AAPIDA: “Designing Forward”
To my fellow professional creatives, designers, makers: I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you didn't get into the business of design for the love of the business of design. As kids, we weren't doodling and daydreaming with a thought bubble over our heads that read, "One day, I can't wait to do my own biz dev, and write my own proposals, and hire my first employee, and fire my first employee, and learn how to read a P&L."
Fast forward a few decades, you've worked your way up & out on your own. It's exciting, the idea of being your own boss, doing your own thing, leaving your mark on the design world.
But great design doesn't guarantee a successful business, or a healthy company. At least not anymore.
A strong design business needs strong business pillars—brand, operations, finance, marketing, people ops—all the things I looOooOve working with creatives on to define and develop, and that I looOooOved discussing at our first AAPI Design Alliance NYC event of the year, "Designing Forward," a roundtable with some of the most talented design entrepreneurs in town, on what they've learned from the past and what they're taking into the year ahead.
💡 We heard from Ming Thompson of Atelier Cho Thompson about work/life integration, not "balance," and that everything is biz dev.
💸 We learned from Jeremy Levitt of Parts and Labor Design on just how much is at stake when it's your name on the door, and how diversifying revenue streams can not only be a smart financial strategy, but a deeply creative one too.
📊 We listened to Shelly L., founder of Hyphen Interior Design about wearing ALL the hats (including the dreaded accountant one), how interior design is as much a logistics business as it is a creative business, and that yes, *effective* social media is a full-time role.
✨ And we heard from Rhobin DelaCruz, who is now seeing the ROI of truly investing in brand and business strategy, taking a pause and coming back stronger than ever.
I *barely* scratched the surface and the conversation could have gone on for hours. But this just means we have more 'business of design' events to plan for this year! Because the more you know...
Huge thanks to our amazing panelists, the AAPI Design Alliance team Paul Morimoto Virginia Sin Arati Rao Carissa Pintello Danielle Leeann Chin and to Calico Wallpaper for hosting us in their beautiful space!
