Suzi Istvan: Growing A Design Agency and Spending Money on People (GPP04)

Suzi Istvan’s design business brought in big bucks in 2014, but her take-home pay was far from six-figures. A year of big growth means big investments, but the strategic way she spends her money has set her up with a business she always dreamed of running (and that’s bringing in some serious revenue).

In this episode you’ll hear:

-- How Suzi identifies and then deals with debilitating burn-out.

-- One of the ways I “keep it interesting” in my marriage.

-- The secret deal Suzi’s husband may or may not have made with the devil.

-- A breakdown of the retainer services Splendidly Curious provides, and what may cause their prices to vary.

-- How much the business made in 2014 and what Suzi’s own cut of that was by the end of the year.

-- Why Suzi and her team aren’t actually working for the people who are paying them month-to-month. (Sounds like a scam but it’s not!)

-- Why she felt it was important to hire a lawyer on retainer before bringing in any designers to actually make money for the business.

-- The “backwards” way that Suzi went about preparing her business to hire its first designer.

-- Why it took longer than it should have for that first designer to start “paying for herself.”

-- The make-up of the Splendidly Curious team: who they are and what they do.

-- Why charging for packages instead of for hours worked protects both her business and its clients.