One Thing I Wish I Knew Before Starting This Business

The Design Startup Show

Hi design starters. I just want to put in some, um, ideas and thoughts into your hip with regards to the idea of modeling other people's businesses, other people's websites, other people's web design, and taking inspiration from them. I feel that. Um, even myself rather, and most people would have thought that modeling and taking inspiration from others could be equate it to copying.

And they're copying is illegal over the, over the few years that I've, um, came up with my set up. I find that I find that it was really hard for me to model and, and kind of copy other people's work. I feel that. I, I, I did feel that in fact, that it isn't something that is the right thing to do, but after I have started this business, I've built it up and grown it painstakingly, avoiding to copy others, painstakingly, avoiding, to take inspiration, being afraid of cheating.

I realized that there is actually simply nothing wrong with modeling or even copying. I wouldn't say you should just copy wholesale over your competitors websites, per se. Even, even that wouldn't mean cheating in the first place. I would feel that that could be a strategy where you can figure out if it works because your competitor.

May look like they are doing well, then they may say that they are doing well, but how would, you know, you will never know in a way, because you want, first of all, you want to know, and you want to think that they are honest about their returns, but truthfully you will never know right. Until, and unless you are in their company or you have spoken with them.

And they've been so honest with the, our figures that. Then yes. You know, Oh, you just somehow trust him. But if you don't know them personally, how would you know that their website is working? So copying is not cheating. I would say up to now at this point where I have grown to the point where I'm more contented and happier than before it's.

It's something that you should adjust, right? You, you can take some inspiration. You look at our website, you look at their copy. You look at their design. You can start by first using what they have done, tested out with some people and then make the adjustment. And don't say, It's done by you obviously. So what I feel about copying is that when people copy and they say that it's their own world, I feel that that's not, that is definitely not, uh, something with integrity, for sure.

I want to do things with integrity. So what I can do is I can do the copy and I can just be upfront about it to say that this work is not mine, but I am. Testing it out. I can say that. And, and the person who's listening to this, we understand. And, and there's no, no need to be afraid of doing that because I have been there.

I was so afraid that I got stuck and I didn't move at all with my business because I was afraid that I will be copying, uh, other graphic design businesses with the tech line that says unlimited graphic design. What's wrong with coming up with a design company. That's unlimited design. There are so many other people doing design businesses.

Are we copying them? Sure we are ready. And so copying is not considered cheating or illegal. I feel that if it is only illegal, it is only without integrity. If you copy and say that this whole thing is done by you. I have no shame to say that if I copy, I will say it's copied. I will, I would have said that.

And then I will adjust, right. And change, change to a point where people know, okay, I have my own flavor in, I feel my own gaps in all the general field may be similar, but I still have my own piece of my work in it, which is original. Or originated from me in a way, and that will be fine. So rather than copying everything or even copying parts of things and say that it's yours, you copy and say, it's not yours, but make adjustments.

And once you make the adjustments, it become yours already. And you don't have to say that you've copied. Is it? So this is, this is my take on modeling on taking inspiration from other businesses and they may happen to be a business that you want to also be starting. It's not new. And you will always find that.

This will happen. So I feel that you should go ahead first, but don't take the work as your own. You are not the creator of that work. So don't claim that you may wish to let the owner and the creator know that what you are doing is not wholesale copying and going to use their sites or their designs. Or the, uh, work as your own.

You may want to tell them that if, if you're not going to tell them that it's also fine to me, I feel that what is not right is to stop yourself from putting things out for us. So, but of course, it's for sure, not right to take it as your own, right. Not right. To say that what you have done, what you have reference is yours.

You don't do that. But, you know, at the back of your mind, you are going to make that change. You are going to adjust to your audience, your kind of work and your strategy and your copy or designs will end up all, all created by yourself. All right. So don't stop. Don't get stuck. Keep producing, even if it's taking reference from other people's work.