Design Studio: How to Get Things Rolling

Build a customer base

Your work has to be client-oriented, so creating a target audience's profile and building a customer base are the tasks that you must perform even before starting your first job. The beginning is always hard and exhausting, and because of people who keep ignoring this step but somehow get through with it, there’s a global misconception about it. Don’t ever neglect your customers, since everything you’re doing is about them.

Find someone to guide you

Listening to experienced people who are not strictly related to your design business could be that one thing that will boost your income. Being surrounded with designers is good because you will motivate each other and you can get all the help that you need with your work, but that doesn’t mean that your business will perform well. Once you get a mentor, you’ll immediately feel the overall change that’s going to affect every single aspect of your company.

Specialization & generalization

Of course your design studio needs a killer designer, but don't forget that your designer is being led by a businessman. Without some cool-headed leader and an awesome team, your skills might not be able to reach out to people. Business world is a harsh place where only the last man standing gets the chance to accomplish something. That’s why you need a good leader, otherwise you risking the chance to get to the market.

Choose your employees wisely

Along with the growth of your company, you'll encounter growth of need for employees. This is a tricky part because you need both loyal yet talented workers, and in part, thanks to reputable educational institutions, there are plenty of potentially good employees on today’s market.

Visual design is the discipline practiced by those who develop major flows of information and content, and that’s why the world needs designers in the first place.

"The objective of our faculty is to encourage young and deserving international talentsto complete their education with a top-level visual design master in Milan, properly preparing them for the challenges that their future careers will bring," said the college directorof RM Istituto Design e Moda, Pasquale Volpe.

Transparency might just be the key

Something employers have always been afraid of is exposing what does one work day look like from an employee's perspective. The thing is customers, both potential and current ones, enjoy having a look at the way your company operates. This transparency creates a special bond that almost guarantees better customer relationships. You can organize open-door events from time to time and use them in order to even better represent your brand and your employees.

Don’t get swallowed by the competition

One of the well-known facts is that there are a million businesses just like yours. It's up to you whether you'll be able to stand out, or you'll get ran over by your competition.  Try telling a unique story, explain to them why you're not led by money but rather by passion. Let’s not forget that good branding is one of the things that can help you reach the sky, which would definitely make you stand out.

Hire coworkers

You're not Atlas, so quit acting like you're capable of executing every single task completely by yourself. Nobody should feel embarrassed asking for help. This is a way of telling others: “I'm not extremely good in everything and therefore I'll make sure to work with people who can deliver top-quality work to integrate with mine work”. You should find the right people or agencies that can help you with additional work that you have to deal with, aside from the designing itself.

Think outside the box

Everything you've read so far just speaks about overall advices and following all of them blindly doesn't promise you a successful business. However, thinking outside the box and finding different ways to improve your work, as well as adapting to the environment changes, definitely guarantees a good future.

New design companies are sprouting everywhere and as the time goes on, accomplishing goals in this fiercely competitive field is becoming harder and harder. As long as you keep the previously-mentioned advices in your head, your business should start off on the right foot.