From Freelance Designing To Being The CEO Of A Digital Marketing Agency: Meet Martin Cvetanovski

Martin Cvetanovski is the CEO and co-founder of Monday, a digital marketing agency in Bitola, Macedonia and the owner of the learning center Monday Learning.

He started his career as a freelance graphic designer & marketer. We decided to ask him a few questions, so you can get to know him a bit better and perhaps get inspired for your own professional journey.

Hi Martin, thanks for taking some time out of your busy schedule for our interview. How are you doing today?

Hello everyone, I am doing great trying to stick to my schedule and preparing some creative work. I am thankful for the opportunity to speak about my journey as a graphic designer and I hope many will find it useful. 

You went from a freelance designer & marketer to a co-founder and CEO of a successful digital marketing agency Monday as well as a learning center. How did you come to where you are today?

The journey from a freelancer to co-owner was a mixed combination of gaining experience, working for clients, and learning a lot of things on the go. When you start as a freelance designer there are a lot of opportunities out there waiting to be uncovered. The first challenge you face as a freelance designer is in what direction to go with the design. There are a lot of options, and a lot of subbranches in this field so I had to decide If I start as a logo designer, UX UI, or packaging and print designer, or all at once. At that time I was trying my best in almost all fields that were in some relation to my branch. But in one stage, when I gained more clients and I had a lot of work I realized that I must specialize in some of the fields or a few of them so I can offer more quality work and charge more. That moment was crucial to move forward and start seeing the freelancing career from a different angle, more professional. As a freelancer, I was working on a few online platforms (Upwork, Fiverr) and also I had some clients from Macedonia. I was continuously working on improving my services and becoming more professional in my field, which led to creating Monday Digital Agency. From the beginning with the company, we were focused on offering quality services and our goal was to be recognized as a digital agency that is creative, efficient, and affordable. We started Monday together with my sister Nikolina, in march 2019 with the idea to showcase our work on a different level, to new clients. And this was successful because from the first month we partnered with different organizations and companies and we started working together on bigger projects. Getting a bigger account is a challenge when you are a freelancer, but all the work you do on the go can lead you to the next big client. 

If we go back to your freelancing days, what were the biggest challenges you faced when you were working as a freelancer? How did you deal with all the bureaucracy?

The biggest challenge as a freelancer for me was focusing on one branch and specializing. Dealing with bureaucracy was a bit of a struggle and also a challenge at the start but everything can be solved right? 🙂 You have to deal with all the payment systems, and all the accounts and take care of everything to be smooth and usually, there are a bunch of services included you have to take care of. 

What do you recommend for ambitious freelance designers just starting out with their careers?

For all the ambitious designers that start their careers as freelancers, I can say that now is the best time, they have all the assets they need and there are all kinds of affordable online courses and training that can help them stay relevant in the field. My advice learned so far is to stay consistent and focused on what you do, and in the long run, your career will grow.

What are some of the biggest projects you worked on so far?

I have worked on many big projects in my freelance career and especially now with the Monday team. Mostly I worked on full branding projects where I build a visual identity for a company from the ground up, building all the assets, designing the whole branding, packaging, and creating whole visual communication. Currently, I am working on a few projects in software development as a UX/UI designer which is a whole different level of expertise in my portfolio.

Where are your clients from?

Our clients are international and local. We have few domestic clients from Macedonia, but we mainly work with clients from the USA, Sweden, Taiwan, and the UK.

What are you most proud of in your career?

What makes me proud in my career so far is that I can share my experience and things I learned with everyone who wants to start their new careers in the digital world. I love helping people to accomplish their professional goals. As a part of our services, we offer training programs for companies and individuals in graphic design and digital marketing, where I am a mentor. The teaching and preparation of new designers and marketers in Monday Learning are one of the things that makes me proud because we are sharing our experience to help others to progress in their careers and do what they love.

And what’s next? What do you want to accomplish in your professional career?

Many things are on my mind when it comes to accomplishments and progress in my career. Right now I am focused on growing our team, and in the near future, we are planning to spread our services to another market. 

You were part of the Guinness world record last week for the longest pitch. Can you tell us a bit more about that?

As a company that works with different clients in many industries, we always support such events that encourage and promote the entrepreneurial spirit. We partnered with Networker in organizing this event because we believe in the huge potential that our startup ecosystem has. And the result was amazing: We broke the GUINNESS WORLD RECORD Longest business pitch marathon with 30 hours of continuous pitching! This has been an impressive competition of ideas and we are happy to continue the support for the top 5 startups who received an investment by offering them custom-made packages for their go-to-market strategies.

What do you like to do when you’re not working? What are your biggest hobbies?

When I am not working I love to ride my mountain bike. I love downhill mountain biking and that is the best thing that helps me to stay creative and inspired 🙂 

Thank you so much for your time Martin and have a lovely day!