Inside The Web Design Studio of Brandon Houston

I hope you have a strong stomach, because this stuff is not for the weak. I’ve been self-employed for just over two years now but since this is a new blog I decided I might as well start documenting my journey. This will be part one in a running series talking about the start of my web design company to where I find myself today. I’m not sure reading this will benefit anyone else considering the self-employment path but it might provide a little bit of insight into how much of an uphill struggle it can be. Don’t get me wrong, I love being my own boss, setting my own hours, and doing the work I love doing but if you aren’t disciplined and dedicated everything else will just fall apart.

First a brief history… I launched Logix in January of 2004 after leaving the design firm I was with for over three years. It was a quick escape and not very well planned but I’ve managed so far. If you’re considering going on your own there are a few things I highly recommend you have to start with.

1. Working capital. I recommend saving up enough money to live on for at least three months if not more. Three is the bare minimum. The more the merrier. If you don’t have this money to begin with then try getting a loan from a bank. Warning though; in order to secure any kind of loan from a bank will require you to have a very solid business plan and good credit behind you. If you don’t have either of those then I wouldn’t bother stepping foot in the door. On the bright side, most community colleges offer an entrepreneur course that guides you through building a business plan. They can also help with the bank loan portion. I however took neither the route of saving up money nor getting a loan. It’s a struggle trust me. It’s not impossible but it’s not easy.
2. A solid business plan. This goes back to the first point. Establishing a business plan will not only help you get a foot in the door at the bank, but it will also establish a direction for your business. Without knowing where you want to take your business and how you want to focus it then you have less of a chance to succeed. Again, this is something I didn’t bother with. And again, I don’t recommend avoiding it.
3. Take a small business course. The knowledge you’ll receive will help you greatly! If you can’t stomach the thought of sitting through a night course on business management then you might as well stay at your current job. This is inescapable and if you don’t bother learning anything about business practices then you will not make it anywhere. I didn’t take a course but I spent years reading everything from business management textbooks to entrepreneurial guides and anything else I could get my hands on. Which brings me to my next recommendation…
4. Read, read, read. Read about running a business, read about the industry you’re focusing on. Read magazines. Sign up for newsletters. Never stop reading. The world change constantly, which means so will your business. The only way to stay on top of things is to always be reading new material.
5. Establish a peer or mentor network. If you want an easier in to the industry then meet people who are already there. If you can get out and network before launching your business then do so. Networking will bring you the highest return-on-investment ever, guaranteed. This is because people deal with others they know and are comfortable with. The more people you know, the more people will want to work with you. You could be the prodigy of your industry, but if you are horrible at networking and talking to people you’ll find things very difficult. I focus very highly on this aspect of my business.
6. Get an accountant. If you think dealing with taxes is simple then just wait until you’re self-employed. Oh boy are you in for a ride. You want someone who knows what they are doing to handle your finances. Keep track of everything you buy, everything you sell, and everything you do with your business. Save receipts, write down mileage, and document everything. When the end of the year approaches you’ll want as many write-offs as possible to save you on taxes. I know this from experience. Especially since my last income tax bill totalled nearly five digits. I can’t stress this enough, get an accountant.

There is so much more to starting a business but those are the main things I recommend you have initially. I could go on for hours but I won’t. There are already numerous books out there that cover this same information so there’s no reason to repeat it. The two books I highly recommend in this industry are the “Graphic Artists Guild Pricing and Ethical Guidelines Handbook” available at www.gag.org, and the “The Business Side of Creativity: The Complete Guide for Running a Graphic Design or Communications Business” available on Amazon. These two books offer a wealth of information.

Now back to the current state of my business and how I came to where I am today. As I said, I started Logix at the beginning of 2004 but I knew long before that I wanted to start my own business eventually. I took the time I was employed at the other design firm to get my name out there. I did a bit of freelance work on the side. Now, before you go out and start pulling contracts while working for someone else, I recommend speaking to your boss about it first. Some companies do not like moonlighting and it can lead to a whole lot of issues, the biggest being finding yourself unemployed very quickly. I talked it over with my boss and we came to an understanding. I was in no way competing directly with the company I was working for so there wasn’t an issue.

With the understanding between my boss and myself, I spent a couple of years doing small projects on the side. I joined a lot of online design communities and helped out in forums whenever I had the chance. Helping out others in forums is an easy way of establishing yourself as an expert in your field. A lot of the freelance work I obtained was through job postings on these community boards. This is still where I get some of my work today, although you do have to be careful who you work for, especially if it’s on a global scale. That’s why I always use contracts, but I’ll get to that later. Eventually I contacted a couple publishing companies that release books about Flash development and they contracted me on an occasional basis as a technical editor. It was great work and I loved doing it. Again, it also helps establish yourself as an expert.

By the time I launched Logix I already had a large list of contacts in the industry and a variety of projects under my belt. This gave me something to put into my portfolio and was the foundation for the growth of my business. With a list of contacts I now had a way of finding new work and spreading the word. From there it was smooth sailing right? Well not exactly, but I’ll save that for part two. In part two I’ll talk about more hurdles I went through getting things up and running and what I’ve learned along the way. Until then, work hard, love your work, and enjoy life.