Meet Kristen Lem | Writer & Web Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kristen Lem and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kristen, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I am probably the most calculated risk taker I know. Like many people, I am afraid of it. But also, like most people I’ve experienced big rewards from big risks. I view risk as 50% preparation and 50% self-awareness. Preparation is the easy part to define. A risk can feel less scary if you plan for as many known variables as possible. Of course, there’s always going to be unexpected obstacles and you will without a doubt learn to navigate them. But the other half of this process that’s been the most helpful is knowing myself. What I mean by that is knowing myself enough to say how stressful a particular risk is going to be on me, and how much will that stress hinder me from executing my plan. For example, when I started my business I knew I needed to be at 100% in order to do this well. For me, this meant making sure certain needs were taken care of – rent, food, utilities, etc. That’s why before I left my full-time job to start my own business, I saved up enough money to account for these necessities, allowing me to operate at full speed in this new endeavor. I knew that worrying about these things would stress me out too much, preventing me from pursuing things full force. I used to beat myself up over being so cautious, but once I accepted this about myself, I was able to really move forward and succeed.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I would say there is creativity in both my writing and web design professions. On both ends, the thing that sets me apart is a cheekiness, cleverness, rythym, and color. I am not the gal who is going to make you something really minimal, sophisticated, and elegant. There was a time where I wished that was more my style, but I learned that embracing my own voice is really the way to go. When I started to do that, I naturally attracted the right clientele for my skill set. I got to do what was authentic and the clients who wanted that would pay me for it. It was a win-win. I got to this place though by taking all kinds of gigs. Through work experience, I got better at what I do and started to solidify my style. And they weren’t all Pulitzer Price worthy jobs. But that’s how I got good. I know some people will fight me on this and prefer to only work on things that speak to them personally. But for me, I would say it’s the jobs that did NOT resonate with me that taught me 1) I can still do good work even if I don’t “like” it and 2) it taught me what was NOT my style. I really believe the simple piece of advice: “if you want to be a writer, you have to write.” This applies to any profession. In this way, the process was “easy” so to speak. I just like to write and create. So whatever job you put in front of me, to some degree, I am going to like it because I simply like the process. I am not committed to the end goal necessarily.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
WOW, so many things to choose from. I’m going to answer this pre-COVID since we are dreaming here. I would take my friend for pre-dinner drinks on the Perch rooftop in DTLA. Then we’d do something very un-LA and eat a bunch of carbs at either Maccheroni Republic or Farfalla in Los Feliz. After that we’d catch some late-night indie comedy – like the last show so we could hang out and chat. And then lastly we’d cap off the night at the Wii Spa in Koreatown, maybe watch the sunrise on the rooftop there.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Without a doubt my business partner, Arlene. We met at a drawing class years ago and I swear I felt like I knew even back then that I was going to know her forever. Over the years, we’ve started (and closed) a business together, collaborated on numerous projects, as well as started a new business – VoeWE, our creative branding and web design agency. Weekly we have accountability calls where we talk about our wins and losses both personally and professionally (isn’t all the same anymore?). I can say I knew Arlene would be in my life for a long time, but I could not tell you I’d be sharing the details of my life with her every Monday at 9:30am! It’s funny how we make and execute all these plans, but sometimes it’s the most random situations that carry the most reward.

Website: https://www.kristenlem.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristenlem_/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristen-lem-b5b11039
Twitter: https://twitter.com/haikubebe
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kristen.lem.9
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/kristen-lem-writing-and-design-bronx-4

Image Credits
Melissa Kobe Lavish Pasadena Molly Ha