What does agency life look like from home? Reusser Design in Roanoke shares their story

As a small business owner in the tech industry, working from home is nothing new for us. In fact, Reusser Design emerged in a dorm-room 21 years ago, and the business operated without a designated office space for the first eight years of its existence, so flexibility has been ingrained in our model from the get-go.

That said, we’ve since put down roots in downtown Roanoke, and on a normal day, we enjoy working from our office.

The conference room at Reusser Design.

On a normal day…

It’s safe to say the days we’re living in during the COVID-19 pandemic are not the same normal we once knew. Our usual Monday morning team breakfasts have come to a halt. Taco Tuesdays are celebrated solo—that is, if restaurants are still open. And we no longer have anyone to yell, “Fresh pot!” to when there’s a hot pot of Counter Culture coffee ready to pour.

Many of the things that make our team tick have been put on hold—and that just covers the instances around our kitchen table! Brainstorming sessions in our “war room,” client workshops, and the general buzz of collaboration look completely different now, too. That said, these activities haven’t disappeared.

The "war room" for brainstorm sessions at Reusser Design.

As mentioned before, working from home in the tech industry has certain advantages that other businesses have probably had a harder time adapting to. We’re well-situated to conduct virtual workshops, share our screens to collaborate on projects, and use the same project management tools we’ve always used to keep projects moving forward. We consider ourselves incredibly fortunate and have expressed to the team how their willingness to fight for connectivity and collaboration during this time of social distancing is so beneficial. Because even though our projects are moving forward efficiently, we still miss each other.

The 21K messages in Slack can verify that our team genuinely likes one another. We’ve even started a new Slack channel to share updates on our quarantine adventures. Tommy’s illustrating Disney princesses on his daughter’s wall. Katie has officially embraced her cats as new coworkers. Jake has welcomed a new baby boy home, and Carly is buying all the plants she can find.

Digital strategists at Reusser Design.

Sharing these updates with the team has been a fun way to stay connected and build on the relationships we already had.

Because we’re a cross-functional team, the need for communication is even greater while we're working from home, as well. Our UX team collaborates daily with content strategists and web developers to ensure designs are meeting goals and staying within the technical scope of the project. Our digital strategists are connecting with the team’s project manager to allocate resources for various projects with design and development needs. We’re all, more than ever, trying to over-communicate goals and expectations. This has also left room for communicating team “wins” with morning shoutout sessions.

UX designers and web developers collaborate at Reusser Design.

For a little more context on what we do at Reusser Design, we’ve been in the web development and design industry for 21 years focused on crafting modern digital experiences with intuitive strategy to pull marketing efforts together. Our company culture, as you may have gleaned, is built heavily on relationships. We look at each project as a partnership with the opportunity to help clients succeed in a digital age. In more recent years, we’ve developed digital marketing packages to help clients secure leads, optimize their visibility, and maintain quality and consistency in their online reputation. To learn more about our services or see samples of our work, visit www.reusserdesign.com.

As we weather the impact of COVID-19 alongside other business owners in Northeast Indiana, we feel an overwhelming sense of pride in our community, our hardworking team, and the clients who choose to partner with us.

In a time of uncertainty, we’ve seen innovation, grit, and true hospitality. We look forward to sharing continued updates on how the pandemic is impacting our business and want to thank Input Fort Wayne for providing a platform to share.

This blog is part of an ongoing, weekly series in Input Fort Wayne, following local small business owners and nonprofit leaders as they navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. Read Reusser Design's blog next week by subscribing to our free weekly email newsletter.