Duncan Littlefield
Written by Meg Seitz · Photography by Julia Fay
What were your biggest questions, concerns, or fears when you started your business?
For me, it wasn’t about questions or concerns; the only thing I ever really, truly felt was fear. But, I just sat in it, and I thought – ‘If I was going to fail, I was going to fail on my terms.’ But – I knew that in the face of that fear was my ability to out work anyone else out there. {Continued below}
How did Hygge or the Hygge community help to calm that fear?
I started Littlefield Co. as a photographer. So, as a photographer and a member of Hygge, I was able to put myself in a position every, single day to get good, quality and consistent feedback from a lot of people who weren’t photographers. That was a game changer for me.
Different photographers see different things in different pictures, and that’s great; but, the Hygge community – the Hygge perspective, really – was able to serve as a creative and supportive community of totally different things I didn’t see naturally. In that sense, Hygge was a support system for me that allowed me to connect with people on a new level that was both intimate and personal as well as big picture and large scale.
How’d you know Hygge was YOUR place to build your business?
I felt at home here; I was able to get creative, communicate with a variety of people, and learn from other people’s businesses and stories almost immediately. I felt a whole new level of comfort as a business owner.
What’s become more possible for you and your company because of Hygge?
The Hygge community is everything to me. I owe my career to Hygge. I know I wouldn’t be close to what I’m doing now without it.
You hear a lot of stories in the entrepreneur community about accelerator programs. Well, you have an accelerator and a creative incubator right here in this coworking space with 300 other people. My company is a testament to that. I’ve been able to grow and adapt and hire my first employee and build my first office because of this place. That proves that Hygge is not just about growing business, but, more importantly, about growing people.
Meet the Author: Meg Seitz is the Founder and Managing Creative Partner of toth shop, an agency with one goal: Elevate your brand’s content through powerful writing, creativity, and strategy. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor with Queens University and Founding Partner of the children’s book series, “Bea is for Business”.
She’s an English major with an MBA, so she can talk Homer’s “The Odyssey” just as well as she can talk sunk costs – though she’d much prefer the former.
Meet the photographer: Julia Murray, owner of Julia Fay Photography, feels most at home behind a camera with a story to tell on the other side. Her business began during her sophomore year of college, while majoring in radio and tv broadcasting. Now residing in Charlotte NC, she primarily shoots weddings and other local small businesses like her own. Her favorite part about her job is the connection it brings between art and people.
