How do you start a design studio or business from scratch? What do I need to do before I quit my job and start my own company? Annotations -- 00:01:10 Why do you want to start a business? What's your motivation? 00:01:51 Ben's Story: Getting into the design business after working as an undercover narcotics officer. 00:03:17 Matt's Story: Starting a design business fresh out of college 00:04:07 Greg's Story: Creating a design business with few connections 00:04:49 Chris's Story: Living and dying by my own set of rules and ambition. 00:05:55 Design Business Checklist 00:11:02 Prison Break: Planning your business 00:14:23 Your portfolio is the most important thing you need to start a design business 00:15:00 Have a 3-month runway, LLC, bank account, permits, side hustles 00:18:00 Culture and leadership are needed for employee satisfaction 00:22:14 How to calculate your business 3-month runway 00:26:00 Sales & Marketing overview 00:30:00 User Journey / Sales & Conversion Funnel 00:34:00 Anatomy of 500k Self-Promotion Campaign 00:38:15 What is the best platform for motion designers? 00:47:05 The Uncertain Future of Mograph as featured on the School of Motion podcast. 00:47:20 Logo Inspirations is now on YouTube. 00:47:35 What's Hello Fresh? 00:48:00 Q: How would you tackle renegotiating rates with old clients? 00:50:20 Q: Should I specialize in one type of design, or should I take every job that comes? 00:51:50 Become a creative expert: Gain depth in design 00:53:12 Q: What financial/workflow/invoicing structures do I need to set so I can handle more jobs at once? 00:58:10 Q: If I get a project that I don't have the skills for, how do I contract it out to other designers? 01:00:56 Q: Is it possible to sell assurance to a prospective client without a proven track record of professional experience? 01:06:00 Q: Blind offers a lot of what a marketer is supposed to do. Did you learn it or do you have a marketing team? 01:09:48 The Futur Podcast - On Itunes, Stitcher & Google Play 01:13:02 Q: What are the easier projects to start with / What were you first three? 01:15:42 Q: How do you come up with a name / do you have any tips for your first hire? 01:20:40 Q: How many projects per month is a good number (Phone Question) 01:23:50 Q: My target market doesn't think long term. What can I do to make branding seem like something more tangible? 01:25:27 What separates a brand from a logo 01:29:01 Q: How do I identify market needs? so I can clearly advertise which services to offer? Media Drop -- Buy the book: Win Without Pitching Manifesto by Blair Enns http://amzn.to/2rzgZPU Logo Inspirations - www.youtube.com/logoinspirations School of Motion Podcast - The Uncertain Future of Mograph - http://www.schoolofmotion.com/business-mograph-chris-do-blind/ Takeaways: -- Keep your expenses low and have a runway to keep your options open The work of marketing the work is where the real work begins - the work does not speak for itself. If you are taking a lot of different work, be selective in what you show the world. _ Listen to our podcast on iTunes: The Futur https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-futur/id1209219220?mt=2 Android Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/aaron/the-futur Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Itg3hr5bs4a54w73o2toxcr4vhe HOW TO SUPPORT THE FUTUR: Purchase a Kit: https://www.thefutur.com/shop/ Subscribe to the secret and private Master mind group on FB with bi-weekly webinars & exclusive videos not released anywhere else. Use our Amazon Affiliate Link: http://astore.amazon.com/chrisdo-20 Buy useful design tools from Creative Market: https://creativemarket.com/?u=ChrisDo Get your business cards printed at Moo: http://www.moo.com/share/qn6x98 _ Connect with us online: http://thefutur.com https://www.facebook.com/theFuturisHere/ https://twitter.com/thefuturishere Need brand strategy help? Visit Blind LA’s WEBSITE: http://blind.com Connect with Matthew Encina: Twitter & Instagram: @matthewencina matthewencina.com Snapshot Credits: Executive Producer– Chris Do Host– Matthew Encina Director– Matthew Encina Cinematography– Aaron Szekely, Andrew Truong Editor– Jon Pham Show Open– Minhye Cho Annotations– Isaiah Nwukor === *By making a purchase through any of our affiliate links, we receive a very small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps us on our mission to provide quality education to you. Thank you.