Justin Scheef (left) and Erik Macenas of Prolifix Design.

In this Small Business Success Q&A, you meet the guys who brought a fresh new look to our blog. I think they did a great job and they stuck to my budget, which is always important for a small business owner. I had been dreading the whole process of redesigning the blog, but they made it pain free and fast.

By the way, I found Prolifix Design via Twitter. The interesting part is that I reached out to two other local design firms through Twitter and never heard back from either of them. If you’re going to use social media, you need to be on top of the opportunities it brings your way. I also heard from several overseas designers when I did a tweet saying I was looking to update the blog’s design, but I was determined to buy local. And I’m glad I did! Thanks, Erik and Justin!

Name: Erik Macenas and Justin Scheef

Company name: Prolifix Design

Location: Wake Forest and Raleigh, NC

Founded: 2009

No. of employees: 2

Website: http://prolifixdesign.com

Twitter name: @prolifixdesign

Blog: http://prolifixdesign.tumblr.com

Business description: Prolifix Design is a full-service creative agency that provides website development, logo design, in-store displays, printed material and more.

Why did you decide to start your own company? We came to the conclusion that clients were seeking a unified solution for their print and web design needs. Each of us has more than 15 years of experience in our respective fields, and as a team we provide a complete package for small businesses seeking a brand identity, print design and a website.

What have been the keys to your business success? We work with the client to ensure that we deliver what they are seeking – on time and on budget. We listen to the client and come up with a solution that is tailored to their needs. We respond to clients’ inquiries in a timely manner, and provide ongoing support after the initial phase of the project is complete.

Best business advice you’ve ever been given? Give back to the community in which you operate. We volunteer our time with two projects based in the Raleigh area – Pack for a Purpose and Tour D’Coop.

Worst business advice you’ve ever been given? Advertise the business on Craigslist. It just results in spam and inquiries from people who want a large project done for practically pennies.

What was the toughest thing you’ve ever had to do as a business owner? We had a client who was not being realistic with their demands and requests, so we asked that they find another solution for their design and development needs. We don’t like to cut loose clients, but in this case for everyone’s sanity, it was necessary.

Have you adopted any new technology recently that has been a big help to you and that you think might help other small business owners? We are moving toward building all of our sites with responsive design – optimizing websites for whatever device the end user is on. We also are putting more and more clients on WordPress, which initially was intended for just blogs but now is a very flexible tool for building websites.

What advice would you give to someone just starting a business? Make sure that you have a plan to bring in clients or customers, whether it be through using your network, advertising, or some other method. And then build your business by getting referrals from your initial clients.

Favorite all-time business book? Big Brand Theory, a compilation of branding campaigns. This book forced us to re-consider almost everything we thought about design and brands in business.

Favorite business book read in the past year? The Graphic Design Business Book by Tad Crawford. Designers face the big barrier in setting up a business, managing the right art house to creating an effective, and unique portfolio, using the web and flowing in clients. We were able to learn how to run a successful design studio using this book.

Favorite online source(s) for business information/advice? We like to follow various blogs in the world of technology, including Yahoo, Re/Code, blogs for various Google products, New York Times, among many others. Twitter is a great resource to connect with other small businesses and get news that from other sources that we don’t follow as closely. And we also like to keep up with local news in the News & Observer, which often publishes articles about our target market – small businesses and non-profits.