Hey, I'm Ann Bona!
(Maki-Bona if we're talking official business.)
“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!”
- Hunter S. Thompson
So, what should we talk about...
What brought you here today?
Or, if you'd like...
Let's chat!
Let's have some fun!
Work, Life Balance
Recently Married | Hard Worker | Bubble Blowing Master | Soccer Aficionado | Crafter | Maker | Want-to-be-Woodworker | Wood Hoarder | Dog and Cat Lover | Odd Number Hater
In case you couldn't guess by the fact that my main picture is from my wedding, I recently got married! As with a lot of 2020 brides, we postponed our large celebration to 2021, but still had a small ceremony in my parents' back yard. It looked nothing like our original plan, but it was amazing! I'm still getting used to saying my new last name - a lot of times it goes like this - "What's your name?" "Ann Maki...BONA, Ann Bona!"- but I'm getting the hang of it. :)
When I'm not sitting at my laptop, I like to do things that don't require a screen like go for walks with the pups, take in the views on the trail, build something (I got a scroll saw and plunge router for Christmas last year!), craft or work on a house project. I love being able to do more active, hands on stuff in my free time.
My biggest life goal is to make memories with my family. I want to help provide for us, so we can take vacations, go on adventures, eventually have kids and put them in sports and activities and of course continue to do the house projects that I love so much!
My life
in Pictures!
Zelda doing what she does best, reminding us she's boss!
Took a crappy cabinet from Restore with a hole in the side and turned it into a fun entryway piece using lathe boards from our house remodel.
Excuse me while I just take this... (this is me in black playing for the Green Bay Glory, a WPSL team).
Napolian Dynamite...did you guess it!?
Lucky 7 is where we adopted our first pup, Zoey (the one on the left, Nora is on the right).
Our 2020 ceremony flower girls, and my god daughters.
Working hard at the Midwest Regional Championships.
I have a new found respect for when Nick can catch me when I jump into his arms...it's not as easy as it looks.
This was a VERY special day with my mom!
Can you say star struck?! Meeting Kristine Lilly was AMAZING!
Mr. Haws and Mrs. Haws with the first recipient of the Ashley Haws Memorial Scholarship at St. Norbert College.
I love this piece that I made. It may have taken two tries, but that's okay - the mess up can be a side table.
My dad's first selfie :) We got to walk out with our dads for Father's Day at our Glory game.
My first cousin once removed, Logan's, soccer game. (I learned the proper title from Google!)
What's better than a craft day with your mom and cousin?
I'm not a huge fan of flying, but this trip to Seattle with my mom, cousin and aunt was worth it.
My small 2020 ceremony bridesmaids. <3
Bachelorette Shenanigans: put on old bridesmaid dresses and hit up the mall for some lovely portraits.
If you ever wondered what happens when you take a Fitbit watch to the nose...well now you know.
I made this for my friend's birthday...the lavender smells SO good.
Our family golden retriever, Dakota...the best dog ever (don't tell my pups!).
This is how everyone works out, right?
St. Norbert College soccer girls post game.
$25,013.13 donated to the Ashley Haws Memorial Endowed Scholarship after 3 years (full endowment was $25,000 so this was a big deal for us)!
What's in a title?
Automation Specialist & Designer
I always joke that one of the toughest questions I'm ever asked is, "What do you do for a living?" It's true though. I'm part of a two person team, not including our entrepreneur boss, so I do whatever is needed of me. Sure, I have my main tasks that I work on day to day and specialize in certain areas, but if some random thing comes up that my co-worker normally does and he's tied up then I step in and I get the job done.
Take a look at how I got where I am below, and be sure to check out my full resume to get more detail on what I do. :)
Here's how I got to today...
I was born in Green Bay, WI
A bunch of awesome things happened!
September 2006 - August 2011
Club Soccer Coach
De Pere Select Soccer Club | De Pere, WI
May 2010
Graduated from St. Norbert College
De Pere, WI
Double Major: Psychology and Business Administration
3 year starter, 1 year captain, on the Women's Soccer Team
August 2010 - December 2012
Marketing Manager / Paralegal
Nell & Associates, S.C. | De Pere, WI
I oversaw website creation and maintenance as well as all marketing and events. I also served as a real estate and estate planning paralegal.
November 2012 - Present
Freelance Designer / Maker
Annie B. Creative Co. | Remote
I work with clients to make their website and marketing visions and goals a reality.
March 2013 - October 2013
Marketing / Design Intern
Clark Associates Inc. | Lancaster, PA
I participated in branding/re-branding campaigns, created merchandising and new item graphics and performed monthly reporting.
January 2014 - August 2018
Club Soccer Coach
De Pere Select Soccer Club | De Pere, WI
January 2014 - May 2014
Continuing Education Classes
I wanted to learn more about website programming so I took classes at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College - Website Coding, Web:Database Development, Web:Scripting - Javascript
January 2014 - Present
Marketing Automation Specialist | Front End Web Designer/Developer | Content Marketer
WOW Marketing / Bowling Leads | De Pere, WI
I work on a three person team to provide website creation and support and lead generation systems. I create marketing systems, funnels, pipelines and automations.
September 2014 - Present
Co-Founder
Captains Cup: A Cause for Haws | De Pere, WI
The Captains Cup is a memorial soccer tournament and community event in honor of a friend and teammate. We established a scholarship in her name at our alma mater which we were able to fully endow in 3 years
January 2016 - Present
Assistant Varsity Soccer Coach
West De Pere Select High School | De Pere, WI
2017 - Present
Midwest Regional Championship Series Event Committee Member
US Youth Soccer | Midwest Region
I work with a committee of four others to plan and put on an amazing event year after year.
2018 - Present
Digital Guru (and player!)
Green Bay Glory, a WPSL team | De Pere, WI
I developed their website and continue to maintain it. I create social media, print and website graphics for the team - we were awarded one of the Best Social Media Graphics in 2019. Check out my Glory bio here!
What Makes me tick?
Unlike the "what do you do for a living" question, this one is easy. I am driven by purpose and meaning...by the "why". How is this helping others beyond just making people or businesses more money?
Don't get me wrong, I completely understand that people and businesses need money to survive, but I want to provide more. I want to use my skills and talents to make peoples’ lives better, plain and simple. Money can come and go, sometimes at the snap of a finger, so I want to do something that outlasts money. I want to make people's day to day life easier and more efficient to allow for more time for family, their health or to accomplish more so they experience that amazing feeling of "dang, I’m good"!
Professional & Software Skills
There's always room for improvement right...
Web Design & Development
Marketing & Email Automation
Copywriting & Editing
Account Management
Customer Service
Illustrator
Photoshop
Indesign
Wordpress
HTML/CSS
ActiveCampaign
Mailchimp
Infusionsoft/Keap
ClickFunnels™
Zapier
Salesforce
Web Design & Development
Marketing & Email Automation
Copywriting & Editing
Account Management
Customer Service
Illustrator
Wordpress
Photoshop
HTML/CSS
ActiveCampaign
Basecamp
Indesign
Infusionsoft / Keap
ClickFunnels™
Zapier
Salesforce
I don't want to toot my own horn, but
Toot Toot!
Take a look at some of my work! Most of the work I've done through Annie B. Creative Co. has been for individuals or small, local businesses. Those are some of my favorite projects because I get to work one on one with the client and I can see first hand how much passion they have for their business. I also love to help them take their visions and make them a reality so that they can focus on what they really like to do.
It's fun to look through my work and see the progress I've made, design wise, from back when I started in 2012 just helping some friends out to now!
(P.S. This isn't an all encompassing list of everything I've created - a lot of flyer designs are missing because quite frankly print design isn't really my thing - but it definitely shows the range of projects I've done!)
