This is our sixth Client Spotlight, where we share interesting facts and stories about our entrepreneurial clients. Be sure to learn about Martha Jo and her weirdest skill, and Kaneisha’s humanoid assistants.

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Our client Evan Leah Quinn came to us earlier this year to help her manage her quickly growing business SixteenJuly by creating a comprehensive Startup Plan. Here are some interesting facts about her (btw, we share a similar surprising skill!):

Were you born an entrepreneur?

I think running a small business must be in my bones, for sure! I remember starting “businesses” when I was elementary school-aged. One of the first was making stationery, mostly just by stamping rubber stamps on printer paper. My mom was so encouraging that she took me to the courthouse to register the business name.

What color, sound, or smell helps you be calm and productive?

I find the scent of lavender really relaxing. Good music helps, too — I’m all about the Deep Focus playlist on Spotify. Sometimes Coffitivity does the trick, too.

What’s the strangest job you’ve ever had?

When I was in my early twenties, I did a few assignments through a temp agency. One of them was at a power plant, which understandably had really strict security. When I got to work each day, I’d have to wait for them to track down my boss so that he could come to the gate and visually identify me. That generally took about 30-45 minutes. Then, the job that I was meant to be doing was way over my pay grade/skill set. He needed me to do his accounting/bookkeeping and payroll, and I had none of those skills. I have no idea what the agency was thinking when they sent me there. Fortunately, about 5 days into the assignment, I got offered a permanent job elsewhere. (I hope my replacement actually had the skills he needed!)

What’s the weirdest or most surprising skill you possess?

This isn’t a skill, exactly, but a lot of people are surprised and intrigued to learn that I have synesthesia. My particular style is heavy on seeing/experiencing colors. Everything in my world has a color — words, letters, numbers, music, even other people’s personalities. This has definitely given me a special relationship to colors in my design work, so on some ways it does cross over to the ‘skill’ area, but it’s really more like a sense.

When were you the most brave?

I always say it was when I quit my job to start my business — I had no money and no back-up plan. But, I also moved from Michigan to Maine by myself when I was 17, and looking back, that was pretty brave. I can’t imagine the person I might be if I hadn’t taken that leap, so it’s definitely the act of bravery that I’m most grateful to have taken.

About Evan