9 years ago I decided I would take fate into my own hands and start a small business. With the unwavering support of my girlfriend (now wife) I quit two menial jobs and began a career as a ‘Designer’, with no savings and no experience. What has ensued has been a crazy and sometimes painful ride but I am still here and a hopefully have learnt a few things along the way. Welcome to my world.
As my client base grew and the jobs I took on required more hands and more brains to deliver, I quickly learnt that the lure of a quick buck by sub-contracting cheap talent and skimming the ‘cream’, was pure fantasy. What I needed was a team. The difference between a ‘Team’ and a bunch of people working on a project is that the ‘Team’ have a common interest at heart and actually ‘care’ about the outcome.
I talk a lot about ‘care’ a lot when discussing successful businesses or products. I believe that it is the main difference between success and failure. Walk into any cafe with a line outside for Sunday brunch and what you will notice is an abundance of care, love, and attention; from the cutlery to the quality of the bacon. The empty competition across the street, they are still bitching about the price of free-range eggs.
I am sure you can run a successful business without a true ‘team’ but it sure as hell is much easier to deliver quality when you have a unified group of people behind you. The last 6 months in the studio have solidified the importance of this to me. I am so lucky to have managed to convince an amazing group people to join me on my crazy journey. Having a group of caring, thoughtful, opinionated humans around me every day makes the job worth getting up for. As a team we are trying to make a difference with the work we do, it is about more than money and career objectives. The accomplishment of working towards a common goal (often under severe duress) and delivering to a happy client is immensely gratifying.
Personal achievements are great and making money has its perks but building a community of passionate, hard-working professionals who actually give a shit about their trade is what I want to do. There really is no I in team and no future in a selfish business.
