loves the most - food and wine, entertainment, fashion, beauty, and travel.

In her not-so-spare time, Dava founded Powwow as a way to help other creative and entrepreneurial women connect each month. Dava originally hails from the Sacramento Valley but considers herself a true San Franciscan, having lived here for more than 11 years.

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Welcome Dava. Starting you own business can be daunting. What made you decide to start Noise 13?
My parents own their own business so I grew up in that be-your-own-boss environment. Plus I’m a control freak, I love working for myself (except for that being poor thing). If I’m not doing 10 things at once I go crazy. My roommate gets anxious just being around me sometimes. I do need to learn to slow down but I’m having so much fun.

So tell me a little bit more about Noise 13.
I started Noise 13 in January of 2000. It was tough at first, particularly with the bust of the dotcom era in 2001-2002. We were able to stick it out because so many of our clients believed in us. Plus I wasn’t really ready to give up.

The majority of our clients are small- to medium-sized businesses in the lifestyle industries. Most are local, but we do have a few clients in New York, Los Angeles and Seattle. Some of our favorite clients have been Festoon Salon, Limón Restaurant and Slow Food San Francisco.

What is the next step for Noise 13?
In the short-term, we want to increase staffing, hire an intern and update all of our systems. Longer term, we want to create a marketing plan to reach the big boys. We’ve had a few of those glory clients but our goal is to get one new high profile client a year. Time to learn to golf I guess.

How do you market your business and get clients?
Like I mentioned, we don’t market just yet. Other than me shamelessly passing out my business card and holding Pow.wow events, most of our business comes through client referrals and the occasional web link.

Who is your dream client?
I would love to work with a cool hotel or a winery.

Noise 13 just celebrated its 5th anniversary, didn’t it? What is the one piece of advice you would give someone just starting out?
Stick with it. If you really love what you do, don’t give up. I’ve had those months when I’ve updated my resume and considered the corporate world, but then I remember all the good stuff. Even the small stuff can create a big pile of worth-your-wild. The more you believe in your service or product the more your customers will too.

My other piece of advice is to choose quality over quantity. Make sure your clients are satisfied - your best PR is what your customer can say about you - make sure it’s positive.

Tell me about Pow.wow. Why did you start it?
In 2003 I was in a rut. I realized that I didn’t have much of a life outside my office. So I contacted 14 of my friends and acquaintances and organized a little networking cocktail hour. The original intent was to talk to other women business owners to get feedback, support and figure out ways to help each other. Now it’s been just about a year and a half and the Pow.wow Network is up to 210 creative, savvy, fabulous women (most of whom own their own businesses).

We meet once a month for networking. Events cover everything from talks on relevant topics like dressing for success, food or wine tastings, feedback sessions for our members’ products or just plain cocktail time.

There are a lot of changes under way for Pow.wow.

What vision do you have for the group and its members?
By June of this year we will begin memberships and host a fuller, more useful website for job postings, data base of members, and our newsletter.

I’d love for Pow.wow to become a little more self sufficient. Once we get the member data base up a running I’m hoping that the ladies will get a little more involved - networking and working with each other outside of the planned events.

I’d also really love the membership to become something you just have to have. I’m working on a Pow.wow discount card that an be used for products and services with in San Francisco. Ultimately, I would love get an angel investment group who would be willing to issue a small grant to a Pow.wow member once a year who would use the money to grow their business.

Thank you Dava for sharing your insights and for creating Pow.wow!