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

Hi Hosanna, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
My life:work balance has changed a lot over time and over each phase of my life. In the beginning, like every new hustler I became obsessed with my work and for some reason I prided myself how busy I was, how little sleep I was getting, and how no matter how much work I was juggling I still said yes to every event and GNO I was invited too. I was starting to gain weight, missing fitness goals, and even struggling with heart palps from all the coffee I was consuming. The first adjustment I made was only accept projects that made a certain amount of profit. Then I stopped telling everybody how busy I was. I realized I was expecting this make believe trophy for jam packing my schedule. Instead of saying “Ugh I’m so busy today”, I started practicing gratitude for all the projects on my plate. Fast forwarding 3 years, I now know busy is not a badge of honor, I can’t give from an empty cup, and success comes from working smarter and not harder. Every day I focus on what I can control, which is my morning routine and my night routine. I don’t start my workday (I don’t even look at my phone) until my morning routine and eating breakfast is done. I am prioritizing sleep, training, and have even scheduled 2 days OFF a week. I use one of those days for grocery shopping, meal prepping, laundry, and personal errands. Oh … and turning notifications off and the DND option has been a game changer! Now I am currently working on projects to start generating passive income. The goal is to fully transition from self-employed to business owner. This will give me the most freedom to create life:work balance that my family will appreciate greatly.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I created iRull Designs to be a one-stop-shop for female entrepreneurs. I help them with logos, brand design, website design, personal brand photography, social media management and any marketing materials they may need. My passion for design started back in high school. I went to college to earn my AAS in Interactive Media and later my BFA in Visual Communications. At this point I no longer could see the world the same as design is everywhere! While I’m driving I can’t help but check out the design strategy of the billboards. When I’m out for dinner I simply can’t just look at a menu the same. I look at a sign and I get excited when I recognize which fonts was used. It’s something I simply can’t turn off. My career took a turn towards a different direction when I combined my passion for design + combat sports. I design fight posters and take action photography for combat sport promotions. Coming from a family of boxing athletes, this was perfect for me and my job felt like home. Every day I was thankful to be able to live a life I created and make a living doing something I absolutely love! Earning my spot in combat sports and get noticed in a male saturated world was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. After thriving in that field, I decided to rebrand my business to help women in business make their dreams come true too! I had no idea working with so many other boss babes, sharing our struggles and celebrating our victories could be the most inspiring and rewarding career I could ask for! It’s an amazing balance going from designing flashy fight posters to minimal and personable women-owned brands. iRull Designs’s rebrand had it’s struggles as expected. Not only was I reaching out to a new audience, but I was juggling two markets at the same time. My self-care was starting to dwindle and I was running on fumes (especially since I don’t drink much coffee). I had to learn to set boundaries and priorities to take care of myself first. It was easier said than done, but baby steps is still progress. Along the way I’ve accumulated several resources and tips to ease the entrepreneurial journey and I’m always eager to share them with my clients. During our discovery call, I don’t just want to get to know their business brand goals, but I take the time to get to know their fears, their visions, and their family goals. Building relationships with these remarkable, audacious women is what breathes life to my purpose!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my bestie was coming to Houston for a visit, the first thing I would I plan is where we would eat each day she was here. Houston is known for their good food, so I would plan out a nice variety of locally owned spots. Everybody likes to shop during their trips so I would start the week at the Houston Galleria and with some lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. If we are still in a shopping mood, which I’m sure we would be, the following day we would plan a similar day but at the Houston Premium Outlets. By midweek, I would have hopefully convinced her to do a photoshoot of her at one of my favorite Houston landmarks: Waterfall in the Galleria and EaDo graffiti walls. Since we would be in the area, she would have to try Laredo Taqueria for the best tacos on the planet! We would end the week exploring the exhibits at The Museum of Fine Arts because any friend of mine would definitely appreciate art. After lunch at Vietopia, one of Houston’s best Vietnamese eatery! We would take it easy into the weekend with walks and bike rides at the Buffalo Bayou Park. After some much needed movement with all the food that was consumed, I would take her to Fogo de Chão for a unique and up-scale dinner to end her trip.

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?
My family, mommy and my boyfriend, who deal with my crazy work schedules, help out every chance they can, and when the going gets tough they remind me of my strong willed stubbornness to overcome. Professor Travis Tooke, my mixed martial arts coach, was always there to answer all my questions about starting a business, gave me advice and encouragement throughout, and leads all of his students to follow their passion on and off the mats. My tribe! Danielle and Ana, my two unpaid therapist, my cheerleaders, and my go to girls who are unconditionally always there during my entrepreneurial journey. My personal brand photography mentor, Victoria Garcia, with Victoria Garcia Studios. We had only been working together for a few months, but she deserves a shot out because in the short time we have collaborated she has steered my business in a direction that I’m already see great results in. To all the women-owned businesses, minority-owned businesses, and all the small business owners out there… THANK YOU for welcoming me into your community of amazing hardworking people.

Website: www.irulldesigns.com
Instagram: instagram.com/irulldesigns
Facebook: facebook.com/irulldesigns

Image Credits
Design & Photography by iRull Designs