Living the Dream: The ins and outs of a design company, Part I

Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 02:44pm by Cory Perry in Start-Ups

Enjoying what you do for a living comes down to one thing, doing what you love to do. For me, that was designing web and interactive media. In 2006, I decided to make that dream a reality by starting a media design company.

Full of fresh ideas and fresh out of money to make things happen, I decided to take the plunge and live my dream of making it on my own. In the spring of 2006, with the help of my brother, Richard Starkey, DigitalRealm Media was born. It was the start of the most frustrating, amazing, and trying time of my life.

Starting a fresh business is no easy task, just ask anyone that has ever succeeded in doing it. You work twice as hard as you thought you would and most days seem like they will never end.

Your ideas and your confidence can quickly get torn down when you realize that it is not as easy as you always imagined it would be. With the bad though, certainly comes the good and that often comes in the form of a new client with an exciting project that you know you will love being involved in.

So what does it take to start a design company or be a freelance designer? Well, first and foremost, it takes dedication. The ball is in your court, always, and it is up to you alone to put in the work, make the calls, get the word out, and make things happen. Clients are not beating the door down when you start out and it takes great patience to hang in there and see it through.

So, first things first, what are the essentials to making sure that you stay afloat and keep above water? Here are a few of the most important things that we can recommend:

1. You need to have a great portfolio — Having a great portfolio that is diverse will show potential clients that you have what it takes to complete their project effectively.
2. You need to be a salesman — This is the worst part of the whole process in my opinion. You can’t do great work if you can’t sell your services. If you are not a great talker and a great “people person,” I strongly suggest that you brush up on your selling and speaking skills before you meet with those all-important clients.
3. You HAVE to network — This is by far the most important part of the entire process. You need to be meeting and speaking to as many people as possible. Word of mouth is your greatest advertising asset and you cannot let it go to waste. Get yourself some business cards and be prepared to hit the streets a few times a week. Focus on events, meetings, and things of that nature that will help you target the type of clients that you are seeking. Get out there and let people know whom you are and what you do!

Now that you have the basics of what it takes to start a design company, you should know that there are numerous legal and business kinks that you need to be aware of. I will cover these important items in my next article as I continue to write about this journey! Until next time, please feel free to send me any questions or comments at cperry@digitalrealmmedia.com.

Follow the series:

1. Living the Dream: The ins and outs of a design company, Part I
2. Living the Dream: The ins and outs of a design company, Part II

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Cory Perry is the co-founder and Creative Director of DigitalRealm Media, a small design studio located in Greenville, SC. You can read more about DigitalRealm Media and Cory by visiting the website at digitalrealmmedia.com.

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