/ Page 1

What I wish I knew

Before I started a company

/ Page 2

Motivate Design is a user experience staffing, research and design shop, founded in 2009.

M Y C O M PA N Y

First, what I started

Moderated

Do-It-Yourself

Workshops

How it looks

How It works

Design

Discovery

Validation

Research

Full-time

Contract

Staffing

/ Page 3

Business karma trumps a business plan

Wish #1

/ Page 4

DO GREAT WORK

Don’t think of everything in terms of return. Put forth your best work and the money will follow.

TREAT PEOPLE WITH KINDNESS

In the long run, being kind will get you farther than any business strategy. We were able to grow organically, through repeat work and word-of-mouth, because we are nice people.

MAKE MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS

Don’t write people off just because they can’t do anything for you at the moment. I’ve found some of my best employees and favorite clients through connections that I least expected to lead to business. You never know!

W I S H # 1

Business karma trumps a business plan

Business Plan

Business Karma

/ Page 5

Wish #2

Nobody knows everything

/ Page 6

I knew I didn’t know everything, and sometimes thinking about how much I didn’t know held me back. I would compare myself to other people who seemed to know more than me (or so I thought). I asked questions and found out they felt just as scared and insecure as I was.

I NEED TO KNOW:

W I S H # 2

Nobody knows everything

What I do know and focus on that

What I believe in, and what I’m willing and not willing to do.

What I want so I know where I’m going.

What I want to leave behind, so I know what I’m building.

/ Page 7

Not everyone I hire will succeed

Wish #3

/ Page 8

Some employees are great. I consider myself lucky to work with the smartest, nicest, just all around best people I could find.

(and that’s my fault)

W I S H # 3

Not everyone I hire will succeed

Take too much

Want toomuch attention

Demandtoo much

Don’t exemplifycompanies values

Misusecompanyresources

Don’t take pridein their work

Want morestructure

Don’t contributeto company culture

Don’t know what they want

/ Page 9

Find people that arebetter than me

Wish #4

/ Page 10

As a founder, I originally had to do “everything”, but that doesn’t mean I wanted to. I learned my real job was to find people who do certain jobs better than me.

DEDICATED EMPLOYEES

Take Finance. I sent invoices when I felt like it. Apparently that’s not the way to do it. So, I found dedicated people who not only send invoices routinely and on time, but like to create projections and financial models. They truly help me understand how to run an efficient, profitable business.

W I S H # 4

Find people that are better than me

My JobNow

Things I love

Necessary things I don’t love

/ Page 11

Having kids will propelmy business

Wish #5

/ Page 12

Two months after founding Motivate Design, I found out I was pregnant.

TWO KIDS LATER

Having kids forced me to change my business from one that needed my constant attention to one that could run without me. When I returned to work to find that my team was doing great, I realized I had room to create a new job because they were doing my old one better than I was!

W I S H # 5

Having kids will propel my business

Motivate Design founded

First kid

changed my business to one that could

run without me

Focus on sales

New partners

Second kid

2009 2016

Hired new team

Wrote a book

Plan for growth

New o�ce

TEDx

/ Page 13

Thank you!