Was the company in bad shape? Was it the pandemic? Crisis? None of that!
When I turned 10, it was the moment I decided to reflect deeply on everything that had happened and where I wanted to go. The company was doing well, on the positive, it had good customers. But it gave me that feeling of stagnation that I hate.
Other than that, were you happy?
In these 10 years, I found myself being challenged all the time, not only in how to solve the agency's daily problems, but I felt called upon to be inspiring and exemplary for clients and the team. She made a point of working more than everyone else, of having less vacation than everyone else, of being understanding and at the same time energetic in trying to keep the team excited about their work. I always tried to be well-groomed, with a firm posture no matter what happened so as not to show weakness. I stopped working on what I liked most (creation) and focused on solving all the other “cucumbers”. I knew that I was harshly criticized behind my back, often superficially, for the simple “sport” of speaking ill of my boss. And I became more and more desperate to escape all of this.
It doesn't mean it was all that bad. Incredible people passed through the agency, which I am very happy to have worked with, and we had great achievements such as winning awards and competitions from multinationals.
So what would be the best solution?
The solution was to dissolve the agency structure to pursue a solo career. The “cucumbers” still exist, but they have reduced to 10% of my time. For the rest, I create, and I create a lot! And I can make significant progress in terms of quality.
Other than that, there was time to learn new things. Animation, photography, illustration… I'm testing a lot, and this is very enriching.
But what will they think of Latte? Are they going to think it closed or went bankrupt?
Initially this worried me a lot. Over the course of 2 years, I saw that caring too much about other people's opinions wasn't adding anything. And with my experience, I was able to win and keep a few good clients.
And oddly enough: I earn more! This is because operational expenses have drastically reduced, and my productivity is quite efficient.
Finally free to fly!
The pandemic has shown that we can work remotely and that many work habits must be rethought. By normalizing online meetings, I saw that it is possible to work from anywhere in the world as long as you have internet.
So, at the end of 2021, I started the Latte Abroad project, which consists of working from anywhere in the world in order to expand knowledge about the market and design.
Read the post about the project, click here.
Conclusion
I don't regret anything that happened in these 12 years. I reap great rewards from all the effort and journey with the agency, which gave me more peace of mind to set out on this journey alone.
Now I feel free to be what makes the most sense at this moment, and to be able to provide even better projects for clients.
Silvia Kia
Founder of Latte Design