Los Angeles–based Jaqui Seerman worked for design greats Waldo Fernandez and Martyn Lawrence Bullard for nearly a decade before launching her own firm. Those roles showed her not only how to structure her business but also gave her an innate sense of just how much a seamless design experience is worth.
Before you founded your firm, you had a front-row seat to how two wildly successful designers ran their businesses. How did that shape your own approach?
I gleaned a lot about the value of our work. When you’re starting out, you underestimate that value due to lack of confidence or lack of experience, but I feel like I hit my stride early on because I had mentors with years of experience behind them. Everyone has a different billing structure, and everyone needs to figure out what works best for them—but ultimately, I was able to recognize in my mentors, and then recognize in myself, the massive amount of work that we’re producing and the value it contributes.
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