For Romanian-born designer Ana Grigorovici, the trail to inventive and monetary independence hasn’t been with out its challenges. From navigating unpaid internships and immigration hurdles to launching her personal purpose-led studio, Ana has needed to study the enterprise facet of design the exhausting means and sometimes with out steering from the companies she labored for.
As we speak, because the founding father of Design Bench Studio, Ana has reframed her worth, productised her companies, and constructed a mannequin that helps significant, mission-driven work. On this candid dialog, Ana shares what she’s discovered about pricing, stability, and standing agency in your rules—even earlier than the numbers add up.
How did you study to navigate pricing, salaries, or negotiations in your subject?
I began serious about pricing my design companies as packages after hiring a enterprise coach. Jamie helped me with productising and establishing clear processes. This was after a decade of freelancing the place companies and recruiters set the charges primarily based on my degree (mid, senior, guide). As soon as I started seeing myself as a one-woman company, I adjusted my pricing to mirror the a number of roles I used to be truly enjoying: challenge supervisor, content material supervisor, and account lead. Negotiation wasn’t one thing I noticed dealt with properly within the design trade, and senior management in companies by no means supplied transparency round pitching or pricing, even after I requested to be within the room for these conferences. I discovered most of my enterprise expertise from books and speaking to my friends. (Firm of One, Getting Bare, and Win With out Pitching could be my go-to reads.)
Have you ever ever skilled pay disparity or monetary challenges in your profession?
Initially of my profession, like most junior designers, I used to be underpaid and struggled to afford London hire. Throughout my first unpaid internship, I utilized for profit help and jobseeker’s allowance, however as an immigrant from Romania, the system did not recognise my standing, which even led to a court docket case. It took a yr to safe the backdated funds I used to be entitled to, however I needed to struggle exhausting for it. Many individuals from outdoors the UK I do know have confronted related struggles with sponsorship delays and low junior salaries, and I’ve misplaced mates to immigration legal guidelines.
What’s the very best piece of economic recommendation you’ve got obtained as a inventive skilled?
A fellow designer suggested me to go freelance, explaining that working for 3 companies as an alternative of 1 would supply extra monetary stability. She in contrast it to sitting on a four-legged chair reasonably than a single-legged one. If one leg offers means, you continue to have three others to maintain you regular. That could be a nice metaphor and nice recommendation.
How do you steadiness making a residing with doing work that feels significant?
In early 2022, I made a deliberate choice to cease working with B2C and company shoppers and focus solely on CICs, purpose-led companies, tech-for-good ventures, and cultural organisations. Whereas making a residing as a inventive with out enterprise coaching has at all times been powerful, setting clear boundaries across the work I tackle has aligned my observe with my values and led to fulfilling collaborations and sustainable monetary stability. It seems you possibly can by no means be financially secure sufficient to make large principal selections, so I made mine earlier than I used to be on stable floor.
