Just Get Started #466 Andy Milligan - Founder, MMG Design
On this week's episode, I welcome in Andy Milligan to explore the art of entrepreneurship and personal growth. Discover how to balance ambition with authenticity and transform challenges into opportunities. Perfect for aspiring entrepreneurs and creatives eager to elevate their game and mindset.
Find Andy Online:
Website: https://www.mmgdesign.net
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mmgdesign
Link To Podcast You Host (if applicable): https://www.mmgdesign.net/podcast
About Andy:
I’m Andy Milligan, and I run a design and marketing consultancy called MMG Design. I help startups and small marketing teams improve the design and strategy of their website through redesign sprints, audits, and strategy sessions.
My story isn't super glamorous, but the theme is consistent in that I always show up and learn the next step along the way.
After playing college golf at Methodist University and transferring, I joined a small marketing team at the University of Findlay, where I started taking on freelance projects, unpaid, for small businesses locally. That experience introduced me to design, branding, doing it on the job and I quickly became obsessed with this concept of how design could drive real business results and seeing it firsthand. After graduation, I landed a job as a marketing designer near Columbus, Ohio, but after a layoff, I went all in on building my own business. That was coming up two years ago and I haven’t looked back or had another job since.
I got started like most people do, saying yes to freelance gigs I probably wasn’t ready for. But with each project, I got sharper: better strategy, better systems, and a much clearer sense of what I actually bring to the table from a design standpoint, and it led me to slowly niche down into websites and design strategy.
Along the way, I also launched Marketing by Design, my podcast where I talk with marketers, founders, and creatives about how to do this work in a way that actually feels sustainable and effective. It’s been a way to connect with people I admire, sharpen my thinking, and build trust with others in the space. I started posting on Linkedin every day since the layoff, and it's been a huge reason as to why I'm able to make the business work and meet my goals.
Right now, I’m based in Springfield, Ohio, working from a quiet apartment studio that gives me time to focus, reflect, and get better at what I do. I’m currently the VP of membership for the AMA Columbus chapter and involved with the Columbus Chamber of Commerce. I spend at least 2 days per week doing in-person meetings with clients or other marketers in Columbus, and my time is spent between fulfillment of client projects and content.