Knowing when to stop

We’re often told success comes from ‘keeping going’: simply turning up each day with determination, optimism, and commitment.

More should be said about the value of pragmatism. About reality checks. About remembering why you started a business, about understanding what is achievable in the timeframe and about knowing when to stop or accept progress has faltered.

Interestingly, no-one sets up a business for a specific timeline but perhaps we should. All products – including ideas – have a shelf life. Like what our customers want from us changes; what we want from our business also evolves as our life changes.

Knowing when to stop is not about failing. It’s about reframing what success looks like.

Examples of success reframed

‘Sam’ has a large portfolio of government clients. She’s successfully ridden the rollercoaster of restructures to become the studio-of-choice for many comms departments. An overseas trip gave her the distance to objectively assess her studio. She realised the scale and complexity of the work had dropped significantly. What clients wanted was now way below her skill level and she was no longer making the (professional) progress she wanted. She’s closed her studio and has enrolled to re-skill and re-align her career.

Success for ‘Tom’ was being available for school drop off and pickup. He started a business to gain independence and flexibility. Now the kids are at high school their needs have changed and he’s realised his business is no longer fit for purpose. The trade-off for the flexibility Tom needs to ferry kids to and from basketball and footy training is working nights and weekends to meet deadlines. Working independently no longer works for Tom, so he’s merged his business with another. His (younger) partners are loving his maturity and knowledge. He starts early and leaves early to become Dad-taxi and works remotely 2 days per week. He no longer works nights or weekends.

A vivacious, personable designer built a lively, energetic eight-person studio. Through natural attrition over two years it morphed into a five-person studio. When it was evident there was no longer a role for a studio/general manager it became a four-person studio. During COVID another left, leaving three designers all working remotely. ‘Freya’ recently looked around the bedroom she calls a studio and realised this was not what she signed up for. She closed the business and is now in a marketing position with one of her long-term clients. She is loving the renewed social interaction and feels successful because her experience gained running a business is what makes her such a valuable employee.

‘Michaela’ has strong leadership credentials and a studio supported by folio of good, solid clients but she recently questioned if this was as good as it gets. After a decade she wanted more stimulation, more challenges, and more variety. Her studio has recently been acquired by a business with an aligned skillset stoked to bring her talents inhouse.

End of financial year accounts was the catalyst for ‘Dom’ to close his studio. He called us to talk benchmarks. We divided his earnings by the number of hours he (realistically) worked. The result was an hourly rate below minimum wages. At 40 he’s put himself on the job market purely to bolster his superannuation before retirement.

‘Sam’ graduated with honours and was convinced to join a few colleagues in a start-up. They were bolstered by a few high-profile campaigns but a lack of business acumen and high design ideals resulted in low profits. While they loved the energy and enthusiasm of their fellow founders, after five years they have decided to join an established studio to gain some experience

Take away

This is not a doom and gloom post. There are many creative businesses in our network flourishing, even in the tight economic climate.

The key is to regularly take stock of what you are doing and why. None of these founders have failed by deciding to close their creative businesses. Each reframed what success meant to them and running a business no longer made them feel successful.

Each of these designers demonstrated a balance between pragmatism and optimism. Pragmatism to see reality. Optimism to be brave to change.
Bottom line is, we are more than our business.

 

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Want more?

Here’s more information on designers making change:
1 Mini case studies about designers doing new business well
2 5 areas where small tweaks make a big difference
3 The power of design thinking