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

Hi Angela, alright, let’s jump in with a deep one – what’s you’re definition for success?
Success doesn’t have to be about money, a good portfolio, note-worthy clientele, or any of the other things you see hyped up at business seminars, conferences, and on Instagram. It took me a long time, and still takes a conscious effort to not measure my worth in dollars. Success for me means the ability to stay home with my canine kids and provide a home to foster dogs in need, it means the flexibility to go to community meetings and represent the under-represented in my neighborhood, it means the extra time I can choose to set aside to be involved in leadership roles in professional organizations such as my local business association, it means the ability to take time off unquestioned to prioritize self-care. Success for me boils down to a flexible lifestyle where I can choose the work I put my time and talent into, choose the clients I work with, and choose to work or not on any given day.  

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Our business Noble Intent Studio got its start in 2011 in the Chicago suburbs. At that time, I was focusing on the business part-time with my then-boyfriend, now-husband Cris. We started doing freelance jobs for friends of friends and slowly grew our referral network over the years. We moved to San Diego in 2013 and in some ways the move felt like starting from scratch with our referral network. It wasn’t easy at first, which is why at that time, I decided to still maintain a full-time job in addition to working on the business on the side. In 2016, I decided to finally make the transition to focusing on the business full-time – only after I had proven its financial stability for 2 years. In 2019, I had grown the business enough to enable my husband and partner Cris to step into the business full-time as well. During 2019, we also decided to build out an office space to give the two of us more space and also allow us to bring on strategic partners. We completed the office at the start of 2020 and we now work with a content strategist and also recently hired another web developer. One of the key things we’ve learned over the years is that building a business takes time. Even if your idea is great, it takes time to be profitable. We always encourage others to take it slow and don’t quit your day job at first – invest your time and if it takes off, then invest your money and only rely on your business as your main source of income when you’ve proven to yourself that you’re ready. The most important thing we’ve learned is to show up. Show up to community events, business events, conferences, etc. and just get to know people. We consider this “seed planting”. It could be months or years before something sprouts or is ready to harvest, but these connections are all potential client or collaborators. Showing up now will pay dividends in the future – whether that’s tomorrow or years from now. At Noble Intent Studio we connect client objectives to end-user experience with strategic and inclusive design and innovation. Our purpose at Noble Intent Studio is to build a more inclusive internet. We build websites that are inclusive to our clients and end-users. We do so by including our clients in a transparent process and enabling them to use and create content on their websites themselves. We create websites that are accessible to the broadest number of people by ensuring every website we make can be accessed by users of all abilities. And lastly we educate other designers, developers, and business leaders about website accessibility and inclusivity with our publications and seminars.

Any great local spots you’d like to shoutout?
Our favorite destinations around San Diego are really food-centric – what can we say, we love a great dining experience! Our favorite spots are Puesto at Seaport Village, cucina SORELLA (actually one of our clients) in our own neighborhood in Kensington, El Borrego in Kensington/City Heights, and 55 Thai Kitchen in Golden Hill. If you visit each of these restaurants, you’ll get a diversity of cuisine as well as the opportunity to experience San Diego’s diverse neighborhoods. We hope with everything currently going on in the world, our local restaurant scene will bounce back and thrive as it once did. Our top pick for a scenic adventure would be La Jolla Cove to see the seals and sea lions. When you’re in that area, we always stop by our client Candor in La Jolla for some top tier food and drink. Of course we had to bring it back to food!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The Kensington Talmadge Business Association has been a vital component of our local success. We got involved in that group a number of years ago when we moved the the Talmadge neighborhood and didn’t know anyone in San Diego. We met friends and business connections that continue to be instrumental in our growth and success. We also feel so fortunate to have an industry peer-network, AIGA San Diego, that has connected us with so many other design leaders. Through that group, we connected with one of our mentors, Steven Morris of Matter Consulting, who leads a Mastermind Group we’re part of.

Website: https://nobleintentstudio.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nobleintentstudio/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nobleintentstudio
Twitter: https://twitter.com/noble_intent
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nobleintentstudio
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/noble-intent-studio-san-diego
Other: https://clutch.co/profile/noble-intent-studio