The CMD-Z Show

How do you tell a client that they're wrong? No one ever wants to, but the sign of a healthy client relationship is being able to talk through any issues that might arise... Like whether something should be blue or red. But if you approach it right and collaborate, maybe you can come up with a solution that's purple.

It's that time of year where we reflect on the past 12 months, the goals we made in January, how we did on those goals, and what the next year will look like. On this episode of The CMD-Z Show, we go through the goals we set at the beginning of the year for ourselves and Made By Things. We also chat about our 2024 goals... You might even hear about some of the exciting things we have planned for the future. 

How do you make time for personal creative projects and how do you decide which one to pursue? On this week's episode of The CMD-Z Show, we discuss our processes when working on side/personal projects and how we view them. We also walk through how we decide what we should share and what is better kept to ourselves. These projects are just what the name suggests... personal. So everyone will have their own approach. Check out how we handle them!

We have a very special episode of The CMD-Z Show this week with a topic that doesn't recieve enough discussion. We sat down to chat with Jeffery Lawson about having a creative career while being disabled and how the military reinforced his love of art.

A subject no one likes to bring up to their clients... pricing and budgets. How do you start the conversation and how do you negotiate once it's been brought up? How do you set appropriate pricing and how do set a plan in place for growth? And how do you get past the awkwardness of bringing up budgets? It's all in this week's episode of The CMD-Z Show. 

This week we're answering what has been our most-asked question as of late... Do studio owners ever work on creative projects? From time management to finding new creative routes, we walk through how studio owners decide when to step into projects, if they prefer to stick to personal work, and how they balance it all. 

On this week's episode of The CMD-Z Show, we are going back to our roots and answering the question, "Why is it so difficult to find jobs in the creative industry right now?" From resumes to applications to seeking out new opportunities, this is an episode as timely as ever. And while we know every experience is different right now, we hope this can shed some light on the current state of the industry and how to approach it. 

On this week's episode of The CMD-Z Show, we sat down with CJ Casciotta to discuss his new book, "The Forgotten Art of Being Ordinary: A Human Manifesto in the Age of the Meteverse." We also dig deeper into AI and what it means to slow down during the creative process.