Based in regional Victoria, the core services of digital agency Design Experts are online strategy, website design, graphic design and eBusiness education.
“Coming up with the idea was a bit of a ‘supply and demand’ scenario. After moving to the country to work on my father’s dairy farm, we soon realised there was a big void in the region for quality digital design services,” Tim explains.
“My wife Kylie and myself used to develop websites for a bit of extra income whilst working on the farm, but soon the website opportunities started taking over and, in March 2008, we officially opened the doors in Echuca and called ourselves Design Experts.”
“In 2009, we went full-time on what would be a journey of a lifetime. Three years on, we have now grown to three locations, nine full-time staff including Kylie and myself, with sales agents in NSW and Queensland.”
Tim says while the journey has been challenging, the constant drive to improve is addictive.
“We were never presented with a step-by-step guide on how to run a business, and often find ourselves working through critical issues like cashflow, production systems or improving the client communication process,” he says.
“Business is not just about closing deals – it’s about getting the work done that you said you would.”
It’s estimated Design Experts has delivered more than 350 eBusiness workshops to around 3000 regional businesses, and things don’t seem to be slowing down.
Design Experts currently services about 700 customers, from home-based mums to multinationals, and also subcontracts to other digital studios in Australia and around the world.
“In terms of future plans, we see ourselves continuing to expand nationally and hopefully internationally, but will continue to have a focus on regional Australia,” Tim says.
“Our vision is to have both studios and agents scattered over the globe, delivering work back into the head studio to produce and manage.”
