so you’re curious about longhorn?
About Us Me
Hey there! My name is Courtney and I’m the face behind Longhorn Consulting. You may know me from such films as… just kidding, I’m not that type of girl. I prefer working behind the scenes to make the internet a prettier place to be, one website at a time.
I taught myself to code websites as a hobby when I was in junior high and it didn’t take me long to realize that I loved everything to do with it – graphic design, flow, responsiveness and all the stuff in between. What started out as a way to kill some boredom became a passion and I continued designing throughout high school, college and into adult years.
Longhorn Consulting is the result of decades of digital experience, alongside my business management and administrative background. With the help of copious cups of tea, I’m working to build Longhorn into a one-stop shop for small business owners everywhere.
What’s the Longhorn Difference?
I’m not a regular designer. I’m a cool designer.
(If you know, you know. #meangirls)
Longhorn isn’t like other web design agencies. I’m not going to give you some song and dance you’ve already heard from someone else. Am I the best designer out there? Probably not. Will I be the best fit for your company? That depends, we’ll figure it out together. Will I listen to you, work with you and be a business contact you can trust? For sure. Will I care about your business? Absolutely. I stand behind Longhorn and what I can do. I’m constantly learning and my goal is to use those skills to help improve your business. Full stop.
Side note: I use “I” and “we” interchangeably. If you see me talking to myself, don’t interrupt – we’re having a staff meeting.
We ♥ Small Businesses
Entrepreneurs make the world go ‘around. We love working with small businesses to help build their brand and we strive to become a trusted resource to our clients. Want to bounce an idea around before you implement it? Did you update your website and something went… sideways? Call us. We always have time for you.
Community Over Competition
Longhorn does a lot of things, but we’re humble enough to recognize that we can’t do it all. If a prospective client needs a service we don’t offer, we do the next best thing – we refer them to someone that can. Simple.
We're Not Afraid of Committment
You may have heard horror stories about “fly by night” operations that disappear as soon as the cheque clears. That’s not how we work. We want to build lasting relationships and we’ve found the best way to do that is to be available to help, even after the project is wrapped up and we’ve gone our separate ways.
Handshakes Still Matter
We’re old school and we believe a person is only as good as their word. Written contracts are important in business, but so is the validity of a handshake and a solid reputation. That’s why we do what we say and stand by it.
Let’s get cozy, shall we?
You have questions? I have answers!
If you’re reading this page, you might already have an idea of who I am. You’ve checked out my portfolio, maybe talked to clients who have worked with me… and now you’re trying to get a handle on who I am as a person. Awesome! Keep reading.
Why did you choose web design?
I am naturally a very introverted person and I spent a lot of time by myself when I was in school. When my friends were going out to parties, I was messing around on the internet. I accidentally clicked “View Page Source” one day and was immediately curious how that language made a website function. As I learned, I fell in love with how black and white the language is. There’s no grey area – if you miss a < or an *, your entire page breaks. There’s no compromise or guessing. There’s no exceptions. Being as OCD and anxious as I am, I appreciate straightforward things.
Do you have hobbies outside web design?
I live on a farm… does that count as a hobby? I have an entire collection of animals, including horses, dogs, hedgehogs and tenrecs. When I’m not taking care of them, you can find me searching for animal skulls to paint or taking care of the million and one tasks that farm ownership brings.
What is your greatest strength?
I’m tenacious as hell. If I’m presented with a problem, I will figure it out or I’ll die trying. Admittedly, this character trait does make my life infinitely more difficult, but at least I’m a solid problem solver. Right?
What makes you unique?
Growing up, I always had a really strong sense of myself and never gave into peer pressure. I did what I wanted, when I wanted and didn’t really consider if it was cool or trendy. If I enjoyed doing it, that was all that mattered to me. Apparently that’s a very rare trait to have.
What music do you enjoy?
I’m a country music girl at heart, but my Spotify is a giant mix of metal, rock, pop, folk, acoustic and instrumental stuff and even some EDM and rap for good measure. I have a really addictive personality and I’ll listen to the same song over and over for weeks until I’m sick of it, and then never listen to it again.
What industry do you enjoy working with the most?
I’ve worked with clients in many different industries, but my absolute favourite clients are those that are involved with horses in some way. I don’t really understand small talk and I feel more at ease when I’m around people with similar interests and experiences. Being involved with horses for so much of my life, I enjoy being able to “talk shop” with other horse people.
Are you an early bird or night owl?
Both. I love being out and about during the day, but I do my best work late at night, when the entire world is asleep. I get distracted easily by things I could be doing when the sun is shining (like riding horses or doing adult things like grocery shop), so I prefer to do the bulk of my work after dark.
Do you have a strange talent?
My best party trick is collecting quarters from everyone and balancing them on my elbow. Then I tell everyone that I get to keep however many quarters I catch. At one point, I was able to catch about $4 or $5 worth of quarters at a time. As they say, it’s not much, but it’s honest work.