Hello 👋 my name is Lauren. Five years ago I started Something Else, a shape-shifting creative studio. While open to working on any type of project, the majority tend to be brand identities with an accompanying custom-built website. I bring on a variety of collaborators depending on the scale of the project (hence the shape-shifting nature of the studio.)

The purpose of this post is to share my experience running my own design practice. It is not meant to serve as a guide for running a business, nor should you interpret me as someone who has it “figured out.” My friend Ian, who is also self-employed, writes annual reports that I have found beneficial, and I want this level of transparency to be more widespread in our industry.

Choosing to work for myself

Most people are intimidated by the notion of starting a business. Before starting Something Else, I became used to wearing many hats while working as a designer for small, nimble companies. My dad ran his own company while I was growing up, and the majority of my friends started working for themselves in design-adjacent industries long before I met them.

Starting a business has always seemed like a realistic opportunity, and now I had witnessed the amount of time and dedication required to make one successful.

Measuring Success

My goals/KPIs/whatever are three questions I ask myself during each project:

1. Am I learning something new? This could be an applicable skill, knowledge about the client’s industry, or a different way of approaching the creative process. Whatever it is, it’s something that can potentially help me improve my work in the future.
2. Am I working with likeminded individuals? I am always looking to work with people who are:
   1. Collaborative in their approach to working and are open to emergent ideas
   2. Conduct themselves and their work with integrity while remaining humble
   3. Conscious of their community impact (locally and across their industry)
3. Is this project fair to my time? I prefer charging a flat rate per project (instead of charging hourly) also helps me find this balance. Flat rates let me focus on the project without spending extra time on small management tasks that tend to negatively impact the quality of the final product.

A major way I measure financial success is by comparing the proposed budget with the actual budget for every project. Ideally that number is the same, but it rarely ever is. Recording these discrepancies also helps me monitor any tendencies to undercharge or overestimate. Both are constantly moving targets, as I want to continue working on different types of projects that vary in scope and scale. Noticing these patterns helps me make accurate budget proposals and decline projects that want me to undercharge.

Yearly Breakdown

Below I’ve shared project stats, financial trends, new business sources, and a short commentary for each year. I’m also including this list of every project Something Else has agreed to work on under contract, including the budget, timeline, and number of collaborators for each:

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Every SOMETHI𝔑G ELSE Project Budget

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*Thank you Jenny and Mike of [Self Aware](<https://selfaware.studio/>) for making this template*

2020

• NUMBERS

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Sometimes you register a LLC and then literally a month later there’s a government mandated lockdown because of a global pandemic. The first year went well despite my incessant anxiety for our collective livelihood. At the very least, companies were forced to learn the value of a good website, and that’s good for business.

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