Following from Part 4 - The Lonely one or ‘poor me, the later years’ is something altogether more fun and joyful. The unexpected, expected or  unusual things you grow to love when running a business. This is a bit of a throw-back to something similar I  wrote about back in the early days when the ‘rabbit in the headlights’ cold reality of my new job hit me.

A Start-up Story from March 2016

What has changed since? Surprisingly little. Much of the same concerns are there but amplified or perhaps it’s just me getting older and becoming less agile (I’ll let others decide this and whisper it so I can’t hear’). But what else to add? 42 has a ring to it, so here 42 standout things that I've grown to love, still love or i just can't let go of:

1. Biz Dev Planning
2. All-in Tuesday
3. The plants (when they are not dying)
4. Office drinks
5. The big wipe board wall
6. Our staircase
    
7. The Joy - As a designer at trade, the pure joy of seeing a great project designed, developed and deployed without your practical input cannot be underestimated. However, you need a team of ‘Willie Millers’ to do so (check your football history kids, the best Scottish player of all time) but when you have that as we do, it’s first a relief, then a joy to see work come to life across a myriad of desks, screens and hands.
    
8. Coming in to music playing
9. Insta stories of client visits
10. Studio dogs
11. Being on a photoshoot
12. Seeing clients at work, doing what they do
     
13. Keeping my hand in - Point 7 aside, I still love those initial kick-off strategy sessions with clients. Asking questions and just listening about someone else’s business and their plans. Then hopefully reflecting that back to them in a  creative and cohesive way has never been any less than fascinating. I feel I still add real value there so stay actively involved in those early discovery stages alongside with my senior colleagues. Being responsible of your own business is only possible if you understand the world and sectors around you - clients are a great resource for this.
     
14. Students using the space upstairs
15. Any new poster we get
16. Tasty paper samples arriving
17. Families growing
18. Strategy catch-ups
     
19. Spreadsheets - The young rebel art student in me would be disgusted but I’ve grown to love spreadsheets (or more trendy apps that serve the same purpose). I should be clear though, I love spreadsheets that serve a real purpose - identifying a potential opportunity, fine-tuning a process or just a screen of black figures (and no red!) can really lift the day.
     
20. Seeing packaging mockups being scalped
21. Christmas Studio parties
22. The 'Barbs'
23. Our photo studio
24. Our framed Seaweed pressings via Portia Knight
25. The little 3D people from 8 years ago
26. Tuesday Bread Maker day
     
27. Studio Space - Years in the making - those of you who know are bored with my COVID/timing moaning I constantly harp on about will know the story but back in 2023 we finally moved into our own space. Unique. Warm. Cool. Ours. Whether hybrid, remote or studio based, this a home for us, our clients and communities we work in and we love it.
     
28. 1st tenant Doric Studio helping prove that the new building 'works'.
29. The stained glass windows
30. Representing 42 wherever I go
31. Pushing on from good to great
32. Accepting that others are way better designers than I ever was
33. A tidy desktop (analogue)
34. A tidy desktop (digital)
     
35. The challenge of AI - We are all doomed, or so the narrative will have us believe. This topic is for another longer blog post but I'm taking the rise of AI (from a business perspective anyway) as an opportunity - not to deliver cheap rip-offs or convenience but to aid valuable changes in how we work and how we make the space for creative and strategic delivery whilst keeping the 'human' at the core. We have no choice but to adapt. At the very least we need to better understand this new 'enemy' or risk being left behind, at best we can adapt and be part of the movement rather than a slave to it. Time will tell.
     
36. Scotland Food & Drink data
37. Sharing new business wins
38. Sharing client feedback
39. Seeing a new project presentation deck for the first time time
40. Quiet holiday Mondays
41. Weekend admin catch-ups in the studio
     
42. The People - And finally, the people of course. The team, the clients, the connects and the communities. The easy, the hard, the challenging and the cool. The growth, the support, the nurturing and the future. All of it. Always.

That's me half-way through my reflections on 10 years of FortyTwo. Give me some feedback, question my thoughts, give me something else tom think about. What about you? What stands out in your job that is unexpected even if still welcome? 

— Mark

mark@fortytwo.studio.

Follow the latest from FortyTwo Studio on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook.