Meet our latest BrewHub member...

We are delighted to welcome the latest BrewHub member, Ryan Carter, to The Old Brewery! We asked Ryan to tell us a little about his business and what making the move into the BrewHub means to him...

"Around the time I found out I was going to be a father I decided the time was right to leave my job as a designer at a large, UK based entertainment group - I’m not sure why it seemed like a good idea to do so at the time, it just felt right. I figured I’d use the added pressure to my advantage, ensuring I made the switch from a safe salary to stepping out on my own and finding my own clients. Over the last 6 months it’s been a really humbling journey. Instead of looking for clients I’ve actually had every client come straight to me! One client leads to another and it just shows that word of mouth is such a powerful marketing tool - combine that with the ethic to deliver great work and you’ve got a winning formula.

Over the past half a year I’ve really pushed my skill set more than I ever did in the 5 years since graduating. I suppose when you’re investing in your self it seems a little more worthwhile to add these extra strings to your bow. I’ve sharpened existing skills in design for print and front-end web design and have also added a really solid foundation of other programming languages such as PHP and JavaScript. Combining these with the things I already know makes me an ideal freelance designer to hire. It’s like having a small agency at your fingertips.

After the baby was born, I’d managed 4 months of broken focus working on projects snippets at a time. I loved being able to just spend time with my daughter whenever I wanted at such an important stage of her life. I’m still hoping to maintain this relationship but I require a dedicated space to be able to go and focus on continuing to deliver for my clients. I decided to move out of the home office and into a ‘real’ working environment. One with people who don’t speak gibberish…well, not all the time anyway.

I chose to take up residence at The Old Brewery because it’s got character, it’s not just another office block full of corridors and windowless offices. It’s an inspiring building with a lot of character. The shared office space which is part of the BrewHub offers a no-hassle solution to owning an office without actually owning it. If in 3 months I decide it’s not for me, I can just leave my hot-desk behind and go back home, though I feel that this is actually going to act as the first rung on the ladder in growing my business and expanding to a full office at the Brewery. It’s location is perfect for both north and south commutes to clients and also offers some really plush meeting rooms and conference spaces.

I’m looking forward to starting in the shared space and seeing what the future brings."

Ryan Carter - Freelance Designer

www.ryantcarter.co.uk