This morning I received a thoughtful Linkedin notification from my friend Doc:
“Congrats on a decade in the biz for yourself. I hope you take a minute to sit back and enjoy the milestone. Thank God for the career. Stoked for you. I can't wait to see what the second decade has in store for you.”
Woah. 10 years. I’ve been so “head’s-down” busy I didn’t even realize today was the anniversary. I mean, I knew it was this November, but I didn’t really give it much thought ‘til someone pointed it out. 10 years—wow.
Doc’s simple, and encouraging message created the perfect outline for this post.
“I hope you take a minute to sit back and enjoy the milestone.”
10 years ago this week, I was terrified. The agency I was with for twelve years was suddenly gone. I was losing healthcare benefits at the end of the month. I had two kids, a mortgage and a stay-at-home wife and we were just entering the holiday season. The months that followed were tough.
I had options. I could take a position at an agency. There were a few that had reached out and offered me positions. Or, I could contact some of my past clients, see if they would stick with me through the transition, and try going it alone. Up to that moment, I had never given thought to starting my own business. Had it not been for the encouragement and support of my wife and family and a few others who reached out to encourage me, I may have taken the “easy” route. A consistent paycheck, and benefits for my family seemed safer, more “secure” – more expected, while the idea of venturing out on my own was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time—mostly terrifying.
I spent the first four years working out of an annex of my bedroom. I saved, kept my overhead low, continued working with clients I had worked for in the past as well as taking some time to work as a freelancer for a few companies, working in-house for contracted periods of time. As time went on, I did less and less contracted in-house work and more work with my own clients to the point where I no longer took on freelance work. The contract work ended up being the perfect bridge to running a small business exactly when I needed it.
I spent a lot of time worrying about work. Worrying about making enough to support my family. Worrying about website traffic. Worrying about new business development. Worrying about the balance of my bank account. Worrying when things were too busy to keep up, and worrying when things were so slow I thought I’d have to shut down the business. Needless to say, there was a lot of worrying.
In year 4, I finally came to grips with the realization that this wasn’t a temporary fix to my 4-year-old problem, it was the business I never thought I would own. I began looking for a “real” place to house my studio. I looked into buying a building, renting, and shared co-working spaces. Through the process, Becky and I decided to build on to our existing home and virtually rent it back to ourselves. We could design every last inch of it to our specifications. Based on my best calculations, the cost of the build was equivalent to 8 years of renting a similar space. I love working from my studio and clients love it too. Best business decision we’ve made thus far.
At year 5, I needed help. 2014 was crazy-busy but the thought of having a full-time employee (and all that comes with that) was more than I wanted to take on. A couple of trusted friends challenged me to consider hiring a stay-at-home mom who might want to work part-time. My initial snarky response was, something like, “That sounds great, do I put that in the job description? ‘Wanted: stay-at-home mom who wants some extra hours? Doesn’t need any hand-holding and is super talented.’” It seemed silly at the time; until the following morning when Casey arrived at my office. She told me she was out of a job since having her baby and wanted to know if I might have a part time job that would offer her 16-20 hours a week. I’ve known Casey for 12 years. She was a college intern at my previous position and had since gone on to work at some fine creative studios in town. She had been telling her husband that she’d love to work for me again and he suggested that she drop by my studio and let me know of her desire and availability. She started that following week. God has a great sense of humor and she couldn’t be a more perfect fit.
The last 5 years have been amazing. Casey and I have worked with so many incredible clients. From education to food service, breweries to beauty products. I’m beyond thankful for the provision and opportunities we have had. At year 10 I can honestly say, I am grateful and content. I love our small studio with low overhead. It means we can work with smaller companies who have super creative businesses. We have the opportunity to help them get started and watch them grow. It’s a real thrill! We are humbled that they trust us with their name and identity, and do our best to handle it with care and help their dreams become reality.
“ I can't wait to see what the second decade has in store for you.”
…more of the same, I hope. I love working from my home-based studio. I love the creative partners we get to work with every day. I love working with Casey and the ideas she brings to the table. I love that my wife is so eager to help do the things I stink at so we stay in the black and keep the IRS happy. I love that my kids have gotten to watch us grow through all of this. They have been engaged in the business as well and have watched their parents go from unemployed anxiety-ridden worriers to content and grateful business owners.
“Thank God for the career.”
I’ve been at it for nearly 25 years and God’s hand has been on my career and my business the entire time. I now know this: there are sure to be rocky times ahead, but He is faithful to use those moments to make me stronger and move me where He wants me. And that is super comforting to know. He is the ultimate Creator and He gave me the desire and skillset to continue His creative nature, hopefully making this world a better place. He is the reason I do what I do.
Additional thanks to the Columbus creative community for your unending support and encouragement, to my creative partners in the forms of writers, strategists, producers, and developers for making each and every project unique and for loving our clients as much as we do.
Here’s to 10 more!