Hidden Gems: Meet Austin Schulenburg of Pen & Mug

Today we’d like to introduce you to Austin Schulenburg

Hi Austin, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Pen & Mug has evolved from the moniker of a college kid taking on freelance work, to a small “garage band” of a creative studio, to a Top Branding and Web Design Agency in Tennessee (according to Clutch)!

In the very beginning, I (the founder and “college kid” mentioned above) identified the center of the Venn Diagram that includes my interests, my natural talents, and the problems I can solve for other people. I started looking for all the freelance graphic design work I could find, and came up with the moniker “Pen & Mug” when I created my first logo and website.

From day one I wanted to grow Pen & Mug into a team that would be larger than just myself – that’s part of why I used an agency name instead of my own name. (Also because “Pen & Mug” is easier to spell than “Schulenburg”)

This business has grown slowly and organically over time, almost entirely from word-of-mouth referrals and repeat clients. Today we are key partners to some of Nashville’s largest and most beloved live events (Lightning 100’s Live On The Green, Big Machine Music City Grand Prix), major Nashville businesses (HCA Healthcare), impactful non-profits (Corner to Corner, Friends of Radnor Lake, Centennial Park), and many other organizations large and small!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I don’t think we’ve overcome any challenges worthy of a Hollywood movie… but we’ve certainly experienced our share of ups and downs on the rollercoaster of building a small business!

One of our biggest challenges (and something we’re tremendously proud of) has been building and maintaining our business without taking on any debt or investors. The team and I have bootstrapped our company from the beginning, taking the slow and steady route to growth in order to prioritize sustainability and independence. Today we’re a team of 8 (4 core team members and 4 consistent freelancers) with our sights set on building up to a team of 10 full-time team members. Our growth can be fully credited to being smart and patient with our money, our ability to build great relationships, and our uncompromising commitment to delivering excellent work.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Pen & Mug is a caffeine-fueled creative studio focused on creating engaging brand identities and silky-smooth websites. We believe that great service is just as important as great results, and we have the 5-star reviews to back it up!

Most of our expertise is in three key industries: events & experiences, software & tech, and nonprofit organizations.

We solve a critical problem for overwhelmed founders and marketing leaders in these industries by operating closely and collaboratively with them as an extension of their team – their “outsourced creative department”. We call these partnerships “creative alliances.”

As a consistent and collaborative partner, we empower small marketing orgs to produce world-class brand identities, websites and marketing communications. We can deliver a high volume of top-quality work, all for roughly the cost of a single full-time Jr. Designer role.

Specialty: Creative Alliances

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Risk is an essential ingredient in building a business, and a necessary step in the process. You have to bet on yourself with your time, your money, your energy, etc. However, extreme risks can move you away from “strategy” and into outright “gambling”. My team and I have done our best to walk this line carefully, and keep growing/evolving/improving our business without risking the farm at every turn.

Pricing:

• Minimum project rate: $5,000
• Typical rate for website design & dev: $10,000+

Contact Info:

• Website: https://penandmug.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/penandmug/
• Other: https://clutch.co/profile/pen-mug

Image Credits
All photos & graphics: Pen & Mug team