On April 2, 2012, I published a project to the web called Startups, this is how design works. I spent four months researching Designer Founders, interviewing some industry-leading designers, writing, researching some more, and designing the layout for this story. I wanted to explore the intersection of design and startups, and encourage people to learn more about designer founders and help them make their first crucial design hires. Forbes is calling this The Era of Design – I’m compelled to agree.

I want to be as transparent as possible with my data. I’ve seen a few people on Hacker News share numbers, and those people are awesome… I think it’s great to see the numbers behind things that work. Hopefully my Google Analytics data will continue down that path of shedding light on little successes and making web metrics a bit more transparent.

The project was, quite literally, an overnight sensation. At 1am EST on April 3, my phone went berserk.

I was getting about a dozen mentions per second via Tweetbot on my iPhone. I instantly checked my analytics, and was able to snap this screenshot showing the exact moment the website went viral. The inflection point was clearly on Twitter, but I can’t identify the individual tweet that caused it. Thank you, to whoever it was.

Totals

These numbers represent traffic between April 1, 2012 and May 15, 2012.

Visits: 384,550
Unique Visitors:261,826
Pageviews: 415,027
Pages/Visit: 1.08
Avg. Visit Duration:00:00:34
Bounce Rate: 93.62%
% New Visits: 67.71%

Goals

I’ll also be transparent about my goals. I set a goal of 500,000 visits within 14 days… it was incredibly aggressive. It basically meant that it ‘had to go viral’ otherwise I’d be looking at far less traffic, probably between 3,000 – 5,000 hits. It also meant that I needed to get a ton of press… something I had never been able to do before. Here’s what happened instead:

229,372 visits in 14 days. My personal goal was basically contingent on getting coverage from TechCrunch. I contacted them and Co.Design, but neither covered the story. That’s fine… maybe I’ll have better connections for my next project. I also wish that Leo Widrich‘s blog post “7 Steps To Get Press Coverage For Your Startup” had existed a month and a half ago. C’est la vie.

Awesome stuff happened

The story WAS covered by TNW (Thank you again, Harrison Weber), Graphic Optimism, The Industry, and was awarded an Awwwards Site of the Day (thank you, whoever submitted it?!)

I’ve received a ton of emails, twitter followers, and have had some great discussions with people. I’m so excited that the message is thriving, and that I played a part in reaching the non-designers. As more designers found and co-found companies, I think it’s going to seem much more ‘normal’ in the coming months / years. It’s great to see so many people psyched about it on Twitter… I read through pretty much every one of the  12,632 tweets. Thank you.

Not so awesome stuff happened too

My website was shared everywhere, including Hacker News, Reddit, and Metafilter. I invite you to read through the comments.

I’m all for constructive feedback… designers need to be able to thrive on it. It improves the thinking behind my work and anything that comes after… sometimes, it’s a pretty big pill to swallow. People saying “This is a disaster design-wise” and “This is shit” is never pleasant to read about your work. In the end though, I’m glad it happened. Who was it who said “If no one hates you, you’re doing something wrong”?

I did silently act upon the constructive feedback, though. The fonts I used really did look like absolute shit on Chrome for Windows. It’s something I didn’t adequately test before launching with Google Web Fonts, and that’s my fault. I switched to using locally-hosted fonts instead, and the problem was completely resolved. Good times.

Social engagement a go-go

Twitter was pretty instrumental to the virility of this site. 45 days later, and I’m still getting Mention notifications on my phone. I still haven’t turned back on the alert sound.

I came across a Wikipedia article about the “1% Rule” as applied to social engagement online.

The 1% rule states that the number of people who create content on the Internet represents approximately 1% (or less) of the people actually viewing that content (for example, for every person who posts on a forum, generally about 99 other people are viewing that forum but not posting).

Here are my results from the last 30 days (I wish I had screenshotted this 15 days ago)

Google Analytics
 Topsy social interaction data

Interestingly enough, it seems that only 0.25% of visitors engaged in social interaction on Twitter on the most active day. Overall, only about 0.50% of visitors engaged on Twitter. Compare that to Facebook interaction, 0.84% of visitors Liked my page. Seems pretty close to the projected 1%, but I wonder why my numbers were so much lower. Next time, I’m going to spend a fair amount of time thinking about how to better encourage social interaction to get closer to that 1%. KISSmetrics seems to have a few ideas… Get More Tweets: 5 UX Tips for Boosting Your Site’s Virality

Overall, I think it’s a good benchmark to see how well others are doing.

Sum up

I hope this kind of post continues to urge more people to be transparent about their numbers. It’s an interesting metric to compare, and usually held pretty closely to one’s chest. I like sharing, especially when I feel like I’ve done something right… I hope this helps someone else.

I was watching Prophets of Science Fiction on Science Channel last night, and I saw some awesome renderings of Virgin Galactic‘s SpaceshipTwo and an animated video of the craft in action. I’ve known about Virgin’s celestial endeavors for ages, but haven’t really thought much of it. $200,000 for a single flight into low-earth orbit kind of puts a stop to any realistic hopes for space travel.

Seeing Spaceport America (the world’s first commercial ‘space airport’) currently under construction and Spaceship Two actually built, I couldn’t help but fantasize about space travel once again. I hadn’t really thought about it since middle school or high school, and I feel like now, more than ever, it’s no longer an unrealistic dream.

(Please forgive the horrible music… you might want to turn the sound off / down before hitting play)

I’m going to be alive (I hope!) for another 80-90 years (assuming medical science improves dramatically in the next 50 years or so, which I’m certain it will). In that time, commercial space travel will continue to evolve. I’ve never had a ‘bucket list’ and I don’t have any immediate plans for one, but I do know one thing. I’m definitely going to go into outer space before I die.

Man, just writing that down gives me butterflies. Can you believe that? Outer space. Capitan Picard would be proud, I think.

(Image credit Virgin Galactic. More images available at Discovery Channel)

Just thought I’d share that thought… If you were hoping for some design-related content, try googling “kerning”… can you see it?

Every morning I wake up and scan my iPhone notifications. First I check email, to make sure I’m either 1) not at fault for some huge disaster or 2) that the world hasn’t ended. If there’s nothing mission critical, I move on to the other miscellany of Path, Twitter, and Hanging With Friends bleeps – whichever social network or needy app I happen to be into that week. Then I browse my RSS feeds on Reeder to gain perspective on the world as of that moment, and I’m not even out of bed yet.

How fitting that David Cole wrote just yesterday (emphasis mine):

The big narrative going around right now is that design has been crowned king of the solar system. A Braun-esque super-future is in the works for 2012, and by Thanksgiving we’ll be downloading perfectly cuboid turkeys with rounded corners and all will be well.

Woot! It’s the perfect storm for design, and everything is great! Right?

Well, maybe not. The precedent is there, but David aptly continues:

But to get there, we need to solve a really big problem: the huge demand doesn’t actually seem to be creating supply. Every startup needs designers but they’re nowhere to be found.

His proposed solution is a fantastic idea. He’s encouraging highly skilled designers and design teams to take on bright young designers in a mentor / mentee relationship. In fact, that’s exactly what I’m looking for in a startup out West. I really want to join a stellar team and learn from the most talented designers I could possibly gain access to. I want to be a master, and I know that would be a huge step in the right direction. There’s plenty of startups and tech companies hiring designers, so assuming we can find existing design teams to work with, we as an industry could start a great feedback loop training designers to create world-class work.

From my experience in academia and working with student designers, I see a big gap between where students are now and having the opportunity to be mentored by skilled designers. Many young designers don’t even know that great startups / companies hiring and the exquisite designers within exist. How could they possibly begin seeking them out?

College works really well as a vacuum, and it’s easy to “become a designer” without a clue to what exactly it means to be a designer in 2012. I can say this with a certain amount of conviction because I know I’ve been guilty of this through my years in college.

It’s only been in the last year or so that I’ve had any serious interest in other designers, their work, and design history. It started with a brief research project on Dieter Rams (whom I already knew about, but I didn’t understand his significance) and the interest grew upon being invited to be a player on Dribbble. I came to realize that there were tons of great designers that I didn’t know existed. It wasn’t like I thought they didn’t, I just never really thought about it to begin with. Suddenly I was actually interacting with designers like Louie Mantia, Rogie King, Matthew Smith, and Luke Beard (to name just a few) – I’ve seen work coming out of these guys for years… since before I ever even thought to call myself a designer. They were like idols, but suddenly I was Liking their work on Dribbble, tweeting at them (and getting replies back) and buying prints of their work. I’ve even spoken to one of them over the phone. Call me corny if you must, but it’s been an incredibly eye-opening experience for me. This kind of immersion is exactly what I think young designers need in order to take the next big leap.

And it’s a pretty big leap. It’s not easy to just ‘become’ a participating member of a community overnight. It has taken months (and will continue to take me months) to amass my list of designers to follow on various social channels. I just recently added dozens of blogs to my RSS reader, and I certainly still have dozens more to add that I’ve never even heard of. Every day I’m seeing retweets and blog posts and references to people I’ve never heard of. It’s almost a full-time job in itself.

David said how “designers [are] nowhere to be found” but I’m not sure if that’s the problem. If you look at portfolio networks, blogs, or college campuses, student designers are everywhere. David believes (and I concur) that seasoned designers have the opportunity to mentor young designers, but I wonder how that works if young designers don’t even know that someone like Jessica Hische exists? How do we build those connections? Do we even need to? Maybe students just need that drive to explore and learn outside of the classroom… it’s hard and takes time, but we’ve just gotta do it.

For some students, it’s a case of “You don’t know what you don’t know.” How do we get student designers to start asking the right questions? It started for me in my senior year (of a 5-year program) upon reading “Why Designers Can’t Think” by Michael Bierut, and I wish I had realized it sooner. Being thrown in during my senior year is jarring, and maybe if I had started exploring two years ago I’d be more confident entering the ‘design workforce’… if such a term even exists. I’m excited and super motivated to do it… but it’s still super nerve-wracking.

Would it be helpful for me to compile some of the resources, designers, and bloggers I’ve found inspirational or motivating? Maybe if I share great work on this blog, it’ll not only motivate me, but maybe motivate others? You tell me.

 (Edited 1:20pm on 2/7/12… I spoke with a mentor and I’m seeing things a bit differently than I did before.)

Everyone is looking for a designer these days, and I think that’s super exciting. It’s a great time to be doing a startup, and it’s an even better time to be a Designer. Finding quality design talent is hard, though. I think it’s safe to say that finding Designers is significantly harder than finding a developer or engineer, mostly because:

1. Designers aren’t as in-tune with the startup world as business guys and engineers are. Relatively speaking, it’s a new thing for many of them.
2. Many entrepreneurs don’t have the design lingo yet – others don’t exactly know who they’re looking for. They know what they need, but can’t verbalize it effectively to designers.
3. There are limited resources for scouting designers. Design meetups are scarce (in Boston, the majority of my audience for this post) and Design communities in general are small and nuanced. There’s way less fanfare and tweeting than the average startup event.
4. “Good Design” and “Good Designers” are entirely subjective. There’s no quiz, rubric, or mold to easily assess a Designer’s skill – especially when the assessor isn’t a Design expert.

I’m addressing this exact problem for my Degree Project, which will launch to the world on March 27th. In this post, I’m going to focus on #3 above. The other three require a bit more explanation… you’ll see. I’m gonna make a big fuss about the whole thing when my project is complete.

Fortunately, there are   resources.

Designers may be harder to find than engineers right now, but it’s not impossible. I think the overarching message here is If they won’t come to you, you’ll have to go to them. Here’s where the designers are.

1. Dribbble – ‘Find Designers’ Page

http://www.dribbble.com/designers

Aptly named – I feel like I’m cheating by including this, but it might not be the first place you’d think to look. For some, this may be the first time hearing about Dribbble in the first place. Dribbble is essentially an exclusive online community of Designers from around the world who are excellent at their craft. Signup is by invite only, and invites are very hard to come by. It took me nearly nine months to get ‘drafted’ after first discovering the site. Some of the best designers in the world are on Dribbble – it’s serious business.

If you’re not a drafted “Pro” member (like me), you’ll have to pay to play. Don’t close that tab just yet, though. There are pros and cons:

Pros:

• Access to a concentrated pool of the best and most public designers in the world
• Easily search by location and skill
• Instant access to their proudest work and WIP (works in progress) posted on the site
• Payment includes a 30-day listing on the Dribbble Job Board. Designers will come to you.

Cons:

• It costs moneys : (

And just to clear the air, I’m in no way affiliated with Dribbble. I’m just a loyal player (are you overwhelmed with basketball puns yet? No, I’m not either) and I know the founders personally. They’re great guys, and they’re building a kickass community that everyone loves.

2. Zerply – Your Professional Presence on the Web

Think of Zerply as LinkedIn exclusively for designers, developers, and entrepreneurs. It’s an exquisitely designed platform (see my profile) and it operates primarily on a system of recommendations. If someone knows a designer (or developer, writer, whatever) and like their work, they’ll “recommend” them in the system. It builds real credibility in people and allows them to see who appreciates their work.

http://www.zerply.com

As with Dribbble, Zerply allows you to search for talent by location, skills, and talents. Their system is free to use, and it’s great for networking with other entrepreneurs. Double-win.

Pros:

• LOTS of Designers. Oh boy.
• Another source of high-quality and socially-active talent
• Easy to search by location, skill, or other tags

If you’re looking for local talent, this is a great place to start. Zerply is a relatively new platform, but it’s valuable because it appeals to startups, engineers, and (most crucially) designers. I think you’ll be surprised to find so many on here – I searched “Design” “Boston” and found nearly 100 results before I ended my proving-a-point search.

3. AngelList

This one seems well-known among Entrepreneurs and Engineers. AngelList is a great network of Startups, Developers, and Designers. It’s more well-known for the former two, but there’s definitely designers on there.

http://www.angellist.com

AngelList is a really diverse resource. It can help you find an investor, a startup, or a talented engineer (or designer!). It’s a pretty simple but highly-reputable resource for startups and talent to get together and do awesome things. They’ll send awesome designers your way, and you can post job openings so they’ll come looking for you.

Pros:

• Easy to post jobs directly to the huge AngelList network
• Talented people are sent directly to you
• Well-known and reputable

4. Design Meetups

This might be the hardest resource to break in to, and it requires the most effort on your part. It has the unique benefit, however, of allowing you to see directly into Design culture and mingle with prospective talent face-to-face. I strongly recommend you attend at least one Design meetup regardless – I think it’s really important to have that perspective going into your talent search.

• Creative Mornings (events held across the world)
• Warm Gun (Silicon Valley / San Francisco)
• Meetup.com – Search for “Design” (Anywhere)
• Plancast.com – Search for “Design” (Anywhere)

And so on. “Check your local listings” – There’s stuff happening around you all the time. Keep your ear to the ground and you’ll hear the Designers coming from a mile away. Get in, learn about Design, meet great people, and maybe you’ll hire one.

And everyone lives happily ever after.

I have experience as a consultant, a prospective employee, and a design advocate. All three personas have demanded that I verbalize my methodologies, principles, and understanding of Design. From now on, I’m going to capitalize Design. It deserves no less, and it’s that important.

Now that I’m seeking a career, I’ve been trying to compile some good questions to ask prospective employers when asked “Do you have any questions about us?” Aside from taking a genuine interest in the company (you are genuinely interested, right?), I’ve come up with a few that I don’t think you (or the prospective employer) would think to ask.

They’re not ‘curveball’ questions meant to throw off your interviewer’s mojo – I think they’re genuine and simple, and they’re incredibly telling of what to expect if you do end up working there. It’s really easy for an employer or hiring manager to talk about amazing opportunities, but Design is an oft misunderstood craft. To some, Design is purely aesthetic. What could be called a ‘Senior UX Designer’ position could just be someone’s spin on ‘make our website look pretty and code it’ but with the “UX buzzword” – which isn’t a buzzword at all. The two jobs are on entirely different ends of the Interactive Design spectrum. Others could resonate with you perfectly, and simply asking will solidify in your mind that you’ve found the right place.

On the flipside, I think interviewers (HR, CEOs, Creative Directors) should be able to ask the question right back – they’re not exclusive. Designers, be prepared to ask and answer these. Think of it as a way to spark meaningful dialogue with a (potentially) huge influence on your life for the next ‘x‘ years.

1. What is good Design?

This is my favorite question to ask anyone. Sometimes the person will stammer for a second or two and either fall flat on their face or answer in a way that will genuinely surprise you. This is not an easy question to answer, even though my answer is fairly simple. I’m not just going to give you ‘the answer’ though… it’s something you need to define for yourself. This is a good place to start:

Google is also a surprisingly good place to look.

So why ask this question in the first place? I think it democratizes the conversation – it allows you to speak a common language. As a designer, if the person you’re speaking with has a totally different definition of design than you, it dramatically changes things. Are you going to live up to their expectations? Will the job live up to yours? Is this going to be a meaningful, worthwhile relationship?

Be prepared to talk about it. It hits the core of your craft and sets expectations on both sides.

2. What makes a good Designer?

The first two questions will seem similar, but they touch on some crucially different points in the employee – employer relationship. While learning their definition of ‘Good Design’ helps root you in their outlook on the profession and craft, asking what makes a ‘good Designer’ gives you benchmarks for how your performance and skill will be assessed.

Is a good Designer someone who can think holistically? Is it someone who is product-minded? User-minded? Someone who can deliver Photoshop files on time and on-budget? Someone who can design easily in PowerPoint ’97? I have seen countless examples of each ‘definition’ while consulting. Balk at my PowerPoint quip all you’d like, but some people seriously expect that kind of stuff. I have the .ppt files on my Archive HDD to prove it. As you can imagine, I’d like to avoid a career in PowerPoint like the plague.

Each company (and job title) will result in a different answer to this question. It’s a great way to easily figure out how you’ll stack up against their mental Designer template, and whether or not they (and you!) think you’ll be the right fit for the job.

3. How are you going to change the world?

This isn’t Designer-specific, but it’s a really important question if you’re looking to join a company full time. I could even see this being a totally valid question to ask a company contracting you as a freelancer or consultant, too. It’s probably the boldest (and hardest) question to ask, but it’s arguably more important than the two questions above. Beyond knowing how they feel about Design and Designers, the answer to this question will give you a great idea if any of that even matters.

No one starts a company (tech, bio-med, startup, etc… maybe doesn’t apply to a Mom n’ Pop store) to make ripples. Entrepreneurs and founders want to make huge waves and leave their mark on the world. Steve Jobs famously said to John Sculley, former President of PepsiCo, ”Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to come with me and change the world?”

It’s not just Apple – it’s everyone.

If you’re looking for exciting work outside of corporate America, this is a necessary question. Without high aspirations companies go stagnant, and so does their work. The last thing I could ever imagine myself doing is being a cog in the machine churning out uninspired work for uninspired people. I want to design products for >10m people without breaking a sweat, all the while figuring out how the product will work for the next 100 million customers. I’m hungry to learn from the absolute best. I don’t want to sell sugar water – I want to change the world.

I’m conducting some research for my senior year Degree Project and I’d love your help! I need over 200 respondents to this survey for my thesis, and it would be great if any executives, entrepreneurs, designers, and developers can respond to my quick survey. The survey takes less than five minutes.

I’m investigating the intersection between designers and startups. They’re definitely making the news more often and it would be awesome if I could get some specific data based on your experience and the experience of any entrepreneurs, designers, and developers you know that might be willing to help out as well. This feedback will be combined with that of hundreds of other designers, developers, and executives and I’ll (hopefully!) be able to create a really stellar project. I don’t know what it will be yet – I’m going to let the data decide.

You can find the short questionnaire here. Everyone has the option to respond anonymously.

http://www.wellsriley.com/thesis/

I really appreciate your time! Thank you so much.
wells

So I guess this was pretty unexpected. It’s not exactly how I planned to start 2012, anyways. Here’s the story.

In January 2011, it became necessary for us to grow quickly. We started out as a two person design & dev shop and, despite an impressive portfolio, we just weren’t making money. We made some hires (two designers and a new developer) and pivoted our business model. What was once a website design firm for bands became a UI/UX, Branding, and Software Development firm building web and mobile apps for startups. Quite a big leap.

I had built a very talented team around myself, and I knew we were up to the challenge. As a solo designer (the so-called “creative director”) I did fantastically well. I knew what needed to get done and what every deadline was. If I had a question, it was easy to contact the client with no middleman. Introducing a staff changed everything. Designers needed guidance and leadership. Every question, every revision, every deadline flowed through me. I had all of the accountability and quadruple the responsibility.

Anyone in a management position is probably rolling their eyes right now. Kudos to you folks… I had no idea how hard your job is, and the consequences when things go catastrophically wrong. Now I know.

Managing developers on exponentially more complex projects was even worse. Early in 2011 all of our developers were contractors – we didn’t have the financial stability to hire just yet. I trusted the most pivotal part of my company’s growth to outside workers, and it ended up destroying my company. I posted my blog post about Tony Hsieh at Zappos a few months after I learned this lesson, and I’ll say it again here:

Don’t outsource your core competency!

The developers were unreliable. They didn’t care about my company, my client, or their deadlines. They cut corners, made excuses, and lied. A week before a huge deadline, I was informed that no significant work had actually been done despite weeks of updates.

I sat down in a coffee shop with said client, and I remember the moment clear as crystal. I felt horrible. I was shaking. I had royally fucked up, and it was all my fault. Months of waiting, thousands of dollars, marketing dollars spent. No product. All we had to show for hours spent doing UI and UX and thousands spent on office space was a few photoshop mockups of what the product should look like. I told them this with their mouths agape. Was this really happening?

I promised to fix the problem, and told them it would be complete in under one month. All things considered, it was a seemingly impossible feat. I made a promise based on a gamble that the speedy developers I had in mind were actually available for work right now.

They were.

Unfortunately, I spent the whole project budget on their services. That’s money that was supposed to fund my work, the other designer’s work, branding design, front-end development, office space, our lawyer, and our accountant. All of that money now came directly out of my pocket to pay everyone who had worked so hard. It was devastating, but we weren’t ruined. We still had one other huge project that was certain to be our saving grace.

That other project was massive, and there was enough money in it to squeeze through. Not only would I be able to pay myself back, but still manage to pay everyone else. It was perfect. But then the unthinkable happened.

The same goddamned thing.

Different developer, different project, different platform, but same exact problem. Lies, delays, miscommunications, and no product on the due date. Different coffee shop, different client, same conversation. My mind was spinning out of control. What the hell am I going to do? How can I recover from this? It was at this point I started chronically losing sleep. Paranoia, stress, and frustration became baseline for me. It stayed like this for a month.

Fortunately, I was able to find another developer relatively quickly. He promised quick, professional delivery AND could start right away. He also had a portfolio of previous work. The client and I agreed he was the right choice.

Yeah, we had problems with him too. The deadline was pushed by months. Tons of money lost. All my fault.

It’s at this stage I felt completely defeated as an entrepreneur and leader. I failed horribly. This would be my second failed startup in less than two years. This time was different, though. I had disappointed my clients, my staff, and myself. Lots of real money was on the line, and everything that could have possibly gone wrong went wrong. I had to do something drastic before the townsfolk came after me with pitchforks and torches.

A New Page?

I chose to ditch the software development side of Bionic Hippo entirely. I’m a designer, and I do damn good work. My colleagues do damn good work too. In the waning months of 2011, we became a design-only consultancy. We had no clients because everything had screeched to a halt from before. We were still cleaning up our mess, but we had a plan. Out of nowhere, A Boston Startup Accelerator invited us to do a residency during the January – May session, and two HUGE new potential clients came forward. They wanted only UI and UX design. it couldn’t have been more perfect! Office space, publicity, money, and unlimited access to our target market. All of which came at little to no monetary cost – something that had become a critical issue. We had only about a thousand dollars in the bank, which can hardly buy anything for a 5-person team of consultants.

Talks with the Accelerator were laborious, but we ended up with a great deal. In exchange for mentorship, events, presentations, and some work, we were offered free office space and access to their extensive network. We were going to push “Design as a Core Competency” and the growing trend of “Creative Co-Founders”. I talked to designers from Facebook, Zaarly, Square, Zerply, FictiveKin, 500startups, and The Designer Fund (among many others). I flew across the country to San Francisco to gain a wider perspective on the matter. It was going to be incredible.

I asked my lawyer to draft documents granting equity to my founding partners. We were going to be a real company, and everyone was going to take part in our success. That set us back almost half of our remaining savings, but it was ok, right? Gotta spend money to make money.

By the time I got back from SF, we had been waiting about two months to get the final green light from the Accelerator. They promised an answer on the date that coincided with my return from the west coast.

Nothing.

More prodding… nothing. “We’ll talk in January” they said. I couldn’t wait until January. I knew it just wasn’t gonna happen. We’d run out of money before then. They didn’t know that because I was too proud to tell them.

Fortunately, I heard back from one of our huge prospective clients. All was not lost!

They they said they chose someone else. All was lost.

I made an executive decision. We had no money, no work, no office space, and a tarnished reputation. We were all exhausted. I was responsible for not only providing for myself, but providing for four other people. It was going to be impossible, and I couldn’t ask my team to make that kind of sacrifice, especially right out of college. Instead of running face first into the ground, I decided to wave the white flag. We were beaten, and it was time to gracefully move on to bigger and better things. I’m incredibly thankful that we ended when we did… we have just enough money to pay everyone with some scraps left over. I don’t know what I would’ve done if we had gone bankrupt. I hope that’s a lesson I’ll never have to learn.

I’m also fortunate that everything ended on a relatively good note. As a team we went through hell together, and the abrupt end didn’t come as too much of a shock to anyone. We’re all still BFFLs and helping each other out whenever possible. That makes me really happy.

Moving On

I’m now seeking employment at some exciting startup that understands why design is so important for startups, their products, and their users (and, most importantly, hiring designers). I learned so much about design and now I want to apply that knowledge. I’ve learned a lot about management and teamwork, too. I’m hoping to move to San Francisco — It’s going to be a huge change for me, but I think it’ll be worth it. I still have a lot to learn, and I need experience working with smarter, more talented designers. It can only make me better, and it’ll give me the opportunity to make different mistakes.

I’m not done being an entrepreneur… I never will be. It’s in my DNA. I can’t see myself not working in or around startups right now, and I’m definitely going to be a founder again someday.

We’ll see where this road takes me.

My brain is going to explode.

I’ve been reading Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos. Having spent a VERY small amount of time in ‘product’ companies, some of his anecdotes and wild apartment rave stories are somewhat hard for me to relate with. Thankfully, 99% of his book is general “how to make your business totally kickass” advice rather than product advice, and it has profoundly changed the way I think about my business, my employees, and the companies we choose to do business with.

For one of the largest online retailers, Tony spent very little time talking about retail. The primary message was about company culture and customer service. I thought I had a fairly decent understanding going into this book, but no. I absolutely did not. Then I remembered my most recent interaction with Zappos (a pair of Blue Onisuka Tigers) and I understood the genius behind their customer service. I ordered free 7-day shipping, but was upgraded to next-day for free. What.

Zappos has 10 Core Values. #1 is “Deliver ‘WOW‘ through service”

Wow, indeed. Upgraded shipping is a small gesture, but it has such HUGE meaning. I mentally prepared myself to wear new shoes a week after buying them. Finding them on my doorstep the next afternoon was just unfathomable. I felt really special. I felt like Tony Hsieh himself was looking out for me and my blue shoes. Not only was I sold on the footwear, I was sold on Zappos. How could I ever shop elsewhere when such a magnificent company has my back?

And why the hell am I gushing about a shoe store? I’m a man. And a quite manly one, at that. There’s clearly some sort of witchcraft going on here.

So I started thinking. If a shoe store can make me weak in the knees, why not any other company?

And I kept thinking. Well? Why the hell NOT anyone else? Seriously! What is Zappos doing that even my favorite brands aren’t doing? How are they converting people from prospective customers to loyal customers in a flash? Is customer service really that blindingly powerful? How did Zappos get it so right?

I think I’ve narrowed down three things every company should understand to get some of that customer lovin’.

1: Be simple, fast, and easy to talk to

Another great example here is Amazon. When you call their Customer Support line, there are no phone trees. The interaction goes something like this:

Amazon: Thank you for calling Amazon Customer Service. A representative will take your call momentarily.
Amazon Rep: Thank you for calling Amazon. Are you calling about the order for bright blue socks you placed two hours ago?
Wells: Why yes. Yes I am. Can you change the shipping address to the other one I have on file?
Amazon Rep: One moment. Yep, all set. Is there anything else I can help you with?
Wells: Nope, thank you!
Amazon Rep: Thanks for calling Amazon! Have a great day!

iPhone: Call ended. Total call time : 58 seconds.

Anywhere else, I’d have to traverse a complex phone tree with “recently changed options”, clumsily punch in my order number, press #, wait on hold, then tell the CSR my order number, name, address, and credit card number. Again.

Why is this so difficult? Amazon isn’t special – almost every retailer I interact with has my phone number on file. Why can’t they use Caller ID to determine who I am and automatically look up my record? The chances someone stole my phone to hack my order for blue socks is pretty slim. Amazon gives me the benefit of the doubt and I save 20 minutes. I also write a fairly long blog post evangelizing them because of it.

The takeaway: Don’t waste anyone’s time. Technology makes mundane tasks blisteringly simple if you can use it right, so use it. Customers will be unbelievably delighted that you took the time to not waste theirs.

2: The ROI on Kindness is always higher than the investment

While shopping on HP’s webstore, you might be greeted with a popup asking you to take a brief survey. Personally, I hate surveys. Why can’t HP do their own research without blatantly annoying prospective customers with market research?

One time I decided to take the damn survey.

It took me 10 minutes, and after the last question I was offered a big “Thanks!”…. bye. What? No coupon? No raffle? Nothing? I find it hard to believe an interaction like this would fly in person. If you stopped a customer in your store to fill out paperwork, would a “thank you” suffice?

This person is GOLD to your company. They care enough to hand you research with no prior incentive. You need to pamper this customer because they’re at the tipping point of mind-blowing love for your company. Chances are that, if you gave this person a 20% coupon for their time they’d not only make a purchase, but they’ll probably tell their friends how great you are. You invested maybe $50-100, but that small investment could turn into thousands of dollars worth of sales.

I treat Bionic Hippo customers to free coffee, lunch, or drinks – often. It’s really expensive. I worked up an $80 tab with a client a few weeks ago and paid straight out of my own pocket. Have we received more than $80 worth of referral work with new customers gushing about how much their friend loves Bionic Hippo? You bet. I always wince at a high bar tab, but I know the personal touch is worth it. They’re my customers, and I love working with them. As a thank-you for a great relationship and spreading the good word, it’s the absolute least I can do.

3: Great customer service is more important than the product

Blasphemy! How could that possibly even be true? Wells, you are wrong and a liar.

Hear me out… it’s really obvious. Products and services are relatively straightforward, and there’s probably a handful of companies doing the exact same thing as you. Assuming you can’t create a technologically superior product than the competitor with $20m in funding and a three-year head start, how can you differentiate yourself? How can you beat a giant at their own game?

Let’s talk about Groupon.

Groupon is the undeniable leader in daily local deals. They OWN the market. But there’s a problem. Small businesses HATE Groupon because they’re slimy bastards. Groupon is completely self-serving and has no interest in the welfare of the small businesses they market themselves as trying to protect. They’ve created an unrealistic expectation for consumers – is 80% off even possible for a fledgeling business? No, absolutely not. That’s obvious, but what do you expect consumers to do? Ignore cupcakes at 80% off? It’s a vicious cycle, and Groupon takes it straight to the bank.

Google, Facebook, LivingSocial, Yelp, LevelUp, etc, etc, etc, have tried to replicate this exact model and all have failed. LivingSocial and LevelUp have pivoted to niche markets or different business models completely. Groupon completely owns the small-business-killing daily deals space. But Groupon has an expiration date. It won’t be long before small businesses ditch Groupon entirely in lieu of something more stable, lucrative, and honest.

The winner of the daily deals space isn’t going to have the highest discounts. It’s going to be the company who can offer excellent customer service to their bread-and-butter customers – the small businesses. To make a nod back to #2 above, kindness goes a long way. Rally behind local businesses, and they’ll rally behind you. Make them gush over how great it is to work with you, and everyone on Main Street will jump ship from Groupon. The expectation of ridiculous deals will die with their horrible service, sharky tactics, and bogus marketing. Once every local business is on your new deals service, consumers will have no choice but to buy deals through you. You’ll hit critical mass before Groupon can even pull it’s head out of it’s own ass.

The product doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if you’re selling shoes, hedge clippers, or 20% off falafel at the shwarma place down the street. Customer service seems to be a lost art in this age of digital impersonality. Just because a customer is on the other end of a phone line or webpage doesn’t mean you don’t have the opportunity to delight and surprise them – WOW them, maybe? – with excellent service. The fact that companies with ‘excellent’ customer service is so rare really speaks to what businesses have become lately – but it also presents a fantastic opportunity to rise above the scruff and delight your customers.

I know it’s working here, anyways.

Graphic designers have a very interesting task.

Their work is largely subjective and based on experience, insight, and inspiration. While developers (and bankers, construction workers, and mailmen for that matter) also rely on these traits, there’s a certain sense of ‘right and wrong’ in these professions. If a HTML form doesn’t work or a mobile app crashes at launch, it’s much more obviously “wrong code” than something would be a “wrong design.” Does such a phrase even exist? Not really.

Designers also have incredibly diverse starting points. Some are classically educated, others aren’t. Some start in large firms while some freelance exclusively. Whether you’re an experienced freelancer or a newbie designer, here are a few mistakes I’ve made and seen other designers make.

1. Undervaluing the Work

I once read a story about a wedding photographer who charged $1000 per shoot. It wasn’t a livable income, but she was only a freelancer and held a full-time job elsewhere. After a little while, she couldn’t justify the time expense for what she was charging and decided to double her rate. $2000 for the same shoot, same equipment, same photographer. She hadn’t gotten “better” (in the arbitrary nature of that word) but she knew her time and expertise was worth more.

She became better known due to the higher “non-amateur” rate and more couples began requesting her services. To make a long story short, a year later she was being flown around the world to exotic vistas and tropical islands to shoot weddings at $50,000 a pop.

So what happened here? Did she scam her customers by charging more? Is she a huge jerk? If you’re an aspiring photographer you might be thinking to yourself “Wow that’s ridiculous. I could shoot an awesome wedding for like… $500!”

Well yes, you could. If that’s what the work is worth to you. So many photographers (and designers) follow this mentality. They know the work – and maybe it comes naturally or they enjoy it – so they have a difficult time charging what seems like “exorbitantly high” rates for their services. It’s a psychological barrier preventing many freelancers from succeeding at all.

Give yourself an hourly rate (even if it’s just for yourself) and double it. If clients turn away, re-evaluate the project. Is it WORTH your ‘original’ rate? Do you want the project that badly? Do you need the work to pay rent? Will you enjoy spending time on it? If not, then maybe you should let it go. It may be hard to believe, but better work will come your way. I can’t explain how… it just ‘happens’.

If you’re feeling guilty, think about it this way. People need you because you have a highly desirable skill. You’re knowledgeable and have what it takes to execute on something they could only dream of. You also provide invaluable insight that they couldn’t possibly have from a non-designer position. How much would you pay a lawyer or developer per hour to do something you can’t do yourself? I doubt they’d work for $12/hr… ever.

2. Not Taking Charge of a Project

So we’re on the same page and you’re at least thinking about what you’re really worth, right? Let’s add some value to that price increase of yours. As a hired professional, customers look to you for insight and advice, whether they make that apparent or not (and if they’re not, then they’re not the kind of client you should be working with). If you’re dealing with something like this on a daily basis, then you’re not asserting yourself and not taking charge of your project.

Don’t be afraid to be frank and truthful with clients, even if it goes directly against a request, suggestion, or idea they’ve given you. If your dentist suggests you brush your teeth with toothpaste instead of table salt, who are you to argue? He’s the one with the education and experience. If you can command your project and demonstrate your authority over the subject, clients will listen. I was an abused peon for years before I wised up and acted like a professional.

3. Not Practicing

This one seems obvious but I see it happen a lot, especially with students. Once work (or classwork) is done,  you don’t touch Photoshop or a pencil until you have to again. Oh no.

Graphic design is a constantly evolving skill. You can’t get anywhere if you don’t practice, test your boundaries, and create constantly. The worst thing is to get into a creative slump or get stuck working all the time. I design out of passion and I’m constantly creating different things for myself. Most don’t even see the light of day, but it’s good to flex the creative muscle outside of ‘required work’ once in a while.

4. You Don’t Know How to Say No

This one is my favorite. Everyone says it – it’s like the Golden Rule of freelancing. “Know when to say ‘NO!’ to clients.” I used to be naïve less naïve and thought this didn’t apply to me. I wasn’t getting an overwhelming amount of work and could technically handle all of it. How could I possibly turn any project down?

I think this is one lesson that can only be learned from experience, because I think every freelancer or newbie designer disregards it. With experience comes knowledge and expectations. Bionic Hippo has carved out a nice niché in entrepreneurship and startup companies, and we’re surprisingly particular about which projects we take on. Clients need to have a certain attitude, a vision, and clear direction. We value our time (see #1 above) and prefer spending time on awesome boundary-pushing projects than those with no vision, no business, and no passion. It’s that specificity regarding clients that keeps us on task and constantly working towards the goals we want to achieve.

Great clients respect (and may even demand) this kind of attitude. They don’t want to be lumped in with the ‘least common denominator’ clients – you know, the people who pay you squat, disrespect the craft, and use your skills as a talking, emailing mouse cursor.

I read about this concept a few years ago, and the sheer simplicity blew my mind.

Life is scary. Finding a job – nay, a career – is a daunting task. It can be overwhelming. I usually find that breaking problems into chunks makes them seem less superhuman, and this is an example of that.

So what is this nonsense? Everyone wants a high paying job they enjoy doing well. This sweet-looking Venn Diagram is useless – or is it?

Using this diagram I was able to visualize that:

• There are some things I enjoy doing well, but can’t make any money doing
  
• There are some things I can be paid to do well, but completely despise
  
• There are some things I’d enjoy being paid to do, but can’t do them well
• There’s a lot of things a lot of people can do, but the ones that suit me represent a very small subset of the whole

Your dream job is out there waiting for you. Don’t freak out. Don’t break down. Don’t give up.

Break apart the problem, think about what you can be paid to enjoy doing well. Use the Diagram and find the coveted sweet spot. Why settle for a desk job in a cubicle farm when you could be astronauting, developing awesome apps, or starting your own company? The perfect balance of Skill, Happiness, and Income can never lead you astray.

Just a quick thought for your Friday. Have a great weekend!