Member Profile
Name: Cathy Rehn Vella
Company: BlackBird Graphics, Ltd.
Web site: www.2graphicdesigners.com
E-mail address: 2blkbrds@raex.com
Founded: February, 1999
Elevator Speech: We give our clients the "Big Studio Look" without the "Big Studio Pricetag."
What do you like most about being a business owner: Freedom to be really creative, as I give my clients unique, eye-catching graphics and illustrations. I love hearing the word "Wow"! attached to the work I develop.
What do you like most about having a home office: Working at home helps to keep my overhead low, thus my clients benefit with lower prices. I enjoy the comfort and convenience of being able to work late into the night and knowing that I can leave my office, go down the hall and crawl into bed. I like taking a short break and walking next door to see my horse - or, for that matter, opening my office door and letting in my five dogs.
Advice to anyone who is considering starting a home-based business: Complete a business plan. Know who you want to sell to and what your core business is. A very wise friend taught me: "People don't plan to fail, people just fail to plan"
Biggest business mistake: I neglected my core graphic business when I went after different type of graphic service.
COSE Member Since: 1999
What do you like most about being a COSE member: COSE trade show and the Health Insurance
Have you been active with COSE? In what capacity: Participation in their business trade show
What two or three personal characteristics are most critical to your success: Service & Quality - I treat each client as if they were my only client. Responsiveness & tenacity: BlackBird Graphics is like an on-call graphic department - 24/7
Advice that you try to live by: Never miss a deadline and be proud of what you create. Make every client special and unique.
Favorite color: Teal
Favorite hobbies: Ride horses, train and show dogs, travel
Favorite cuisine: Italian
Favorite movie: Marnie
Favorite album: Josh Groban - Live
Favorite TV show: "Investigative Reporting"
What is one thing that is on your to do list that you would love to check off: Land a big corporate account
If there was one more hour in the day you would: Draw more animal portraits
If you could interview one person, who would it be: Abraham Lincoln
If you could have met just one person before they died, who would it have been: My great aunt in Germany
Country you wish to visit most: Germany
Most influential person in your life: My mother: artist and RN
Biggest achievement: Running BlackBird Graphics, Ltd.
Grandest wish: To see BlackBird Graphic, Ltd. succeed
What you can't live without: Freedom
Past Member Profiles:
May 2006 - Jeanne Coughlin, President, The Coughlin Group, Inc.
June 2006 - Matthew J. Doyle, President, eHC Central
August 2006 - Cheryl Palmentera, President, C R Alpacas, Inc
September 2006 - Kristy Amy, President, OnMark Solutions
November 2006 - Cheryl Grassi, We'll Remember Co., Inc.
December 2006 - Winthrop DeFreitas, Tropic Speed Computers, LLC
January 2007 - Steven J. Krisfalusy, SJK Beringer Group, Inc.
May 2007 - Mark Hannah, Full Color Resources
How would you like to get your company name in front of thousands of COSE members by simply filling out a profile? The Home-Based Business Network is currently looking for members to feature in the COSE Update that is sent to 20,000 companies, the network’s monthly e-newsletter that is emailed to a few thousand businesses, and on the network Web site. We want to hear about you!
Please click here and answer the member profile questions, or contact Colleen Beard at: cbeard@cose.org or 216-592-2281.
After you have completed the form and clicked “submit,” you will also need to send an e-mail with a personal photo (professional quality head shot preferred and in photo format – a “gif” or “jpeg”) and your contact information (name, e-mail and phone) for your profile to be considered for inclusion in the COSE Home-Based Business e-newsletter and cosehome.org
Send this information to: cbeard@gcpartnership.com . Make sure that you include your name and “COSE Member Profile” in the subject line of the e-mail. There is no guarantee that your profile will be published, but if it is chosen, you will be contacted ahead of time. Thank you so much for your time!
If you should have any questions on this process, do not hesitate to contact:
Colleen Beard
cbeard@gcpartnership.com
216-592-2281 | 
