Vyral Employee Spotlight: Bryce Stradling

John: John McMillan here with another employee spotlight! Today, we have Bryce Stradling, who is our lead web designer here. Bryce has had an interesting path of the jobs he came in and done, but you’ve been with us two years at this point?

Bryce: Two years.

John: Cool. How come you first started with Vyral Marketing?

Bryce: Well, I needed a job, so that was helpful. Also, I was particularly looking for companies that did video production or had a lot of design work that needed to be done, even if that wasn’t the job I was initially applying for, which it wasn’t. I wanted to stop working odd jobs and do my career.

John: Right, okay, so you came in as our second, since you took over for someone that wasn’t doing a particularly great job, but calling customers and getting audio testimonials.

Bryce: Yeah, that was kind of fun. What I really enjoyed, even though that really wasn’t a fun job, was that you guys gave me a lot of autonomy. I came in and re-did all of the systems. I called clients on a daily basis and interviewed them. There were some good times.

John: Yeah, okay, so why don’t you describe that first impression when you walked into the office?

Bryce: Let’s see. I remember I overdressed for the interview. I was wearing a full suit and I had a leather portfolio with my resume in it. It seemed it was kind of what I was looking for, because everyone was my age or younger, it seemed laid back (which I was happy with), and everyone did their job remotely from other people. There was good communication. I could tell they were securely in their own area. Get in, walk by Jason, and slap him in the head, like “what are you doing?”

John: How come you’re still here?

Bryce: I’m still here for reasons I first enjoyed. I still enjoy my job. I’m given a lot of autonomy. I pretty much do whatever I want, as long as the job gets done well. It’s very laissez faire. I enjoy the creative input I can have. I also enjoy the input I can give to the company. When I have an idea or suggestion, it gets taken seriously and that goes a long way, at least in my book.

John: For sure. So where do you think you’re headed with your career?

Bryce: I’d like to eventually pursue a more management style position, larger projects, something more challenging than what I’m currently doing.

John: Okay. What’s something you’ve learned while working here?

Bryce: I’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned a lot about client management for sure, just from talking to them on an almost daily basis. I learned how to intercept their needs, understand them when they don’t know what they want to say in the first place. I’ve learned to be anticipatory. Also, I learned just kind of the values of having systems in place and maintaining them. I’ve come a long way as far as being organized. Now, it’s like a completely necessary life skill that I couldn’t live without. It was loosey-goosey before.

John: You’ve talked about improvements to mindsets you’ve had. Do you want to go maybe more into that? You came from the Creative Center, which teaches different disciplines of design, but is there any sort of “ah ha!” moment or breakthrough in mindset you’ve had while working here the last two years?

Bryce: Yeah, I’m gonna have to phrase it. Hold on. I think when I was younger, I wasn’t concerned for my employer and that made me a bad employee, not to an extreme extent but not always putting my needs first. I was more selfish in my employment outlook. The big shift is like, we’re all in this big boat. That boat has to sail. If it sinks, you go with it. You have to understand team and motivations, as well as what that means with individual dynamic, right? We’re in a capitalist society. Everyone is trying to get the best deal out of everything. You need to make money off of me. I need to make money off of you. We need a market middle. Also, I’m concerned with my career and you’re concerned with how your company runs, but the thing is those sound separate when they’re the same thing. When I’m doing well, the company should be doing well. I’ve learned to have that broader understanding while working at Vyral.

John: Cool, that’s well-said. So, what makes us different compared to your last employer, to get you to feel this way? 

Bryce: I could say this about lots of past employers I’ve had. I’ve had a lot of different jobs. I’ve practically done everything at this point, but I mean, I’ve had good and bad jobs. It’s not necessarily the work conditions were poor. It’s how I was managed, or how I felt perceived. So you would be given a list of instructions and if I said something like, “hey, I think we could do it better this way -- how about we do this,” having someone say, “no, do it the way I told you to.” There’s a time and place for that where it’s fine, but after a certain period, you should trust your employer to make good decisions in their own position. I’ve had a lot of issues where I couldn’t bounce ideas off of management or they weren’t sympathetic to personality proclivities. There are things that aren’t strengths for me. I’ve had managers that weren't understanding of those strengths.

John: Okay, cool, so what could we be doing better as an employer and a company?

Bryce: I think we need to be more concrete on our goals. We need to be more concrete on how we pursue those goals. We need a definite numbers approach. We need to diversify our portfolio. We need to explore different areas of revenue, and that’s something we’re pursuing, but I think it would be better if we put them in a simple list where we could approach different steps as we meet them.

John: Okay, I like that. Let’s talk about the other people that work here. What do you enjoy about working with the staff here at Vyral?

Bryce: We’re all of the same age temperament and education. Most of us have college degrees and sort of the same sphere of influence. We’re also all pretty much big jokers. I really enjoy a humorous, easy-going atmosphere. I find that productive for creative people because you want things to flow well in your environment. You want the tools to be able to develop what you need to.

John: Okay. Let’s talk about some of your most memorable moments. Can you think of anything that stands out off the top of your head? Like, you know, when  you see your family for Thanksgiving and they ask about what you’re doing at Vyral. What’s something you might share with them?

Bryce: Well, I talk to them about different motivations we have or the projects we’re pursuing. I talk about my place and what I’d like to see from them. I talk about how well I’m treated.

John: Okay, cool, so this has happened a lot with you, since you do a lot of graphic design for our clients, but can you describe a time when you impressed a client, recently or whenever?

Bryce: I can. I did a side project with Brad Saarela. He’s good on the phone, but he’s not great at critiques. I had him on the line while going over this website I created for him, explaining each single element and why I made specific design to fit his needs. He would be silent for fifteen minutes until I run out of things to say. He’ll tell me, “What do I think? I think you hit the nail on the head. It looks amazing.” So I said, “oh, thank you!” Way to drive up the suspense!

John: Okay, so, what would you tell someone who’s thinking about working here?

Bryce: I tell them that you’ll have a laid-back atmosphere, that you’ll be able to develop a lot of skills along the way. Everything I learned about cutting I actually learned on the job. I mean, you can definitely develop skill sets here and you’re given plenty of opportunity. If we’re somehow, someday slow, I always tell people to do a tutorial. Do something cool. You can apply that to your own work. It’s improvement for the company. It’s improvement for yourself. We talk a lot about that as a company of improving employees, skillsets, and needs.

John: Cool, okay, so what is one type of personality trait of someone who should not work at Vyral?

Bryce: I don’t have a lot of tolerance for lazy people, or people that aren’t willing to problem solve for themselves. I think people that can approach a problem look at it, understand the problem itself, and don’t misinterpret an issue. Come up with a creative and efficient solution. If you’re not somebody that can constantly improve, it might not be apparent a month or a year or so. Eventually, you’ll run into a brick wall. We’re a small company and it gets fast.

John: Okay, cool, thanks, Bryce! That’s all we got.

Bryce: Cheers!