Halibut Creative Communications

www.halibut.com.au

1. Tell us about your business

My husband and I run a graphic design and advertising agency, based in Launceston, Tasmania. We have experience in a wide range of advertising, design and communication areas, from logo design and stationery, to brochures, annual reports, signage, advertisements, web design and copy writing.

2. When and why did you start your business?

We moved back to Tassie (from Brisbane) due to family reasons. My father-in-law passed away, and we were expecting a baby (now 1). After many years of working for other companies, we decided it was time to use the skills and experience we'd acquired to finally work for ourselves.

3. On a personal level, what have you achieved with of your business?

We have finally found a great work/life balance - we work from home, so we can both share the care of our little boy, as well as get (real) work done. because Tassie is a small place, we've found a lot of our work through word-of-mouth, and we always receive great feedback on the jobs we do, which is nice!

4. What are some of the challenges you’ve faced in growing your business?

Just trying to find the right balance between work and home life (especially when our baby was small) was sometimes a challenge - it was hard to look for new clients if we weren't sure we could service them properly.

5. What activities have been successful in promoting your business?

Our website has gained great feedback. As mentioned previously, because we live in a small place like Tasmania, word-of-mouth is a powerful means of promotion. We ensure we do the best job we can for all of our clients, and we know they'll talk about us to other businesses and pass our name on.

6. What activities were less successful for marketing your business?

We haven't had to look for many ways to promote our business yet, so this doesn't apply.

7. Name your favourite thing about your business

Freedom to work the hours that suit me!

8. Who or what other businesses or business people inspire you?

Other small, creative businesses - there's a shop in Launceston called Cocoon, run by a gorgeous, inspiring girl we know... my previous employer in Brisbane (also run by a strong, confident and energetic mum)... a national magazine called Frankie, which is full of inspirational people from all walks of life... other local designers and craftspeople that are getting their name and product out there.

9. What are your plans for the future of your business?

To continue on in the same way, slowly increasing our clientele, and getting the opportunity to work on some nice, creative work! We'd love to get more 'mainland' based clients - it gives us the opportunity to travel, but also with computers and email these days, it makes communicating with people everywhere so easy!

10. Share your best business tip with our readers.

No matter how small the job is that you are working on, always do the best that you possibly can - as well as gaining satisfaction from doing great work, you never know what it may lead to down the track.

Visit us at: www.halibut.com.au