2017 First Full Year In Business!
2017: Year In Review
Building a Business and a Team
We had a busy year in 2017: building a team, working with many new clients, and setting up shop. Here is a bit of a backstory on why and how MB4 Studio exists today.
The Backstory
In September 2016, I left my full-time job as the lead CMF Industrial designer at Polaris Industries. It had been a long journey for me to get to that point. Quitting a very steady and exciting job was hard to do and hard for a lot of people to understand right away.
After 11 years of designing for sports startups, multiple clients, and within a large corporation, I felt that I could do more with and for the design community. So, I signed up at CCA to get an MBA (while still working full-time at Polaris).
Immediately, I was able to apply some of those lessons at my job to improve not only the value of my design work but the stress level of my team. Basic accounting helped me to identify the source of why our design proposals weren’t within budget and how to address issues with the right people. Basic operations helped me to identify engineering process improvements to get my team in the right meetings at the right time in order to get their proposals into the project scope. This solved both the design team’s desire to deliver new ideas to the market and ensured that the project didn’t go over budget down the road.
The Vision
This is when I realized that a designer with an MBA skill set could increase the value of design work that they provide to their clients and teams. I also realized that the process of design doesn’t only need to be used for visual problem solving, as many may assume. It can (and should) be used to identify and solve business problems as well.
After gaining some small but significant wins within one corporation, I felt there could be a larger audience and more organizations that I could help by applying this type of strategic thinking. With that, the vision for MB4 Studio was established.
To transform the way organizations identify, solve, and overcome challenges, improving business and day-to-day operations through the use of design processes.
We set up shop in our Minneapolis studio and continued the process of refining our service offerings, designing (a lot!), and building a network of partners and suppliers to support our client to make this vision a reality.
Step 1: Building the Right Team for Our Clients
MB4 Studio builds a bespoke team to suit our clients’ need by partnering with many creatives who have niche experience in their fields. Our motto is: “We build the right team for your brand.”
Think of our business model the same way that a general contractor in the construction industry works. They manage the larger project’s timing and budget and bring in experts for each smaller job such as tiling, roofing, and plumbing. We do this for brands.
MB4 Studio is able to provide on-demand, high-quality work, at a fraction of the cost of firms with large overhead by building a team composed of senior-level talent, specifically when the client requires them. We are continually adding to our partners and services to provide a full-service experience as we get to know our clients better.
Step 2: Get Work Done!
MB4 Studio not only sustained but grew in our first year due to the support we received from our clients, partners, and our growing network.
The year has been full of projects both small and large. Some I can share, and some — not quite yet! The new work we did this past year includes brand strategy, brand identity, online and social media marketing, project management consulting, product cmf strategy, and vehicle graphic design.
For examples of our most recent work check out this blog post.
Step 3: Let everyone know!
We’ve been working on our own marketing as well. The plan is to feature our clients, provide insights on MB4’s services, and tips on how to maximize your design and marketing budget. You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter, and to improve the content, we’d love to have a conversation — ask any questions you might have on these types of topics.
Behind the scenes photos from MB4 Studio
Pantones books, check!
Every vehicle looks better with a corgi next to it.
Market research at the SEMA show
