Angela Bryant: 0:08

Welcome, I'm Angela Bryant, and you're listening to The Angel Rated Show, where we have inspiring conversations with the people behind the products and services most often used by online business owners. On the show, you'll hear how their personal beliefs and values have influenced their businesses. If you're an online entrepreneur who wants to know about the integrity and impact of the businesses you're buying from, then this is the show for you. Hello, and welcome to this episode of The Angel Rated Show. I'm Angela Bryant and with me today, I have Michelle Pontvert. Michelle is a branding and website designer with 12 years of design experience specializing in working with mother and baby businesses. So Michelle lives with her husband. And what I'm told is an adorable two year old in Paris, very far from her native Australia or her adoptive homeland of America. And she balances serving her clients and being a hands on mom. So welcome, Michelle,

Michelle Pontvert: 1:08

Thank you so much for having me.

Angela Bryant: 1:10

No, it's great to have you here. Do you want to just start by telling us your story, I guess about how you ended up doing what you're doing now and where you are now.

Michelle Pontvert: 1:20

Sure. So in school, I wasn't traditionally great at the, you know, science and maths. But I always loved being creative. And I really like problem solving. So I ended up doing studies in film and theater and ended up getting an MFA a master's in film for set design. And I had, you know, stars in my eyes, I lived in Hollywood at the time, and I worked on TV sets and film sets. And it was really exciting. But I had kind of a year or two in and I had this moment of pause, where I saw all these women who I admired with Oscars and Emmys and doing this amazing work with lives I didn't want. And I saw that they had broken homes or you know, weren't very close to their kids. And I just couldn't rectify that feeling of this being off in in me. So my husband's visa was running out. And we weren't quite married yet. But we met in film school, he's French and his visa was running up. And we decided to just take the leap and move to France. This is six years ago now. And I didn't really know what I was going to do with life. At that point, I just knew that film, wasn't it that I wasn't going to be able to be a really hands on parent the way I wanted to be when kids did eventually show up. And I kind of set upon this journey to figure out what I wanted to do with myself and what I wanted to contribute to the world. And I worked for a couple of small businesses in Paris, which really taught me a lot about customer service about, you know, helping small businesses with marketing, and ended up working on their websites quite a lot, which I adored. And so when I was let go during my maternity leave, I had another moment of pause. And I was sort of at this Crossroads again, like Okay, do I go and find yet another job? Or do I try and make something for myself. And so I took some time, I took a bootcamp in user experience design and started retraining myself really how to make websites properly the way that they need to be made to work for businesses. And I launched my own little business, and I decided to specialize in working with parents and baby businesses. Because I had had a very tough time during my pregnancy and postpartum with my son, I actually had a lifelong medical phobia which made pregnancy kind of my Everest to overcome. And I just really couldn't find the right support for a long time to get through that fear and the decision to become pregnant. I was like, Okay, I need to fix this, I did eventually find some really great support. But postpartum I really struggled to find people, and I spent like hours a day of night googling who to help me with, you know, latch issues and his sleep problems and all sorts of like little odds and ends. And it just kept hitting me that this shouldn't be that hard. There's so many resources out there. There's so many people with, you know, amazing services and products, resources, things out there to help and it was harder than it should be to find them. So when I decided I wanted to work on websites, I was like what is better than trying to help these awesome businesses, be found by parents who are struggling like I was and trying to kind of help them be where everyone's looking these days, which is online.

Angela Bryant: 4:56

What an amazing journey. I yeah, So that I can, I mean, not so much for being a parent side. But the that idea of just being in an industry that has that glitz and glamour associated with it. And then I love that phrase about taking a pause and just having that time to rethink and yeah, change direction. And yeah, what you've just shared about those fears and overcoming it is, I can imagine exactly parents going through that and googling late at night and desperately trying to find the information you want to help you.

Michelle Pontvert: 5:31

It's amazingly hard to get your head straight, when you are tired and stressed. And you just need help. And you're really at your most vulnerable, I think in those early early days. And it it's a shame because we have generations of parents out there who have the information we need and love the idea of helping it be found more easily

Angela Bryant: 5:52

and really easy to consume. Because that thing about user experience, then is going to be even more important for people who are Yeah, tired or stressed or

Michelle Pontvert: 6:01

Looking on the phone holding a baby half asleep.

Angela Bryant: 6:04

Yeah absolutely. So yeah, I mean, that really explains that the background and the why behind what you're doing. So where do you see your where do you see this business heading? Is this what you want to be doing longer term is it you know, if you've got plans for it five years down the line.

Michelle Pontvert: 6:21

And I think I always want to keep the focus really clear for myself, which is I'm building something so that I can build the life I want with my son, my family. So I always want to keep that in the forefront. And I think the further I go, the more I'd like to be able to focus on really supporting those really lovely clients who want to have that same goal to have happy home happy business. And I think just really trying to hone in on working only with those, like dreamy, perfect clients would be amazing. And maybe down the line expanding and having a couple of other designers under my wing would be would be lovely.

Angela Bryant: 7:01

So tell us about the sort of values in your business, you've obviously they're very strong, and I'm sure they're all going to be linked to everything you've said, but what what underpins how you approach business? Yeah,

Michelle Pontvert: 7:14

so I really believe in empathy as we work on things, particularly when they are around something so sensitive as new parents and new children and family. And I think it's a huge part of creating successful design as well, that really taking a moment to understand the other people in the equation and the other people in our interactions can have such a hugely beneficial impact on the results that we come up with. So I really believe in websites being for the consumer and not for the business of my process, working with clients really being about serving them the best way I can. And just having that sense of putting myself in other people's shoes and helping my clients do that as well.

Angela Bryant: 8:02

I love it. I love it. So what what are the Yeah, what are your What are your biggest challenges at the moment?

Michelle Pontvert: 8:10

I think because I am quite a high achieving person being strict with myself to not overdo the work side. It's so exciting and compelling to work on these websites and it's so fun. But I really want to remain true to the point of this business which is to spend time with my family and make sure I'm clear with my boundaries. So I think that's something I will probably always have to keep reminding myself about but it is core to why this is here. So

Angela Bryant: 8:41

and that probably rings true for people who are your ideal clients as well. It's getting those that that balance right because yeah, for anyone who's got children and wants to keep that focus on family as well as on earning money and yeah, balancing all those different things. So tell us something about what keeps you awake at night. These days, my son but apart from him from him have passions or causes that you care about.

Michelle Pontvert: 9:11

Yeah, I I really feel like the the world we live in today is something I'm I mean Coronavirus is a horrible experience. But I've been so touched to see how much it's opened up the world to be more global. And I just am so happy. I've grown up in an incredibly global way. I moved I think 19 times before I left home and I've got four passports like I'm, I'm so used to being a member of this global society. And it's been incredibly exciting to see everybody else kind of catch on. And I just really hope it doesn't go away when, quote unquote life returns to normal. I just have been so thrilled to be able to connect with people all over the world and just see that like we're all people we all struggle with the same things and we all I can kind of help each other in our own unique ways. So I really hope that sticks around. I think it's been amazing, even though the circumstances that brought it apart, less than amazing.

Angela Bryant: 10:12

I mean, that says a lot about your sort of worldview and how you how you approach things and how you see things. Are there any causes that you've feel particularly strongly about?

Michelle Pontvert: 10:23

I do have a very soft spot for trying to be conscious of our environment of thinking sustainably, and to try and think planet first, because obviously, I am also thinking of the planet, I'm leaving my son and his children and his children's children. And I think it's our responsibility to not leave it worse than we got it. So any efforts we can make there? It's always something I try and do in my home. But I also love to help bring others along with me if I can

Angela Bryant: 10:58

Yeah, no really important. Definitely. And any other, I guess, principles or beliefs or things that you live your life by that you'd like to share?

Michelle Pontvert: 11:09

Yeah, I think it probably goes along with the empathy thing. But I think being compassionate to other people's situations, you know, we can get a little locked in in our worldviews. And I've been as guilty of that as others. And I've really tried to practice just being open minded about where other people are coming from and their experiences and their struggles. And you know, that there's, I think, good in everyone. So even if we don't agree, I think we can still get along. And that's something I really try and keep at the forefront of how I operate in this world.

Angela Bryant: 11:43

And including in your business is very much so. Very good. So tell us something about how you, I mean, you talked about looking at user experience, design and those sort of things. So tell us about how you keep learning in your business.

Michelle Pontvert: 12:00

Oh, my gosh, I am addicted to learning. I think that it's something that can never end. And it's so funny, I really hated traditional school. And I only started to love learning once I got into higher education, and it is just exploded. Since then. I think maybe it's the fact like the I was about to say a French word, the way that the way that we learn is it's so much more immersive and things like I hated French in school. But actually being here and learning it in the environment in the context has been much easier and much more enjoyable. And I think so much of the way I learn is experiential, and being able to just be in something and get my hands messy and you know, really dig into it do it myself has been great. And I think figuring out how you learn can really unlock how to make it exciting and work for you and something I hope to be able to pass on to my son because I really did hate school. And now it's like my favorite thing to learn. I think no one's past that point of no redemption, we can all love learning if you just find the way that works for you. Because our brains are all different. And we need to just learn how to feed them the way they want to be fed.

Angela Bryant: 13:18

Absolutely. And I think that that comes with websites with online courses and everything people teach in so many different ways. And you really need to understand your own learning style to know what style is going to work for you to gather that information that's going to work.

Michelle Pontvert: 13:33

Yeah, and that makes sense to with the way that we structure our websites, when we're looking at certain types of audiences, we want to make sure it's in the way that they can consume what you have to offer best. So it's really again about empathy and compassion and like understanding who this is for and what they need you to be able to provide for them to really get the most out of it.

Angela Bryant: 13:55

Is there something you wish you'd known when you were first starting out in business that you could share.

Michelle Pontvert: 14:02

I think marketing is always something that's bigger than you think it will be. And I'm learning to find the parts of it that I like best. And I think it's always going to be a process. But I was a bit surprised by how much of my energy goes into marketing and finding that right fit of how to put my business out into the world. I don't think I'd do anything differently. But I think it would have been less of a shock to realize it is just like a lot of the work we do as small businesses.

Angela Bryant: 14:35

Yeah, it's a it's a massive amount is just is is sharing and talking about what you're doing and I don't think appreciate quite how much goes into it from that point of view. Yeah, so you talked a bit about your your this sort of view about being a global citizen and the fact you've moved around a lot. Tell us a bit about your life as an expat where you've been where you've lived, how these different countries compare.

Michelle Pontvert: 15:00

Yes, so I was born in Australia. And I say I'm Australian, because that's where I'm born. But I've never felt that connected to any one particular culture. My dad is British, he moved as a teenager to Australia. And I think my parents just have like the travel bug. So we moved a ton growing up for them to experience the world, we lived in Africa for a little bit, we moved to England, for my mom to give birth because we, Africa when she was pregnant, we moved to California back to Australia and sort of hopped around. And I think the sort of main anchors for me culturally have been Australia and America. And those are the places that I think have formed most of who I am. But I do have a strong cultural ties to England. And that experience, because I have so much family over there, and my dad is British. And I think they're also similar, and they're also different. And I think it's, it's been such a strange experience now being quote, unquote, truly an outsider in France, you know, I don't speak the language. I am not from here. But every time I've lived in one of these other cultures where I speak English, and I should integrate, I've oddly felt even more foreign than I do here. Because you're meant to fit in, like, as an Australian with the accent I have moving to America, I was meant to be fine, because we're used to that. And we speak English. And everything is, you know, familiar ish. And yet, that was so much more of a jarring experience to get used to then here, I was expecting to be different. And I was expecting people to trip up on my accent. And, oddly, that was like, a really lovely experience to be like, Oh, they recognize our foreign that's great.

Angela Bryant: 16:41

It's really it's very much about managing expectations, isn't it and the expectation versus reality and not quite lining up. So how are you finding it in France?

Michelle Pontvert: 16:52

I love it here. I I, I don't think there's any way perfect. But I do think there is something to be said about the lifestyle here that there is a cultural respect for lifestyle. And I really resonate with that, that there is time for family and that that is respected. And that taking time to slow down is important. And growing up in these slightly more Americanized ways. It's it's been something to shake off. But I've been really happy to, to make that kind of effort and try and enjoy life a little bit more. And I mean, I can't say anything about the food. It's amazing. I won't complain about that either.

Angela Bryant: 17:33

No, definitely not. So if you picked up any new hobbies or anything else over in France,

Michelle Pontvert: 17:39

I have it's got nothing to do with France. But I became an avid knitter since I moved here. I love creating and doing things with my hands. And I think it was my mom who just suggested that when we first moved in, I didn't know anyone that didn't speak any French yet. And I have knitted like 20 sweaters and I just love it. It's so kinetic and creative. So oddly enough, being in France is really associated with knitting.

Angela Bryant: 18:05

And I think it's one of those hobbies that so many people took up during locked. I know I did during lockdown. It was like, I need to do something where I'm not staring at my screen where I'm doing, you know, I'm sharing my screen all day, every day for social events for everything I need to a hobby where I'm not looking at screens, I think

Michelle Pontvert: 18:22

And you can see your progress, which is really rewarding.

Angela Bryant: 18:25

Yeah, fantastic. So is there anything else you'd like to share with listeners about who you are your beliefs, your values, anything else about your business?

Michelle Pontvert: 18:33

I mean, I think we covered a lot of it, I really do. I value being able to engage with people who are open to engaging and really sharing and I come into this world of business very open. And I really respect other people who do that, too. And it can be a bit scary to be open in the online world. But I'm, I'm going into all of this with faith that you know, being open and hopefully as considerate and kind as I can be, I'll be met with that in return. And I want to encourage anyone else who's feeling a bit nervous about putting themselves out there to also just, you know, trust that most people have good intentions and, and want the best.

Angela Bryant: 19:12

Absolutely. I've definitely found the online world to be full of very loving, caring supportive people in the main absolutley.

Michelle Pontvert: 19:20

It has. Yeah, it's been really, really lovely to see and especially someone who's a bit nervous about it. It's really nice to see.

Angela Bryant: 19:27

Fantastic. So how can people follow you get hold of you. Tell us a bit more about your business?

Michelle Pontvert: 19:33

Well, obviously my website is my favorite place for people to come and hang out with me. So it's MichellePontvert.com Pontvert P O N T V E R T and that's always tricky for people. And I'm on Facebook and Instagram, same Michelle Pontvert and I do have a little free gift if anyone is with their website and feeling a little bit lost or what to do with it. So I've put together this DIY website guide to help you have a look at your website and do kind of an audit of it and figure out what's not working for it and fix it. So I've got a really easy to work through guide and a video walkthrough for those people who prefer a more visual walkthrough, different styles of learning to just help you kind of take a look at your site, figure out these top things to help it work a bit harder for you and get those going. So yeah, and that's at my website. So Michelle Pontvert dot com sla h DIY dash website dash audit.

Angela Bryant: 20:38

Fantastic. We will add those links to the show notes so everyone can find them. Because Yeah, that definitely sounds like something that would be incredibly useful for people. Well, thank you ever so much for joining us, Michelle. It's been lovely getting to know you and finding out a bit more about your your life and your business and what drives you. And yeah, just getting to know a bit more about you.

Michelle Pontvert: 20:59

It's been an absolute pleasure. Thank you so much for having me

Angela Bryant: 21:02

No, You're very elcome. So you can read the how notes from this episode here at Angel rated.com forward lash podcast. If you enjoyed his episode, I'd obviously love ou to subscribe to the show, nd to leave a review on your avorite podcast platform. And on't forget to share this pisode with all your online usiness friends. The Angel ated Show is brought to you by ngel Rated independent irectory and review site for ll the products courses and ervices used by online business wners. It's the best place to ind the perfect product for the ext stage of your business or ersonal growth. Learn more and ist your business free of harge at Angel rated.com