My Purpose-Over-Profit Story — Good Will Studios

I was recently invited to speak at an online event hosted by Founders and Consume Comms, and the subject of the talk was instantly of interest to me; Purpose Over Profit.

This is an interesting subject to me because I have been on a rocky journey these past couple of years to discover my own purpose, not just in my business life but in my own personal life - and as someone who is self employed, the line between these two areas are blurry at best.

I decided to use this opportunity to open up in a way that I have not done before, especially to a large audience of strangers - and in a way that will be forever documented on the web for anyone to see in perpetuity! So I decided to tell my story of an ambitious and excitable newbie designer, fresh faced and wide-eyed entering the industry, to becoming disillusioned with my work and my role in life, to ultimately discovering my purpose and changing things up to have a more purposeful career and life.

My Purpose Over Profit presentation.

The story.

Here’s a rough transcription of the video, for those who prefer to read or are unable to hear the audio.

I’ve always been a visual person, used to be called ‘artsy’ as a kid - the highest grade I ever got in school was in art, and I think that was just a B. But I was proud of it and it reaffirmed that art was “my thing”!

You’d always find me sitting quietly in a corner somewhere doodling pictures of robots.

I always struggled with speaking as a child, I was pretty anxious and this caused me to stutter - something I still struggle with to this day. Looking back, this was probably why I was so obsessed with drawing; communicating visually… because I couldn’t find my own voice.

So, this led me down a certain career path, doing design and “multimedia”, as it was then called, at college and university. And in 2008 I graduated and got my first job as a graphic designer and I thought I’d “made it”!

So, after a few years working as a graphic designer, learning the craft of design and working my way up in the company, I decided to set up my own agency and go self employed. I did this mostly because I wanted to create something for myself, to carve out my own path, build my own brand and create something I could be proud of.

Designing purely for aesthetics.

Looking back, I wasn’t really focussed on the actual outcome for the client, I was so focussed on creating nice looking designs. And being a cool young designer with a creative studio was really important to me.

But to be honest, I was pretty selfish when I think about it now!

Sure! I wanted to do good work for good people, but my primary driving force was just being creative and designing stuff. I wasn’t even bothered about making lots of money… I didn’t!

A few more years went by, creating that stuff... logos and branding, illustrations, animations, digital and print designs. Working with a bookstore one day, a scientific research company the next, a German telecoms startup after that, it seemed that I was working for any old project, for any old client.

Upon reflection, the projects I enjoyed the most were always a charity project or something for a social cause, but I didn’t really pursue these more ethically-focussed projects at the time as I was still very much focussed on the act of designing itself.

…Until I found myself drifting a bit. I still loved what I was doing, but I didn’t know why I was doing it.

I had no real direction or purpose, so I ended up being pulled around by others.

Losing my direction.

Eventually I found myself in a position doing work that wasn’t fulfilling, and designing things for clients who I didn’t share any real values with. So, I became a tool to be used - a designer for hire. Not only that, I also found myself being pulled into other roles, such as managing a small marketing team, setting up Google and Facebook ads, getting involved in things I really had no interest in because I didn’t know what else to do.

I convinced myself that I couldn’t do anything else and I was terrified that I’d end up losing work, not being able to pay my bills and rent, and genuinely worried that I would end up homeless.

I was lost, burnt out, and depressed!

For the longest time, ever since I was child, I was fascinated by graphic design and branding - how a powerful message can be portrayed visually without any words. But eventually I became disillusioned by the fact that this wonderful human invention - branding and visual design - was primarily used to just sell people more stuff that they can’t afford, and increase mass consumerism that is trashing the planet.

I’ve always had a bit of polite rebelliousness in me; sceptical of capitalist culture, consumer society, and how people are classed as “consumers”, and generally had this feeling that there’s something wrong with the way things are set up. The more I learnt, the more I discovered how unethical and unsustainable a lot of business practice seems to be by default.

People aren’t bad, but the way our society and economy is built seems to encourage the worst - a fast track to exploitation and environmental ruin.

This coincided with me going through a personal journey, I learned a lot about the environment and how my own lifestyle; my holidays abroad, my meat-heavy diet, and my personal choices all had a negative impact on the planet.

I didn’t want that...

So I made a lot of changes to my personal lifestyle - trying to live as ethically and sustainably as possible - and I eventually realised that I needed to align my business actions with these personal values - because we spend so much of our lives working! So something had to change...

Pivoting for purpose.

At this point I’d worn many hats as a creative designer, and I felt just as uncertain about which design discipline I should focus on, as I was uncertain about my overall career and life journey…

I’d always loved logos so I was drawn to focus on that.

I always loved designing logos - so I decided to try and design logos for good causes.

I understood that branding was more than “just a logo”, and I learnt that the real power of branding lies in a deep and subtle place within us.

Branding has the power to inspire change, to push movements forward, to shape public perception, and even influence people to do and buy things that they otherwise wouldn’t...

We all probably know deep down that big corporations don’t have our best interests at heart, yet we still buy into their marketing anyway - an emotional connection is made with us whether we like it or not…

The fact that clever marketing and cool branding has created a multi-million dollar bottled water industry, when you can literally get it free from a tap!, tells us all we need to know about the power of branding

Branding is powerful. Branding is moving. Branding is persuasive. And I believe it can be used for so much more.

Seemingly just when I needed it most, during the depths of my despair and a time when I was spinning around like a broken compass, I found a creative business coach and I decided to invest in myself to help me find some direction.

Thus began a long and painful process of soul-searching and rediscovery.

The outcome of this was a better understanding of my own values - rediscovering what was really important to me, and resetting my life and business to a more meaningful path - one that I actually had some control over.

Rediscovering and defining my values.

I created this graphic which shows 4 key areas that I want to focus on in order to have a purposeful business and fulfilling life…

Authenticity.

I value authenticity and I need to be true to myself, align my business action with my personal values - and only work with those with whom I have a shared mission.

Creativity.

I’ve realised I’m really only good at one thing in life and that's my design… I’ve explored changing everything and becoming a sustainability consultant for the digital design sector, and I’m still involved in those initiatives… but I’m always drawn back to my design roots, so I feel that I shouldn’t neglect them. I’ve worked to combine these together, and learnt that I need to use these skills to empower those who are doing great things - things that I alone can’t do - and I must bake creativity and design thinking into every aspect of my life.

Environment.

As mentioned, I care deeply about the environment. Having made some fundamental changes in how I live, I try to reflect this daily in my business practices and with my clients. This means me committing percentages of my time and income to environmental causes, working with those who are doing something to tackle climate change, and using what platform I have to spread awareness and promote action to mitigate and avoid climate catastrophe.

Contribution.

I’ve done my time going through the motions and churning pointless out stuff. I want to make an impact with my work, and contribute something to my community and the planet. As with any skillset or activity, it can be used to add value and positively benefit society and the planet, or it can be used solely for personal gain and potential exploitation/extraction. I strive to choose the former option.

Helping others find their voice.

As well as going through business coaching I decided to seriously work on my confidence and my speech, to overcome the childhood stutter that had been holding me back.

This was another really painful, but ultimately worthwhile experience.

I think what motivated me to improve my speech, after 30 years of not really doing anything about it, was discovering a real purpose in my business.

I learnt that I wanted to exclusively help social enterprises, ethical businesses, and environmental causes - but if I couldn't really communicate with them, I wouldn’t be able to help them.

So, I found myself developing a branding process called “find your brand voice” which is designed to help these ethical organisations cut through the noise and position themselves for success - and this is the first step I take my clients on when I help them rebrand.

A better world, by design.

This is my motto to live by. It’s also my company strap-line.

I really think that business and branding can and should be a force for good... Something more than a tool to just convince us to buy more stuff that we don’t need - often produced by brands who have little consideration for workers or the planet.

So, I’m doing everything I can to tip the scales - to equip those who are doing good with the tools they need to succeed - and play my small part to ensure that all business is ethical and sustainable, and good for people and the planet

I’m still a nerdy kid who loves to draw, I still struggle with my speech and anxiety... but now I’ve got some purpose in my life and I’m trying to do better every day.