Max Pete
Max Pete
Marketer / Website Designer / The One Hand Wonder Man
San Diego, CA
website: www.maxpete.co
instagram: @onehandwonderman
twitter: @max_pete
WHAT DO YOU DO?
“This is a tough one, because I am all over the place. Short answer, I am a project manager, Squarespace website designer, and digital marketer.”
I am all over the place in a sense that I don't have one title that defines my day to day. Some days I am only focused on website designing, some days I am focused on setting up an advertising campaign. I guess it really just depends on the day and what is needed at that time!
WHAT STEPS DID YOU TAKE TO GET TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?
I used Google and networking to my advantage. When I was in college and wanted to get into the music business, I had no idea where to look. So I went to Google "Music Labels Bay Area" and found one that let me intern once a week that lead me to another internship, which led me to another, then eventually a full-time job in the industry at a marketing agency. I also reached out to as many professionals as I could through email or in person and asked to grab coffee in exchange for being able to ask questions and introduce myself. That actually worked out super well. People love talking about themselves (*looks at camera*) and love coffee, so being able to combine the two ended up being a win-win for me to gain industry knowledge and propel my career forward.
HOW DO YOU STAND OUT IN YOUR FIELD?
I am the only Max Pete and the only one hand wonder man. Sure there are a bunch of others who are in similar career fields, but no one who has my story and my perspective. Actually being born with one hand really helped me out adapt career-wise. At a very young age I had to "figure it out" when I wanted to learn how to do something (playing drums, basketball, baseball, etc.). Having that perspective shaped my career in the sense that if I wanted to get to the next step or learn a new skill, I used that determination to just figure it out and do it.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
I am actually employed full-time at an agency in San Diego as a project manager, and also freelancing on the side when I want to take on some cool fun side projects. I recently just completed a new website build for a blind golfer which was one of the cooler projects I got to work on and fun client to work with.
WHAT'S YOUR STYLE/PERSPECTIVE/TASTE? DO YOU HAVE A PROJECT THAT REPRESENTS THIS?
My style, perspective, and taste would have to be clean, minimal, and unique. I'm all about efficiency and my design projects reflect that a lot. I design with everyone in mind where no matter what your age is, you'll be able to navigate the website with ease. I love seeing super out there projects by other designers, but that is geared toward a specific audience, and I am more broad. I would say that my portfolio really reflects this www.maxpete.co
WE ALL HAVE MULTIPLE SKILLS OR WORK IN VARIOUS INDUSTRIES, WHICH ONE DO YOU WISH YOU COULD FOCUS ON MORE?
I'd love to focus more on strategy and project management. I work better looking at the big picture of the project instead of the day to day working in the weeds. Being able to give more direction instead of doing the daily work would be ideal (putting that into the universe).
WHAT IS FRUSTRATING YOU RIGHT NOW?
Content always holds me back. I would love to figure out a way to streamline this process for gathering content from a client and being able to do a project on time. That is one really where everything gets delayed. Also, mind reading would be super nice. Reason being, when you design something for a client and they give you super generic feedback of what they don't like, it would be nice to see what they actually want it to look like haha.
IF YOU COULD HIRE SOMEONE FOR $20/HR, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE THEM DO TO MAKE YOUR DAY EASIER?
I would have them hide my phone. I get super distracted by my phone and always being connected, so I would love to have someone get these distractions away from me. I know there are apps for this, but haven't found something that helps.
LET'S BRING OUT THE TIME MACHINE. WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU COULD HAVE TOLD YOURSELF, WHEN, AND WHY?
I would have told myself as a kid that be more confident in yourself. I was always a little shy because of my hand and was holding myself back a little because of that, so that is definitely something I would have said. Embrace yourself as the one hand wonder man.
IF YOU COULD TALK TO AN EXPERT TO GAIN MORE INSIGHT ON SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE ABOUT?
Money management & investing. This is a key area where I am trying to focus on these next few years, as far as getting the systems in place, so being able to talk to someone who has already done it would be a major help!
WHAT KIND OF OPPORTUNITIES/PROJECTS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
It would be cool to help small businesses and artists set up their own advertising campaigns. Being able to do more teaching/workshops would be awesome.
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL JOB/CLIENT/COLLABORATION.
I love where I am at now. Being able to work at an agency where I can maintain ownership over my department and also being able to work remote when I want to is huge. I love working in the office, but I also love being able to travel and see my family without having to take PTO, so this flexibility is amazing. Client-wise, I love working with people who are on top of their communication and just reliable.
WHAT IS YOUR HOURLY RATE, RETAINER, OR SALARY RANGE?
This depends on the type of work that I am doing. For advertising, I charge my hourly rate at $95 for setup, maintenance, and reporting. I usually set up a three-month retainer for this and set up minimum hours per month (10) so it comes out to around $1,000 per month.
For website design projects my starting is $2,000+.
For website training + consulting I do a flat rate at $400 for 3 hours.
WHO IS A CREATIVE THAT HAS HELPED YOU ELEVATE YOUR WORK?
I would say Austin Kleon and Chris Do. They're both people I really look up to and Austin Kleon's book "Steal Like An Artist" really helped me get outside the box and spark some creativity. They're both leaders in their field so when I am looking for inspiration, I look to them.
I would also say some friends in San Diego Veeej (@veeejzilla) and Andy (@andyinternets) really helped me get introduced to the creative scene in San Diego and both are super talented designers and just great people in general.
HOW SHOULD SOMEONE APPROACH YOU ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER?
Send me an email describing what you would like to work. Be as detailed as you can and also listing out budget/scope/timeline is all super helpful for me to determine if this might be a good fit or not.
HOW DO YOU STAY CREATIVE?
Getting outside for walks.
This member profile was originally published in April 2019.