Member Profile: Rob Barnickel

Name: Rob Barnickel
Occupation: Principal, Barnickel Design
Website: BarnickelDesign.com

Tell us about your business:
So let me tell you about my business (cue Steve Zissou music)...

We are a botique brand development studio specialing in working with start-up companies, but we also enjoy a good re-brand or brand makeover. When clients come to us to design a logo and to brand their business or product we learn as much about the client, their business and their competition to produce an appropriate brand solution that separates them from the crowd.

Are you self-employed?
Yup 

Why did you choose the independent route?
After spending a lot of time at two different start-up companies helping them launch, brand and develop said companies I decided it was time to start putting the sweat and tears into my own business.

What issues have you run into as an independent business owner?
Bookeeping and general administrative work along with seeking new clients while keeping my current clients happy takes up about 60% of my time. I was depressed at first about having less time to design and create, but I've realized that having less design time makes me focus on the projects that I am best at and enjoy the most.

Why Coworking?
The first two years I started and ran my business from my living room. My wife and I have a small apartment and I definitely felt the space getting smaller in that second year. As a creative person it's very important for me to be around other creatives so we can push each other's work and be exposed to new things and ways of working. Also, it's just nice to be around people during the workday... eating alone every day sucks!

Any success stories related to issues that, if working for others, would have been difficult to solve?
It's definitely nice to be the one with final say. I have turned down jobs that I felt just weren't a good fit for my studio, but when I was working for other studios I saw some pretty bad decisions being made in that regard that ended up being disastrous for the studio as well as the client.

Why did you choose Bitmap as your Coworking home base?
My wife and I walked by Bitmap on our way home from the gym for months before the space opened. We were both excited at the prospect of having such a great space to work in that is just blocks from our apartment, but it was just the vision for a collaborative atmosphere that was most exciting to us. I'm already working on a project with one of the resident web developers and have pitched several projects with other members of the space. Plus you get free coffee!