How Firm Owners Manage the Business Side of Being a Creative
3
0Summary
Creative work may be what draws most designers into the field, but firm ownership quickly demands another skill set too. Estimates, payroll, operations, pricing, delegation, and profitability all shape what a business can sustain. In this roundup from our Women, In Their Own Words interview series, firm owners reflect on how they manage that side of the job. Some always liked business development, numbers, or process. Others had to learn through experience, mistakes, or necessity. Together, their answers give a clearer picture of what it actually takes to run a creative firm.
Reflection Questions
Which parts of running a business came naturally to you, and which parts did you have to learn under pressure?
When you think about the business side of your firm right now, where do you need more clarity: pricing, delegation, systems, or business development?
Several of these founders describe growing into operations over time. What part of firm ownership are you still growing into?
Journal Prompt
Think about the business side of your firm as it exists today, not the version you imagined when you first started.
Write about the parts you now manage that you did not fully anticipate at the beginning. That might include estimates, team leadership, negotiations, payroll, systems, client communication, or profitability. Which parts do you enjoy more than you expected? Which parts still drain you? Then ask yourself one harder question: is your current way of running the business built for the firm you want a few years from now, or only for the workload in front of you this week?
As designers, creative work absorbs the majority of our time and attention. But when we shift from designers to firm owners, we have to split that time and attention. Though many of us have formal design education, most lack an MBA or equivalent experience, which means learning the business side of firm ownership on the fly.
That’s part of what makes this question from our Women, In Their Own Words series so interesting. When we asked firm owners how they manage the business side of being a creative, the answers were all over the map. Some of these women genuinely enjoy operations, business development, or numbers. Others had to grow into it through experience, mistakes, delegation, or necessity. Either way, the responses make one thing very clear: creative vision may start a firm, but it doesn’t run one.
If you’re a new firm owner, or thinking about taking that leap, read on to learn how other founders made it work.
DesignDash: How do you manage the business side of being a creative; do you enjoy it or is it something you’ve had to grow into?
Karin Bohn
I truly love running a company and a team. I’m very process-oriented, and I’m really good at creating protocols and improving efficiency. In this current chapter of my career (17 years into my business), I’m seeing how much my aptitude for operations has grown. It’s a bit of a surprising realization, as I would have never thought that operations would become a strength of mine, let alone something that I would enjoy doing.
Read Karin’s full Women, In Their Own Words interview here.
Learn More About Karin on Her Website: houseofbohn.com
Or Follow on Socials: @houseofbohn
Brittany Farinas
Read Brittany’s full Women, In Their Own Words interview here.
Learn More About Brittany on Her Website: houseof1.com
Or Follow on Socials: @houseofone_
Paulina Hospod
I know it’s unusual, but it’s the practical side of my Aquarius weirdness.
Read Paulina’s full Women, In Their Own Words interview here.
Learn More About Paulina on Her Website: aha-interiors.com
Or Follow on Socials: @paulinahospod
Mimi Meacham
I wear a lot of hats. I’m a business owner, a wife, a mom to three very active kids, a friend, a sister, and I’m involved in the PTA, so something has to give.
The key has been surrounding myself with good, trustworthy people who know me well and understand how I work. When you have the right support system in place, you can focus on the parts of the business that truly need your voice and vision. It really does take a village, and embracing that has been one of the most important lessons in my career.
Read Mimi’s full Women, In Their Own Words interview here.
Learn More About Paulina on Her Website: marianlouisedesign.com
Or Follow on Socials: @marianlouisedesign
Bre Hance
Plus, I’m friendly and genuinely love building relationships: clients, internal, trades, and vendors. Building a biz is hard, though, and has its days where it takes me away from doing what I love, but working on the biz and in it is a part of it all!
Read Bre’s full Women, In Their Own Words interview here.
Learn More About Bre on Her Website: inhancedesignbuild.com
Or Follow on Socials: @inhance_interiors
Jamie Young
Although when I got it to a certain point, I knew it was time to bring in people that knew more than I did in operations and finances.
Read Jamie’s full Women, In Their Own Words interview here.
Learn More About Jamie on Her Website: jamieyoung.com
Or Follow on Socials: @jamieyoungco
Antonia Caicedo
But I wish I knew how necessary it is to have a business/managing background or experience, it is tremendously useful when building a business out of your creative work. I did not study anything related to business or management, but if I could go back in time, I would have chosen to do so.
Read Antonia’s full Women, In Their Own Words interview here.
Learn More About Antonia on Her Website: jimeco.com/antonia-collection
Or Follow on Socials: @antonia.collection
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Alex Thies
The business side was not something I was ever taught so it was a learning curve for sure, but has become something I find myself really enjoying and thriving in. That being said, nothing fulfills me like the creative aspects of this career, and I just feel so blessed that I can make a living doing what I love and in a way that really makes use of both sides of my brain.
Read Alex’s full Women, In Their Own Words interview here.
Learn More About Antonia on Her Website: adelyncharles.com
Or Follow on Socials: @adelyncharles
Rhonnika Clifton
Over the years, I made a lot of mistakes, but I also took several courses to improve my business skills. It wasn’t easy, but with time, I scaled my design firm and became profitable. It’s all about finding balance between creativity and strategy.
Read Rhonnika’s full Women, In Their Own Words interview here.
Learn More About Rhonnika on Her Website: rjcliftondesigns.com
Or Follow on Socials: @rjcliftondesignsllc
April Littmann
I’ve learned to love the business side of things and sometimes crave it more than the creative side. I think that’s because I have a life-long passion for learning.
Read April’s full Women, In Their Own Words interview here.
Learn More About April on Her Website: neighborinteriors.com
Or Follow on Socials: @neighborinteriors
Sarah Choudhary
Now, I see it as another form of design—structuring, planning, building a foundation. It’s not always glamorous, but it’s essential, and I’ve come to enjoy the rhythm of it.
Read Sarah’s full Women, In Their Own Words interview here.
Learn More About Sarah on Her Website: habitatarc.com
Or Follow on Socials: @afar.habitat
Camilla van den Tempel
The real challenge in being creative, and what I found most interesting, is creating designs that make sense from a business perspective.
Read Camilla’s full Women, In Their Own Words interview here.
Learn More About Camilla on Her Website: andtempel.com
Or Follow on Socials: @andtempel
Final Thoughts
Many thanks to our Women, In Their Own Words interviewees for participating in this roundup. Their answers differ, but they point to a universal fact: the business side of a creative firm doesn’t sort itself out. It has to be learned, built, and revisited.
That is one reason we created DesignDash Growth Studio. Inside the program, we work through the parts of firm ownership that shape long-term growth, including people, profit, promotion, process, and purpose. These are the exact kinds of conversations many firm owners need more of, especially when they are trying to build a business that is more profitable, more stable, and less dependent on constant reaction. Growth Studio also connects firm owners at different stages, from those just starting out to others who have been in business for decades.
If this article resonated with you, or put words to challenges you’ve been working through on your own, you can join the waitlist for the next cohort here.
*The featured image of this post is Antonia Caicedo, photographed for JIMECO.
Written by the DesignDash Editorial Team
Our contributors include experienced designers, firm owners, design writers, and other industry professionals. If you’re interested in submitting your work or collaborating, please reach out to our Editor-in-Chief at editor@designdash.com.
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