Celebrating TEN Years of Schiffman Creative!

Happy Birthday to us! We are so incredibly thankful to be celebrating ten years of business this month. We could not have done it without our amazing family, friends, community, inspiring city and most importantly our fabulous clients. 

We have experienced success, failure, laughter, tears, exhaustion and exhiliration.  We have grown both personally and professionally.  As we reflect on the past ten years and plan for the next ten we are going to keep a few lessons in mind as this rollercoaster ride contines.

1 - Everything Happens for a Reason.
Good, bad, ugly.  It all has a place. Just need to trust the process.

2 - Embrace Mistakes.
Some of our most valuable (and costly) lessons came from mistakes. You have to learn to fail before you can learn to succeed.

3 - Quality Design Costs Money & Takes Time.
Quality anything costs money and takes time. If a client does not have an appropriate budget and a tight deadline the quality will suffer. Everybody wants to look like Apple on a shoestring budget and a two week timeline. Make sure your clients understand that this is not going to happen before you dive in.

4 - Loyalty Matters.
Some of our current clients have been with us since we started the business in 2006. We have grown our businesses together and probably wouldn't be here today without remaining fiercely  loyal to those who appreciate and respect what we do.

5 - Trust Your Gut.
There have been times when we ignored it and we always regretted it. Our intuition has never lead us down the wrong path.

6 - Do Not Take On Pity Projects or Projects You are Not Excited About.
If a client does not have an appropriate budget and/or does not understand the value design brings to their business just say no. Even if you really like them. If you do not feel passionate about what you are working on just say no. Both of these situations lead to resentment, unhappiness and honestly just never end well.

7 - It Always Takes Longer Than You Think.
Build a detailed timeline and payment schedule into your contracts to avoid projects that just won't quit.

8 - Don't Take Things Personally.
Some client's like your work. Some clients don't. Don't take it personally.

9 - Don't Give Up.
It won't be easy, but stick with it.

10 - Enjoy the Ride!
Easier said than done. Up, down and all around...It really is totally worth it.  Trust yourself, produce good work and make time to appreciate all of it.