Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Madison Terry. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Madison, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

Something that I initially thought would set me apart in a negative way, I actually owe a lot of my success to. Only one of my minors in school was graphic design, while my major was Communications, doubled with an additional fashion marketing minor. I always say there’s two types of design – one for designers and one for consumers. The one for designers focuses on the craft, the intricacy behind every stroke and type treatment, and pays close attention to the fundamentals of design. A lot of the decisions made are rooted in how beautiful it looks – but these designers oftentimes fail to ask themselves, “will it sell?”

With that also comes the ability to better prioritize and know when to move on if something isn’t working. Spending hours on a particular detail may be noticed and praised by other designers, but is it really going to make or break the company’s ROI and be the reason prospects into paying clients?

Don’t get me wrong, a lot of my process today includes important aspects of that type of design. But from learning all about consumer behavior and how one responds to visual content with my major, I have a deeper understanding and appreciation that design plays an integral role in a buyer, viewer or potential client’s decision to engage with the brand and its content that I’m creating on whatever medium. And, at the end of the day, that is a business owner’s top priority and why they are hiring me.

Another thing that I’ve always gone against the grain with is refusing to niche down. People say the secret to being booked out is focusing on one industry and doing it well. However, one of the main reasons that lead me to start BMC was after working in a multitude of trades , it was clear that elevated, memorable design is impactful to any consumer across the board.

With that, I kept hearing the same request, no matter the business; “I want my brand to look editorial,” but do we really even know what that means? Editorial originated from fashion magazines, so I quickly realized that my vast experience and love in that realm could help anyone. What better way to ensure a new company stands out from the rest than infusing into it the desirable, luxurious essence of another?

Madison, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I initially got into graphic design when I was Editor in Chief of my high school yearbook (full permission to laugh, it’s nerdy, I know). We won an award with the publishing company based on my cover design and overall creative direction/theme of the book, and it posed the question – okay, clearly I’m pretty good at this, but fashion has my heart so how do I combine the two career-wise? I quickly realized magazines – of course. And there’s no better place to get your foot in the door in that industry than New York, so 17 year old me decided my future in all of 5 minutes, and I have to give her some credit considering I truly never looked back.

Because I knew early on what I wanted to do, I had more experience than the typical post-grad, which was absolutely incredible, but I found that potential employers would see my age and immediately try to bump me down to an entry-level position with an entry-level salary, and squeeze me into a box that I had worked so had to avoid. I found that freelance gigs – long or short term – were actually perfect because hourly rates were a lot higher, and I had the opportunity to work with multiple companies and brands, so I would never get bored. About a year later, I landed an incredible job that I knew would kick start my career in a way that no freelance job ever could – or so I thought. Due to many different reasons, my heart wasn’t in it like I thought it would be, and it made me realize that as much as I was trying to fight it, a classic 9-5 was never going to fulfill me. I took it as a final sign from the universe that it was time to fully believe and invest in myself, and I can’t imagine my life any other way now.

Since then, I’ve worked with companies such as Revolve, Moda Operandi, Nike, and my first published work as a Creative Director ended up making the cover of the May 2022 issue of Ft Lauderdale magazine. I also am the Lead Designer for LuisaViaRoma’s digital magazine, so I’m still very active within the industry that will forever have my heart, while being able to still accurately and passionately infuse all things editorial into the varies types of businesses and industries my clients are in.

Do you have multiple revenue streams – if so, can you talk to us about those streams and how your developed them?

In the last year, I created the Twin Flame Client Experience Catalogue with a fellow brand designer and now great friend and confidante, Gina Glogovac of Gene Designs.

We saw a gap in the educational part of the creative industry, particularly for brand designers, that while there are countless courses that provide invaluable information about how to run a creative business, what was missing were the tangible resources to actually implement everything that was being taught. And what good is strategy without execution?

Twin Flame is a catalogue filled with boldly designed, fully customizable, done-for-you templates and process resources that help you craft a top-tier client experience. TF covers everything from inquiry to offboarding, and potential road blocks along the way that are commonly faced. All in chronological order, so you can truly implement your entire process step by step, leaving you the time to do what you do best–create.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

No one teaches you how to run a business, let alone a fully automated, efficient one with intentional and successful backends. Especially being creatives, we’re not the best at admin or the logistical side of business. You can design beautiful logos and websites all you want, but if they’re not presented properly or communication with the client isn’t clear, it won’t matter. There were many times my delivery didn’t match my ability, and I lost jobs because of it. Or I wasn’t able to get myself out of sticky situation with a client and boundaries were crossed, or money and time was lost.

That’s why we created Twin Flame, if I knew how to present concepts properly, hold my ground on my timelines and prices, imposter syndrome would’ve been kicked to the curb immediately, and I would have attracted high-ticket and dream clients so much faster. Not only are we bringing confidence and further success to creative service providers, we’re also helping legitimize the industry and what we do, because brand designers are not just freelancers, they are business owners.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bymadisonandco.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bymadison.jpg/
• Other: TWIN FLAME: https://www.instagram.com/thetwinflamecatalogue/ https://thetwinflamecatalogue.com/

Image Credits
Michael Alexander, LVR Mag: Kat Irlin