I’ve grown extremely accustomed to trying to do everything myself. For years, I was a design army of one—all the design, all the dev, all the strategy, all the content, all the print checks, all the me. I liked the level of control doing everything afforded me. With growth, though, comes change.

As the studio has grown, we’ve come to see that letting go of the reins is quickly becoming a necessity. As studio owners we can’t do everything anymore. There’s just not enough time. As we meet weekly with our business consultant and project manager, much of our conversations revolve around growth and how it’s a natural progression to offload things as your business gets bigger.

As you surround yourself with like minded individuals who buy into the vision of the studio, agency, whatever, letting go of the reins becomes easier.

As your business grows your goal should be to begin putting together a team of trusted, talented people. As you surround yourself with like minded individuals who buy into the vision of the studio, agency, whatever, letting go of the reins becomes easier. I’m starting to see it—like the slow focus of an eyeball.

Now, I’m completely willing to acknowledge the fact that all of this is completely new to me, and at this point I find myself quietly revolting against the idea of letting go. I feel resistance in every fiber of my being. I’m screaming from within. I want to believe, though, that these death rattle postures might be the hold outs preceding growth. It’s new, so it’s uncomfortable. Miserably uncomfortable. Taking risks, though, is at the center of what we do. We are studio owners and business owners and this is what we’ve signed up for.