Stick a Fork In Us. We're Done.

Or maybe we're just beginning.

I have to start out by saying, "Wow. I can't believe I waited this long to post again." This is supposed to be a stress release. I'm suffering from a serious stress build-up.

Why? you ask (only if you care enough to keep reading, that is).

Our tiny little in-house team has unofficially become a design agency. The only difference is that we're not charging for our time. Supposedly, we're already being paid a salary for our time, but it doesn't really quite work out to a good hourly rate with all the extra time and projects we put in. If I was charging freelance or agency rates for this stuff, I could take a nice, long vacation somewhere exotic.

Our company now has two subdivisions. Spin-offs, if you will. Companies that are still under the blanket of the main office, but will probably one day soon split off into their own little private entities. Until then, we're doing their advertising too. In addition, I have a dozen side projects going from various people who are moonlighting in some other job and need ads and logos and such for their projects.

Now, you expect me to bitch about all the work, right? Surprise. The answer on this one isn't really black and white. In general, I like the people I work with. Mostly, it's a good group who will do you a favor in turn if they can. I've done projects for people that my only payment was a grateful "Thank you" and a plate of homemade cakes. If I was freelancing (or trying to build my freelance clientelle) I would be screaming from the rooftops to NEVER EVER do something like that. But because I work with them, I'll take it.

At some point, I'm going to run screaming because I have so much work to do. Today was almost to that point. When you have 6 projects due in two days, the phone doesn't stop ringing long enough to work on them, and three more "last minute" things pop up, screaming seems like a good option.

Days like today also make me envy the agencies. At least they can turn some projects down. Now, don't get me wrong. The personal projects are not interfering with the regular work. I won't take them if they do. The corporate projects are what's killing us. I'm starting to think that hiring someone for four or five months might not be a bad idea, except we'd have to equip them, and that's around $9,000 worth of equipment and software to order to get them in standard with what the rest of us use. No, there's nothing lying around the IT department to tide them over. We're Mac users in a PC environment, and graphics software isn't exactly a standard install for the salesmen.

My worry about hiring another full time designer is that after our increased trade show schedule is over, we won't have enough to do. Somehow, I doubt it, but I have to convince the higher-ups first. Not an easy task and something you don't have to worry over with your own business.

Since I'm too tired tonight to rail over agendas with my usual gusto, I'll leave it for next time. Next, expect to see Top Ten (or Eleven, or More) Ways to Ostricize Your Department.