After 20 years in the business, Raymond Schultz felt the frustration many of us have felt. Citing “creative stagnation, growing freelance opportunities, and a knowledge that I wasn’t on a career path that brought me fulfillment,” Schultz decided to make a go of it himself as the Raymond Creative Group, setting up shop at his home in Wethersfield.
Having spent almost half of his career in the corporate environment (as Senior Graphic Designer at Black & Decker and then as Creative Director for both CIGNA and Prudential Financial), Schultz sees his experiences and challenges in the corporate world as a great training ground for his current one-man shop. “Do you spend your time coming up with great creative, or to you make sure your paperwork is complete? Do you pick up that critical project to meet a deadline when no resources are available, or do you go to the ‘mandatory’ breakfast meeting with the VP of Marketing? For me, and for pretty much everyone I know in corporate marketing, there is no time, few resources, and no budget — so you better be flexible.”
Schultz found many of the same challenges, but an infinitely greater payoff. “I don’t feel that much has changed in the ‘changing hats’ department between corporate management and one-man studio guy. Only now I’ve added emptying wastebaskets to the resume. I still meet with clients, pay invoices, design, manage vendors, troubleshoot hardware and software issues. Only now it’s all mine, sink or swim. It’s more pressure from a financial standpoint for success, but there is a greater sense of accomplishment and true ownership in everything I now do.”
Does he miss the corporate world? One of the advantages, Schultz found, was that “you have creative resources at your fingertips. They are down the hall and there to provide a service in which the creative is entrenched and knowledgeable about the business. There is a minimal learning curve about products and services, and an easier pipeline to manage brand standards.”
But that comes with a price. “By producing the same branded materials, for the same products, day after day, the in-house creative team can grow stale in finding new ways to creatively solve a project.”
Schultz uses his insider view to sell his own services. “Utilizing an outside agency gives you another view and graphic opinion, and very often can create a buzz of excitement. [Outside agencies are] often looked upon as ‘idea generators’ because they are not entrenched in the formal corporate process and the day to day projects that an in-house marketing team deals with.”
Having found success, Schultz has moved out of his home and into new office space, and is now looking forward. “Hiring that first employee will present a challenge since my design experience has fostered a more intuitive design process. I’ve become so used to sitting down and working through a project in my own way that to find that person to collaborate with, and be even more effective, will be the challenge.”
“I really don’t aspire to be some big agency; I’d rather be profitable and smart, and grow to a size that allows me to meet client needs and be able to go home at a reasonable time to be with my family. Whatever that size looks like, works for me.”
So does Schultz have any advice for someone out there ready to make the same leap? “Do research, read some business books, talk to family, talk to peers, talk to God, and anyone who has gone through the start-up experience. Find people in the industry that can evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. If you decide to delve into it, say yes to every project out there for the first year or two. Unless, of course, you have a great network of clients begging you to go out on your own right now.”
For more information, visit the Raymond Creative Group website.
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