The Bending Design Story

As a child I always loved to create. When my sisters, friends and I played "jobs" they would be office workers but I was always an artist. I would draw posters for my "clients" for their events. In junior high I received a special award for my art, and that brought my love of it to a new level. By the time college came there was no doubt what I wanted to do.

Upon graduating from Columbia College Chicago I worked as a designer for Motorola, Manta Media (a design firm), and Zurich Life Insurance Company, all while dreaming of the day I could run my own design firm. After Zurich was purchased by Bank One, I was caught up in the tangled mess of downsizing, and was let go. This was THE defining point in my career. Within a month, I was offered a job at an impressive design firm, but was struggling with the idea that this might be the best time to take the plunge into entrepreneurship. My parents always taught me that anything is possible if you just believe and work hard, so I decided the time was right – I’d follow my dream and face the unknown.

Needless to say I was scared, but I had a couple of clients from freelancing, a little knowledge from reading tons of books about running your own business, and an insane amount of drive. I was happy to be in control of my future, and as long as I worked hard and made smart decisions I wouldn’t be “downsized”.

In December of 2003, a month after my previous life with Zurich, I incorporated Bending Design and started out of a room in my house. Three weeks later I found out I was going to have my first child – talk about life changes! The first couple of years consisted of steady work and the ability to be home with my son. I worked hard and built up a consistent clientele to the point that I needed help. In 2006 I found some office space and hired my first employee.

Fast-forward to today… I managed to have a second child while running a successful business. Bending Design is in its ninth year and has four employees. We have discovered our niche markets in associations and financial services. We have clients who have been with us for over seven years. We love what we do.

After being self-employed for this long I’ve learned a few things about business, life and myself.

1. Business – Don’t jump right in. Test the waters and move slowly. That way you can make mistakes and still live to learn from them.

2. Life – As a designer, I’ve decided to “design my life”. This is the land of opportunity so seize it and live life doing what makes you happy. Have a vision and set goals to get there.

3. Myself – I love to sell! Who knew the quiet, shy artist had a side to her that gets a rush of adrenaline upon a positive conversation with a prospect. I learned that selling doesn’t have to mean the “slick, wavering ethics” style, but it can be personal; about developing relationships and building trust. I always knew this, having a father who is in real estate, but professionally, I never saw him as a salesman, only an honest, ethical professional who has his customer’s best interests at heart. I’ve learned that with those qualities as driving factors I cannot go wrong.

My vision for Bending Design has always been to build a solid reputation of honesty and integrity behind quality work that helps our clients enhance their brands. It’s awesome to see how far we’ve come by taking small, steady steps over the years.