MEDIUM POST 1 — “I Was 15, Had No Portfolio, and Said Yes Anyway”
Draft for David Herskowitz. Copy and paste directly to Medium. Do not publish to splashcreative.com.
I was 15, interning at my uncle’s IT company in New Jersey, mostly just there to keep myself busy.
One morning, a client walked in because his laptop had been stolen. While my uncle handled the hardware issue, the client started venting about his website.
“I hate our website. You got anyone who can help?”
I had never built a website in my life. No business card. No portfolio. No clue what I was doing.
I was 15.
I popped my head in and said, “I can fix it.”
He hired me.
Truthfully, I completely faked it in that moment. But that one yes changed everything. It forced me to learn fast. It pushed me to figure it out. It became the start of the next 15 years.
Everything I know about design, clients, and building a creative business started with saying yes before I was ready.
I think about that moment a lot now, running Splash Creative in New York after 200+ brand and web projects. Because the pattern repeats itself constantly.
The founders who build great things are not always the most prepared. They are not always the most qualified. They are not always the most confident in the room.
They are the ones who said yes first and figured it out second.
I see the opposite all the time. Founders waiting until the brand feels ready before they pitch. Waiting until the website is perfect before they sell. Waiting until they feel legit before they act like it.
The waiting is the problem.
Nobody feels ready. Not at 15. Not at 35. Not when you’re closing your first real deal or your hundredth.
The difference between people who build things and people who plan to build things is not talent. It is the tolerance for moving before you have all the answers.
Say yes. Get ready real fast. Repeat.
That is the whole playbook.
I still use it every day.
David Herskowitz is the founder of Splash Creative, a branding and web agency in New York City. He has been saying yes before he is ready since 2003.
