i started as an in-house designer where i worked for 10 years, during that time i also moonlighted as a contract designer for other product categories…
around year 8 i started a new hobby, buying old educational manufacturing equipment, restoring it and then using it to produce collectibles.
eventually that grew in to a business of its own that ran along under its own steam for a few years.
I left the full time gig to join a startup manufacturing business, that didn’t work out so i fell back on the collectible business.
once i focused on it more the scope really expanded and became a hybrid of boutique design/manufacturing in one category and design/manufacturing consulting in larger more traditional categories.
The boutique manufacturing and consulting are now still going on but at very limited pace because that all led to an opportunity that has taken me back to an in-house position.
What I’ve learned is that there are some things i enjoy and some things i don’t.
I love the creative process, problem solving, design and manufacturing.
I hate day to day business admin, spreadsheets full of numbers, inventory management, administering healthcare and payroll, managing employees on things other than design. I can run a small business, i don’t want to run a larger business… this doesn’t mean i wouldn’t try it again… I’d just go in to it knowing I need the right partners.