My good friend Brian Trendler owns and operates his own Design for print company called Trendesigns, located in Bothell, Washington. Trendesigns can do brochures (which are amazing, I speak from personal experience), websites, logo designs, and so much more! They really have a great handle on all things related to marketing and design for small to medium sized businesses. The great thing about the age of technology is that his reach is far beyond Bothell and the Seattle area. Their clients range in location from Washington State to New York. Their philosophy is that they can work anywhere in the world as long as there is an internet connection.
Aside from great graphic design skills, Brian has a personality that make you feel at ease. I asked him questions to better define the company in his own words.
What key words describe yourself and your business? "Dependable, professional, fun, caring, and thorough."
What inspired you to start your own company? "I began my business the slow and tiresome way, freelancing for business for over 15 years, while maintaining day jobs to support my design habit. It was rewarding and non-stressful to merely build my portfolio and trust/word-of-mouth by clients. When a particular day job laid me off 3 years ago, I was able to never look back and simply go full-time as Trendesigns. (TD)
My inspiration has always been to help others where they can't. In this case, it's with a delivery... a look, a feel, a direction that best suits and represents the client from a logo all the way down to the type of branded pen they carry. With the advent of social media - it's also become more of a personal vehicle for folks, since it's so INSTANT and current; this allows us to quickly drive results for them. Their success is ours, 'nuff said."
Owning your own business, it can be hard to have down time, how do you balance work with relaxation? How do you keep motivated to try new things? "Owning a business is hard, pure and simple. It's also the most rewarding experience I've ever taken on. The biggest issue IS downtime! Working from home is great to have a tax write-off for workspace, and to NOT have overhead costs that in turn get passed on to clients. Knowing when to say "enough" is most difficult. The key thing is, balance. I schedule time to make sure my family gets to see me, especially now that we have a 1-year old that demands attention! Weekends can be tough because sometimes clients are demanding, but overall, balance and workload/distribution comes in time (I'll get there some time). Motivation for me IS my family. I want them to have a good life, not one of excess, but just comfort. It's what I aspire to as well and that will be achieved by hard work, taking care of my clients and the rest will fall into place."
How would you pitch your business to a potential client looking for your services? "People appreciate being able to reach out to me and get ME on the phone and email. People appreciate our responsiveness via emails, our ability to furnish entire solutions from A to Z, instead of just giving a thumbdrive to a client, collecting money and walking away. The biggest thing I tell people is to look at and read our Testimonials page online FIRST. Anyone can create a shiny portfolio online... it's what people SAY about working with TD that earns us the business."
