60 random thoughts to celebrate three years of Hot Dog!
“Good things take time.”
Three years ago, on a Friday morning in 2023, I was laid off from my tech job and forced to figure out what to do next. The last thing I wanted was to spend a year finding a similar job (in a poor job market in an industry that would just lay me off again) so I went to Best Buy, bought a laptop, and sat down Monday morning to see if I could hack it on my own.
At that point I had more than 10 years experience as a professional designer, but had no clue what to expect after going solo. Many aspects of these past 3 years have been the same as my previous jobs – rolling in 15 minutes late, endless junk emails, trying to find a jpeg from 14 months ago – but there have also been quite a few scenarios that are completely new.
I’m slowly becoming more confident with the business side of things and my skills are getting sharper in illustration, writing, branding, and retailing – things I hadn’t done much of in the past.
Various projects by Hot Dog Design Studio: private barrel whiskies, Monstera’s Books, Joe’s Roadside Coffee, Fairway Creamery, Brand Camp, Fairway Club
I know there are still plenty of lessons to come, but here are a few quick insights, things I’ve learned, and things I’m still learning after three years at HDHQ:
You can get a lot of things done by just getting 1% better every day. (From Atomic Habits)
Making a job for yourself over an extended period of time unlocks something in your brain. Most of us are conditioned to believe we can only get a paycheck from someone else, but once this was debunked I started to wonder about other myths I believed.
Making a job for another person is rewarding in a different way. I’m proud of hiring Molly for many reasons – she is vibrant and talented and her work makes our studio better – but the most proud I have felt was when she got to take PTO for an international trip with her friends this summer. It felt great to give that gift!
There are metaphysical benefits to eating out for lunch, especially if you go with friends. You might save money by eating that leftover pork chop, but at what cost?!
People are 👏 tired 👏 of 👏 the bullshit – no matter who they are or what their politics are. Optimism is an opportunity and I believe that Having Fun + Trying Hard + Being a Good Neighbor = an underestimated recipe for success
We are all capable of way more than we think. I have helped 15+ business owners get their idea off the ground and every one of them has been told their idea is crazy or risky or some form of perilous. And they followed through anyway.
If there is a red flag in the very first email from a client, it might be a terrible, painful project or it might be a wonderful project.
Community-focused projects are the ones I am most proud of, even though they usually pay the least. These projects have real impact on my real life and my real neighbors. Real-life impact pays in a different way than money.
Some things I’m very proud of paid nothing. For example: I am very proud of sticking with my newsletter for over a year. It feels good to do something just because I like it, and it feels good when my ideas resonate with others.
If you want to get more snail mail, you have to send more snail mail.
People look down on “manifesting your dreams” but it is no different than cReaTiNG a STraTeGy. You figure out what you want, identify the gap between, and do the things that help you get there. If that is too mystical, call me Marianne Williamson.
It’s hard to know if your work is actually good without showing someone else – but if you’re working on something and it makes you involuntarily raise your eyebrows or crack a smile, that’s a pretty good sign that it’s good.
The best time to buy a metal file cabinet is when you see one. (Especially if it is a flat file or a teeny-tiny cabinet with teeny-tiny drawers)
In Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott quotes E.L. Doctorow: “Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” That’s how most things are. The best way to tackle a big project is by putting one foot in front of the other, then doing it again and again.
I spent a lot of years inside a Zoom window trying to climb the corporate ladder to get a Silicon Valley job to prove that I was an expert designer – but I’ve learned there is value in living outside the Zoom window, in being physically present in the place you live with the people you share it with. I was trying so hard to get a job at Twitter (before you-know-who ruined it) but I actually find more joy from seeing familiar faces around town and waving to them across the street.
Any job that demands creativity also demands down time. Sometimes the walk is the work. Sometimes coffee with someone you admire is the work. Most of the best ideas happen while taking a shower or unloading the dishwasher. To solve difficult problems you have to give your brain time to work. (This might be the most damaging side-effect of our screen addiction: nobody has down time.)
Never, ever throw away a screw. You’ll need that exact screw in about 6 years.
I once heard a college student at Olive Garden describe her fathers job to her friends: “Oh he does a little bit of everything. Some investments and other things… I guess I really don’t know.” I thought, I would die if my kid didn’t know what I did all day. I mean, my kids think I just sit at a computer and make stickers all day, but at least they’re 25% right.
I am obsessed with finding interesting books for our Hot Dog Library. Books about mascots, potato chip bags, WWII uniforms, and 1920’s orange crates. As we work through a project we pull books that are relevant, searching for inspiration. I think this is a competitive advantage in the age of A.I., when everything on the internet looks the same and the chatbots are all stealing from the same references. RIP Pinterest. Long live paper books.
If you get a chance to pay someone you admire to collaborate on a project, it’s probably worth it. Shoutout to Afton Lin, Katie Lee, Amy Smarsh Johnson, Allison Stutsman, and obviously Molly K. Smith.
If you’ve worked an office job for any amount of time, it’s hard to shed the feeling that you always need to look busy. It took about a year for me (working alone!) to feel comfortable running an errand or picking up a kid during the workday. I always felt anxiety that someone would judge me or dock my score in the next review cycle. I’m not sure where that urgency came from, but does it really matter if you reply to the Slack message an hour later?
The best time to buy a sticker vending machine is when you see one.
Finding a daily routine can help you produce your best work. I’m still dialing in my routine, and it changes by season, but I am finding certain tricks that help me make the most of my days. Check out Daily Routines by Mason Currey, I LOVED it.
Nobody loves having their photo taken, but EVERYONE loves having good photos of themselves. Snapping quality pics of your family, friends, teammates, or clients will earn you more goodwill than you expect.
Collect every rubber stamp you find… and stamp the shit out of every box, paper, and notecard. You can never have enough stamps and it adds joy to whatever you’re making.
Spend time investing in creative friendships. Several of my close friends and biggest supporters are fellow creatives who were once co-workers or just agreed to get a coffee with me at some point. These people give the best advice and regularly send projects my way. Shoutout to Lauren Stefl, Hannah and Jesse from Trust Design, Lila from Calor Creative, Kate Christy from Folk Founded, Steve Johnson, Allison Stutsman, Pivo, Goody, Marissa, CJ, and many more.
Working from home has plenty of benefits but I think I prefer having a separate workplace. There is something that happens when you leave the place of rest and sojourn to the place of work. My brain can be more at home when I’m home, and more at work when I’m at work. Of course, I have to pay rent now but I think its probably worth it.
You will not regret mounting a pencil sharpener on the wall.
I am 37 and sitting at a desk for 15 years has started causing real aches and pains. If you work at a desk, figure out a stretching routine for your back and neck and invest in a standing desk, a good chair, and pads for your elbows and wrists. (My god, I sound so lame.)
Kids can’t bring cupcakes to school anymore for their birthday, so I ask our daughter to draw a few pictures and I can make them into stickers for her classmates. Always a huge hit.
Sticker Mule makes the best stickers, in spite of how annoying the CEO is. They are fast, high-quality, durable, and they have the perfect semi-glossy finish.
The best recipe I have found for getting new clients is consistently sharing work and hoping that it finds the right person. The main objective is to nudge people frequently enough that they remember you when someone needs help. “You know what, I know a guy…”
People LOVE knowing a guy.
Many of the best entrepreneurs I know are bad at social media. The venn diagram of Going Viral + Business Success doesn’t overlap as much as you’d think. There is always real-world work to do and you can’t do it if you’re spending all your time making reels.
I subscribe to the Sunday newspaper to avoid 24/7 news. The newspaper has all the stories important enough to know, organized by real people who care, and it allows you to focus on better things throughout the week. You would be surprised how much of the daily news is just “this guy said something” rather than “this thing actually happened.” I also enjoy the ritual of reading the newspaper every Sunday.
When you find someone you admire, try to learn as much as possible about them. My current heroes are Hoodzpah Design, Austin Kleon, Andy Pizza, Ryan Holiday, Seth Godin, Trevor Noah, Kurt Vonnegut, and Anne Lamott. Austin Kleon calls this “climbing your creative family tree.”
Help the new guy. No matter how much of an expert you are, you were also the new guy and (hopefully) someone helped you. This can be applied to co-workers, neighbors, industry peers, kids, and younger professionals.
You also want the new guy/girl on your side when they become your boss.
Sometimes we just have to go buy new clothes in a different size instead of feeling bad about our changing bodies. We are not 23 anymore and we will feel much better about ourselves if our chinos fit the right way.
“Hot” is a mindset. If you feel good about yourself, you look good to others. I don’t know how to explain this but I believe it.
It’s okay (and normal) to be jealous. Sometimes, when we get jealous of someone having the thing we want it compels us to search for office space on LoopNet and we accidentally stumble upon a place that we can actually afford and we never would have found it if we weren’t jealous about that other someone.
If you’re setting up a feedback meeting, call it a “collab meeting.” Feedback implies a certain tension and power dynamic. Collab is a space for everyone to share great ideas and leave feeling inspired.
“You can just do things.” - Cate Hall
Optimizing for the algorithm is a waste of time. Too many people are worried about whether reels or carousels get more engagement and when is the exact time of day you should post to get the most likes. You cannot win the algorithm game. They will always pull the rug out from under you. Just post things you think are interesting in a format that works (e.g. - I am a photographer, I am great at remembering to take photos of things. I hate filming video for content. So i just post my pictures. Whatever.)
If you’re having trouble finishing a book, you’re not a “bad reader.” You probably just need to read a different book.
“Some for the reels, and some for the meals.” Certain projects look great on Instagram but don’t pay that well. Other projects pay well, but you would never post them to your grid. To survive, you need both. (I stole this saying from Jen and Amy Hood, who stole it from Patric Yandoc, who stole it from someone else, and so on.)
Analog will always have value, even in the age of Big Tech. Digital only appeals to one sense: sight. The reason a paper book (or any analog technology) feels good is because you can touch it, you can feel the paper, you can smell it, and you can hear the sound of every page turning.
Good things take time. If you have a good idea, even when you can feel it in your bones, it might take a while before you see success.
“The details aren’t the details. They are the design.” - Charles Eames
You might think that you’ve marketed something into the ground, but there are still 6 billion people out there who have never heard about it. You have to keep sharing things over and over and over. There will always be people out there who had no idea that you were doing what you’re doing.
It is very difficult to assign a dollar value to a service you provide, and better yet, confidently tell a stranger what you need to be paid. Still trying to figure that one out, but it gets better with more reps.
If you are a working parent, no matter what your job is, you are playing on advanced mode. Summer break will wreck your schedule and leave you exhausted 7 days a week – this includes stay-at-home parents. How does anyone get anything done?
Starting, and running, a business with a family member is very hard to navigate. Sometimes Kate and I have to set boundaries around bookstore conversations, like “no talking about work after dinner.” Sometimes while I’m brushing my teeth, she will ask me to do something work-related and I have to say “send me an email.” It’s very weird.
Don’t move your cars out of the garage to make space for storage. You will never get the cars back in there.
Social media is a scam, but I can’t figure out how to get out of the game. It still might be the best tool out there for spreading the word about my work.
I used to think my dad lacked ambition because he always had several broken down “project cars” in our driveway and he never got around to fixing them. Now I have several broken down “project cars” in our driveway and no matter how bad I want to, I can never get around to fixing them. This is because I spend all my time making mac and cheese and cleaning up mac and cheese and taking my kids to things I never signed up for and then it’s 10pm and I’m sure as hell not going to rebuild a carburetor.
I think my job is really cool and I wouldn’t choose to do anything else – but if you work at a computer every day your kids won’t think its cool and will want to GO tO wORk At tHE BoOkSToRe wITh mOM every day of summer break and they’ll cry if they have to go to your cool ass studio even if you let them waste all the ink in your printer and take them to QuikTrip every day at 2:30 for slushies.
Living far from my family wasn’t so bad in my 20’s because there were no surprise visits, a la Everybody Loves Raymond. But now that I have two kids, I wish my family would pop in on a Tuesday so that I could go to dinner and a movie.
“I’ve come to believe that the quality of our lives, and the health of our society, depends to a large degree on how well we treat each other in the minute interactions of daily life.” -David Brooks, How to Know a Person
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds … who at best knows the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” - Theodore Roosevelt
This year we’re feeling a lot of momentum and putting out the best work that has come from the studio. Big thanks to Molly K. Smith for jumping on board and absolutely crushing it, to our clients for trusting us with the work, and to Kate for supporting my dream while she chases her own at Monstera’s.
Cheers to another year of Hot Dog!
