Finding a Plumber...

Mike Draper- RAYGUN owner

When I started RAYGUN, the whole venture seemed a little uncertain. I had never screenprinted, I had never used design software, I had never worked in retail, I had never used a cash register, and I didn’t know anyone with similar businesses. I was a 21-year-old history student at the University of Pennsylvania and only knew that I wasn’t cut out for a regular job.

Now when I look back at the trajectory of the company, since it all really started in 2004, I realize that you may need artistic talent to be a great artist. But if you’re looking to build an artistic company, being a great artist isn’t even in the top three things you need.

Number one above all else: reply to all your e-mails as soon as you can.

This really applies to any field. And if you can do that, your odds of success sky-rocket. Replying to all e-mails as soon as possible will help establish some personal discipline, which lets you slog through the endless bullshit that small businesses really face (finding a plumber, fixing a messed-up order from a supplier, find the right kind of track-light bulb). It’s a simple base of your daily routine.

Replying to all e-mails also establishes an aura of dependability with those you’re corresponding with. And dependability is the top thing  you need to run a successful artistic, or non-artistic company. Because at the end of the day, a customer doesn’t necessarily know amazing art from great art, but they do know if it’s a month late. They do know if they’ve been disrespected or not appreciated.

In the beginning, I used to do custom printing and design for other people (that side was sold in 2010), and dependability was my main business edge.

Say you’re a potential screenprinting customer, and your boss has given you a job: have 500 purple t-shirts with a log on them by Friday or you’re fired.

Now, say you have two friends: one is the Picasso + Michelangelo +  Da Vinci of screenprinting, but he only gets stuff done on time 50% of the time, the other friend is me, owner of RAYGUN, who does fine work, but has it done 100% of the time.

You’d have to be high on mescaline to choose the non-dependably guy. Your assignment is not to get great on a t-shirt no matter how long it takes, your assignment is just to have t-shirts by Friday.

There’s an upside and a downside to this business advice.

The upside is that anyone has the potential to do it. Any able bodied person can be dependable, just like any able bodied person can lose weight or control their diet.

The downside is that barely anyone can really accomplish it. Being dependable involves showing up every day. Working hard. Just like losing weight requires eating right and exercising.

The steps are simple, the implementation is hard.

But like losing weight, most people will tell you that there was one small, turning point when they knew they had to do it. For me, the most important thing was my decision that I knew I didn’t want a regular job after college. I wanted to do something creative, and I’d do whatever it took to realize that. Only then, when I was pointed in the right direction, in the direction that I cared about, was I able to muster the discipline to keep my dependability up every day for years on end.