Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in graphic design but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Quentin Degrange and Antoine Puyfages, Founders of Hypersthène, located in Cannes, France.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Hypersthène is a graphic design agency based in Cannes (France) and was created six years ago by two graphic designers, Quentin Degrange and Antoine Puyfages, to always offer the best in graphic design. We design singular visual branding with developed, consistent, and meaningful graphic territories. We also design printed materials and digital experiences (UX Design, UX Design, Motion Design, etc.).
We collaborate with clients from all fields, institutional, start-ups, tech, catering, large accounts, small entrepreneurs... To name a few of our clients: Palais des Festivals de Cannes, Caisse d’Épargne, Agglomération Roissy Pays de France, Lacq Orthez Communauté de Communes, les écoles SUP’DE COM ou IDRAC Business School, WhatTheFranchise, WordSkills International and many more.
Our strength lies in our ability to adapt to any type of situation, for any type of client, and to learn from each other's skills in order to bring the project even further.
Tell us about yourself
Quentin: I started my own freelance activity alongside my studies in order to be financially independent, have a smoother start as soon as I graduate, and above all, gain time and experience.
Antoine: Like Quentin, I was freelance but at the same time a communication manager for a sociocultural structure. I really had a very precise vision of what I wanted to do, and my desire to create my own business has always been a strong motivation. So I left my job to start a new journey.
Because being freelance is limited in France for many reasons, we wanted to merge our skills and launch our own agency in order to forge our experience, spread our ideas, and offer our clients our expertise in graphic design, print design, and web design. Our job is, above all, a passion, and we are happy to be able to support such different profiles every day to solve their branding problems.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
The thing that makes us the proudest is to have been able to build an agency that now shines at the national level and is starting to break through internationally. Also, we are beyond grateful to be surrounded by a passionate team on a daily basis and, finally, to be pushed and challenged by collaborations with our clients, who push us to always do better.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
One of the hardest things about being a small business entrepreneur is having to be so multitasking and versatile. In addition to our job as a graphic designer, there is also the management of our clients, emails, responding to calls for projects, client presentations, taking care of accounting, management of our employees, and day-to-day concerns... all this in more of our creative part! It is no longer a single profession but several professions. This involves a huge amount of mental load and stresses to manage on a daily basis.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Be patient, not everything is done in a day, and it sometimes takes longer than expected. You have to stay motivated with your goals focused in mind!
- Be convinced of its success and know your value.
- Be organized and set goals.
- Learn to say "no." It's hard but liberating!
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.hypersthene.fr/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Hypersthene/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/agencehypersthene/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hypersthenefr
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/agence-hypersthene/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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