Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Santacroce.
Lisa, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
In August 2014, I moved to Los Angeles from Garfield, New Jersey, which is a suburb of New York City. I had recently received my Master’s Degree in Counseling with a focus in Career Counseling and I knew I wanted to look for jobs in Los Angeles and move out west. While I didn’t move here for work, I ended up getting hired at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena in the Career and Professional Development Office as an Internship Specialist and Career Counselor. To be honest, I had never heard of the College before applying. And at the time, they didn’t have a ton of information on their website, but my strategy was just to apply to every job I was interested in and take my chances. What’s the worst that could happen? On my first day, which was literally three days after moving to LA, I was wildly surprised to learn that this was one of the top art and design colleges in the country.
Here, I got fully immersed in all areas of art and design and loved working with creatives. The students inspired me endlessly and after five years there, I was starting to think about my next move. I realized no other higher education institution could compare, so I felt called to leave higher ed and focus on helping creatives in a more hands-on role. That is how any + all came to be. I wanted to offer creative entrepreneurs and small businesses the extra admin support and organizational systems and processes that can help streamline their workflow, and essentially free up their time so they can focus on what they truly love to do. I realized that what I excel at is seeing people’s potential, helping them break down their larger creative vision into short and long term goals, and also being an extra pair of hands to actually work alongside them and help them execute their vision.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I just celebrated one year of working for myself, which is pretty surreal to say! It hasn’t always been easy, but thankfully, it has always worked out. In the beginning, I was really in the weeds of making sure the business side of my business was set up (bank accounts, accounting, the legal stuff, etc.) I felt like I got in my own way with some of those things because I wanted it to be perfect and clean from the start. I realized that while that’s important, you need to start doing the actual work first and then these other pieces fall into place as you start seeing how your business works in real life. I couldn’t anticipate the types of contracts or project management tools I’d need until I just dove in and started working.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have really steady clients who have come from me posting on Facebook, word of mouth, and reaching out to companies/individuals I really want to work with. Each time I wrapped up a project with a client, I’d get nervous about where the money would come from next, which is definitely one of the struggles of being self-employed. But thankfully, it has always worked out, and I attribute that to always having a strong belief in myself and the value I know I can offer creatives. I think being self-employed requires you to be bold, and whenever I come across a crossroads, I always think of that saying “leap and the net will appear.” So far it always has 🙂
Please tell us about Any + All.
Like many millennials, I’m a multi-hyphenate (or a slashie as some call it). I’m a productivity consultant – virtual assistant – project manager – web designer. I work with clients in a few ways:
1. As a Productivity Consultant, I offer packages to help individuals organize their lives and develop strong productivity habits and methods. We streamline their workflow and look at how they can maximize their time in a productive yet restful way. I view this as a holistic collaboration where we’re focusing on the individual’s work, life, health, hobbies, side hustles, etc.
2. The other services I offer are more hands-on, where I work alongside the client on a more ongoing basis. I take on the admin piece including emails, scheduling, etc. or act as a project manager to ensure all deadlines are met and work is being done efficiently.
3. I recently took a Squarespace Design Course from Ilovecreatives and it totally rocked my world! I’m now offering more web design services to clients as well and am super excited to flex my creative side.
I’d say the thing I’m most proud of is the number of people I’ve been able to help in such a short amount of time. Nothing brings me more joy than seeing how I’ve been able to alleviate stressors from someone’s life and see them realize they can have a true work/life balance. I’m also proud to see the types of projects that have come to life through great collaboration with clients and being able to celebrate with them at the end. It’s amazing to me that I’ve been able to collaborate with clients in Australia and Spain – I never would have imagined that in just one year, my work would expand outside the US and have an impact thousands of miles away.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Right now, I’m still getting comfortable in my new role and seeing how everything plays out. I’m finding out more about myself and the type of work I’m really passionate about doing so I may strip down some of my services and focus more on a few areas. As I mentioned, I’ve recently taken a Squarespace Web Design class and have fallen in love with designing websites so I’m planning on leaning into that area a bit more. I’m also further developing my Productivity Consulting packages as I think that’s an area a ton of people can benefit from. Once people figure out how to use their time in a way that works for them, their potential can really explode, and I’d love to be that catalyst.
Contact Info:
- Website: anyandall.xyz
- Email: lisasantacroce01@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/any__and__all/
Image Credit:
Maribel Barcena Lopez
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