Paul Karalius
33
J5 Design
Graphic Design Agency
12 June
I have worked as a graphic designer in the fashion industry for the last ten years for large brands and suppliers, but always knew at some point I would set up my own agency. This year the timing was right and I felt I had enough experience and contacts to take the leap.
J5 Design is a small graphic design agency specialising in corporate identity, brand development, advertising and print.
After working for large companies, I decided I wanted to create something small where I could offer a friendly, personal service and spend time understanding clients needs. I deal with most of the work myself but also have a number of other designers that I use for specialist work.
We have a broad range of clients ranging from high profile multi national companies through to local start-ups and by keeping the overheads low, we are able to offer large agency quality work at a budget that’s affordable to most.
It was my first idea and is a natural step that a lot of designers take. I have worked in Hong Kong for four years as well as for a number of companies in England but starting my own agency has always been at the back of my mind.
A lot of my family and friends are self employed or working on projects to become self employed and I think that can rub off.
Once I had made the decision I started researching books and internet forums and there is a huge amount of inspiring resources out there. The Coffee Republic book (‘Anyone Can Do It’ by Sahar Hashemi) is a great starting point for anyone.
The market is saturated by design agencies and I think that you need to have your own niche.
I find that a lot of my clients don’t want to pay large agency fees but at the same time want a more specialised service than is available at a lot of high street print shops or budget designers. So far this has been a good niche for me.
I did a business plan to make sure it was viable and then started looking into what services I would offer.
I looked at a range of businesses at how they communicate themselves. I think it’s vital to understand where you can add value to a business and how you can help a business achieve its goals through communication.
I also looked at what else start-ups spend their budget on, as your not only competing with other design firms but with other ways of growing their business.
I have met with Business Link on a few occasions and found them to be really helpful. Beyond that the advice I received was from family and friends.
There are a few local design networks which are very useful based in the North West which have been really useful for advice. The start-up forums are a great place to find information too.
My experience has been very positive. Business link have provided all the information I have needed so far.
It’s something that I really wasn’t looking forward to but once I actually started it was less daunting than I thought. I used software provided by the bank which was actually very good and got feedback from as many people as possible.
It’s been really important I terms of knowing if you’re on course or not. I will always use a plan of some type now, although it will probably be more in the line of forecasting for the year ahead rather than a full plan.
The cost was actually quite low as I have built up a lot of design equipment and resources over the years. The main cost is to make sure that any equipment is of a high professional standard.
J5 Design was self funded. It was my aim to start to start something small and so far I haven’t needed to raise finance.
Careful business planning. Most businesses start of slow and I think this is where a businesses plan is useful. I forecasted a slow start so didn’t expect a large turnover for the first six months.
