Guest Post: Partnership Pros

{Today’s guest post is written by the talented duo behind Orange Blossom Ink, graphic designers Sarah Matthews and Lisa Badeen. Photo credit: Josh Holtsclaw}

Sarah: How did Orange Blossom Ink get it’s start?
Lisa: I was the maid of honor in my best friend’s wedding and she asked me to design her invitations. Sarah worked down the hall from me and in passing, we’d had conversations while she worked on wedding invitations for a friend. I asked her about local printers to use and next thing you know, we’d spent an hour discussing weddings and thought, why not start a business? We had day jobs as graphic designers and as women in our mid-twenties, we had plenty of friends getting married. A few Facebook messages later, we had our first client!

Lisa: How did you decide on a business identity?
Sarah: I think the hardest part of starting a business is coming up with the name! How should we define ourselves? What were our values, our goals? A few days after discussing our small business ideas, we met for coffee and brainstorming. We started listing words we liked, along with what could tie us back to designers’ roots in the printing business. It took a few weeks. Nothing sounded quite right until one day over a Panera lunch, talk of the Florida state flower came up. Orange Blossom Ink was born. Next to the name, designing the logo was a breeze! We wanted our brand to be fresh, clean and modern, but still come back to natural goodness.

Sarah: What are the benefits of working with a partner?
Lisa: Other than having a friend and confidante, it’s a morale booster, a motivator. When one of us needs a little push, whether it’s designing, blogging, etc, the other one is there to lend a hand – physically and emotionally. We work well as a team

Lisa: Do you find difficulties running a business as a partnership?
Sarah: We’re more than business partners – we’ve become best friends and learned a lot about running a business together. I guess one of the things that makes a partnership different than a solo business is when we’re returning emails/phone calls, we always like to talk it over with each other first. The communication isn’t as quick as it would be if you only had to answer to yourself.

Sarah: Do you work on all jobs together, or do you divide them up? How do you agree on designs?
Lisa: We usually provide three concepts to each client, and do our best to each design at least one. When we’re busy with a few weddings at a time however, we’ll divide up the project management part (emailing and calling clients, getting quotes from printers, etc), so that all of our clients are receiving maximum service. Even if we’re working on a project solo, we’ll still show each other concepts to get feedback and critique. Often times when one of us has reached a creative roadblock on a layout, the other one can look with fresh eyes and give a new perspective.

Lisa: What are your next steps as a company?
Sarah: Definitely to keep growing and learning in both design and business practices. There are so many talented, business-savvy people in this industry and we’re so appreciative of everyone who’s taken the time to help us along the way. We have big dreams and while we’re taking it one step at a time, it’s definitely a defining moment to be able to step back and say “We’re really doing this. We’re running a business and we love what we do!”