Quick Look:

• Who is this guy: Jason VanLue
• What does he do: Entrepeneur & Brand Experience Designer @ FiveSeven Studios
• Where does he live: Orlando, FL
• How does he drink his coffee: Black
• What are his 3 favorite things: God, my family, and UNC basketball

Please tell us more about your background and what made you want to work in the design industry?

Six years ago I would have never thought I’d be working in this industry, let alone owning a design company. I guess it’s what you call born out of necessity. I studied International Economics and Business in college, and got into the industry when I worked as the Marketing Director for a local healthcare practice. It was more cost-effective (though I’m not sure how smart!) for me to head up a lot of the marketing, web, and design efforts, which meant I needed to teach myself. After much trial and more error, I started picking up more clients and more projects, and I guess the rest is history.

Why is branding so important to you?

Branding to me is the backbone of any business – it’s not just the backbone of design, or marketing – I believe it’s literally the backbone of a business. Your brand is essentially your company’s personality – it’s what your customers see, believe, and feel about you. So it doesn’t really matter what you think about your business, it matters what they think and how they respond. Branding is working to make their belief, their perspective one that’s positive and one that converts into sales. That’s why anyone involved in branding efforts needs to realize it’s so much more than a logo, or a website – these are tools, and important ones at that, but just tools – you must integrate these tools into an overall, effective, consistent brand strategy.

Why did you start Branding Matters?

I started Branding Matters as an extension of my company, FiveSeven Studios. I wanted to create an outlet for thoughts and strategies we’ve experienced at the agency. I used it initially as a way to interact with clients and potential clients, but realized the scope could and should be much bigger. I was a freelancer first, and now I’m a small business owner, so I have a real passion to interact with those of like mind. Branding Matters is meant to serve that community and hopefully offer some effective tools and tips that will be helpful for that community.

How do you typically start a new project?

Well, depending on the nature of the project (client work, personal project, honey-do-list, etc), the process can vary, but I think the most important part is to spend enough time upfront understanding the goals and the scope of the project. You have to understand where you want to go, and you have to understand what it’s going to take to get there. If you don’t spend time upfront to get a good handle on those two things, you’re setting yourself up for dissapointment or failure at some point along the way. So I try to make it a point to be intentional at the beginning and do my due diligence to understand what I’m getting into.

Where do you go for inspiration?

I love real experiences. I love reading case studies, watching interviews, and reading stories of success and failure. I love being able to identify with whatever it is I’m looking at, and finding inspiration in how things were handled, or in the outcome. Specifically from a design or branding perspective, I find it much more inspiring to read a case study and learn why the designer or consultant did what they did, rather than just looking at a final image. But I do admit I frequent a lot of the popular design galleries and blogs as well! Honestly I think you can learn something and find inspiration from just about anyone and anything – you just have to humble yourself enough to find it.

What is the best part about having your own company?

Getting to spend time with my family because I can set my own schedule and define my own boundaries. I’ve come to realize that the freedom that comes from owning your own business (or being a freelancer) is worth it’s weight in gold – literally. I’d be hard pressed to put a number on it, but most of the time I’d rather take the freedom I have then extra salary. It’s not for everyone, but it’s definitely for me, and I’m grateful to have the opportunity and am blessed to be able to do what I love while defining when I do it and how I do it.

What are your best methods for finding/attracting clients?

There are lots of best practices – networking, consistency, a strong portfolio, etc – but if I had to name just a couple of things I would say intentionality and integrity. Intentionality because I think it has to start with you – many times we feel like it’s our clients’ perogitive to find us, when in reality, a lot of times it’s ours. I think being intentional about desiring more work, being intentional about preparing for more work, and being intentional to maintain a high level of service during and after that work is key.

I also believe in integrity – if you’re honest, hardworking, and your clients realize that about you, you’ll do well. Clients are just like you – you don’t like to be screwed and neither to they. Be honest, be straightforward, be humble, be diligent. And you’ll reap the rewards.

What big plans do you have for the future?

Lots of plans. I don’t know which ones will actually take off but I always have plans. I keep a little pocket Moleskin that serves as both my to-do list and my “vision” guide. I write down every idea that comes to mind even if it’s dumb, or even if it never comes to life. It’s fun to go back through these ideas a year or two or three later. We’ll see what happens but I’ve got a couple of ideas in the pipeline for new startups, and I have some ideas for where I want to take FiveSeven. It’s important to plod along in the day-to-day, but never stop thinking big.

What does your typical day look like?

I try to run 4-5 days a week early in the morning (I’ve given up the freelance “late night” habit), then I spend an hour or so processing emails and checking my feeds. I’ve tried to structure my days in a strict manner – sometimes I stick to it, other times I don’t – and this helps get through the things I’m responsible for. I have 3.5 days set aside for client/project work for FiveSeven and the other 1.5 days set aside as what I call “flex” time. I can either use this time to work on personal projects or start-up ideas, or if necessary I can use it to finish up client projects. This helps break up the week for me and I don’t get burned out. I typically work through the day without many breaks and try to be done by 6-7p to spend dinner the the evenings with my family, which is very important to me.

What are your favorite sites online?

There are plenty that I enjoy, but of the ones I frequent most often I would have to say Twitter for networking & community, the Wall Street Journal for news, ESPN (cause I’m a sports nut), and I try to keep up with 8-10 design/marketing/business sites through RSS.

What are the tools you can’t live without?

• My Macbook Pro
• My Moleskines
• My iPhone
• My Bible
• My Coffee

Thanks Jason for taking the time to share some info about yourself, we appreciate it! If you want to connect with Jason, you can visit FiveSeven Studios, Jason on Twitter, or Jason on Facebook.

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