Sooy+Co at 15 years

I'm not one for nostalgia, but reflection is healthy and valuable so that we can evaluate where we've been and where we're going. It's no different with Sooy+Co – celebrating and observing in 2010 – 15 years of business, all of which we are extremely grateful for.

Business ownership and entrepreneurship weren't a consideration when I graduated from Bowling Green State University in 1984 (the year that the Macintosh was announced to the world). I suppose it was inevitable – my father is one of the most entrepreneurial individuals that I know – and the DNA of entrepreneurship was part of our family from the start. I often say that entrepreneurship can't be taught, it's a way of thinking, but it is possible to teach people how to think differently. When we think differently, it's transformational – and transformation is at the heart of innovation and entrepreneurship.

Needless to say, 15 years goes by fast when raising two children and running a business.

In 1995, expecting our second child and laid off from my position as a creative director at a Cleveland, Ohio design firm, my wife (and business partner) and I decided to form "Brian Sooy & Co." We worked out of a 154 sq ft basement home office, affectionately known as the Design Cave. In 2007, we renamed the firm Sooy+Co, and moved into a 2,500 sq ft space in the Entrepreneurship Innovation Center at Lorain County Community College.

Considering that 50% of new firms survive past five years, I'm happy to be in the half that survived. Most remarkably, we're not the same type of firm that we were when we started, and that's been a key factor in our growth and longevity. We started as a design firm – offering tactical services to our clients – but now lead our clients with consulting on differentiation, positioning, branding and strategic planning (thinking) before we talk about things like logos, brochures and web sites (doing).

Sooy+Co, like any campaign or client engagement, has its own objectives and goals and culture. A successful design firm needs to focus on its own culture and business structure as closely as it focuses on the client projects it is working on. In essence, Sooy+Co has been a 15-year project, with perhaps 20 years to go.

We've won awards for projects we've designed and for business growth, but at 15, that just doesn't matter any more. We're considered a mature business, and we don't have to prove anything to anybody. What matters now are meaningful relationships and big picture thinking: the impact we have on our client's business objectives, our roles as thought leaders and community business leaders, developing the leadership qualities of our staff, leading our clients well.

We're grateful for the clients who have shared our journey with us – for those who have followed other paths, those with whom we still consult with after 15 years, and for those who chose to work with us now. We're grateful to our strategic partners who help us help our clients to succeed. Thank you for your continued confidence in Sooy+Co!· We value our relationships with you, and are fully committed to your success.

New Year's Resolutions for designers

It's 6 days into the new year, and while I prefer long-term self-discipline to resolutions, two lists of resolutions caught my eye.

The first I call the Feel Good list. It's from The Art of Business: New Year's Resolutions for Creative Professionals. Eric Adams states

...And because we are creative artists, it's not always about the here and now. Here are 10 resolutions slightly beyond the norm. In the headlong rush that is our lives today, the start of another year is a better time than most to sit down and take stock. Here are ten uncommon resolutions you might try on for size.

This list of resolutions contains some thoughtful resolutions: Thank your clients, thank your co-workers, give away some creativity, enjoy your craft. The last two are to "Decide where you want to be professionally in one year," and "Create a roadmap to success." But how to do just that?

The second list is from The Win Without Pitching Newsletter. This 12-step list from creative consultant Blair Enns, are the resolutions that will change the way you think. In fact, they are mantras, not resolutions, to be chanted every morning before you fire up your email, before you make your coffee, memorized and followed without compromise.

Resolution number 12 states:

12. We will hold our heads high. We will see ourselves as professional practitioners who are hired to bring real solutions to our clients’ business problems. We will not grovel. We will not be coerced. We will understand that after all of the above anyone who insists that we devalue our product or compromise our values is not someone we would have as a client. We will seek respect above money, for only when we are respected as experts will we be paid the money we seek. This money will allow us to reinvest in ourselves, become even better at what we do and deliver to ourselves and our families the abundance we deserve.

You are a real professional. You do provide real solutions to your client's problems.

Don't forget who and what you are, and resolve to become it.

Business and Faith mix it up

Everyone tip-toes around this time of year trying not to spread mis-directed Christmas cheer, (Oops, did I say "Christmas?" I meant holiday...)

But, the presence of Christians (ie, those who celebrate Christmas) in the business world are hard to overlook.

Guy Kawasaki points out that some of the best speakers are found in the pulpit in Evangelism: Eternal Life, Forgiveness, and Operating Systems.

One of my favorite authors and speakers is local businessman John Beckett. He wrote Loving Monday. Instead of grinding it out until Friday and living only for weekends, John saw how his work can be filled with meaning and purpose. The key was integrating his work and beliefs. As a result, both grow - along with his love for Mondays. (You can even read it online).

Nor did it end there... His newest book is Mastering Monday: A Guide to Integrating Faith and Work.

Looking for a different approach this year? I highly recommend these books!