Every day you will be required to manage risk, fear, and guilt. Every decision that you make, from the moment you choose to get up in the morning to that late-night moment you decide to “call it quits for the day,” will have risk asso- ciated with it. Your experience in similar situations and your ability to deal with fear in unfamiliar areas will determine the degree of your success(es).
Remember, no human is perfect. However, successful people make the
“right” decision most of the time. If you face a challenge that tests your expe- rience or throws off your sense of direction, ask a mentor, colleague, or friend to “partner” with you in addressing that necessary decision. Do not avoid making the decision. Unsuccessful people avoid risk, and do not address the issues that face them, by believing that if they ignore the issue, it will simply go away, and their life will return to normal. Nothing can be more untrue in life. Living this way is a lie.
A major criticism leveled at designers is that their major or primary goal in practice and in life is to be “published.” Big deal! There is more to life than having your creation documented in a magazine—to be used to dress up your promotional literature, gain accolades from your colleagues, and stroke your ego! You will learn that running a business requires a major set of goals to be addressed on a daily and hourly basis. Getting published and receiving testi- monies are fine goals, but to achieve them will require you to address numer- ous other challenges to get there. Think of it this way: If you only focus on getting published, and you do not manage your marketing or financial respon- sibilities, you may not have that other, new design commission to work on
while the original project is being published, let alone the cash necessary to live on during this process.
The best way to manage fear, risk, and guilt is to set goals and remain focused on them.The best way to address them is to understand and embrace the balance that it is necessary to maintain with all of them to achieve your successes. Success is built on good work habits, routines, and goals.
You will find it easier to handle the challenges surrounding your new firm if you balance priorities and set routines.The following are some observations that should help guide you on a daily basis:
1.Your new firm isn’t the only entity in your life. Family, friends, and social life are just as important! Try to develop a balance among all your interests.
2. Develop great health standards. Work out to address stress, eat well to maintain good nutrition—the necessary fuel you will need to have a clear mind to take on the daily challenges.
3. Get organized and set goals—small, medium, and large.
4. Normalize your work habits:
NArrive at your office every morning at the same time.
NEat breakfast every morning.
NAttempt to eat lunch at the same time every day.
NPlan the use of your practice’s prime time (8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.) with great care; this is the normal time that clients, vendors, and other businesses operate.
5. Take at least one day of the week off to recharge your batteries.
Do something other than your practice. It is important to have and engage in other hobbies, such as cooking, wine, cycling, hiking, travel. Do something active, not passive like watching TV or play- ing computer games. Your body needs to be active to assist your mind.
6. Limit your work hours to a maximum sixteen hour workday, or eighty hours per week, during your initial start-up phase.
7. Get a reasonable amount of sleep each night. Be true to yourself.
Each of us is built differently; therefore we need different amounts of rest to feel refreshed.
8. Pace yourself. Set realistic goals to achieve each day. Organize your day into three or four units of four hours. If you underestimate your efforts, learn from your estimations, do the work, and move on with other goals. Don’t lose sight of your daily goals.
9. Plan the events of each new workweek on Sunday evening. Don’t wait until Monday morning. Few are fortunate to have all senses and faculties on the morning of the first day of the week.Take some time on Sunday to review what you accomplished the previous week, and what needs to be addressed in the week ahead. It is so healthy to do this. This exercise will help you address the stress in your life, as well as measure your progress.
10. Start Monday morning with the proper attitude—for your bene- fit as well as for those who work with you.
11. Set appointments with yourself to study and address administra- tive, financial, marketing, and other business issues. As a designer, it is tempting to want to design as much of the time as possible. Learn that this is not a reality in running a design business. Make a commitment to yourself to address the necessary issues on a regular basis by setting up, and keeping, appointments to deal with them. Be true to yourself.
This is another way to measure your progress.
12. Market, market, market!
13. Perform as many production-oriented tasks outside of prime business hours (8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.) as possible. Remember, you need quality time to focus on getting the production work com- plete. After prime hours can be a quiet time to focus on the impor- tant decisions that you are ultimately liable for. Spend your prime hours meeting and networking with others, and doing marketing.
Figure out what time of day you are at your best for designing and other activities. Commit yourself to doing those activities during those time frames.
14. Be available to everyone via phone or e-mail during the prime time hours of the business day, bar none. If you are unavailable, develop a habit of returning calls either that morning, or afternoon, no longer than one business day later.
15. Take a “quiet hour” in the evening to reflect on lessons learned that day. Avoid the phone and e-mail, and recharge your batteries for just a little time to help separate yourself from others.
Once you start your firm, you will see how easy it is to work sixteen to twenty hours per day! You don’t physically have to be at the office or with a client to be working. Your mind will start working when you awake in the morning, while you take your shower, on the commute to the office, through lunch, on the commute to a meeting, on the way home, during and after dinner, and even as you lie in bed awaiting sleep.
If you allow yourself to become a time clock, you will be successful, but successful in only one aspect of life: time management. There is more to life than work, career, and profession! Truly successful entrepreneurial designers are able to develop a critical balance among business, family, friends, and profession. Developing and maintaining that balance will provide a richer, healthier, and more fulfilling life.