Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Junius.
Hi Megan, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I have wanted to be an artist from the earliest time I can remember. In a steady stream of creativity throughout my youth, I made cards and watercolor drawings and excelled in my art classes. At some point after high school, my dream evolved from being an artist to being an art teacher. I worked at and eventually ran a summer program for kids during college, thinking teaching art to kids would combine my interests in art and education. College helped me realize that the education-focused classes were not interesting, and I would rather be in the art studio – so I dropped the teacher idea. I enjoyed hands-on project work, whether constructing something out of clay or painting a color chart of 100 variations of orange. Creating art has always been and continues to be my passion.
While at the College of Saint Benedict, I was immersed in art. I took all the fundamental classes, but I remember the sophomore topics class the most. We saw what types of careers we could have with an art degree, visited museums and artist studios, and learned about artists’ creative processes and how to develop our own. Then through internships and on-campus jobs, I moved beyond art for art’s sake and noticed how design could solve problems. I was fortunate to learn computer programs and real-world design work for campus events. I saw that creative work could encompass both visuals and language. I loved the challenge of bringing those together. I did not shy away from it. Rather, I welcomed the process of refining further for clarity and taking others’ feedback into account.
When I started at Peter Hill Design in 2000, it was my second job out of college, and I was ready to experience agency life. For 10 years, I worked directly with Peter on branding and logo creation while moving into more client-facing roles. I understood how the web worked and took the lead in digital projects. Happy to work with great brands and clients and build my portfolio. I hadn’t thought much about owning an agency. A curveball came in 2009 with the news that Peter had a life-threatening illness. Over a year, I would work with Peter as he transitioned out of business while fully beginning to comprehend the potential path for me: I would take over as the agency owner when he passed.
It was a bittersweet time, filled with the challenge of honoring Peter’s incredible legacy and stepping into design agency lead and business owner all at once and on top of expecting my second child.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Taking ownership of what was then Peter Hill Design was a huge undertaking. It wasn’t as if I had been groomed for years in all the nuances and skill sets necessary for business ownership. I was up for the challenge, but to learn it all at once while churning out award-winning creativity was not feasible. During this time, I leaned on mentors and business advisors when possible. It required me to dig in and figure it out on my own.
In 2014, I attended the National Small Business Administration’s Emerging Leader program, and the graduation gave me the tools to tackle more of the business-focused items and growth I envisioned. The skills and network I built through that program gave me the confidence to move forward in my next endeavors.
I began working with an investor who bought a portion of the business and essentially had a stake in the agency’s success and growth. This growth mindset brought about challenging questions to wrestle with. If we brought on a salesperson to bring in new business, would the resulting work support and sustain their salary and prove profitable? What’s the right amount of effort to expend in retaining clients? Getting new clients?
As our agency found some balance in low-risk trial and error around staffing and marketing, it became increasingly clear that it was time for me to step into the creative and business lead for the firm. The most apparent way to usher in this new era would be to rebrand the firm with a new name that I could feel ownership of. In 2019, I announced our agency: Eight Moon; the Eighth Moon is the final phase in the lunar cycle when the Moon is a slim crescent in the pre-dawn sky. According to lore, this is the phase when creativity is most likely to flourish. When imagination unfolds, when the unexpected is revealed, and when new beginnings come into the light. It’s in that magical moment where we do our best work. And in 2020, the brand blossomed as we moved into a new office where we put our mark on the interiors and fully embraced the moon theme.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We are known for our approach at the onset of any relationship: find out what our client needs, listen to their insight, and ask intelligent questions. We repeatedly hear that clients appreciate our ability to determine more immediate solutions and deliver tactical execution. For us, it’s not about fitting a client into a process and requiring a lot of time to ramp up. As a boutique agency, we don’t have layers of account people. We have marketing and technology partners we always work with based on project needs and fit. This allows us to be flexible and lower costs, adding value along the way that makes our clients look good.
We also can transition across all media from print to video to digital so clients receive fully executed ideas that connect the branding dots. We start with solving the client’s challenge, which includes anything from announcing new company leadership to hosting a fundraising event. We work through the solution with the client providing tactical, timely, and efficient integrated solutions. Often the client only comes to us with the top-level project, so when we move forward, it demonstrates their trust in us to make their brand shine in ways they didn’t even anticipate.
What matters most to you?
Can you talk to us about your view on risk-taking? Have you taken any major risks (and if so, can you tell us about those risks)? Whether you view yourself as a risk-taker or not, we’d love to hear your perspective on how you think about risk.
Eight Moon is a lifestyle business that must do just that – work with my life as a wife and mom to three kids. I operate the firm in a risk-averse way, but I’m always supporting, thinking about, and planning for calculated risks. Over decades in business, I’ve noticed this sort of risk peak and plateau model. Working with trusted partners sets us up for taking the right risks when the time is right.
Our relationship with our investor partner is a perfect example. Through six years of our relationship, we’ve taken risks with hiring, retaining our team, and taking on clients in industries that haven’t typically fallen in our area of expertise. Each time, we’ve learned and grown tremendously, setting us up to make more informed decisions and elevate risks in the future with more accuracy.
One recent risk we took that paid off was moving our firm from Minneapolis to St. Paul in 2020. I took on the role of lead designer for the office and executed that vision. It was a significant investment of my time, energy, and money, and it paid off! Now we are located in the Creative Enterprise Zone in the Vandalia Tower and under the moon water tower. Our modest but mighty team of women has taken on over ten new clients in 2022 and thus far doubled our revenue from 2021. The office has brought exposure to the other tenants in the building, and we’re seeking the creative mix of clients and work we like.
I believe that what designers do has never been extra. It’s always been integral. Over the past three-plus years of accelerated change, I leaned heavily into that belief. Perhaps it’s ignited more risk-taking. That belief is part of why Eight Moon is a success story, and we’re looking forward to what our future brings!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://eightmoon.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EightMoonMSP
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/eightmoonmsp
- Linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/company/eightmoonmsp, https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganjunius/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eightmoonmsp/
sky at sunset with a crescent background
