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Just H
01-26-2009, 02:21 PM
i'm H, and i'm a graphic-designaholic (nervously).

i've been using graphic design for about 7 years and finally deciding to try to make it a full-time biz. (ok - so that's kind of the opposite of any kind of -aholic, but you get the idea.)

vangogh is my good friend and has been urging me to join for awhile, meet the good people here, partake of donuts and stale coffee. so here i am! looking forward to meeting all of you, learning more about small biz in general and hopefully adding some constructive help when i can. (weak smile)

(sit down, stare at the styrofoam cup in my lap)

vangogh
01-26-2009, 02:25 PM
Let me welcome you on behalf o the forum H. I'm sure you'll get be happy to get to know everyone. Lots of great people here already and more joining every day.

Yep H is a good friend of mine so I hope everyone will treat her well.

We do have coffee and donuts available in the lounge. The coffee is always ready, but the last one to arrive in the morning needs to bring the donuts. mmm...donuts.

Glad you took me up on the offer to join. We really do have a friendly and knowledgeable community here. I'm sure you'll be able to learn more to help your business grow and also be able to share your experiences and knowledge and help our business grow too.

Thanks again for joining the community.

the goat
01-26-2009, 03:37 PM
Hi Just H, admitting you have a problem is half the battle. Good luck in your business!

KristineS
01-26-2009, 03:54 PM
Hey, Just H. I was wondering when we might see you here. For those of us who don't care for coffee, we also have tea and a nice mug of cocoa for the chocoholics among us. I'm down with the donuts though!

We're a good group here and I think you'll enjoy being part of the forum.

Just H
01-26-2009, 03:55 PM
thanks homer, i mean vangogh. thanks goat - half a battle is better than a whole one!

Just H
01-26-2009, 04:02 PM
thanks Kristine! i've heard a lot of great things about you and checked out some of your writing. good stuff! great to officially meet you, umm, virtually officially (is that proper tense??)

rezzy
01-26-2009, 04:39 PM
hello H,

I never noticed the doughnuts until recently. But I will be raiding them on occasion and running back to where I am.

--Although many of us have met Vangogh... virutally few ever have face-to-face contact.

Welcome to the forums.:)

Just H
01-26-2009, 05:02 PM
thanks rezzy. if you see a raspberry filled one, carve an H into it! btw - i've seen vangogh's mug many times and he's not so bad looking . . . for a dead guy w/ one ear!

cbscreative
01-26-2009, 05:23 PM
Welcome aboard. As a fellow graphics guy who also owns a business, I look forward to getting to know you better. Having a sense of humor in business sure helps too, and you've got that one covered. And it looks like the secret is out on our stash of coffee and donuts in the lounge.

thx4yrtym
01-26-2009, 05:42 PM
Lots to learn here. Enjoy your stay . Please take those donuts out a here, I'm suppose to be on a diet!!!

Regards.


Gregg

orion_joel
01-26-2009, 06:15 PM
Hi H, welcome along.

SteveC
01-26-2009, 06:57 PM
Hi H

Welcome to the forums... I look forward to chatting, helping out and hopefully learning a few things from you...

vangogh
01-26-2009, 07:00 PM
btw - i've seen vangogh's mug many times and he's not so bad looking . . . for a dead guy w/ one ear!

You should have seen me when I was alive and had both ears. I was quite the ladies man. This decomposing thing makes it hard to find a date now. Good thing I have my paints.

Just H
01-26-2009, 07:42 PM
steve - great to meet another designer. sorry i let the sprinkles out of the bag on the refreshments! gregg - great to you meet you also. i'm heading the committee to get catered salads and protein shakes so you won't be left out. (i'm actually a health nut but that's not nearly as fun! and fyi, a personal trainer back in the day so if you need any tips, feel free to ask)]

oops - didn't see the other posts from stevec and joel - thanks guys! great to have such a nice warm welcome.

KristineS
01-26-2009, 09:49 PM
I think I'm going to call Vangogh Homer from now on.

It just fits.

A decomposing dead guy with a donut fetish, what could be cooler?

vangogh
01-26-2009, 10:09 PM
Homer? d'oh

seolman
01-26-2009, 11:16 PM
Welcome Just H.

Hey - any friend of a dead painter nicknamed Homer with a mutilated ear is a friend of mine...hey what am I saying?

Oh well. You'll fit right in with this group of misfits. Trust me. :D

Just H
01-26-2009, 11:41 PM
thanks seolman - love the avatar! looks like someone who'd be a friend to a mutilated Homer! but then, i guess we all are.

seolman
01-26-2009, 11:44 PM
thanks seolman - love the avatar! looks like someone who'd be a friend to a mutilated Homer! but then, i guess we all are.

I looked a lot better before I met Steve...

vangogh
01-26-2009, 11:52 PM
I might be offended if I could hear you. Lucky for you one of my ears is missing.

seolman
01-26-2009, 11:55 PM
I might be offended if I could hear you. Lucky for you one of my ears is missing.

Well.. I'd be offended if I could read.

vangogh
01-26-2009, 11:56 PM
Good thing for both of us then.

KristineS
01-27-2009, 09:11 AM
thanks Kristine! i've heard a lot of great things about you and checked out some of your writing. good stuff! great to officially meet you, umm, virtually officially (is that proper tense??)

Thanks for the compliments about my work. It's always nice to know someone is reading.

Virtually, officially meeting works for me. Although I feel as though I knew you prior to this since Vangogh talks about you in his e-mails.

phanio
01-27-2009, 09:48 AM
Just H – Welcome. I am also new to this forum and find it to be one of the better ones in regards to good information, differencing opinions and overall business savvy.

If you don’t mind, since you are somewhat just starting a new business, would you be willing to share some of your thoughts and concerns as you go along. Nothing personal or proprietary – just maybe some concerns, struggles and successes. Would love to watch your business grow and who knows, you, me and everyone here could both share and learn along the way.

Again – welcome.

Just H
01-27-2009, 10:38 AM
phanio - thanks for the well-thought out welcome. i will certainly try to adequately share things as i go along. i know one thing i can start with: i've been doing this on the side for many years and one of the things i'm the worst at is working within the number of hours i'd billed the project on. now this has both good parts and not-so-good (i won't go so far as bad). if i bill a project for say 8 hours, i realize i'm spending 12-20. part of it is always learning as i do something and keeping on path with that to see what i come up with. part is the perfectionist in me that if something just doesn't seem quite right, it'll wake me up at night.

i have tried to keep track of "how long things take" but each project and client is so varied it doesn't translate all that well from one project to the next. so my goal is to better make a projection and do my best to do my best work within that time and be able to move on to the next project. i look back at the designs over the years and realize my skills have improved SO much so i'm happy w/ that and now will shift the focus to doing it more efficiently.

thanks for asking!

Blessed
01-27-2009, 12:26 PM
Hiya H!

I'm the Graphics Gal around here who also owns a business (that I work in between chasing a toddler, running errands for my husband and growing a new baby - who will appear in June) and who also enjoys coffee and donuts. Welcome to the forum!

cbscreative
01-27-2009, 12:45 PM
i know one thing i can start with: i've been doing this on the side for many years and one of the things i'm the worst at is working within the number of hours i'd billed the project on. now this has both good parts and not-so-good (i won't go so far as bad). if i bill a project for say 8 hours, i realize i'm spending 12-20. part of it is always learning as i do something and keeping on path with that to see what i come up with. part is the perfectionist in me that if something just doesn't seem quite right, it'll wake me up at night.

i have tried to keep track of "how long things take" but each project and client is so varied it doesn't translate all that well from one project to the next. so my goal is to better make a projection and do my best to do my best work within that time and be able to move on to the next project. i look back at the designs over the years and realize my skills have improved SO much so i'm happy w/ that and now will shift the focus to doing it more efficiently.

Not to scare you, but I'm not sure this ever gets any better. Us perfectionist types are always prone to over deliver, and we are always learning and improving. You will get better at projecting the real costs and improve your profits, but it's somewhere between difficult and impossible to stop when you know you can do better. One thing that helps me is to focus on business goals, because the artist in you will always want to go over the top. The rule "less is more" definitely needs to be remembered. It's a struggle, but you can do it.

vangogh
01-27-2009, 01:22 PM
I'll pretty much echo what Steve said. Pricing and estimating time are among the hard things for any new service based business. It does get easier over time though, as long as you do a few simple things.

Always keep track of your time while working. I can't emphasize this enough. Whether you grab a program with a real time stop watch or just look at the clock when you start and stop working, always keep track of how much time you spend on every project and even tasks within a project.

While things vary from project to project, especially when it comes to creative work, the more you track time, the more patterns you'll discover in the way you work. You'll be surprised how seemingly different projects still end up taking similar amounts of time to complete.

Sometimes it's more that you can identify where one client needs more time than another or that a certain part of the process takes you longer than others. Knowing that you can look for ways to streamline things. You learn where you might spend too much time and give you clues about what to be learning.

As far as the perfectionist thing it's hard to overcome, but you have to. I want to make things as good as I can too, but I know there's a point where it's time to let go of your design and get paid for the work. It's ok to spend a certain amount of time refining things, but remember that most people will never notice a px here or there and in the end this is a business. There have been lots of projects where I would have liked to perfect more, but since the client wasn't willing to pay for the time I knew to move on.

You can save some of the perfectionism for when you create your own projects, though even then you have to know when it's time to let go.

Just H
01-27-2009, 01:31 PM
Kristine - i feel like i know you already too. the settling for more blog is really cool and makes a great statement w/ the title.

Blessed - congrats on the June addition! feel free to share the struggles and triumphs you're coming across as well.

Steve C - well said. there's definitely a balance to find.

vangogh - good addition for an earless guy! glad you can still read!!

Vivid Color Zack
02-05-2009, 01:31 AM
When did we get coffee and donuts?

Let me know if you need a sponsor man, most of us have been in your shoes in one way or another and we're all here to help one another. Accept your higher power - I think cumulatively all of our higher powers end up being Steve... one of them... all of them... it all boils down to Steves.

KristineS
02-05-2009, 12:40 PM
I think cumulatively all of our higher powers end up being Steve... one of them... all of them... it all boils down to Steves.

I may have to take exception to that.

I would think I qualify as at least a minor deity. :D

Just H
02-05-2009, 01:33 PM
And we thought doctors were the ones with God complexes! If I were a deity, I'd want to be . . . hmmmm. I don't think I'd want to be one, taking care of my own life is hard enough!

Vivid Color Zack
02-07-2009, 01:14 AM
I may have to take exception to that.

I would think I qualify as at least a minor deity. :D

There are more of them than you! You should be careful they might see you hogging all the glory!

I'm sorry I didn't mean to forget about you :)

KristineS
02-09-2009, 01:09 PM
I was just teasing Zack. I know the Steves will eventually take over the world.

Paul Elliott
02-09-2009, 03:09 PM
H, don't worry about all the Steves. True, they do metastasize, but they can be "treated!"

Glad to have you aboard.

Feel free to share more of your business and marketing needs with us. Most of us will get more serious when you do. ;)

Paul

Vivid Color Zack
02-09-2009, 04:18 PM
Most of us will get more serious when you do. ;)


I can only be serious a few hours a day. I hope I'm never upsetting anyone with my attitude I just like staying light and happy, even with serious issues.

seolman
02-09-2009, 04:43 PM
I can only be serious a few hours a day. I hope I'm never upsetting anyone with my attitude I just like staying light and happy, even with serious issues.

You manage to be serious a few hours? You're my hero!

I refuse to be serious!

Blessed
02-09-2009, 09:59 PM
first Joel says we should have a to do list and now Zack says we should be serious for at least a few hours a day... what is this forum coming too?

I'm with seolman, I refuse to be serious! :D

cbscreative
02-10-2009, 04:51 PM
Any more seriousness in this thread will not be tolerated, and I'm serious.

seolman
02-10-2009, 09:36 PM
Any more seriousness in this thread will not be tolerated, and I'm serious.

This sounds serious!

Vivid Color Zack
02-12-2009, 01:18 PM
What have I done! In all seriousness, I was only kidding. I can't really be serious for a few hours I was trying to impress you guys :)

Blessed
02-12-2009, 01:52 PM
well that's a relief... :D

KristineS
02-12-2009, 03:15 PM
Seriously gang!

(I just couldn't resist.)

Just H
02-12-2009, 04:22 PM
This is stressing me out! I'm going to go listen to Spa on Sirius.