EARN TRUST
I had a client that is pretty notable graph/muralist from Seattle come to me as a referral from a mutual friend to help them with their merch/design logitistics. He had expressed that a couple other print shops burned him in the past with things that shouldn’t of been looked over (color matching off, bad impression/pick up traces on merch, merch count off, etc). And it was not a difficult road to get to a place where I earned his trust on handling his print work. But it was a long one. Now he just sends me his art, and I prep it and make adjustments to it to make for a better print, most decisions in that part of the process I don’t have to relay to him cause we are at that level now that I know what will work and not work for him.
Insist on the Highest Standards
So this is pretty much been a hindrance on why I don’t get consistent, easy work. Cause I just won’t “throw stuff together” for a client. Even if they are telling me to do it I find it hard to let go of things in a project that I know that can be improved. Like to a fault. I have found myself garnering a smaller clientele over the years that keep coming back to me cause they know when I hand over deliverables, they are going to be on time and they are coming correct. Cause at the end of the day my name is attached to it. Who knows who’s going to see anything I touched in the wild. Not worth the risk.
Frugality
Story of my life. I HATE spending money when I don’t have to. And the same for anyone I work with. If I can find a way to shave off costs where its a waste of budget I am going to bring it up. I think there is a different between paying for things and labour for a fair price. But paying for something that is not creating any meaningful impact on something, it needs to go.
Learn and Be Curious
This one has been hard for me over the last few years. It wasn’t until this year where I took a hard look at myself and reflected on where I was at in my life, and what I really wanted to do with myself. And I realized when it has come to design, drawing, and the tchnology and techniques evolving around that currently I have been pretty shut off from that. A lot of that from my own doing. I mean, thats why I am here, to unlearn that type of thinking and to learn more about the things I want to aspire to. Not sit on the sidelines and watch “what could’ve of been” pass me by.