Business muscles and how to grow them
This is the first chapter of Run Studio Run, a book I wrote about how to manage and grow a small creative studio. I wrote it because I’m tired of creative people thinking that being creative and being good at business are mutually exclusive. The book is available from elialtman.com here.
Look. I’m going to be really blunt here. If you have a creative studio, no matter how small or ad hoc, you are running a business. I know you’re passionate about design and just want to be left to your creative ideations, but you can’t bury your head in the sand anymore. There’s no escaping the fact that you run a business. Do clients pay you for creative work? Do you pay taxes on the money that you make for that work? Sure you do. Because you run a business and not some bohemian bartering collective.
So then why is it that the majority of creative professionals don’t view themselves as business people? My guess is it has something to do with the image that pops into your head when you hear “business people.” They wear slacks and have conversations around the water cooler about fantasy football. That’s not you. You wear raw denim and drink third wave coffee. It’s almost as if being intentional about running a good business would somehow invalidate your creative cred.
I’m here to tell you that’s total horseshit. You can be a talented creative professional and savvy business person all at the same time. I’ll even go one step further and tell you that if you put some real work into building an efficient business, you will actually have more time and energy to commit to your creative work. Did I mention you’ll make more money?
YOU DON’T KNOW IF YOU DON’T ASK: “Don’t be afraid to ask stupid questions if you don’t know. This is how you learn stuff.” –KATE BINGAMAN-BURT
BRUTAL HONESTY: “I’m a designer first. Business-wise, let’s get this straight, I certainly don’t have my act together.” –AARON DRAPLIN, DRAPLIN DESIGN CO.
I get it. I went to design school. I didn’t take a single math class in college. Why bother? I’m never going to use this stuff anyway. While creative work is thought-provoking and exhilarating, figuring out how to run an efficient business feels drab and pedantic. But look how competitive the creative field is. Look at how many solo practitioners there are — how many small studios. If you were to walk into any crowded urban coffee shop and yell “I’m looking for a designer,” half of the people in there would sheepishly look up from their laptops and macchiati wondering why you’re disturbing their flow. Point is, creative professionals are everywhere and you need to take this shit seriously. You’re running a business whether you like it or not — and in a very competitive industry! So, you might as well run a good one.
Building the skills to do so might feel like slogging through the mud. It might feel like taking calculus when you want to be painting. But it’s work worth doing if you’re looking to survive and grow in a competitive field. Frankly, the work isn’t even that difficult. It just takes two things: a consistent commitment to educating yourself, and a willingness to experiment while tracking results. We’re going to dive deep into both of these things but not just yet. Hold your horses.
Can’t I just get someone else to handle the business part?
No. This work is too important to offload to someone else. Letting someone else handle the “business side” has been the downfall of countless artists and musicians. Ask Billy Joel. Pretending like you can ignore or outsource the business side of your studio will get you into trouble more often than not. Read books, listen to podcasts, go to conferences. Find a way to make learning about business enjoyable and find a program that you can stick to. On average, I read a business book each quarter and listen to podcasts weekly. I’m not going to lie to you; most business books are pretty boring. Some are poorly written. Some are sexist. Some are poorly written and sexist. Don’t let that stop you from extracting the information that’s useful to you and shaking your head at the rest. When these books get interesting is when you find things you can apply to your studio. For example, Managing the Professional Service Firm by David H. Maister (Simon & Schuster, 1993) is a dense, slow read. But its pages are filled with useful and immediately applicable information. It was written for law firms and big consulting firms but creative studios are absolutely professional service firms and there’s a lot we can learn from our suited counterparts.
BE HERE NOW: “Neither of us have a business background. As we’ve gone along, we’ve met with colleagues and other designers who’ve started their own studios to get their advice on how to get your first clients and how to get yourself out there. If anything, we were looking for mental reassurance that we had made the right decision.” –EMILY TU, TUNG
THERE ARE BUSINESS PEOPLE ALL AROUND YOU: “It’s good to hang out with other business people. It could be an accountant or a real estate agent. I learn a lot from my contractor even though I hate him.” –JEFF PERKY, PERKY BROS.
One big advantage smaller creative studios have is the ease with which we can implement these changes. Almost every business book I have read has led to specific, positive changes in how we do business at A Hundred Monkeys. For example, we introduced client feedback forms after reading about them in Managing the Professional Service Firm. We started with the format the book suggests and modified it as we went, tracking our response rate. Implementing something like this at a big company could take years. We sent out our first requests for feedback within a week and made gradual changes over time. When the response rate to physical mailers started lagging, we switched to online forms. It took literally a day. Easy as that.
So remember: you’re a business person. You have no choice in the matter so stop trying to fight it. No one is going to force you to wear pleated pants. This does not make you any less brilliantly creative. So now that we’re square on that, let’s figure out what your studio needs to focus on.
If you need any help embracing your inner business person and their practical day-to-night slacks, pick up Run Studio Run.
