After interviewing Casey Doss recently, I found myself humbled and inspired by the way he manages work and family life. He doesn’t let being extremely busy get his priorities out of order; an on-going battle for anyone, especially freelancers.
Who are you?
Casey Doss. 28. Married and father of two girls.
What do you do?
My first full-time design gig was for the Ramp. From there I opened a design/web company on my own (Fresh Pixel Studios). Then my father-in-law and I opened Digital Beauty which was web-based solutions for medical offices. I also designed for The Church Site Project, opened a blog called The Theological Circle, and co-owned a print shop called Printsmith with my brother-in-law. I have currently stepped out of all these roles and focus solely on ministry. I am also attending school online at Regent University to complete my theology degree.
When did you get started in the creative industry?
I started working for our ministry about 6 years ago in the shipping department. It was HORRIBLE! I would get really bored so I had a friend install a version of Photoshop on my PC and I would play around on it when days got slow in shipping. It quickly became a lot of fun, so I started taking my machine home on weekends and read books and watched tutorials to tweak the skills. About one year into it, that became my full-time job at the ministry and from there I launched into my own design business endeavors.
Where do you live and work?
I currently reside in Hamilton, AL and work for The Ramp ( Karen Wheaton Ministries ). I have actually moved completely out of the design area and now focus my energy toward our school of ministry. A dream come true!
How do you manage work and family?
It was very difficult during the 40+ hour office days. I would make myself schedule work time, family time, time spent with God… and the schedule was non-negotiable. Didn’t get very much sleep for a couple of years 🙂 But it was all worth it. My family stayed strong and God rewarded it. Now my schedule is much more flexible and I am at home all the time. The main thing for me was organizing chunks of time for certain things. It usually went something like this:
- Up by 7 AM and at the office by 8 AM.
- Get off work at 5 PM (try to eat lunch at home as much as possible to see the family).
- Then from 5 PM to 9 PM was devoted family time; watching a movie with Lindsey, giving Analeise a bath, grilling out A LOT, etc.
- Then from 9 PM to about 1 AM was time to seek God, study, develop messages and the like.
Make and plan and stick to it. Once you get in the rhythm it is actually very manageable.
What are your plans for the future?
The current vision is staying faithful with where God has me now, with hopes to one day plant a church in an awesome city and shake it for God. A city like Jackson Hole would be primo! I also want to establish my own Bible school one day. 😉
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