TheSoloAct
Junior Member
- May 12, 2019
- 157
- 154
It's not always about the end result. With that in mind, I chose to go down this time-consuming Warrior Path. Keeping all my side incomes aside except one (which allows me to barely get by, haha) I focused on doing what I do best: graphic design. In the past, I'd done jobs and freelancing in design but it just wasn't that charming and flexible, never. I wanted to run a full-fledged studio.
For those who don't know, there are various services within design. So, when I say a fully equipped studio, it meant a team, a lot of time, some investment, and a website that was full of work.
I started talking in my friend circle. This was aroud the beginning of the year when the COVID-19 was "just some virus in China". I asked a lot of like-minded designers friends who I've had the pleasure of working with and moderating communities with. Some of them said no (lack of time, no upfront pay) while others were eager to join.
We started with a Trello board and a humble Telegram group chat. Everyone posted their portfolios, their best work. I set up social media accounts and started populating it. We had some basic arrangements and hierarchy talk as well.
At the same time, I was also working on building the website. It was a hard-coded website so it took a while. I'd say it was a phase nobody liked. For this entirety of time, we couldn't advertise ourselves. We were just sitting and waiting for me to finish up. Once the social media accounts were populated and everyone's design skill was published pretty much, we started gaining some traction.
The website itself was finished a month later and included everything an ideal design portfolio website should. It had various sections to display various specializations, was made mobile responsive, all that.
Now, it was time to advertise. I chose to run Facebook (and Instagram, sort of a package deal) ads. I chose different targeting and made different ad graphics for each target group. For example, I advertised to restaurant owners, business owners, law firms, and so on. Some were merely lead-generation campaigns while others were "contact me directly right now" type of ads.
Besides that, we also organically expanded our reach.
Some 5 months down the line, my studio is up and running! Yes, we have a long way to go and the kind of business I wish to do what with a 10-member team to take care of is still very far from realization. But it's something to build up on. Sometime to improve over time.
Check out the website if you wish, I spent a ton of time making it after all! moldbreaker.studio
For those who don't know, there are various services within design. So, when I say a fully equipped studio, it meant a team, a lot of time, some investment, and a website that was full of work.
I started talking in my friend circle. This was aroud the beginning of the year when the COVID-19 was "just some virus in China". I asked a lot of like-minded designers friends who I've had the pleasure of working with and moderating communities with. Some of them said no (lack of time, no upfront pay) while others were eager to join.
We started with a Trello board and a humble Telegram group chat. Everyone posted their portfolios, their best work. I set up social media accounts and started populating it. We had some basic arrangements and hierarchy talk as well.
At the same time, I was also working on building the website. It was a hard-coded website so it took a while. I'd say it was a phase nobody liked. For this entirety of time, we couldn't advertise ourselves. We were just sitting and waiting for me to finish up. Once the social media accounts were populated and everyone's design skill was published pretty much, we started gaining some traction.
The website itself was finished a month later and included everything an ideal design portfolio website should. It had various sections to display various specializations, was made mobile responsive, all that.
Now, it was time to advertise. I chose to run Facebook (and Instagram, sort of a package deal) ads. I chose different targeting and made different ad graphics for each target group. For example, I advertised to restaurant owners, business owners, law firms, and so on. Some were merely lead-generation campaigns while others were "contact me directly right now" type of ads.
Besides that, we also organically expanded our reach.
Some 5 months down the line, my studio is up and running! Yes, we have a long way to go and the kind of business I wish to do what with a 10-member team to take care of is still very far from realization. But it's something to build up on. Sometime to improve over time.
Check out the website if you wish, I spent a ton of time making it after all! moldbreaker.studio
