Art has always played a major role in Caitlin Penny’s life. Growing up, everything she did involved some form of artistic ability or activity. Caitlin, a graphic designer since 2010, founded her own business, Copper Theory Creative, in 2016. At the age of 24, she was thrilled to realize her dream of being her own boss, a goal she believed was worth fighting for.

Copper Theory Creative has grown into a full-service branding and design agency, servicing over 100 businesses since its inception in 2016. The agency positions itself as a partner in business, helping clients amplify their brands professionally to reflect their business visions. They take a personal approach in their process, eager to understand their clients and the motivations behind their businesses. Copper Theory assists established entrepreneurs in elevating their businesses by refining, refreshing, and revamping their brands in the digital marketplace.

As a female business owner, Caitlin has been fortunate to encounter many inspiring mentors who encouraged her to persevere. Even as her company expands, she remembers the small business owners, clients, and supporters who have believed in her from the start. Copper Theory’s mission is to make brands visible in the best way possible, enabling clients to change the world in their unique ways.

Caitlin’s achievements include receiving the Young Professional of the Year award from NAWBO and being featured in Shout Out Arizona, CanvasRebel, and United Colors of Design magazine. She was also appointed as the newest Arts Commissioner for the City of Chandler and has been nominated for the Chandler Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year award. Outside of her professional life, Caitlin enjoys spending time with her Pitbull, Herbie, watching Harry Potter, or listening to true crime podcasts.

Key Moments

[04:38] Love the brand expertise and comprehensive services.

[07:28] Teaching personal branding to attract ideal clients.

[11:06] Outsource tasks and focus on what you love.

[14:07] Chose Copper for branding due to location.

[16:22] Making ugly things cute and functional manually.

Find Caitlin Online

http://coppertheorycreative.com/

https://www.facebook.com/CopperTheoryCreative

https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitlinpenny/CopperTheoryCreative/

https://twitter.com/coppertheorycr8

https://www.instagram.com/coppertheorycreative/

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Transcript Provided by CastMagic.io

Seth [00:00:00]:
Entrepreneur’s Enigma is a podcast for the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, so the wins and the fails that we all face being entrepreneurs, how we learn from adversity. Every week, I talk to a different entrepreneur with a story to tell. I’m Seth Goldstein. Come with me on the journey. This is Entrepreneur’s Enigma. Let’s get started. Hey, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Entrepreneurs Enigma podcast.

Seth [00:00:34]:
I am as always your host with the most. Seth, today, I have Caitlin Penney of Copper Theory Creative. She is a design extraordinaire. She is based out of the balmy, balmy, balmy, balmy because it’s it’s the winner here in the East Coast. But she’s in balmy Scottsdale area of Arizona. So it’s cold there. It’s 80 degrees. Let’s qualify that it’s 80 degrees, but it’s cold for them.

Seth [00:01:03]:
And she said before the show, they wanna get to 60, they put on parkas, which is hilarious because 60 amp’s on shorts. Anyhow, let’s bring Caitlin in here, and let’s rock and roll. Hey, Caitlin. How are you doing?

Caitlin [00:01:14]:
I’m great. How are you? Thanks for having me.

Seth [00:01:17]:
Oh, this is so much fun because we’ve been talking about this for a while, and then our schedules got mixed up and all that stuff. So How did this whole journey get started? So you’ve also do you also like to travel around the the United States too, if I remember correctly?

Caitlin [00:01:30]:
I do. I do. So I’m originally from New Jersey.

Seth [00:01:34]:
And New Jersey. You know this what I’m talking about.

Caitlin [00:01:37]:
Oh, yeah. I’m talking about. Exactly. Yeah. And so about 18 years ago, I moved to Arizona and I’ve been here ever since, but I have traveled quite a bit throughout the United States. So now I’ve been to I believe it’s 34 states now.

Seth [00:01:53]:
Running. That’s a lot.

Caitlin [00:01:54]:
And so I’m trying to I’m trying to hit the 50, you know? Why why not Why not know what you already have?

Seth [00:01:58]:
Are hard to get to. 2 are hard to get to. I

Caitlin [00:02:00]:
mean Yes.

Seth [00:02:00]:
Well, actually, 1, you can still drive. Well, can you drive down actually, I don’t think you can drive to Alaska, actually. There’s no direct road, I think. I think that’s one of the things that’s because it’s it’s the US through Canada, but there’s no road that goes through Canada to Alaska. Think you still have to go by boat or plane.

Caitlin [00:02:18]:
That’s weird. Yes. I’ve been to Hawaii, but not a lot

Seth [00:02:21]:
of times. Oh, that is to go one of the hard ones out of the way.

Caitlin [00:02:24]:
Yes. Yes. So I started my entrepreneurial journey back in 2016 officially is when I started my business.

Seth [00:02:32]:
There’s always the official. The IRS knows about you. Yes. Next time.

Caitlin [00:02:37]:
Absolutely. So I, you know number. Give back To the government, you know, is what I like to say. I appreciate it. Yeah. But I actually We graduated in 2013 with my BFA, Fine Arts and Graphic Design.

Seth [00:02:54]:
Oh, so you actually have a degree in

Caitlin [00:02:56]:
I do.

Seth [00:02:56]:
I do. I’m a journalist by training, and I’m doing book designs. Like, what? Do

Caitlin [00:03:02]:
you actually

Seth [00:03:03]:
I wanted to do what you’re doing, which is awesome.

Caitlin [00:03:05]:
I did. So I grew everything in my life has always been about art. I grew up with art and my parents, you know, were supportive in Our own ways. So it was, the day you turn 18, you get a scholarship or join the military, but you can’t live here. So out of this house. Exactly. Yes. So I went ended up going to art school.

Caitlin [00:03:27]:
And I spent a few years in the industry, including when I was Going to school working in production centers, all women owned print shops. I’ve worked at consulting offices, and I’ve even worked at the Arizona Animal Welfare League on their marketing Apartment.

Seth [00:03:41]:
Oh, that’s fun. Cute animals to

Caitlin [00:03:43]:
play with. Yes. Yes.

Seth [00:03:45]:
And pictures of.

Caitlin [00:03:45]:
Yeah. I can take 1 hell of a dog headshot.

Seth [00:03:49]:
Oh, I just thought I’d throw my dog at, hey, smile. Yeah. That kind of thing.

Caitlin [00:03:52]:
You’re right. Right. So I did that. And then in the meantime, so 3 years after I graduated, I decided to start my own business. I always knew what I wanted to do. I’m kind of a weird duck like that. All it took was 1 1 1, class in Yearbook in high school, there it was. So I started out as a graphic designer and logo designer with some print services on the side, and then I expanded to a full on On branding and marketing agency.

Caitlin [00:04:19]:
It kinda

Seth [00:04:20]:
happens, doesn’t it? It just sort of like It does. Be like, shit. How do you manage all this stuff? Gonna take a quick break, hear from our sponsors, and get right back to the show.

Caitlin [00:04:29]:
Right. Entrepreneurship is a roller coaster. You just get to decide whether you love it or hate it. So

Seth [00:04:34]:
Exactly. Or somewhere in between sometimes. Absolutely.

Caitlin [00:04:38]:
And get used to the highs and get used to the lows and Figure out what to do in the meantime. But, you know, I love it. I’m a brand expert so that’s what I focus mainly on. I help people develop brands, develop taglines, and then I also designed the logo piece of that and then it kind of gives them, you know, just the tip of the iceberg and then it gives them the next step to website, Social media, SEO ads, and even copywriting. So we now offer all of those services.

Seth [00:05:07]:
Oh, wow.

Caitlin [00:05:08]:
But I haven’t changed did expand. Right. Right. And so I do 4 things. I speak, I do sales, I network, and I offer the highest level of branding. Oh. So that’s a full time job in itself.

Seth [00:05:22]:
Yeah.

Caitlin [00:05:22]:
So what we really like to do is I really like the personal relationship with my I have a mandatory interview that I always require to get to know you in the business. That way, we’re on the same page. Mhmm. And then, you know, you feel that you’re I’m at your at that point. You feel like you can talk to me. Nothing is held, you know, held back. We certainly don’t hold anything hostage. Our tagline is go Change the world in your own way.

Caitlin [00:05:48]:
So I wanna help you do that. And my version of that, I always say is I I can’t drive down the highway without redesigning a billboard. It’s Oh,

Seth [00:05:56]:
that’s gonna be difficult and dangerous too. Like, I gotta pull over. I’m like, oh,

Caitlin [00:06:01]:
you’re like, you’re

Seth [00:06:02]:
so pick the billboard.

Caitlin [00:06:04]:
Right. Right. I’m always like, you can’t Read that. That text is too small. It’s the worst. What does that mean? Like, the I think the what the the most well known one recently is where the parents put out The billboard about date my son and you can have this car. Do you remember that? Yeah. And so that’s actually a documentary or a movie now.

Seth [00:06:24]:
Oh, wow.

Caitlin [00:06:24]:
But but, really what I do is besides the logo development, I actually give workshops. We work with 2 kinds of businesses. We work with I go in and do social media workshops for a smaller business. Use they usually have someone doing it for them.

Seth [00:06:40]:
Yeah.

Caitlin [00:06:41]:
And so I go in, give them the right tools Do it, give them everything that we use to make this work on our end, and then they get to decide at the end whether they want to do it themselves or have us

Seth [00:06:50]:
You scared them enough. Just scared them and they’re like, oh, we can do

Caitlin [00:06:54]:
that now. It’s it’s an well, it’s a full time job in itself, you know, just having social media. And, you know, if you don’t like it, just, you know, my best advice is you can’t do it alone. Hire someone to help you.

Seth [00:07:07]:
Yeah.

Caitlin [00:07:07]:
But then the 2nd version of the The workshops I’ve been offering is actually go into institutions like banks. And I know that sounds weird, but Banks usually have an internal, I would say educational sort of department where they encourage their employees To attend workshops, so they bring in speakers.

Seth [00:07:28]:
Mhmm.

Caitlin [00:07:28]:
And so a thing that a bank would like is for me to come in and teach About personal branding and why you should have one say as a loan officer at a bank. Yeah. What kind of people do you want to work with? Who are you trying to work with? You know, they have people that walk in on a weekly basis. I’ll be honest. I’m not a weekly basis bank person, but they have those kinds of customers. Right? So if you can Yeah.

Seth [00:07:51]:
I can do that. I just I take pictures of my friend and and mobile deposit. Getting that bank because I bet that I might might might try to jump off a cliff.

Caitlin [00:07:59]:
Nothing personal. Right. No. No. I get it. And so that’s how most people feel. But when you have people coming in, say, during buying a house and they have to Secure alone, what kind, you know, maybe you’re working with a single mom, first time home buyer. Like, that’s very specific.

Caitlin [00:08:16]:
And so how do you develop a personal brand that makes people know that they should come to this bank exclusively then it makes look you look good, it makes the bank look good, and generally everyone’s making Money. So Yeah. I all mhmm.

Seth [00:08:29]:
That’s awesome. So that

Caitlin [00:08:29]:
is it. There we go.

Seth [00:08:31]:
Wow. And then you can’t you can’t you kinda breezed over this, but logos are not easy. Those are, like, the hardest thing out of all of that. You think, oh, it’s just a logo. It’s just a logo. Oh my god. Logos are are that’s so impossible to get done. Absolutely.

Seth [00:08:45]:
Either you look at them or you suck at them.

Caitlin [00:08:48]:
Well, the the funny story is that in college, They tell you that logo design is the hardest thing that you could possibly do in the industry. So naturally, I was like, challenge accepted. And that’s what we do today. But it takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of digging into the brand, but that’s why I have the interview I I had mentioned earlier, And that’s what make the visions come to life, and usually, it’s a pretty successful process.

Seth [00:09:15]:
I love it. That’s fantastic. So what is the best thing about being an entrepreneur in your mind versus being a cog at a bank or something?

Caitlin [00:09:24]:
There are so many things. Well, 1, I am doing what I love.

Seth [00:09:28]:
That’s

Caitlin [00:09:29]:
And I think that’s super important.

Seth [00:09:31]:
Yeah.

Caitlin [00:09:32]:
And I also, Yeah. Thank you. I also get to give back to the community. It’s one of our core values. So I do a lot of volunteering and I do everything on my own time. So my dog likes it because I work from home most of the time.

Seth [00:09:45]:
Exactly. So you can walk walk whenever you that’s what my dog loves. She loves it when I can just take her for a walk. She rings the bell, which I need to ring the bell when she wants to go out. She rings the bell when I come running. I I come running. So I was like,

Caitlin [00:09:57]:
That’s awesome.

Seth [00:09:59]:
Isn’t that it’s awesome till she abuses the privilege. When she sees one of her friends outside and she rings the bell, I’m like, you just went out. We just went out.

Caitlin [00:10:08]:
Liz, did you get it? Like, is the next step the buttons where they get to say, like, I’m hungry and

Seth [00:10:13]:
No. No, we’re not gonna give her that much ability. That’s what

Caitlin [00:10:17]:
Not that much freedom?

Seth [00:10:19]:
That’s a little nuts when they can start talking to you. I’m like, nah, I’ll go back to guessing. So what’s the one that looks like? What’s the what keeps you up at night? What’s the scariest thing about being an entrepreneur?

Caitlin [00:10:28]:
Oh, well, we talked a little bit about about the roller coaster, And having and having your own business, you know, there’s definitely a reason why I didn’t name it my name.

Seth [00:10:39]:
No.

Caitlin [00:10:39]:
But but All in all, I think it is how you decide to handle the the lows and handle the The valleys of business and how to maintain business full year round when maybe you know that your summer is a slow season. And, you know, I would say that I my answer used to be processes and systems.

Seth [00:11:06]:
Mhmm.

Caitlin [00:11:06]:
But again, I think if I have any advice to say What you can do, what they can do, what can be automated, you know, exactly what everyone’s responsibility is. You outsource the things that you don’t like To do because you have to do them either way. And then you still get to do yeah. You still get to do what you love.

Seth [00:11:25]:
I love that. That’s a great, that’s a great answer. So what is the most important thing to carry with you all the time? I love that. It can be metaphysical, We woo woo, it could be physical, it could be wherever you went wherever you wanna go with it. It’s the fun part.

Caitlin [00:11:38]:
Oh, man. Okay. So since I’m gonna pull the branding card on this one and say There are so many answers to this question, but have an it item in your wardrobe.

Seth [00:11:49]:
Oh, that’s that’s underrated, but definitely important. Have a have a have like the the Caitlyn Penny

Caitlin [00:11:55]:
look. Yes. Absolutely. So, I am known as the hat girl And I know that you don’t see me wearing a hat now, but I do have a hat wall and I wear hats at every single networking group there is and the fun hats. Oh, yeah. Always. Always.

Seth [00:12:10]:
There’s not just personal caps. All kinds of fun hats.

Caitlin [00:12:12]:
Yes. And it’s a conversation starter. It’s also I mean, I’ve basically become a landmark because people know that they’re in the right spot because they found the the Hat Girl.

Seth [00:12:23]:
Hat Girl. Hat Girl, new new new superhero movie, The Hat Girl.

Caitlin [00:12:27]:
Yes. Yes. Okay. Well, I’ll take it. But Oh, yeah. It’s a great way To break the ice if you’re at a networking group and you’re not so comfortable with it. It’s also a way to make your brand stand stand out. So aside from the hat thing, you know, I always I’m very well known for my blazers.

Caitlin [00:12:44]:
And Blazers and hats.

Seth [00:12:46]:
Okay. There we go. Mhmm.

Caitlin [00:12:48]:
And then something is always copper. Now, I don’t know if you’re listening to this on a podcast or watching this video, but, I have copper nails, I have copper hair, and I’m actually wearing a copper skirt. So Oh. You’re you’re on brand. Always. Always on brand. Yes. And a cover watch.

Seth [00:13:06]:
Oh, wow. You really like copper that one. You didn’t name the company copper theory. So

Caitlin [00:13:10]:
Well, my last name is Penny.

Seth [00:13:13]:
Oh, duh. Oh, I’m gonna get, oh my God. I’m gonna get that. Oh my God.

Caitlin [00:13:19]:
You’d be surprised. We’re actually well, don’t feel bad though because a lot of people say the same thing.

Seth [00:13:25]:
No. Because I think pen I think Penny in the ways of a name, I think it’s a name, like Like Penny, like, it was that in Spit or Gadgets, niece, Penny?

Caitlin [00:13:34]:
Yes. Yes. Since a lot

Seth [00:13:35]:
of people in dog space. Nice coins.

Caitlin [00:13:38]:
Yes.

Seth [00:13:38]:
Makes sense. It’s copper. Copper. Copper.

Caitlin [00:13:41]:
Yeah. Well, I live in

Seth [00:13:42]:
New Jersey. Glasses too. So

Caitlin [00:13:44]:
Yeah. Yes. Yes. Copper and blue. And my other brand color is maybe blue. So I’m all I’m all about that. Yeah. Yeah.

Caitlin [00:13:52]:
And so, you know, I my last name is Penny, And I did not want to name it penny because everyone thought they were getting a discount or getting something for free.

Seth [00:14:00]:
That’s a good point. Yeah. Pennies are kind of the most annoying coins out there

Caitlin [00:14:07]:
And you know there’s a lot that goes into the I mean, I’m all again branding, but I decided to go with Copper because I also live in the Copper State. It’s one of our 4 g’s. And I feel like I have a leg up that everyone if, you know, anybody else’s named Copper State something.

Seth [00:14:22]:
But

Caitlin [00:14:22]:
I win because it’s my last name.

Seth [00:14:25]:
You know how it works out in ITX. I mean, your copper state something or, like, copper state we’re Quaker state because Pennsylvania is the Quaker State.

Caitlin [00:14:33]:
Absolutely. Yes. And I also motor oil,

Seth [00:14:36]:
all that stuff. I always wondered when I was growing up. I’m like, why is it called Quaker State? And I was driving down the road one day. I was, oh, I get it. It just takes me a while sometimes.

Caitlin [00:14:45]:
That’s okay. I mean there’s always a good explanation behind behind a brand and copper is also a very versatile element. So it’s used in fashion, wiring, construction, penny pennies. And so I always like to say, if you take a penny and add it to something of value, you create change.

Seth [00:15:08]:
I like that.

Caitlin [00:15:09]:
I like that. I like that.

Seth [00:15:10]:
You do make change. I like that. And you make change.

Caitlin [00:15:13]:
Mhmm.

Seth [00:15:14]:
Oh, double entendre. I like that a lot.

Caitlin [00:15:16]:
Yes. You’ve

Seth [00:15:17]:
probably got this before.

Caitlin [00:15:19]:
I have. I have. I can get real into it. There’s a whole other story behind it. Periodic elements and

Seth [00:15:24]:
Oh, wow. You’re really geeky in it. I love that.

Caitlin [00:15:26]:
Yeah. Yeah.

Seth [00:15:28]:
Well, I mean, you gotta love it. I mean, your last name is Penny. You’ve kind of given it. So you kind of so you kind of were born with a brand.

Caitlin [00:15:35]:
Absolutely. I’ll take it. Thank you. Cool. I like that.

Seth [00:15:39]:
That’s so much fun. And so where can people where do you hang out online the most? Like, where do we start the order hall?

Caitlin [00:15:46]:
Well, I’m all over because, you know, I might as I can’t talk the game and not walk the game. So Mhmm. Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram. I know that you’re gonna drop the links in the bottom of this. Yeah.

Seth [00:15:59]:
Yeah. I mean, y’all have to rattle them off because people are like, don’t swerve off the road to write these down.

Caitlin [00:16:03]:
There’ll be no shit. Right. Don’t write them down. There’s a link For everything.

Seth [00:16:07]:
Yeah.

Caitlin [00:16:07]:
And better yet, there’s probably a QR code for everything. So

Seth [00:16:11]:
Oh, yeah. QR codes are just making a comeback.

Caitlin [00:16:13]:
Ever since the

Seth [00:16:13]:
pandemic, I thought we’d make a comeback, and people are getting freer with them.

Caitlin [00:16:16]:
So Absolutely. I I remember before the pandemic, I was like, QR codes are going to die.

Seth [00:16:22]:
I think they’re ugly. And then now you can make now you can make them cute. Now you can actually make them, like, you you can there’s a certain threshold Mhmm. Of their ability you can put in it before it gets ruined. And so I used to do it manually. I used to, like, test them and do them in Photoshop, Get a QR code and then figure out how to put the logo on it and see how much of the of the QR code I could get rid of.

Caitlin [00:16:45]:
You can get rid of.

Seth [00:16:47]:
It’s so fun. And then now those programs just tape you a thing in, it goes like, doink. It’s like

Caitlin [00:16:52]:
Yep. Like, really

Seth [00:16:54]:
now that now they’re not even squares. They’re like Squiggles, you know, squiggly QR code.

Caitlin [00:16:59]:
Oh, yeah. Yeah. You can dress them up real quick nowadays.

Seth [00:17:03]:
It’s fun. We can go away. We can go into the QR podcast soon.

Caitlin [00:17:07]:
Right? Okay. This has been

Seth [00:17:10]:
so much Finally, I just I’d like I’d like to keep these things around 15, 16 minutes because, you know, everyone’s busy. You gotta go brand something, I’m sure.

Caitlin [00:17:18]:
Yes. Yes. I have lots of work to do.

Seth [00:17:20]:
Lots of work to do. But, you know, thank you so much for taking the time. I know because wait. It’s it’s early and late morning for you, because you’re in a proper state. And you know what you’re saying at the same time, so you don’t have to suffer.

Caitlin [00:17:32]:
No. We don’t do any of that.

Seth [00:17:33]:
You know what

Caitlin [00:17:34]:
I mean? Out. And we’re like,

Seth [00:17:36]:
you lost now, or you lost now, or we didn’t do anything.

Caitlin [00:17:40]:
There’s 1 hour, on a year that Everybody shows up late to their meetings.

Seth [00:17:44]:
Oh, yeah. Because aren’t you sometimes at the Pacific Coast Mountain. Right?

Caitlin [00:17:47]:
Yep. Yep.

Seth [00:17:49]:
You know, like, wait. Oh, it’s that day.

Caitlin [00:17:52]:
Yep. Yep.

Seth [00:17:53]:
It’s that day.

Caitlin [00:17:55]:
That’s funny.

Seth [00:17:56]:
Well, Caitlin, thank you so much for making the time to be on the show, and we’ll see everyone next time. That was a great show. If you’re enjoying Entrepreneur’s Enigma, please view us in the podcast directory of your choice. Every review helps other podcast listeners find our show. If you’re looking for other podcasts in the marketing space, look no further than the marketing podcast network at marketing past.net. Goldstein hopes you have enjoyed this episode.