Jim Coudal runs Coudal Partners, a small design firm in Chicago that crafts all sorts of things. More than a decade ago, the group decided to shift its business from mostly working for others to mostly working for themselves. Field Notes (with Aaron Draplin), The Deck advertising network, and Layer Tennis are some of the commercial and entertaining results. Field Notes is entirely a physical product ordered online; The Deck, a digital one that can't exist without a network of independent voices. We talk about these two extremes and taking your creativity into your own hands.