How to Start a Small Design Studio

If you’re thinking of starting up your own small design studio, there are various factors that you should consider first. Here are a few things that you need to be aware of before getting started.Start a small design studio

Figure Out Your Process

To get your design studio up and running, it’s important to have a solid methodology and process in place. Make sure that you take time out to work on your business model. There are several questions you will need to ask yourself such as how you plan to select clients and how you will take on projects. Once you are up and running, make sure you keep an eye on the work you do as well as analyzing how your team spend their time. Using spreadsheets can be a good way to map all the design elements and features in a project. Also, there are various pieces of software that may be of use to you when starting a small design studio. Companies like Altium provide PCB design software such as CircuitStudio which can allow you to streamline your workflows, especially among large teams, while increasing productivity.

Be Professional

Once you have your design studio ready and raring to go, it’s important to stay professional at all costs. Make sure to reply to every email with ‘what’s the budget?’. You will need to have an idea of how much you are working with so you can produce the best work possible. It’s likely that you will have disagreements with clients, so always ensure you conduct yourself and use a professional tone to secure and retain clients.

Work Fixed Hours

The design industry can be incredibly stressful in that may end up seeing you burn out. Balance is everything, so make sure not to take on too much. Juggling your everyday commitments with work can be a challenge, so it’s best to stick to fixed working hours where you can give it your all and shut off from work in your free time. If you are running your studio from home, it can be easy to forget the time, so try and stick to a routine which will help you stay sane.

Collective Ownership

Make it a weekly habit to plan what’s happening in the week ahead as well as evaluating the previous one. You should ask yourself whether you reached all your goals, and whether you achieved what you had planned out to do. If the answer is yes, fantastic! If not, look at what it was that held you back and think of ways on how you can make more accurate estimates. Make sure to engage everyone in the project management, which creates collective ownership. If everyone in your team feels responsible for themselves, you will create a culture of trust. Having respect for your colleagues is incredibly important and can only benefit your business.

Learn from Your Mistakes

When things go wrong, try not to beat yourself up about it. Instead, engage with your team to figure out what went wrong and how you can fix it. There are ways that you can inspire your colleagues and learn from your mistakes. You should also take the time to enjoy everything you have achieved.

When starting a small design studio, ensure you have the right tools and techniques in place. Also, remember that success may not come straight away so a level of perseverance is needed in order to see results.