I started freelancing under the name DownsDesign about six years ago while in college. I left my full time job as an Art Director for a community college to pursue my life-long dream of opening a design studio. We work with mostly local clients, doing a mix of branding, print design, and web design for small to medium-sized clients.

I always liked the idea of using my last name as a business name. I liked how it paid homage to a time when a business wasn’t just a job but a reflection of self and passion. For example, if Bill was a baker, then he owned Bill’s Bakery; you knew if you went into Bill’s Bakery, he would be there. He would work hard and greet you with a smile, not because he had to, but because he was genuinely happy that you walked through the door and wanted to spend your hard-earned money at his business, allowing him to put food on his family’s table. This is how I have always felt about DownsDesign, and I wanted to carry that mentality to my clients in the way I run the business.

My mother taught my brothers and I to chase our passion. She let us know that we could get up every day, work our butts off, and love every minute of it. When I started, my goal was never to be a millionaire. I knew that if I could get up every day and do something that I really loved, it would be worth all the money in the world. I don’t get up every day and go to work, I go have fun; and hell, if I become a millionaire and I’m still having this much fun, I won’t complain.

There is a lot to be said of owning something, whether it’s a business, house or mail-order bride (kidding), it definitely changes how you feel about yourself as a person. To me it’s equal parts confidence booster and stress inducer. I’m sure there are a few people out there that truly give 110% working for someone else, but I just wasn’t that guy before. It wasn’t until I made the leap to running DownsDesign full-time that I really felt like I was honestly giving 110% every day. It’s a big weight to carry, running your own business but if you can keep that balance intact then you’ve got it pretty good.

The value of relationships
Some people are lucky enough to catch a break when they start out – maybe they got the chance to save up a few month’s pay before starting out on their own, or they have a spouse that helps keep the bills on track while they make a break for a full-time freelance design career. This wasn’t the case for me and there were definitely a lot of sleepless nights that first year or so, wondering how I was going to pay the bills.

While I might not have had as much financial stability as I would have liked while starting DownsDesign (and not to be corny here, but…), I do feel like I got something that proved much more beneficial to me in the long run. While working my way up the proverbial design ladder, I formed some great relationships with some super-talented designers like Steve Gordon, Jr. of RDQLUS Creative and Roby Fitzhenry of Always Creative. There are so many great connections in Omaha that continue to prove invaluable in running my business.

Keeping Things Simple
KISS – keep it simple and stupid. We hear it all the time in design school; it’s drilled into our heads. This is how I have tried to run DownsDesign since day one; get up, work hard, stay organized, repeat. I take my work, and keeping clients happy very serious, but I think it’s important to have a great time doing it.

Eric is principal of DownsDesign, a small design studio, happily located in Omaha, Nebraska. Eric uses creativity to design, organize and simplify things, namely branding, print materials and websites. Visit www.downsdesign.com for a peek at Eric’s work.

Tags: career, creative, designer, networking

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 13th, 2010 at 8:49 am and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.