Resourceful Designer - Resources To Help Streamline Your Graphic Design And Web Design Business.

Have you made the transition yet from employee to entrepreneur? This week's podcast episode is a bit different. Instead of answering a listener's question at the end of the episode like I normally do, I chose to create an entire podcast episode to answer a great question I received. Here is the question I received from Dave. I work full-time as a graphic designer/prepress operator and have wanted to start my own freelance business for some time. I have also been learning web development to broaden my skills, which I usually try and work on at weekends along with juggling life as a new dad with a 5 month old son. I am at the stage where I want to take on small design jobs to build my client base before eventually being a home based designer full-time. So my question is how did you approach the transition of moving from the print shop to working for yourself? how long did it take? and do you have any insights for someone who is very time poor that wants to make the leap into self employment? Thanks again for e

Does your design website have dedicated landing pages? One of the most asked questions I get is how do I attract new design clients? I wrote a blog post a while back sharing 10 proven ways to do just that but today I decided to do a podcast episode on another way, landing pages. Be warned, this isn't a quick way to attract new design clients. Landing pages are a slow burn meant to work over time but they do work. Below are some of the points I cover in the podcast. Be sure to listen to the episode for the full discussion. What is a landing page? Technically speaking, any web page someone lands on after clicking a link is a landing page. But when it comes to marketing the term "landing page" has taken on a new meaning. A landing page is a webpage with only one marketing purpose in mind, to generate leads and sales for your business. What makes a good landing page? A good landing page should be a standalone page without any distractions except for its primary goal, getting visitors to click on your call-to-acti

How often do you feel that afternoon crash? You know what I’m talking about don’t you? That crash you feel somewhere around 3 pm? You were productive all morning, you had a good lunch and came back revigorated but somewhere mid-afternoon it hits you. The Afternoon Crash.  Some say it’s caused by low blood sugar, some say it’s your body’s natural sleep cycle, others blame diet or being mostly inactive during the day. Although I can’t make you suppress those afternoon yawns, I can offer some tips and advice on how to avoid the dreaded afternoon crash and remain productive until the end of the day. For full details be sure to listen to the podcast but here is a brief rundown of what I talk about in this episode. Tip #1, Take Short Breaks You’ve heard how sitting for too long isn’t good for you? Well, One of the best suggestions I have for you is to incorporate short breaks into your workday to get up and walk around. Getting up and walking around will help clear up your mind so you can remain focused when you re

Do you dread pricing design jobs when you don't know how long they'll take? Have you ever had to quote on a design job but you have no idea how long it will take to complete it? If you're familiar with Project Based Pricing or Value Based Pricing then it isn't really an issue. But if you're one of the many designers who bill by the hour you may dread this scenario.  In this episode of the Resourceful Designer podcast, I talk about what you can do when you have no idea how long a project will take. Be sure to listen to the episode for the full story. Pricing design jobs by the hour. It takes a lot of practice to correctly guess how long a design job will take to complete. Notice I used the word "guess"? Because that's what it is, a guess. If you guess wrong you could loose a lot of money on the job. The only way to protect yourself if to pad your guess by overestimating which isn't good for your client. But what if there's another way that works for both you and your clients? Actual time billing. When the scop

Where do you look for new work? One of the most asked questions I’ve heard over the years is “how do I get new design clients?” It’s a valid question. But let me turn it around and ask you, why do you need new design clients when your existing clients have plenty of new work you could do for them? In this week's episode of the Resourceful Designer podcast, I discuss how you can leverage your existing clients to get new work. Be sure to listen for the full story. Your clients already know you. Wouldn’t it be easier for both you and your client to work on new projects together since you already have a relationship started? It would be so much easier than starting from scratch with a new client. "But if my clients had new work for me they would surely let me know." Unfortunately, this isn't always the case. In fact, your clients may be coming up with all sorts of great design projects and not thinking about you at all. There are so many jobs and projects that go on in a business that would be perfect for you but

Have you heard the concept of Good, Quick, Cheap? I first heard the concept of Good, Quick, Cheap on The Real Brian Show podcast. I was so fascinated with the concept that I decided to explore how it affects the graphic design industry. In this episode of the Resourceful Designer podcast, I expand on the concept and talk about Good Design, Quick Design and Cheap Design. To get the full story you'll need to listen to the podcast but here's a breakdown of what I discuss in the episode. The dream client Wouldn't it be nice if our clients had unlimited budgets, gave us all the time in the world to work on their projects, and allowed us to design it any way we wanted? We can dream, can't we? The truth of the matter is, there are very few clients that have both the budget and the time we would like to have on a project. If you manage to find one of these elusive clients, latch on to them for dear life and don’t do anything to compromise that relationship. The realistic client More realistically clients want you to

Did you know your design business has a reputation? Have you ever thought about your design business’s reputation? What both your clients and more importantly potential clients know about you? Having a good reputation for your design business will not only enhance those important client relationships. But it can also increase your overall revenue and profit. So it’s vital that you do everything to avoid a negative reputation and make sure everyone sees you in a positive way. In this episode of the Resourceful Designer podcast, I share tips for improving your design business's reputation. Be sure to listen to the podcast for the full story. Here are some tips to manage your design business’s reputation Timely responses Provide timely responses to all inquiries, comments, complaints or requests you receive. It doesn’t matter if it’s on social media, by email, a phone call, even an old fashion letter. Getting back to someone in a timely manner will help your reputation. Handle criticism well Negative feedback an

Are you an expert graphic designer? Have you ever felt uncomfortable being referred to as an expert graphic designer or expert web designer? Can I ask you why you felt that way? I’ve seen it over and over, designers cringing at the title of expert because they don’t feel they deserve it. In this week's episode of the Resourceful Designer podcast, I share a little secret with you. You are an expert. Don’t believe me? The Webster Dictionary defines Expert as follows: An Expert is someone having, involving, or displaying special skill or knowledge derived from training or experience. With this official definition in mind, let me ask you again. Are you an expert? I hope you said yes. I'm guilty myself. I must admit. I used to be guilty of this as well. I felt uncomfortable when people would say something like... “Hi Mark, so and so told me I should talk to you because you’re a web design expert” or “Hi Mark, I need a logo for my business and I’m told you’re the expert” It used to make me uncomfortable. But once

Would clients stick with you if you take advantage of them? I was thinking recently how our design clients rely on us when it comes to their branding and marketing material. How easy would it be to take advantage of that trust and make a few extra dollars on each project we bill them for. This reminded me of a joke I heard not too long ago. A young boy enters a barber shop and the barber whispers to his customer, "This is the dumbest kid in the world. Watch while I prove it to you." The barber puts an old crumpled dollar bill in one hand and two brand new shiny quarters in the other, then calls the boy over and asks, "Which do you want, son?" The boy takes the quarters, thanks the barber and leaves. "What did I tell you?" said the barber. "That kid never learns!" Later, when the customer leaves, he sees the same young boy coming out of the ice cream store. "Hey, son! May I ask you a question? Why did you take the quarters instead of the dollar bill?" The boy licked his cone and replied, "Because the day I tak

Can you use more design referrals? We are graphic designers. We have the know-how and creative ability to promote our own business like no other businesses can. We can tweak our websites to get the absolute most out of them. We can go out and network until the cows come home, (whatever that means). And yet, even with all of our know-how and ability to promote ourselves, nothing feels better than getting a call from someone looking for a designer and hearing that you were referred to them by a satisfied client. I don’t know the actual statistics, but I can almost guarantee that when it comes to freelance and home-based designers acquiring new work, referrals is the number one way by far. Maybe you’ve been in business for several years like I have and have an established client base. Or maybe you're just starting your graphic design business. You chose the perfect name for it. You’ve designed a bunch of marketing material to help you promote it, including a stunning website with a great About Page. You’ve even

How Productive is your to-do list? Do you ever look at your to-do list and feel overwhelmed? Do you ever find yourself procrastinating on certain jobs on your to-do list because you’re not sure where to start? Do you ever look at your to-do list at the end of the day and feel like you haven’t really accomplished anything? If you answered yes to any of these questions there’s a good chance you’re not using your to-do list correctly. Have no fear, on this episode of the Resourceful Designer podcast I share with you the proper way to use a to-do list. Or more accurately to-do lists. Projects and Tasks If you’re having problems tackling your to-do list it could be because you’re putting projects on the list instead of tasks. There is a difference. When you start looking at each one separately you will see just how easy it is to get things done. The basics behind the projects and tasks to-do list method A task is something that can be accomplished in one session. A project is made up of multiple tasks. It’s real

When was the last time you evaluated your graphic design business? You know the phrase, stop and smell the roses? It means that sometimes we’re so busy and focused that we don’t take the time to notice the little things around us. This is a great philosophy for life but it's also a great lesson for business. In this episode of the Resourceful Designer podcast, I discuss various ways you can evaluate your graphic design business. Be sure to listen to the episode for the full content. Here's a bit of what I talked about. When to evaluate your graphic design business. Whether you're just starting out or you’ve been in business for several years. Now is a great time to evaluate your graphic design business. Evaluating your graphic design business will help you focus on your strengths, identify your weaknesses and streamline your workflow and make you a more efficient graphic designer. How to evaluate your graphic design business. What sort of things do you look for when evaluating your graphic design business? It

Fuel your creative juices with personal projects. We graphic designers are creative people. It's in our blood, it's who we are. And as creative people, we need an outlet for our creativity. We get some of it through client work but limitations and restrictions hold our full potential back. The only way for us to truly unleash our creativity is by working on personal projects for ourselves.  I talk in length on this topic in this episode of the podcast so please listen for the full story. Below are some takeaways from the episode. Make time for yourself and your personal projects. Just like the mechanic that never has the time to work on his own car, most designers don't take the time to work on the projects we want to work on. We spend our time every day (and some nights) fulfilling our clients wishes so why don't we do the same for the things we want to work on? You need to learn how to set time aside for your own personal projects. Set goals for yourself and make deadlines. The only way to ensure you have t

8 Simple steps to winning over design clients ace it, we live in a dog eat dog world. Not only are we competing with other designers in our local area, we’re also competing with design contest sites, crowdsourced design as well as very cheap alternatives where people are offering design services for as little as $5. What are we to do? Don’t fret, there’s still plenty of work to go around and there are lots of people and businesses out there looking for a designer just like you. But how do they know you’re the right designer for the job? Simple, you show them. It all comes down to "subliminal warfare". Subconsciously whenever you meet someone there’s an internal battle that goes on between you and the person you are meeting. Each of you sizes up the other in order to form a first impression of them. What does the person look like? How do they act? How do they compose themselves? What do I like about them? What don’t I like about them? Is this someone I can get along with? All these questions and more go thro

Have you ever thought of hiring a Virtual Assistant? Back in episode 45 of the podcast, I talked about how it’s OK for graphic designers to ask for help. After all, there’s only so many minutes in a day, and once they’re gone, they’re gone. So why not use them as wisely as you can? I covered things like finding help with house and yard work, so you have more time to devote to your business and family. I also talked about hiring someone to take on mundane non-design tasks for your business. Pay them a small fee and use the time they save you for designing and earn a larger fee. If you haven’t heard that episode or if you think you need a refresher, you should go back and listen to it. Today I want to talk about one aspect of hiring help. And that is a Virtual Assistant or a VA. What is a virtual assistant? Simply put, it’s someone that assists you from a remote location. Be it at another business location or from their home. Someone next door or half way around the world. They work with you virtually. If you’r

Here are 12 random graphic design tips to improve your business. I'm trying a different approach to this week's podcast. Instead of talking about a single subject related to running your home-based graphic design business, I'm going to share 12 random graphic design tips with you. Even if you already know these tips, I'm hoping that talking about them will jog your memory and get you thinking about them again. Here is an outline of the graphic design tips I cover on this episode. For the full discussion be sure to listen to the podcast. Tip 1: Find the real deadline When a client tells you there's a deadline to submit artwork to a third party, you should contact that third party to find out how strict their deadline is. In most cases, those deadlines have been padded to accommodate potential problems with artwork submitted by non-designers. Since you are a professional designer they may allow you to submit the artwork at a later date. Tip 2: Get the proper file you need In last week's podcast episode I mentio

What exactly is a design portfolio? If you want to get super technical, a design portfolio is a flat case, preferably made of leather, that is used for carrying, drawings, artwork, photographs and other designs. At some point in history, the paper contents of these flat cases took on the verbiage of the container and they too became know as an artist’s portfolio. Nowadays, with the advent of online galleries and such, a design portfolio is simply a collection or a sampling of an artist’s work, regardless of the means or medium used to present them. What is the purpose of a design portfolio? Taking it down to it’s most fundamental level, a design portfolio is simply a way to say “look at me, see how great I am, you should hire me”. A design portfolio is a way to showcase what you are capable of doing in the hopes of impressing potential clients to want to work with you. Let’s face it. You may want to deny it, but deep down we all know, we designers are a conceded bunch. And that’s OK. If we didn’t think we wer

Have you thought of using holidays to build your graphic design business? Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Using Holidays to Build Your Graphic Design Business. But bare with me. I’m not talking about drumming up business while on your family vacation. Although if you can, more power to you. I once gained a client while on vacation. The owner of the campground where my family and I were staying mentioned how he wanted to increase his marketing. I offered my design services and I ended up doing work for him for a couple of years until he sold the campground. But I digress, When I say you should use holidays to build your graphic design business, what I’m talking about is promoting the actual holidays themselves. You see, holidays are a great way to promote your business and excite your clients. And it’s not that hard to do. Christmas is obviously an ideal holiday. Most people and businesses send out greeting cards and have special promotions around that time of year. If you can get in on the action you can make yours

When talking to clients, be careful what words you use. Every industry has its own language, design is no different. When talking to clients we have to remember that they’re not part of our industry and if we’re not careful we may scare them away. I remember the first time I realized this. A potential client called to discuss a possible job. We spent about 30 minutes on the phone talking about the project and figuring out the best way to go about it designing it. I gave him some ideas and he pitched in his thoughts. At the end of the conversation, the client said he wanted to move forward with me and we made an appointment to meet in person to iron out the details. Before hanging up, the client told me how different it was talking to me compared to the other designers he had contacted. He told me the other designers made him feel dumb because he didn’t understand half of what they said. But with me, it was like having a conversation with a friend. He understood everything I said and could picture exactly what

Do you use "We" or "I" in your marketing material? In this week's episode of the Resourceful Designer podcast, I tackle the longtime debate on whether or not you should use the pronoun "We" or "I" on your marketing material. For the full discussion be sure to listen to the podcast. I don’t know if you’re like me, but ever time I come across a URL for a graphic designer I just have to check it out. We’re such a creative bunch and I love seeing the wide variety of approaches when it comes to our business, our skills and our communications. Besides looking at the structure of the site, reading the about page and looking at the portfolio one, of the main things I look at is the voice that was chosen for the page. When I say voice, I’m talking about whether the site uses “We” or “I” in the copy. I then play a little game, if the site uses the pronoun “we”, I try to figure out if the site really is a “we” or if it’s in fact, an “I”. I recently came across a designer's website that used the pronoun "we". My first th