February 20, 2008
This article was published in .Net magazine before Christmas last year. I was asked to write a small article on making the leap to working for yourself (as it was still fresh in my mind). It’s by no means a definitive guide (for example, there is no mention of the legal aspects of setting up and running a company). It’s also aimed at a UK market, but a lot of this will work no-matter what country you’re in. Most of it is actually just common sense.
It’s been eighteen months since I went freelance, and almost six months since starting my small design studio. I’m no expert. So, this article documents what I did, and when. It also features a little interview with our very own Colly.
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January 19, 2008
It’s been a good while since I’ve talked about any work Mark Boulton Design has been up to. That’s mostly because the projects we’ve been working on have been under wraps. Until now that is. One project is now live, the other coming very, very soon.
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August 25, 2007
When I worked at the BBC, I participated in a workshop where the entire department went through a Myers-Briggs Personality questionnaire. I think the aim of the workshop was for all of us to understand, to some degree, the personality traits of our colleagues.
The Myers-Briggs test was originally devised in the Second World War by Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers. The form of the test I participated in was a very long questionnaire which, when analysed, highlighted your personal preferences. That’s a very important aspect of the results—they describe what you prefer to do, not what you do all the time.
I was sceptical at first, but after completing the test, and the following workshops, i’ve had some fantastic insights into my own preferences—particularly when carrying out my job day to day.
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July 04, 2007
If anyone has done any work for themselves—painted a painting; made a model; built a shed— you will know how difficult it is to finally stop. It’s about the love you see. The craft. Anything done for yourself has to be just right.
In April of this year, I became the Director of my new design consultancy, Mark Boulton Design Ltd. Since then, I’ve been beavering away to get a website up to let the world know what it is we do and who we’ve done it for (so far). Today Mark Boulton Design launches.
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June 05, 2007
Since I started Mark Boulton Design last August, I’ve been working at home. It’s been mostly fun, but the words of Andy kept ringing in my ears loudly as time went on.
“Get out of the house as soon as you can afford it” would rattle around my head like some crazy mantra. Andy’s point was, sooner or later the two environments would merge; home and work. You’d end up doing the laundry whilst at work, and designing when you’re supposed to be enjoying a nice evening with your wife. He wasn’t wrong.
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April 12, 2007
Yep, that’s right. I’ve been neglecting my blogging duties for ages now. Not for a lack of things to talk about; there’s plenty, but it all seems to be going into the book at the moment. There is one thing that has been a blocking force though: running my own business.
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February 19, 2007
I’ve had a few people over the past months contact me and ask what has been happening with Flow Well, we’re still working on it, but as one of the developers, Keeran, states on his blog:
While it is achievable to ship new products in a short amount of time, as we have seen with companies like 37Signals and Carson Systems, there are always going to be times, certainly in the early stages, where Real Paid Work must take priority.
Damn right, especially for a business which is only six months old.
Since returning from snowboarding a month ago, I’ve been consumed with Real Work and everything else, including the book, has been put to one side. Such is life and, as I’m learning, business.
That said, Flow is coming along and as I’m writing this, I’m working on the templates whilst a couple of guys at Beanlogic are working on the backend. It’s coming along. Slowly but surely.
August 05, 2006
First off, let me thank everyone for their kind words and support over the past week, it really has been fantastic. As you may know, a week ago, I handed in my resignation from the BBC. Before that day however, there’s been a lot to do in order to make the transition from employee to self-employed a little bit smoother. As I mentioned in my last post, I want to document this journey as much as I can so that I can look back in the months to come and see where I went wrong!
So, this first post is all about putting the pieces in place: Company and financial stuff, working environment and some systems.
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I'm a graphic designer from near Cardiff in the UK. I've been a designer for over ten years now and primarily work on the web. I'm still partial to a bit of print every now and then though. I used to work for