Start up
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- ********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
- jpaw610
How long can you work out of your house? Like say with blaw, if he is working out of his house and adding a fourth employee can he still work from home? Or are there then advantages to moving into a rented space?
- ********0
Whatever you decide, you MUST earn real $$$. Ask yourself, will your new venture provide immediate returns? IF NOT, you must pause, take a deep breath and realize, as exciting and promising as this seems, that you may be hanging yourself and your wife out to dry, financially.
In other words, starting your own business is fantastic. Go for it, indeed. BUT, don't lose sight that you must earn real dollars to survive.
I hope you are able to find the right balance. Good luck! :)
- This is where preparing a solid business plan comes in to play. It makes you answer the tough questions.blaw
- TRUE.********
- blaw0
When it was just me I worked from a home office. There are pluses and minuses to that. Plus: cheap, easy access, go days without having to leave the house (very nice during the winter). Minus: some companies won't do business with one dude working out of a home office. At that stage there were two projects I didn't land for this very reason.
In my case, basically, the workload got to a point that it was either a) start turning down jobs; b) grow the company.
I choose to grow the company so I purchased and renovated a building. It was a lot of work, but very much worth it. Adding staff and having a physical presence in the community has definitely increased the flow work.
Another route: One of my friends works for a company where everyone telecommutes. No office space needed.
- ukit0
It truly depends what business you are trying to "start up."
Is it a solo design practice? Web application? Neighborhood grocery store? Is there a revenue model in place?
Think seriously about whether there is a real chance of turning a profit, or whether this is more of a shot in the dark kind of venture.
- acescence0
I'm definitely busier now than a year ago. I find a lot of people are farming out stuff lately that they used to have in-house staff do, when they had in-house staff...
- wichard0
I have been thinking about slowly getting the ball rolling to start my own thing. I thought I would start out slowly and build up a network of clients.
- baseline_shift0
Im still full time employed at a studio.
I do some freelance on the side, and it has actually picked up over the last 6 months. One of my big clients is one that fired their full time designer and hired me.
Depends on what sort of niche you are trying to carve out, and what your current contacts are, but I wouldnt categorically say its a bad time to start.
- 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
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.
- babaganush0
Should have finished with thoughtandtheory's post (so good he posted twice). Surely if recent economic history teaches us anything that even 'safe' giants can fall. Do it, if it doesn't work out, find another 'safe' giant. If it works out retire young and happy - either way you'll feel more satisfied having tried.