After a Quick 10-Week Deep Dive Bootcamp, This Native CNM Student Went on to Create a Thriving Business
Back in 2019, Adrian Tsosie was working a day job for a company that produced metal signs. It paid the bills but was boring and monotonous. On the side he was a talented graphic designer but didn’t know what steps were needed to make his passion a career.
Then a friend told him about CNM Ingenuity’s Deep Dive digital bootcamps. In just 10 weeks he could be skilled up for a career in the digital world, so Adriana quit his day job and jumped in to the Fullstack Web Development bootcamp. Thanks to a scholarship from Workforce Connection he went to the bootcamp free of charge.
“In the bootcamp, I loved that there wasn’t any fluff. Everything was hands on and we learned exactly what we needed to know,” he says.
Adrian went on to graduate from the Fullstack bootcamp and began developing business plans where he could do both graphic and web design. In the meantime, ActivateNM, a small business accelerator run by CNM Ingenuity, reached out to Adrian to have him design their logo but he would have to turn his business into an LLC first.
“To be honest, that project and being forced to create an LLC is what really jumpstarted everything,” Adrian says.
With a newly launched official business, Coat of Colors, clients started pouring in—all from word of mouth. Adrian started doing graphic and web design as well as screenprinting and without any marketing his client roster grew. He’s a proud Native business owner (he’s Navajo, Zia, Jemez, Pecos, Hopi, and Comanche) and today he works for a wide variety of Native clients including New Mexico Community Capital and Native Women Lead.
With all his clients, Adrian prioritizes great work and clear communication. Being able to create a design based on client instructions and feedback is a tough skill, and one that he’s mastered.
“I really value being able to see what the client wants and having a high success rate,” he says.
Down the road the plan is expansion. Adrian will soon be hiring an intern and plans on hiring a young person from the Native community. He wants that intern to be the first of many people he can train in graphic and web design. Eventually the plan is to create an established school with funding where he can train several cohorts of young people each year and even export that training model to Native communities so they can train their own youth.
“The plan is to eventually have an army of trained designers who can create successful businesses and empower our Native communities,” he says.
See how CNM Ingenuity and Deep Dive can change your life in a matter of weeks. Apply today!