30FG Business Podcast for Designers

This week we are privledged to have Architect Mark R LePage of FiveCat Studio also the host of the Entrepreneur Architect with us to discuss a topic that is relevant and important to anyone wanting to own a business. This interview will give creative business owners and freelancers some practical insights into the difference between being a creative and being the owner of a business that provides creative services. It’s common knowledge that most business fail. Several might make it through...

PART ONE (EP30) - The advantages and disadvantages of the conventional business model relationship between designers and contractors PART TWO (THIS EPISODE) - Alternative models for delivering a project and sharing in the profits by choosing and negotiating with the right kinds of contractors. Patrick has been building his architectural practice for six years after a similar period working on building sites and later as a draftsman. Next year he turns 40. He now has two young children and...

Patrick has been building his architectural practice for six years after several years. Next year he turns 40. He now has two young children and is asking himself the difficult questions about where to head next. Where will he be in the next 10 years as a business owner and what will that look like? In this interview we explore the benefits and drawbacks of the “design only”, and “design and construct” frameworks of being a design business owner. Ultimately, can designers and contractors...

For the small business owner or freelancer, understanding whether you’re a freelancer or an entrepreneur is probably the single most important distinction that needs to be made, it affects every single decision that you will make for your business. It's worth taking a closer look because by understanding the way each think can allow you to improve your business in different ways. These two ways of framing the way your business works sit at opposite ends of the playing field. While it is...

Cash flow, or lack of it, is possibly the single most important aspect of surviving in business. Without it, everything stops. For the freelancer or small business, cash flow is the only way to enjoy any sense of stability, to be able to safeguard against or plan for the future, and to be able to measure the success of your business or talk to your bank manager about taking a loan some day. Despite this, we all know it’s something which almost all designers, from freelancers to established...

I'm just about to leave my job for the second time so this is a solo episode in which I'm going to share with you a few chapters from my own story. First I want to tell you about my last business, which was a Landscape Architecture Practice I attempted to set up in Penang Malaysia. I don't have the time to explain all the details but you'll get a good idea of how it started and how it failed. I talk about all the poor decisions I made while I was there and how I ended up losing $30,000 in my...

In this interview we're exploring the idea of the Inflatable Design Team, a framework that enables your practice, even if you're a freelancer, to expand and contract depending on the scope and scale of a project. As the list of demands on the built environment grows and the complexity of our cities slowly multiplies it is very rare these days that any one design discipline is ever able to understand and deliver a holistic outcome for almost any project. This has given rise to a wave of...

Getting new clients can be difficult, particularly if you don’t have any demonstrated experience in the particular area of design that you’re hoping to be involved in. This is a problem that all designers face at some time or another, whether it’s the freelancer looking for their first gig, or a well established design firm that wants to shift their focus, brand and reputation to another area of the market altogether. In this interview you'll get to spend some time with Andrew Boyne, a...

For many designers, the decision to become eg. an architect was a selection made from a narrow understanding of the range of career opportunities that exist in the world. In the “bucket” of career possibilities were the more well known occupations like doctor, lawyer, accountant, vet, psychologist and so on. With the pressure from family and probably society as a whole, and being the creative type that you’d always known yourself to be, you jumped head first into a four or five year...

This week Shah is in downtown Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon on a fact finding mission for his new remote design business. The original intention on this trip was to meet up with local creatives and put together an interview, but, well, that never quite happened and instead he talks through some of the things right at the front of his mind at the moment, setting goals and developing a strategy to achieve them, though not in those words. In this solo broadcast Shah re-frames what it...

We never know what life is going to throw at us, whether it affects our business, our personal life or any of the spaces we move through. Like a game of snakes and ladders, with a bit of luck you might roll the right number and rapidly bypass a lot of the toil and effort of a steady progression. On the other hand, as luck might have it, the complete opposite might happen and you find yourself back where you started. Either way you can never be in complete control of the outcome. That's not...

Our world abounds in opportunity. More than ever before we have the chance to adopt multiple identities, move in multiple circles and find multiple platforms from which to pursue the numerous interests and passions we develop both in our work, and personal lives. Of course the most obvious downside to all this is that it means we can make ourselves extremely busy, extremely quickly and find that we quite literally don’t have enough time to do everything we’d like to! A somewhat traditional...

Our world abounds in opportunity. More than ever before we have the chance to adopt multiple identities, move in multiple circles and find multiple platforms from which to pursue the numerous interests and passions we develop both in our work, and personal lives. Of course the most obvious downside to all this is that it means we can make ourselvesextremelybusy,extremelyquickly and find that we quite literally don’t have enough time to do everything we’d like to! A somewhat traditional...

Let’s be honest, TV and the movies have probably given the legal professions a pretty unfortunate reputation as the kind of people you’ll hopefully never have to deal with. On the one side they are perceived as fix it men, to be called upon to help you get out of trouble. On the other, a letter in the post from one of these guys could turn your whole life sour for weeks or even longer. Looming above either is the unknown subject of cost, the infamous time-charge in 6 minute increments, and...

Let’s be honest, TV and the movies have probably given the legal professions a pretty unfortunate reputation as thekind of people you’ll hopefully never have to deal with. On the one side they are perceived as fix it men, to be calledupon to help you get out of trouble. On the other, a letter in the postfromone of these guys could turn your wholelife sour for weeks or even longer. Looming above either is the unknown subject of cost, the infamous time-charge in6 minute increments, and the...

Monica Palmer is in a state of transititon, she loves her design work and the people she works with but she knows there are vast opportunities waiting for her far beyond her home town of Perth. With an upcoming trip to the United States, Mon is starting to experiment with ideas around working remotely and using the internet as a vehicle to derive an income online. This week's podcast is really about exploring alternative ways for your creativity to manifest itself in business. As each of us...

Different people have different levels of tolerance toward certain tasks. Some people are tidy freaks, they love filing, there is a place for everything and everything must go in its place. Some are ok with numbers when it comes to preparing invoices, but keeping track of expenses, taxes and cash flow is a disaster zone. Some people are OK with working through general IT issues, others can waste time and infuriating mental energy trying to stop the rainbow wheel from spinning. Deb Flanagan...

Different people have different levels of tolerance toward certain tasks. Some people are tidy freaks, they love filing,there is a place for everything and everything must go in its place. Some are ok with numbers when it comes topreparing invoices, but keeping track of expenses, taxes and cash flow is a disaster zone. Some people are OK withworking through general IT issues, others can waste time and infuriating mental energy trying to stop the rainbowwheel from spinning. Deb Flanagan is...

In this episode, the host of the 30 Foot Gorilla Podcast, Shah Turner has decided to record a video of himself to celebrate the new year and the support of podcast since it began less than two months ago. This year is announced as the Year to Connect with other Creatives.

Emma B is a stylist and event planner who occupies something of a "behind-the-scenes" role in the production of advertising and marketing material for magazines, events and commercial campaigns. She has been a fashion blogger and part-time freelancer for over 10 years and has now been freelancing full-time for the past year. In this interview Emma shares what she has learnt about determining the cost of providing your services to your clients. As people who are paid for our creativity, we...