Do you think your experience of founding a business was typical?

Baer: I think most people have more of a plan. In my case, starting a firm was about wanting to come back to Los Angeles from NYC, and falling into a series of opportunities.

Oberman: We were very conservative (fiscally not politically) and never took out a loan and still have never had any debt, which we don’t think is typical. We worked out of Bonnie’s apartment for 5 months until we had enough money saved to set up a real office.

Decker: It depends. Not typical for small business start-ups in the US, but typical for a designer. I started out in my living room with a computer, a telephone, a portfolio and no clients. I didn’t take a loan or get any financing to give me a start. I started with nothing. I learned how to cold call quickly. And I got a lot of business that way.

Fili: Probably not. I started out very cautiously. I worked out of my home, with one assistant, for the first two years before renting an office, and then gradually increased the business.

I should add that I made a conscious decision to name my studio after myself. While I was fully aware that presenting myself as Single Female Design Studio (as opposed to Big Fancy International Design Empire) might turn off some prospective clients, I decided that those were not clients I would want anyway.

Heller: No, because I’ve had so many different experiences that I have a much better sense of what I want and what doesn’t work for me.

Kuhlmann-Leavitt: I guess what is unusual about my situation is that I stayed with one firm for fourteen years, from college on up to owning my own shop. Other than that, I guess that my experience is similar to most others.

Raye: Not typical but not unheard of either as more and more young people are going into business for themselves with little or no experience. I have noticed that it’s predominately the males setting up shop. I think women are more likely to let their insecurities keep them from doing things like starting up a business right out of school. That said, I admit to having plenty of insecurities, but I’ve never let it stop me.

Werner: I think my experience was somewhat typical. I think some people plan and strategize and put together business plans and then make the decision. For me, leaping in was the best, because if I thought about it too much, I would have postponed it for years. I went with a gut feeling, and usually my gut feelings lead me to a good place.

How did potential clients treat you?

Baer: I do feel like being a woman-owned, and primarily women-staffed, firm has been a mixed blessing in pitching work. There’s an adage that we hire people who feel like us. That’s all fine except that a lot of people doing the hiring are male. It’s not always an issue. And when it is--- it’s always subtle. I try not to get bogged down about it. I just try to continually hone our skills and the way we present our work to overcome any preconceived ideas of what working with us would be like.

In terms of working with clients once we’ve been hired, I feel gender rarely makes a difference, and if it has, it’s been in a positive way. I think both male and female clients often feel they can confide in us in ways they might not otherwise.

Siegler: Some people definitely tried to treat us like naiive girls, but they learned that we weren’t pretty quickly.

Heller: I enjoy winning them over by knowing what I’m talking about.

Fili: My portfolio was mainly comprised of book jackets. Many clients were unable to comprehend that I could handle other types of projects.

Werner: I think potential clients, especially ad agencies and internal creative departments were really curious to give me an initial meeting. Of course in my introduction I mentioned I had worked at Duffy and they almost immediately set up an appointment. That’s why I always encourage students to try and hold out for the job they really want, it usually makes the transition path much easier.

Helfand: Fine. Except there was one meeting with Court TV -- my first child had just been born and I was a bit sleep deprived -- and I remember that as I went to shake the client’s hand, a burping cloth fell out of my pocket. We all laughed, but I felt the gender thing, underscored by the Mommy thing, was a line in the sand.

Do you think you approach projects differently than men you work with?

Millman: Probably, though I don’t do it intentionally. I am less reserved, and more extreme—I tend to either love something or hate it. I also work with a lot of Brits, so that might figure into some of the differences.

Morla: Not necessarily, but women perhaps see opportunities to portray women in their work when it is in service to the idea. I designed the poster for the Mexican Museum utilizing a photo of Frida Kahlo that was a part of its permanent collection. I went through their archives and identified the portrait as key design element for the poster. Perhaps, a male counterpart might not have taken that approach.

Heller: My experience has given me a broader perspective, but I don’t think that has anything to do with gender.