M4: Ditch corporate life and start your own business!

August 4, 2011

I think the most important thing is to make sure you are not chasing money, but you are chasing a passion. The passion has to be something instilled in you because you will experience many ups and downs with business. If it comes to just being about money, you have a better chance of giving up when things get rocky.  You are going to have to reach deeper when the checks are not coming and the payroll or rent may not be paid. Its like having the perfect relationship, when things aren’t great that love inside is what will help you get through.

This comes from my story of being a graphic designer of many corporate companies. Deep inside, I am a visual artist, just being a graphic designer allowed me to secure a job but also be artistic. Then as I grew, I realized I had a true passion for the craft, but I wanted to be more creative than most. I was always in a bubble of restraint while doing corporate work, so starting my own agency was my only option to make sure I was giving clients my vision.  I was also able to guide clients with my guided vision of the true love of art.

The best thing is to make sure you look at what you are pursuing and that it can be your life. MediumFour is a marketing energy + design agency. I live my life in augmented reality. Everything is always about marketing and brand psychology. Driving down the street, I analyze billboards and the benefits of them. If the company could have used the money in a better way? Could they have possibly placed a call to action instead of generic information. Everything becomes a part of my business because this world is filled with marketing and design, so every day I awake from the moment the tv comes on, its business as usual. My life is surrounded by my work and I am comfortable with that, furthermore I LOVE IT.  Love what you do don’t just do it for money. The more you love it, the money will come.

M4 Spotlight: NLPG Images

August 1, 2011

1. What is the name of your company?
Our Company goes by the name NLPGimages (Night Life Photo Guys) soon to change to (Next Level Photography Group)

2.  In four words, how would you describe your company?
Entertaining, Professional, Competitive and Qualified.

3. How many years have you been in business?
We have been in business 5 Years

4.  What motivated you to start this company?
I met my partner Sozufe “Dread” Adeleri through a mutual friend and they were already taking pictures and selling them in the club. I was doing something similar to what they were doing and joined the team. I noticed something was missing and helped incorporate the company. The motivation to incorporate the company was that I had seen a bigger picture than just clubs and I had seen a way to teach and help others become Entrepreneurs through photography.

5.  Why did you turn to MediumFour for your branding/marketing needs?
I met Michael and Dante through a mutual friend that was utilizing MediumFour services for graphics and web designing. The work was professional and clean, they had great ideas that could be implemented into our work flow. It only made since to work with them on branding/marketing new projects.

6. What are four ways in which your company has grown?
We have increased website visualization each year of our existence. Our Logo has become a highly noticeable brand in past couple of years. We have been able to start securing government contracted jobs. We have added a professional state of the art photography studio in the last year.

7.  How would you describe your experience with MediumFour?
I would describe my experience with MediumFour as professional, educational, and more of a family atmosphere. I have a high respect for the their work ethic and creativity.

8.  In four words, how would you describe MediumFour?
I would describe MediumFour as creative, clean, professional, and marketing guru’s that have always been ahead of their time.

Words of an Intern: Week 9 The Finale

July 28, 2011

I end each week at MediumFour writing this, a reflection of what I accomplished and experienced that week. Since this is my last day at MediumFour, I thought I would reflect back on this week as well as the past eight weeks.

I very much enjoyed my last week at MediumFour, experiencing the intensity that only comes around when work is at its peak. I spent a whole day in a room writing, rewriting and analyzing that writing to make sure it contained the right tone and message. Quite honestly – it was probably one of my favorite days. It is so interesting seeing people come together, all with the motivation of accomplishing a task and not stopping until it was achieved.

What I have noticed throughout my time here, is that each week when I write my reflection my focus was always on something different. No two weeks were the same, and my experiences went in all directions. I’m leaving this internship with an understanding for certain aspects of this business that you can only comprehend once you’ve seen it for yourself – client interactions. While I have learned a lot while at MediumFour, that aspect was perhaps the most surprising; clients range dramatically, from the people who trust you to the people who know more then you (but still hire you). As I’ve said before, patience is a key characteristic to survival in this industry.

When I first started at MediumFour, I was asked to make a list of internship goals; looking over that list on my last day, I can confidently say that I received everything I wanted from this internship. I received a well-rounded view of how the agency-side of the business works; I interacted with clients in meetings and observed the process of client acquisition; and I experienced what branding really entails. As I prepare myself for my future endeavors, I feel as though I am prepared with the experiences I gained at MediumFour along with a database of references for design that I can use to learn, self-motivate and appreciate.

Thank you, MediumFour.

Words on an Intern #8

July 21, 2011

The focus of my work this past week has been on developing much of the language and copy for different aspects of the EAR Card. To me, writing is as much a creative process as anything else; it’s difficult to force the right words to come to you (I always feel like you need to be in the right frame of mind).

What I noticed from my experience this week was the difficulty in writing information you are extremely familiar with, with the intention that it will be read by a person who is entirely unfamiliar with the subject. It requires a lot of rewriting that entails shortening and simplification, while still providing an “intriguing” factor and a call to action. It can be an increasingly frustrating and long process, but with valuable results. What I can say is how valuable editors and the editing process is; this is vital to making sure that the writer is not the only person walking away understanding the material, but that a complete stranger will become as knowledgeable with the topic as the writer.

While what I have already explained is especially true for marketing and advertising (as well as the obvious – journalism and literature), in truth it can be applied to all professions (albeit in a different way). Lawyers and doctors may not write so that the general population can understand it, but they still need to explain themselves in a way that their colleagues, unfamiliar with the particular topic, can understand it.

Writing is a valuable tool; knowing how to write so that others may understand is priceless.