Get to Know: Julianne McCollum

Julianne McCollum is the principal and “head quack” at Yellow Duck Marketing. She is married to Tim McCollum, and they have one adopted son, Mateo, who is 1.

- Michele Huggins

Where in Charlotte do you live? Where did you grow up?

I moved here in 1997 from Purdue University, but grew up in Silicon Valley. Indiana was culture shock from San Francisco. Charlotte is a nice, happy medium. It’s been exciting to see the city grow up and become more cosmopolitan, and now live in a home Tim designed for us in Plaza Midwood. Tim’s a local and lived here just about his whole life.

Tell us about your job. What do you like most about it? What are the challenges?

Starting a creative agency is incredibly tough but gets easier each year as we grow and figure out how to balance working in the business and working on the business. I love that each day is a little different, and that one day we’re working on [public relations] for a trendy hotel, then we’re branding a new community in Austin, Texas, and the next we’re working on a website for an environmental nonprofit.

What’s the hardest part of juggling family life and work life?