So, you’ve had a momentary lapse of reason and decided to forgo the regular paycheck in favor of starting your own business. Welcome to the club. Being in business for yourself can be a WILD ride, so fasten those seat belts.

BoDo is here to (hopefully) make that ride a little smoother. We’ve all had our triumphs as well as tribulations. We plan on sharing all the ins and outs. The ups and downs. As well as the in betweens.

Quoting Creative Coach and visiting author Mark McGuinness from Wishful Thinking

To run a successful design business you need to be more than a great designer. You need to be an accountant, manager, negotiator, salesperson, marketer, presenter, networker, copywriter, debt collector, strategist, intellectual property developer and more. You need to be comfortable dealing with people, money, technology and sometimes even the law.

Take advantage of programmes on offer to help you develop these skills. Make use of resources like BoDo where you can learn from others’ expertise and experience. Read books, ask questions - do whatever it takes. Commit to learning these business skills - they are tools for turning your creative talent into creative success.

In our first series, BoDo Niblets: Starting Out and Setting Up, we will cover the bare basics. The series will be just a nibble, an intro, a bite of what BoDo will bring. Later posts will go into more detail on the running a successful design business.

We’ll also be introducing team members, visiting authors (like Mark), and a few odd friends who’ll stop by on occasion.

Below is the outline of the series. For each subject there will be joining posts, BoDo Experience. It’s where a few of us dig back into our start-up days.

Are You Ready?

Do you have enough experience (both with design and running a small business) to start your own design company?

Taking it Personally

Are you an independent self-starter, disciplined loner, superb marketeer, multi-tasking monk? Or do you feel more comfortable working mainly in-house, surrounded by living, breathing flesh?

Clients, Oh My!

How many clients do you need to get started?

Where’s the Money, Honey?

How much ready cash does it take to leap?

Location, Location, Location

Decisions, decisions … Will you rent office space, or work out of the home? Will you work on-site or via the Internet?

How Equipped Are You?

Can you start with the bare basics, or do you need the bells and whistles?

Who’s (ac)Counting now?

You’ve got the clients. You’ve got the projects. What kind of invoicing will you need?

A Recap of the Starting Out and Setting Up series

So, how’d we do?

Thanks for stopping by,
The BoDo Team
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