tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-129757882011-07-14T08:25:22.739-05:00It is what it is. by Benji Peckbposmannoreply@blogger.comBlogger201100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12975788.post-86814052414416556172011-05-16T10:28:00.002-05:002011-05-16T10:29:50.232-05:00

Yesterday, David Toms, a 40-year old American golfer lost the Players Championship in a sudden death playoff. On the first hole of the playoff, a treacherous par 3, with a postage-stamp sloping green surrounded by a lake, Toms hit a safe, but well-placed tee shot, to the largest part of the green, leaving himself some chance for birdie, but ultimately the opportunity to play the next hole if he

bposmannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12975788.post-86769478436229332362011-05-04T11:00:00.001-05:002011-05-04T11:00:08.326-05:00

Being a small business owner comes with its share of "when to say when" moments. There seems to be a new one every week: When do I give in a hire someone to help me out? When have I had enough with my ol' faithful piece of crap computer? When is it time to give up on filing my desktop madness and throw it all into one big "Desktop Bankruptcy" folder? But the most important one is when to take a

bposmannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12975788.post-31799162095199375882010-09-02T01:58:00.028-05:002010-09-02T12:25:13.597-05:00

I went to work for Visual Inventor in the fall of 2000. I was still in school and eager to get started in the graphic design field, and Tim Watson provided me with that opportunity. Tim was the owner/founder of Visual Inventor and had a knack for web design, identity, and typography in particular. I've never met a person who was more adamant about the importance of concept, iconic marks for

bposmannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12975788.post-51019487622881842882010-06-04T09:27:00.001-05:002010-06-04T09:28:14.234-05:00

Daniel Tardy of Dave Ramsey's EntreLeadership asked this question (@EntreLeadership on twitter) yesterday and I did my best to try to get past the obvious answer: People. A team is only as strong as it's members. We all know that to be true. But, if we look deeper, I think we can come up with a guiding principle in business that may make this answer sound almost cliché and not thought out. Take

bposmannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12975788.post-80463174920416020072010-04-30T13:36:00.001-05:002010-04-30T13:36:40.805-05:00

I was having a conversation with friends about the iPad the other day. A revolutionary product that has very little true significance in terms of necessity for advancement of productivity, yet will once again change the way we use media. One friend brought up a point, that hit me like a ton of bricks... an "Aha" moment if you will, that to me spoke more about the idea of social media in general

bposmannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12975788.post-19257590354692042142010-03-12T09:49:00.001-06:002010-03-12T09:49:29.522-06:00

Allow me a rant if you will.• If you're not communicating, you're not serving your clients well. I don't care how good you are at what you do. • If you're not communicating, your clients don't feel comfortable. • If you're not communicating, you come off as unreliable. I don't care if you DO meet the deadline, if I don't hear from you until 2 minutes before something is due, it reflects

bposmannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12975788.post-44119401204556732092010-03-11T10:24:00.002-06:002010-03-11T10:25:41.217-06:00

I'm not "too good" to design anything... what I am "too good" for is not giving something the attention it needs because it's not creative or exciting enough. Let's face it, if all we wanted to do was the MOST creative projects, we'd be fine artists. We're problem-solvers. It's our job to make the trivial beautiful. There are lots of days that we (small business owners) are faced with tasks

bposmannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12975788.post-28668583032380641522010-02-24T13:25:00.000-06:002010-02-24T13:25:56.683-06:00

When I first started out on my own, my pride rode high. My designer-snob was in full effect. I had a view of what my business was going to be, and it was determined wholly by the projects I focussed on. I called it "Branding" but now I know that what I was branding was a too-good-to-design-for-you image that was more about pleasing other people than satisfying my desire to make the world a better

bposmannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12975788.post-12257391004690160592010-02-18T11:44:00.000-06:002010-02-18T11:44:05.218-06:00

Work Smart: Stop Multitasking and Start Doing One Thing Really Well

bposmannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12975788.post-54263858225899432142009-12-04T10:33:00.002-06:002009-12-04T10:37:34.186-06:00

I wouldn't say I look to Chad Ochocinco for inspiration on a regular basis, but seeing a tweet of his today pushed me onward to blog about something that's important to me. It's something that I battle with on a daily basis as not only a small business owner, but as a husband, a father, a friend, a person. Attitude. Every day we are faced with decision which is going to dramatically affect

bposmannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12975788.post-8827686781723737112009-09-01T15:42:00.000-05:002009-09-01T15:42:44.400-05:00

As graphic designers we tend to think of ourselves as artists first and foremost. We would be more likely to put ourselves in the category of Photographers, Illustrators, Painters, Musical Artists, etc. and thus our expectations for the privacy of our "intellectual property" are high. Unfortunately, most of our clients, view us more like the hired help. We are providing them with a service, and

bposmannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12975788.post-400393163943973292009-08-21T09:12:00.004-05:002009-08-21T09:37:15.136-05:00

This is probably the single biggest issue "commercial" artist face, and we face it on a daily basis. I thought I'd break down my thoughts on it. Let's face the facts. You run a small business yes, but ultimately, you are still here to please the Man. Yes yes, that's the dirty unrelenting truth. Our endgame is to make customers happy in as creative a way as they'll allow you to do so. I'll never

bposmannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12975788.post-54716020170954374092009-08-05T14:58:00.004-05:002009-08-05T15:21:55.751-05:00

OK, so there are more than 2, but these 2 things are probably the hardest for me to trust, live by and follow through on. 1. Working ON your business, is as important as working IN your business.As a small business owner, I'm constantly bombarded by the Technician's slanders and the Manager's insults, and the Entrepreneur quickly gets forgotten. I constantly have to remind myself that time spent

bposmannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12975788.post-48935288318067610972009-07-22T14:11:00.007-05:002009-07-29T19:24:22.061-05:00

Probably the most common question I get from friends who are thinking about starting their own businesses is "How do I know when it is time to leave my job and start my own thing?" These days, we are increasingly tempted to venture out, stop working for the man, and start working for ourselves. How do you know when it's the right time to do so?There are a few questions you need to consider:1. Am

bposmannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12975788.post-70703688283194630872009-06-16T08:52:00.003-05:002009-06-16T09:07:54.113-05:00

The world of designers is laced with the temptation to whine. Every designer whines... about clients, about computers, about their stupid bosses, about the project manager, you name it. It's always someone else's fault. It's always someone else's problem that I have to fix. I started a company called B POSITIVE INC. which had a LOT to do with this phenomenon. Negativity is a disease that infects

bposmannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12975788.post-22671469193410385332009-06-11T09:25:00.005-05:002009-06-11T10:42:54.792-05:00

5 Rules to guarantee yourself a shot at being successful in small business. My wife and I bought our first home in 2005. A Neo-Classical house built in 1911 that had been somewhat renovated about 10 years prior. Needless to say, while we love the house, it's got "character" and requires some serious upkeep. Thus began my first real-life experience with contractors, their work ethic, their (lack

bposmannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12975788.post-24679241462554756552009-05-29T12:24:00.004-05:002009-05-29T12:53:35.606-05:00

I'm finding more and more these days, that my focus is and will likely always be torn between 2 different worlds. The Creative world is the one where I'm constantly out there thinking up new ideas: I really need to start shooting, I should try to start a photography thing on the side; my new website needs to be cool... not just okay, but really amazing, or I'm not going to get any "cred"; screw

bposmannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12975788.post-5608391872028453392009-05-27T16:27:00.004-05:002009-05-27T17:00:33.762-05:00

Photo-shoots are an interesting experience in my.... uhh.. experience. Maybe it's my own self-analyzing ways that give me this perception. I find that at the end of the day, you're left with some sort of accomplishment (a pretty massive undertaking when all is said and done), a sense of worry (how are they going to turn out, did I keep a close enough eye on the artist, did I help out enough?, was

bposmannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12975788.post-24264998206963171342009-05-17T10:04:00.008-05:002009-05-18T17:05:32.485-05:00

• It's not about the Design it's about your Process.• You are not a Freelancer, you are a Business Owner• The Small Business Owner mindset• S-Corp, LLC, LP, C-Corp, Sole-proprietor: The breakdown• Pricing- The hour vs. the project• Designing for Sanity vs. Designing for Money• The Mad Hatter - Which Hat to Wear?• In-home vs. Office Space• Small Business Budgeting• The Tax-Man vs. the Small

bposmannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12975788.post-57293066940115505232009-05-16T19:44:00.008-05:002009-05-16T20:30:49.689-05:00

So I've decided to start a blog about my experience as a small business owner and a graphic designer. I am going to try to break this down as best as possible, and relay as much detail as necessary without getting too lengthy or redundant. Disclaimer: I am not an expert. This is not a educational blog. This is how I did it. There are plenty of other ways to do it. Nothing makes mine special, but

bposmannoreply@blogger.com0