Educated Guess

If you own a small business or a small agency, then one thing you're always nervous about is hiring creative talent. While no one will admit it, it's usually rooted in not knowing what value one individual person could really provide.  Also, it's worth noting that most people often are not sure even how to evaluate talent at a high level. As a result, everyone's left overworked, underpaid, and stressed.  If you're open-minded for a second, we want to share our take on the 4 most important roles you should be hiring for in your agency (whether it's in-house or external).  Writers Directors Designers Developers For about 25 minutes, we breakdown each of these roles and the different types of skills that are needed alongside these things. -- INSTAGRAM NEWSLETTER --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/educated-guess/support

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In times of scarcity, our natural reaction is to look to the scoreboard and hope that we have enough points on the board to last the rest of the game. Most people in the middle class who are not on the frontlines can't help but stare aimlessly at their bank account, IRA, 401k, and Instagram likes. If this were an agrarian economy, then those same people would be hungry when it's time to harvest their crop yet again. Naturally, as a freelancer, studio owner, or agency employee, you're probably wondering what role you can play during this trying time when everything is seemingly out of your control. What can you do to influence the outcome you want in the end?  This episode is dedicated to helping you take your very first step. Subscribe Follow Along --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/educated-guess/support

Frequently, small design firms and studios want to save the world through design. Obviously, this means "using other people's money to help them revamp their entire brand--because you can't understand how someone thought that was beautiful in the first place." But, as you might imagine, in-house teams, CMOs, and others who control the budget don't often think this way. And, in most cases, people usually walk away just buying "a website".  This becomes incredibly frustrating for a lot of different angles. Mostly, agencies aren't invested and companies still are left with the same problems. In this episode we provide a number of different thoughts to help organize your thinking around this very topic. Some of these thoughts include, but aren't limited to: How to understand the top 5 priorities of any CMO How to develop a framework that will move you beyond the "website" conversation Why it's imperative for you to provide a broader vision well in advance NEWSLETTER INSTAGRAM --- Support this podcas

There are many categories of projects that all could fall within "brand strategy". However, if you want to avoid taking on immense amounts of scope after a period of time, you have to learn to categorize the bullets as they are flying at you. Here are some suggested categories for assessing the maturity of a brand: Brand Inception Brand Building Brand Graduation Brand Support NEWSLETTER INSTAGRAM --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/educated-guess/support

Lately, we've been studying ad agencies a lot. Part of what we've learned is that "designers" (with a capital D) often try to carve out a unique value for themselves as artists, multidisciplinarians, or outliers that cannot and should not be boxed in. Most people approach this problem by assigning themselves a role in a creative agency in hopes that they will stop being pushed around. Some of these names might include: Comms Planner (engagement planner, channel planner, connections) Brand Planner (strategist, account planner, planner) Digital Strategist (seo, ad mgmt, channel optimization) Creative Director Art Director Copywriter Yet, at the end of the day, small to medium businesses want to know whether you are a builder or a seller. So, really, they don't care what you call yourself.  Don't worry - today, we outline a 3-step approach to find a repeatable client-service process. We'll talk at length about: The essential questions you should be answering for your clients The types of people t

On this segment of WorkStudy, we outline how you could best leverage your different experiences in crafting the best portfolio possible:  Brand Strategist Brand Planner Account Planner Creative Director Strategy Director In our estimation, the best strategy portfolios use a 3-step model to illustrate the breadth and depth of expertise. 1. Find challenges common to businesses leveraging case studies. 2. Highlight the marketing principle behind the strategy. 3. Deliver a one-page brief with copy and supporting visual references In the episode, we also cover 3 common pitfalls of strategy portfolios. - Failure to create a set of goals - Going forward without a solid plan - Lack of concession for risks Newsletter Instagram --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/educated-guess/support

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Scott Belsky is an entrepreneur, author, investor, and currently serves as Adobe’s Chief Product Officer and Executive Vice President, Creative Cloud. In 2006, Scott founded Behance, the leading online platform for the creative industry to showcase and discover the creative world, and served as CEO until Adobe acquired Behance in 2012. After the acquisition, Scott helped reboot Adobe's mobile product and marketplace strategies and leading Behance. Scott actively advises and invests in businesses that cross the intersection of technology and design, and help empower people. He works closely with a number of venture capital firms including Benchmark and Homebrew and is an early advisor and investor in Pinterest, Uber, Sweetgreen, Carta, Cheddar, Flexport, Airtable, and Periscope as well as several others in the early stages. Through his work as a founder and investor, Scott has become an advocate for technology and community initiatives that empower creative people and help businesses leverage the creative pot

Often, thinking through a brand often gets confined to the terminology and nuances of the fashion world. Admittedly, this works for building a brand as a Solopreneur. However, things get a bit more sticky as you attempt to bring someone along on your journey.  This episode is dedicated to folks who may be in an account planner, strategist, or creative director role as you attempt to onboard a new client. In the episode, we share a specific, tested framework that will help you in at least one, if not all the scenarios below:  Planning multiple project initiatives. Explaining different phases of a re-brand Staffing a team for a project Building a proposal for a potential client Teaching a new team member where their work fits into the grand scheme This framework works especially well for established companies with 30-75 employees who have the bandwidth to take a step back from their day-to-day and begin thinking through the next 3 years.  We would caution you away from using this framew

In this segment of "Incomplete Thoughts", we breakdown this colloquial phrase once and for all. A lot of times, the very thing holding us back is not an external fear, but an internal fear. Remember, we are often shaped by how we see others seeing us.  SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/educated-guess/support

“CARTOGRAPHY...or, the Ancient Practice of Finding Your Own Way.” • To coronate this new initiative of @educated__guess, we had the pleasure of bringing in Episode 80 by interviewing Elliott McKnight @elliottmcknight_. • - Elliott has spent better part of the last decade gathering experience across luxury retail strategy, visual merchandising, brand partnerships, creative and art direction during experiences with the Whitaker Group (A Ma Maniere, Social Status, and More). This experience includes serving as a brand partnership lead in the Atlanta region for brands / experiences like Super Bowl LIII, Nike, Atlanta United, SCAD, Adidas, Jordan, and more. - Over the span of 1.5 hrs, we cover a variety of topics, which include, but aren’t limited to: - Advising young people about how to approach a job in high fashion - Unpacking the shortcomings of boutique culture - Prepping for a lunch with Kanye - Reflecting on the value of being a straight A student - Building a learning plan for the future - Constructing a

On this segment of "Work Study", we cover five essential leadership lessons that we'v gathered over the years. Because a lot of creativity is often focused on the insular craft work, we felt a void in the space regarding the need for team building and social ability.  SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/educated-guess/support

Often, it's difficult to understand how much you're growing while you're still in pain. In fairness to those of you who are experiencing the pain right now, an exponential curve looks flat while you're in the middle of it.  We've all heard the saying "No pain. No gain." But, we very rarely reflect on what it's like to be right in the middle of one of those painstaking days. What does one think about while sitting in the mental version of "the recovery ice bath". When thinking about peak performance of athletes, it's easy to understand the long-grueling days and have grace for their exhaustion. But, for the mental sport that we all play, there's very rarely any discussion around the mindset needed to withstand the very same troubles. Today, on this segment of "Incomplete Thoughts", we offer a brief reflection on how one might overcome this challenge.  -- SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/educated-guess/support

As a brief experiment to step away from our more evergreen content, Justin takes time to walk through at least 5 insights, thought starters, or current events that he found interesting from this week alone.  SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/educated-guess/support

Too many times creativity is dependent on the "powers that be". It's very easy to get wrapped up in a "I just need this person to respond!" mindset. And, quite honestly, entitlement follows soon after this mentality. Today, on this segment of "Work Study", we discuss very specific strategies and scenarios for cold emailing with respect and purpose.  We talk about specific subject lines, paragraph text, and more that helps get you to your answer faster without disrespecting the time or "status" of the person you're needing.  WEBSITE  INSTAGRAM --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/educated-guess/support

On this segment of "Incomplete Thoughts", we cover what it means to follow YOUR FEARS. There's magic in taking on projects that you aren't quite sure you can accomplish. People often give the word "Yes" a negative connotation in this industry. But, we're here to offer the positive side of what it means to nod your head to the challenge of the unknown.  If you're into what we do, and you'd like to keep up with the other moving parts of the Educated Guess ecosystem, we'd like to invite you to join our monthly recap newsletter using the link below.  NEWSLETTER INSTAGRAM --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/educated-guess/support

On this episode of our Friday Lecture Series, you're hearing directly from Justin as he shares a quick meditation on intuitive versus measured approaches to life. If you've been following along for quite a while, you know that Justin grew up playing golf as a primary sport and admiring Tiger as one of his biggest athletic inspirations.  That said, Justin uses several nuances of golf to explain what it's like go through life from a fearful frame of mind versus a fearless frame of mind. NEWSLETTER WEBSITE INSTAGRAM --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/educated-guess/support

Progress updates are tough. It’s harder than ever to kick off projects, understand stakeholders, take care of billing, account for risks, etc. All while being asked to be EXTREMELY creative. This sounds like a lot of work because it actually is. So, what if I told you there was a framework you could use to manage your ongoing plans whether you are freelancer, small studio owner, or corporate intrapreneur.  This system is called a RAID log. And, raid stands for Risks, Assumptions, Issues, and Dependencies. The purpose of this 2x2 matrix is to capture everything you know about a project and do a brain dump. Today, as part of our "Work Study" segment, we cover some specific case studies of when and how the RAID log could be useful in your creative practice.  WEBSITE INSTAGRAM --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/educated-guess/support

On the segment of "Incomplete Thoughts", we talk about three different types of consistency to have as a creative. Gone are the days where all of the leverage is dependent on scale. We also discuss why it's important to find a schedule that works for you day after day and year after year. As the old saying goes, if it's not sustainable, it's not successful. WEBSITE INSTAGRAM --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/educated-guess/support