by Thomas Walters

Created on: August 11, 2009

The graphic design industry is a tough one - there are many design businesses already around, so to get off to a good start the first thing you need is determination. Before diving into the business world you need to make sure that you have the skills necessary to compete with those around you and to be able to excel. Primarily you need to be a good graphic designer - that is you need to have the ability to create good if not great work on a regular basis - and you need to have the tools required to do so.

However just being a good designer won't be enough. You need to have other skills such as those with time management. It's all very well you being able to create stunning art - but if you can't deliver it on time, you will looks your clients faster that you can say "graphic design". If you know you struggle to complete things on time, look into time management tools such as software that will allow you to manage your time better.

One big question you need to ask yourself is - do you want employees? If you do then you need to think about how you are going to get them. Will you look for agencies that will give you all the information you will need about potential employees, will you look on employment sites that will give you lists and contact details of freelancers, or will you go for the more personal approach and ask around your (qualified) friends and family for a potential employee. Choosing employees can be hard, but the most important thing for a company just starting up is the attitude of those employees, they need to want the company to do well - so that they themselves will produce stunning work. So once you have gathered those that are to work for you, you need to start thinking about contracts and wages. There are many resources across the web to help you to do that so I won't go into detail here - just know that you need contracts from the start to avoid disputes in the future.

The classic start-up story is that of working out of the spare bedroom and then getting a small place and then eventually migrating to a large office and living the dream. And although this is a kind of cheesy idea it is in many ways the best approach. To begin with it is unlikely that you will have a lot of money to work with therefore you want to cut costs wherever you can. Working out of a spare bedroom is okay for the first few months, however if you want to be taken seriously you will need offices. Clients need a base for you - and trust me, if they see

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