Do I Have the Business Acumen to Venture on My Own?

As a designer, working as a freelancer or having my own studio has always been one of my ‘food-for-thought’ musings. However, there are some things that hold me back. The lecture was a podcast hosted by Neef Rehman, the Creative Technologist and Adventure Lead at UsTwo, were he interviewed three different design entrepreneurs: Robin Howie from Fieldwork Factory, ‘Sinx’ who is the founder of UsTwo and Sophie Hawkins from S. Hawkins Co. All three interviews discussed how these three entrepreneurs started out their business, what do they think it is important when starting the business and finding the gap in the market.

This week’s lecture was interesting in its own right, but honestly the first two interviewees did feel like they are only telling one part of the story. I’m saying this in the sense that, they managed to start a business with practically no cash flow. I’m not saying that it cannot be possible, but till they made it big, how did they support themselves, if I may ask? On the other hand, the third case study – Sophie Hawkins – felt more realistic in my opinion. Or maybe it is only because it is more relatable? Both Sinx and Howie did iterate that starting out on your own business right after school is a very risky move, albeit they succeeded in their ventures. That being said, they never mentioned whether they had any venture capital or whether they just borrowed money from their parents to start things off. Also, they never talk about the specifics when they were sating out. On the other hand, Hawkins’s case felt more realistic. The fact that she started out as an employee seems like a more logical move in my opinion. The point that I am trying to make here is that taking risky decisions is part of how businesses work, however it has to be a calculated risk. One can easily put up their assets as ‘collateral’ to get a loan, but one needs to keep in mind all risk factors.

This last thought is one of the reasons that bothers me whenever I think of starting my own business. I am willing to start working freelance, but in the meantime, how will I support myself? Do I have to rely on my parents for some money? In addition, till there is a steady cash flow in the business, will there be enough money coming in to cover necessary expenses, such as food and utilities?

I enjoyed reading the article from Wired (link to article here). It is titled Designers make Great Entrepreneurs, They just Don’t Know it Yet. There was a paragraph were it said that the love for design is not enough. And I totally agree. Raw talent isn’t enough in a business. One need to have an equal passion in starting your business from ground up. I am not the kind of person that believes in strokes of luck. I think that making your own ‘luck’ is indeed possible. My question in this regard would be, how long will it take to pick up come traction. Not speed, but traction – enough to get by.

Having your own business is cool indeed. Nothing wrong with being employed, however, I think that certain freelance work makes room for more experimentation and exploration of uncharted theories. Speaking from personal experience, my design work is almost all for internal products owned by the company I worked for. I love the job and the workplace, but it can get a bit restricting. And after a day’s work, I do not always have the energy to pursue ‘passion projects’ to which it leads me to abandon them completely most of the time. This course is currently giving me some space to be creative and analytical at times. It sure has given me the opportunity to rethink my future career goals too. At this point, I am curious how the world will turn out after the COVID pandemic is over. Hopefully sooner rather than later. I have no problem being an employee. It has its perks. Although having your own business makes you be your own boss. So many questions… should keep be busy for wuite a bit.