Cecile Rothschild on the Importance of Family and Close Relationships while Launching Your Own Business

Please share a brief introduction about yourself and your business:

Create and Associates is a branding, communications, and design firm. With boundless creativity, imagination, and a dedication to strategic thinking, we build brands that cut through the clutter—and unlock success for my clients. We bring together emotion, art, and rigor to design brand experiences that surprise, delight and drive measurable results. Our strength and unique versatile experience come from implementing and launching brands successfully across platforms.

What excites you about being an Entreprenista League member?

I love the opportunity to meet and connect with women entrepreneurs around the country. The energy and enthusiasm generated by the group is unique and exciting. The diversity of background, talent and skills is unmatched.

What made you take the leap to start your own business?

I started my business over 25 years ago after running creative departments for Newsweek, US News, and World Report. I come from a family of entrepreneurs – all felt it was time to fly on my own and run my own firm.

What was your background prior to starting your own business?

I was a creative director for major publishing companies.

Did you always know you wanted to be an entrepreneur?

I did not always know. I come from a family of entrepreneurs, and my husband and parents pushed me to open my own studio.

Take us back to when you first launched your business, what was your marketing strategy to get the word out and did it go as planned?

For years the marketing strategy was to do a great job and rely purely on word of mouth. For the last 15 years, I have been networking in person with a local group of entrepreneurs. I continue to rely on word of mouth, in-person networking, and now networking on Entreprenista. The quality of my work, my expertise across platforms, and happy clients have been my strongest marketing strategy. Happy clients!

What is the accomplishment you are the most proud of to date?

Running a design studio for over 25 years, navigating the changes in the industry: from print to digital, the changes in marketing platforms, software, trends, and marketing solutions.

Do you believe in work/life balance? What are some of your best tips?

I believe in work/life balance. My best tips: Quality time with my friends. A lot of exercise and fun with my girlfriends to de-stress and bounce ideas. Time away traveling around the world with my family to discover new places, renew and get my juices fresh again.

What’s a piece of advice you can share that you wish you’d known when you first started your Entreprenista journey?

Life is a long journey. Work hard, never stop learning, explore the world, your industry, and be curious. Always nurture & enjoy your family and friends. Don’t put your business ahead of family and friends.

What have you achieved recently that you’d like to celebrate with our community?

I have been working on very successful Google Adwords, Facebook, and Linkedin Campaigns. The results have paid off beautifully for my clients. I am not only building beautiful websites and brands, but I am also delivering results: I am really proud of the successes achieved by my clients and the difference it has made in getting traffic to the websites, and awareness of their brands and services. And for some new companies launched in 2021, the growth and clients gained thanks to the marketing campaigns.

What’s next for your business? What can we expect to see over the next few years?

To work with larger companies, and see our existing clients grow thanks to Create and Associates’ marketing efforts and brand development.

Learn more about the Entreprenista League and join today!