Reach Studio

Hey Mike! The journey of starting a studio is both thrilling and terrifying. Any tips for navigating these early days?

Be in it for the long haul. It's okay if things take a long time to take shape. Just make sure everything you do is of a very high quality. I always ask my team: “Would you print this? Put it on your wall? Pin it?” If the answer’s no, we keep refining.

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Hey Mike! The journey of starting a studio is both thrilling and terrifying. Any tips for navigating these early days?

Succeeding in the initial stages are all about expectations. Just don't work yourself into the ground trying to hit an inaccessible number. Scoop this book ‘Freelance, and Business, and Stuff’ and calculate your yearly finances to set responsible goals. A plan without a goal is just a dream. You'd be surprised how often you hit monthly goals just because you set out to intentionally do it.

A plan without a goal is just a dream..

You'd be surprised how often you hit monthly goals just because you set out to intentionally do it.Succeeding in the initial stages are all about expectations. Just don't work yourself into the ground trying to hit an inaccessible number. Scoop this book ‘Freelance, and Business, and Stuff’ and calculate your yearly finances to set responsible goals. A plan without a goal is just a dream. You'd be surprised how often you hit monthly goals just because you set out to intentionally do it.

Any tips for balancing creativity with deadlines?

Set a timer for 15 to 30 minutes and make the easy version first. Just get it out of the way so you have a fall back option. Now that you have that, you can get really creative and make the stuff that pushes the boundary a bit. The stuff that gets your heart going. Because you have a safety net of the safe option your brain can be a little more free knowing you have a back up.

That's genius—like a creative warm-up! Any tips for finding clients without constant cold-calling?

Relationships are everything. Do good work, and people will talk—you’d be surprised how rare it is to find someone responsible. It’s a long game, so keep building trust.

Love the idea of relationships over cold pitches. Lastly, what’s one mistake new studio owners make that I should avoid?

Overworking yourself for unrealistic goals. Set achievable targets—calculate finances, plan ahead, and track progress. Without goals, it’s easy to get lost and wonder why you’re not making money. And don’t forget to grab the book I mentioned—it’ll help you map things out responsibly.

Thanks, Mike! You’ve packed so much wisdom into these tips.

Haha, now that’s what I like to hear.