Start up
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- kingkong0
Also I read quite a few things but one of the things I really enjoyed was something Monocle Mag did abut start ups. It had a foreword from the Lord of Darkness (Mandleson) which I found surprisingly inspirational. The whole issue was dedicated to start ups
Issue 28
- honest0
-you blinked
- gramme0
As many here know, I lost a job one year and 18 days ago. With a wife, child, and mortgage to pay for, I was forced to start on my own since no one I cared to work for around here was looking to hire a senior designer. I went on one interview, and when they decided against hiring anyone at all, I said the hell with having a boss and focused all my energy on starting a design business.
The first several months were brutal, as I only had one client to speak of. I wasn't sleeping well due to how things fell apart with my former boss. April and July were particularly slow months. But then things picked up a bit, and since August I've been steadily busy—more consistently busy than I was at my last job. It certainly doesn't hurt that I'm making apx. 50% more money.
Word to the wise: don't spend a large chunk of your promotional fund on a printed portfolio. I learned this the hard way, and now have about 80 $30 books that I can't shift. Invest in a good website, a studio blog, and an email newsletter before trying the much more expensive and usually less effective tactic of direct mail.
- gramme0
^ By the way, if anyone wants a copy of the above-mentioned book, drop me a line. I'm ready to do something different and need to get these things out of my office.
- ideaist0
When your competition runs, walk.
When they walk, run.
Everyone is walking right now so it's your time to run.
- raf0
Are there people here who run non-design web based businesses?
I know sublocked is one..- Yes. I focus on marketing for a service business.********
- Yes. I focus on marketing for a service business.
- ********0
I'm not watching.
- ********0
Start ups mostly happens during the down turn as talented people are not working, people are more willing to take chance, lack of funding makes the company more fiscally responsible, never ever start your own by opening an office as most great companies started out in someone's basement / garage part time, and lastly if you have money for 1 year living (aside from your business cost), do it.
- I will never be able to start a business, if I need to have funds for the whole 1 year.popovich
- .. I'll be, probably, saving all my life to have this much!popovich
- You don't necessarily need a year's worth of income, esp. if you're working from home.Scotch_Roman
- jamble0
I wouldn't bother freelancing in the evenings, you'll end up taking on smaller projects because you won't have the time to do anything bigger if you're working full time and they will get you going in some respects but in other ways, you'll never get past that level.
If you're serious about starting a business then why not speak to a local business advisor and consider the possibility of a startup loan and do it properly.
- thoughtandtheory0
There's never a perfect time to start a company. Just go for it.
- thoughtandtheory0
There's never a perfect time to start a company. Just go for it.
- ********0
Actually what thougthandtheory said is excellent.
- Scotch_Roman0
I started a business this year. It wasn't how I planned to start; I was basically forced into it. I was blessed in that I had severance pay, and a client waiting in the wings to give me work.
It's really, really hard work, and terrifying at times. I've had several weeks since February without a single billable hour. But then I'm just wrapping up a two-week period where I was traveling, working around the clock, barely having time to see my wife and son. So it ebbs and flows.
For anyone considering the benefits of autonomy: if you can't stand the idea of never knowing what you'll be doing 4 months from now, self-employment as a designer is not for you. This seems to be the way of things for pretty much every small studio, except for the rare occasion when you get a large project that will carry you through 6 months + worth of groceries. That doesn't happen very often these days though.
I would say that based on my experience and the experience of others whom I know personally, now is a good time to start a small studio, provided that you have a niche or two and can be proactive about marketing (mistakes I've been learning from the hard way). Small studios can produce great work at drastically lower fees than agencies. If, as a one or two person operation, you can compete for the same jobs against slightly larger to mid-size firms, you'll always come out ahead on price. I'm not talking bargain basement, I'm talking about the simple fact that a designer working from home with no employees can easily charge half what the awarding-winning firm down the street charges.
All that being said, I think now would be a terrible time to start a new agency with multiple employees. The overhead alone would be crushing.
- Scotch_Roman0
^ About finding a niche. What I mean is that the most effective way to get work is to pick one or two (maybe three max) market niches to work in. Within that niche, be vertically diverse, i.e. doing anything from logos to books to websites and video direction. If you market yourself to anyone and everyone, you'll cast a broad net that will never go deep. Success can come this way, but it tends to take much longer. By picking a niche or two, you can much more effectively identify the good clients, the decision makers, and target them as potential clients.
- Scotch_Roman0
Large agencies can be horizontally diverse (working across many markets), but it's nearly impossible for one or two-person shops to pull this off effectively. Eventually you might get there, but the quickest way to be seen as an expert and build a reputation is to pick an industry and mine it heavily. I'm gearing up to do that right now. I'm looking at clients in the fine and applied arts—so, museums, NPOs, design textiles and supplies, etc. Some of these sub-markets are doing better than others, but most seem to be at least staying afloat.
- blaw0
Just to back up my earlier statement, in 2005 I started seriously freelancing and filled up my evenings and weekends with that work while working full-time for another company. In 2006 I took a deep breath and quit my day job. Our third full-time employee starts next month and I'm hoping to add a fourth by year's end. Just like anything else there are multiple ways to approach it, but a steady-growth approach really can work.
- what about throwing caution to the wind and tearing off to the other side of the country like a madman? hmm? no? damnkelpie
- (well done by the way)kelpie
- Multiple ways, like I said. I don't have the intestinal fortitude to dive head first. blaw = big sissy.blaw
- Thanks, kelpie. I do appreciate the kind words.blaw
- Where you located? Wanna hire me?baseline_shift
- ********0
A very good read indeed: http://sbaer.uca.edu/research/us…
- ********0
^ Women may also be more reluctant to use external sources of financing, because they do not want to increase the riskiness of the firm, or alternatively, because they do not want to give up control. From a supply side perspective, however, some research contends that women use smaller amounts of external capital because they are excluded from the types of male-dominated angel investor and venture capital networks that typically provide it (Greene et al., 2001). These questions provide opportunities for further research on the financing strategies of women launching technology-based firms.
- MSL0
Do you/could you have regular clients? Could you work from where you live?
- neue75_bold0
I wouldn't...
- but I am no highlander, so..neue75_bold
- You could become a highlander you know...aye, you could.TheBlueOne