Natalie Lambert is the founder of Savoir Faire Media, a creative branding and multi-media agency. She sat down with us to talk about her company, her vision and her passion for helping mid-sized companies realize their potential.

Tell us a little about yourself and your company. Who is Natalie Lambert, what does Savoir Faire do?
I have been married to my best friend for 11 years, and we have two wonderful and wild girls. You can expect to find our car, house, or backyard full of neighborhood children at any given time on the weekends. I love to read, and you can be sure there is an audio-book playing whenever I design. I love all things mid-century modern and retro, and it definitely shows in some of our best designs. My escape is watching movies, which is rare, but a treat when I can find some time to myself, and it is not uncommon for me to watch a favorite over and over again and still enjoy it immensely. I am a self-confessed email and Facebook addict, but awareness is the first step, right?

My background has always been in technology, with a focus on project management and marketing. Six years ago, I decided to take my experience and drive in helping small businesses, coupled with my passion and love for graphic and web design and created a boutique design and media firm. I am so inspired by new businesses with great ideas, amazing talents but no real idea or tangible direction on how to bring their concept to fruition. Giving them confidence and building on their excitement, but creating a print and online presence that reflects who they are and what they want to convey is such an amazing feeling!

What are the benefits of an all-women company?
I think there is a strong camaraderie between the designers and myself. We are mothers, students, artists, wives and friends. We share our varied tastes and styles to inspire each other, our candid opinions, and even our creative blocks at times to vent to each other. Th ere is also something that bonds us completely, which is the concept of women helping women. We do have a respectable base of male clients, but we love helping women take their talents and find a way to make revenue from it, and do something permanent with something that they are passionate about.

We also connect women business owners with each other as oft en as we can. By introducing service providers to each other, we have a large network of women helping to mentor other businesses that are outside of their markets, utilizing each other for services and collectively paying it forward.

You also do a lot of work for non-profits. What is the inspiration behind that?
Aft er being raised in foster care, I have a need and perpetual inner calling to give back. I think back to the countless generous people who provided me with opportunities and support growing up, and it really inspires me. I have always had a strong desire to help people, and lend a helping hand to young adults especially, or those who are the most in need. It's not all monetary, as sometimes the most profound impact you can have on an individual is your time, your talents, your advice, your approval, and your guidance. I think it has made me a much better person and makes me proud that my children see this and will hopefully follow in my footsteps of helping people themselves. You are never too young to start reaching out to people.

I started a scholarship for young women entrepreneurs 25 years and under last year, and since that time, have donated nearly $10,000 worth of business tools and training to give savvy young women with great ideas and potential a kick start in both life and business. I adopted my oldest daughter, and provide support to families considering adoption, and I currently serve on the board of several child advocacy organizations.

How does Savoir Faire help companies that are struggling in this market?
One of the biggest areas of improvement we can do for a business is reviewing their processes and efficiencies. I hear so oft en that our clients want to generate more interest in their services, but in doing research and testing their response, find that many of them don’t respond timely to inquiries, don’t develop a followup strategy to stay in contact with potential clients, don’t have a presentation for their pricing and solutions, or don't take each appointment or consultation as an adhoc approach.

We also focus on the strongest parts of their businesses and making those better. You can’t be all things to all people, so oft en having a business work on strengthening their core competency and what they do best allows them to grow that niche of their offering and have more quality results and thus build loyalty and repeat business.

We tell them to focus on the small things they can do every day to make their business better. Th is approach keeps owners from being overwhelmed and discouraged, and they can see tangible improvements a little at a time.

What are your plans for the future?
In the future, I am hoping to really be a huge force in the small business design arena for companies that aren’t afraid to be different, have fun in their advertising, and are willing to make some changes for the better to go to the next level in their market. I am hoping to expand our scholarship, mentor and internship programs for women in technology and design and bring in other partners with Synergy to enhance our offerings. The biggest plans we have at this time are not necessarily growing the volume of clients and designers, but enhancing our portfolio with cutting edge multimedia, mobility and collaboration solutions to make what we do and what we sell better.