We were lucky to catch up with Brant Day recently and have shared our conversation below.

Brant , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with what makes profitability in your industry a challenge – what would you say is the biggest challenge?

Any designer, illustrator, or future freelancer who desires to go into a service based pesonal business should learn the ins and outs of running a business with a similar model. I saw my father go through this struggle after he left his job at a large agency. Luckily he had been working as a senior VP in that company and had the sense for what was required to run his own design firm.

My biggest challenge, and the ongoing struggle, is finding people who need my services and convincing them they are worth a certain price level. I knew that I needed additional mentoring after I left school and I knew I needed to see the structure of the business in order to know what would happen when I went on my own.

How do I find clients? How do I price my work? What should my margins be? How do I handle my time and deadlines?

Brant , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’ve been in love with drawing and creating ever since I was a kid. Growing up I was obsessed with these new cartoons from Japan that were just being shown on American TV. DragonBall Z in particular sparked my imagination so much so that I couldn’t stop drawing it almost all day. Teachers gave me detention because I wouldn’t stop drawing it when asked.

All of that led me to a career in design, web design, and illustration. Due to my time working for other agencies and consultancies, I have learned how to craft digital experiences. In my spare time I taught myself how to screen print, create and print pins, patches, posters, and my own line of stickers and interesting brand experience.

Now I run my own studio Wattle & Daub, LLC where I get to provide branding and other creative services to all kinds of companies. I also create and produce my own products and product lines with the knowledge that I’ve gained over the past ten years.

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

One of the biggest hurdles you’ll face when going freelance and/or starting your own business is the actual running of the business itself. I would recommend to any creative who is just starting out to get a job working with or at a larger studio or artist. You need to watch and/or understand what a successful business does to get clients, keep clients, and deliver professional grade work. If you don’t know what that looks like you’ll never be able to charge a professional price.

Working for someone else has the benefit of allowing them to take on most of the risk in return for a solid and expected paycheck. When you leave that safety (which is very hard) you’ll find yourself in a more precarious place and much more susceptible to taking on poor quality work.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

I began saving ten percent of my paycheck for a while to put it towards my business. I didn’t want to rush into it and knew that I would need a goose egg and/or easter egg in the form of an animal.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.wattlendaub.com
• Instagram: @wattlendaub
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brant-day-56108b3a/
• Twitter: @wattle_n_daub
• Youtube: @wattlendaubv

Image Credits
All images belond to me