Resourceful Designer: Strategies for running a graphic design business

Do you vet potential new design clients? How do you know that you're the right designer for a project? Or maybe the question should be, how do you know a potential new design client is right for you? In the past, I've covered what to ask during a discovery session, 50 questions to ask every new design client, and four vital questions to ask your design clients about their projects. Almost all of the questions covered in those episodes are for building relationships with your clients after you've decided to work with them. But I don't think I've ever talked about that first contact with a potential new client before. First contact. The first contact refers to those times your phone rings with an unknown number, or emails you receive from unknown people or the conversations that start when someone finds out you're a designer. How do you determine during those initial first few minutes of contact if this potential new client is someone worth investing your time and energy? Because as a designer, you will hear from people who you don't want anything to do with. So what do you do? You conduct a quick, impromptu interview. First contact questions. Here are some questions I like to ask before getting too deep into a conversation. If I'm not satisfied with the answers, I politely end things before I waste too much of my valuable time. 1) What can I help you with? Cut to the chase. There's no reason to have a conversation with someone if you cannot help them. The first thing you should do is ask the client what it is they need your help with. Many people don't know what graphic or web designers do. In the past, I've had people ask me if I could redesign their restaurant's floor plan, create blueprints of their new building, develop software or apps for them, design 3D prototypes in C.A.D. and many more things I'm not capable of doing. So before wasting your time, find out if this person does indeed require your skillset. 2) How do you expect me to help? Once you've determined the client can benefit from your skillset, the next step is to find out what they expect from working with a designer and if it's worth your time. Some clients are not looking for your design or creative skills. They're looking for a person who can take the idea they already have and recreate it on paper or pixels. Some designers don't mind that kind of mindless work, but I don't. If the conversation starts with "I know exactly what I want, but I need someone to do it for me." then there's little chance I'll end up working with that client. I went into business for myself so that I can work WITH clients, not FOR clients. Now I understand that you may not be in a position to turn down work. If that's the case, I suggest trying to turn the conversation towards how you can offer more to the client than being a simple instruction follower. 3) Is there a deadline for your project? To grow and prosper in this field of design, you must form relationships with your clients, which is difficult if you're working on a tight deadline. For existing clients, it's not as big a deal since you already know them. But the first time you work with a new client, you should take the time to get to know them, their business and how best to assist them. Of course, deadlines are subjective. A two-month period for a small website project allows ample time for relationship building. However, if they say they need their site launched by next Wednesday, I suggest you pass. Regardless of how simple it sounds, if they're that rushed and under pressure, that stress will be passed on to you. Determine if the deadline is a constraint you're comfortable working within. 4) What's your position regarding this project? I ask this question because I want to know if the person contacting me is the one I'll be dealing with for the project. I've agreed to too many projects in the past only to find out later the person I thought I was working with turned out to be a middle person, and once the project started, I was dealing with someone different. I don't like is to find out after I'm hired that the person that I talked to is now out of the picture, and I'm left dealing with someone else that I haven't vetted. If I'm going to be working with the Owner, CEO, Chairman or whoever, I want to know, and I want to meet or talk to them before I agree to anything. 5) What budget did you have in mind? I know, budget is not a topic you like bringing up. But wouldn't you rather get it over with now, instead of later during a discovery or pitch meeting after investing your valuable time? I like to know right from the start if a client can afford me. If their budget is $500 for a website or $150 for a logo design, I can politely end the conversation, wish them all the best and get back to whatever it was I was working on when they called. Of course, I'm being harsh here. I don't merely brush a client off because their dollar sign is low. I explain why I charge the prices I do, and on some occasions,

How are you going to take your design business to the next level? "What got you here won't get you there." I've heard this phrase a few times over the past couple of weeks, and it got me thinking about my life, my design career and my business. This is not about Marshall Goldsmith's book of the same title. Although I hear it's a great book. It's about the phrase itself and how it applies to you and your design business. At its core, "What got you here won't get you there" is such a simple statement, and yet it holds so much truth. You can only get so far in life if you stick with the status quo. To advance and grow further, you need to expand yourself and do things you've never done before. Otherwise, you'll never be more successful than you are right now. Are you ok with that? To never be more successful than you are right now? I know I'm not. Thinking back over my career, I can pinpoint specific times when pushing myself, learning new things, or just taking a leap propelled me to bigger and better things. I started working in the design department of a commercial printer straight out of college. I was one of several designers, all of which had attended the same design program I had, but graduated many years before me. Most had been working at that printer ever since. Being the new guy, I was at the bottom of the hierarchy. My education had gotten me where I was, but it alone wouldn't propel me any further. That was up to me. While the other designers were satisfied grinding away, day after day doing the same work, I wasn't. I didn't want to be doing the same thing day in day out. And without even realizing it, I started following the "what got you here won't get you there" principal. I read books, subscribed to magazines, attended conferences and training seminars—all to better myself. Soon, the "new guy" was teaching all the veteran designers new ways to do things. As the years went by, I kept expanding my skills and my knowledge until I was the go-to person in the design department. But was I satisfied? No, I wanted more. In the early 90s, I heard about this new thing called the World Wide Web. It was amazing. It had these pages built by programmers that you could visit with a computer to get all kinds of information. An article I read in one of my design magazines said the World Wide Web was a new frontier for graphic designers, and I was keen to conquer it. My graphic design skills had gotten me to where I was, but they wouldn't be enough for me to tackle this new avenue of design. I needed to learn how to design websites. At the start, computer programers ruled the WWW, but they made very clunky, and frankly ugly websites. Without realizing it, they were leaving the door wide open for graphic designers to build aesthetically pleasing websites that people preferred. Sites that not only easy to use but pleasant to look at and easy to use. I wanted to do that, but learning how to program would be a long and tedious road. Luckily there was this new software by Adobe called PageMill that allowed people like me to design websites without coding using a WYSIWYG interface. They later released Adobe SiteMill, then Adobe GoLive. I used these tools to build good looking websites. Before I knew it, I started a side gig designing websites from home while still working at the print shop. It was the best of both worlds. I got to design print stuff during the day and web stuff in the evenings. However, my web clients weren't as happy. They didn't relish the idea of dealing with me at the print shop for their printed material and then waiting until evening to discuss their website. If I wanted to rectify this problem, I needed to make some changes. What got you here won't get you there. I didn't know how to be an entrepreneur. But I knew it's what I needed to do if I wanted to take my career to the next level. So I left the print shop and started offering both print and web design under my own business. Now I'm not going to continue through my entire history. But suffice it to say, there are many times since starting my business that I needed to leap to "get me there." At some point, I stopped creating "pretty websites" and started offering "strategic websites." I stopped trying to do everything myself and began hiring freelancers and contractors to help with projects. This opened up a whole new world for me and allowed me to grow my business. I no longer had to turn down work I wasn't capable of or comfortable doing. Instead, I could continue to offer excellent services to my clients by farming out those parts I couldn't handle myself. I grew my team to include programmers, illustrators, photographers, designers, copywriters, translators, etc. Then at some point, I realized that charging an hourly rate for my services was not a sustainable model for growth. The only way to make more money that way was to either work longer hours, which didn't sound great. Or substantially raise my hourly rate, which wouldn't go over

Are you creating systems to help your design business? Mike, a member of the Resourceful Designer Community, posted in the Community Slack group his frustrations with one of his clients. Mike built, manages and updates an eCommerce website for a client of his. His frustration is that every time his client wants a new product added to the site, he fails to provide Mike with all the necessary information, requiring Mike to contact the client, sometimes more than once, for the rest of the info. Mike's situation reminded me of a similar one I had with a client several years ago. And how my frustrations forced me into creating systems to address the issue. Around 2010 a new client hired me to build an eCommerce website. This site would sell a wide and often unrelated assortment of products – everything from baseball bats, sunglasses, headphones, plastic shelf brackets, night lights and car seat warmers. And it was up to me to add every item to the site. After I launched the website, I quickly realized the process my client wanted was not going to work. He started calling me at all hours of the day and on weekends with new products to add even though I explicitly told him I work Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. And similar to Mike's situation that I mentioned above, any time my client had a new product for me to list, I would have to fight with him until I had all the content I needed to add it to the site. I know this sounds like a toxic relationship. The only caveat was that even though I was charging my client by the hour, and you can imagine how the hours would add up, he never questioned my prices, and he paid his invoices on time. I was making good money, but this client was quickly becoming a pain to deal with. A few weeks after the site launched, I finally put my foot down, and I created some systems to save my sanity. The first thing I did was alter the way I charged him. Instead of billing for my time, I started charging him $50 for the first product and $30 for each subsequent product he sent me on a given day. This change immediately stopped the random emails and phone calls. To save money, my client started saving up products and submitting them to me in bulk. The second thing I did was to create an online submission form that contained fields for all the information I needed to add a product to the website. Things like product name, description, selling price, shipping costs, size, colours, attributes, variations, etc. I made most of the form fields mandatory, so my client couldn't submit it until he had filled it out. In some cases, I included YES/NO radio buttons asking questions like, "Does this product come in different colours?" If my client chose YES, he would then have to fill out another field listing the colours. Finally, there was a way for him to attach product photos to the form. Putting these two systems in place is what turned a nightmare of a client into someone I enjoyed working with. Plus, once I implemented these systems, my client started taking me more seriously. Unfortunately, my client was not a very good business person, and his business failed, and we shut down the site after two years. But that project taught me the value of creating systems. Of course, there are other types of systems. I use all kinds these days. Questionnaires Marketing and sales funnels Social media strategy and calendars Even my daily work process and routine All of these can be called systems. Not only do they make my job easier, but they drastically speed up my tasks, AND they make it very easy for me to delegate work to others. Creating systems for delegation. Systems are a great way to teach others how to do things the way you need them done. I have a system for preparing a new WordPress website before I start designing it. It's my step-by-step process for configuring the WordPress settings and installing and configuring the theme and plugins. I follow the same procedure on every website design I start. I also have a system for launching a site to make sure nothing is forgotten. Before a website goes live, I make sure to check off every item on my list. These two systems are the way I want things done. And because I have them set up as systems, I can easily pass off these duties to a virtual assistant and know that everything will be as I expect. I have a system for my podcast artwork clients. It's a questionnaire, but it's still a system I use to gather the information I require to work on their project. Every time I meet with a new client, I pull out my list of questions and make sure to address each one during our conversation. It makes my job easier, and I never have to contact a client afterwards, saying I forgot to ask them something. If I ever hire a project manager for my Podcast Branding business, they could use my questionnaire and get the same information I'm currently collecting. Because of the system I have, I know they won't miss anything. Creating systems makes you more efficient. T

My strategy for securing WordPress websites. The internet is filled with unscrupulous people. Are you doing everything you can to ensure your clients' portion of it is safe by securing their WordPress websites? I recently published a podcast episode and article on earning extra income by offering website maintenance plans. Part of that strategy is making sure the websites you manage are secure. I received many questions afterwards asking how I secure my clients' WordPress websites. There are many ways and many tools available for securing a WordPress website. Here is the method that works for me. WordPress Security. Those two words, "WordPress Security" may sound intimidating to the uninitiated. Let me assure you they're not. If I can learn how to do this, so can you. I'm not a programmer. I'm not even a developer. I'm just a WordPress user who figured out a security strategy that works for me. What is WordPress Security? WordPress security involves putting measures in place to decrease the chance of someone compromising a website. If you sell WordPress Security as part of your website maintenance plan, be sure to tell your clients there are no guarantees. If a skilled hacker is determined to gain access to a website, they will, and there's not much you can do to prevent it. The purpose of Website security is to make it as difficult as possible for them, so they leave your site alone and go in search of an easier target. Most hacking attempts are easily preventable with a few simple measures. Here's what I do. Securing Account Login. By default, every WordPress installation provides easy access for administrators to gain entry to a site through the URL domainname.com/wp-login.php. This default makes the WordPress login page the most attacked part of any website. So how do you secure the account login? Hide the backend I use iThemes Security Pro to hide the backend of every website and replace the login page with something else. If anyone tries entering the site via the /wp-login.php page, they'll be taken to a 404 page not found page instead. This is more of security by obscurity, and is not a very strong strategy, but if it helps prevent automated bots and such, then why not do it? iThemes Security Pro > Security > Settings > Advanced > Hide Backend Force the use of a strong password. The stronger the password, the harder it is to crack. Forcing a strong password makes it more difficult to gain access to a site. iThemes Security Pro allows me to force the use of strong passwords. New site users must enter a strong password to create their account, and existing site users are forced to update their weak password when they next log in. iThemes Security Pro > Security > Settings > Password Requirements Prevent the use of compromised passwords. One of the main vulnerabilities of passwords is their reuse. Many people think up a good password, but then they use it everywhere. All it takes is for one database breach containing their user name and password, and a hacker can gain access to wherever the two are used in combination. iThemes Security Pro connects to the haveibeenpwned API and refuses any compromised passwords. As part of this prevention method, I recommend all my clients use a Password Manager such as 1Password to create strong, unique passwords for every site they visit. iThemes Security Pro > Security > Settings > Password Requirements Limit Login Attempts. Even a strong password may be guessed if given enough time. So as an extra measure, I turn on Brute Force Protection in iThemes Security Pro to prevent the number of failed login attempts. I have it set so that three failed login attempts will lock a user out of the site for 15 minutes. After their third lockout, it bans the IP address from even viewing the website. iThemes Security Pro > Security > Settings > Local Brute Force Protection Two-Factor Authentication. Two-Factor Authentication, sometimes called 2FA, adds an extra step to the login process. The way it works is after entering a username and password; users must enter a temporary six-digit code to gain access to the site. This code can be obtained from a predetermined list, one that's emailed to the user, or, my preferred method, using an App on a smartphone such as Google Authenticator. Google Authenticator generates a new unique code every 30 seconds. When logging into a website with Two-Factor Authentication, you must enter the code from the app and press the login button before the code expires. The only way to gain access to a website protected by 2FA is to have the user name and password, plus have access to the smartphone tied to the account. iThemes Security Pro > Security > Settings > Two-Factor Authentication (This is a PRO feature) Passwordless Login I want to mention Passwordless Login as a security option, but note that I don't use this method myself. I explain why, later. Passwordless login is a way to gain access to a website without entering a password or a 2FA code. To

If only I knew these things before starting my design business. You know that saying, hindsight is 20/20? It means that it's always easier to see things when you're looking back than when you're looking forward. Before I decided to leave the print shop where I worked as a graphic designer to start my graphic and web design business in 2006, I had a preconceived notion of what to expect. Some of what I imagined turned out to be accurate and some of what I believed was way off. For example, I imagined how much I would love running my own business, spending my days designing beautiful things for great clients. It turns out I love it even more than I anticipated. However, I do spend a lot less time designing than I thought I would. I didn't know many designers in 2006 who were running their own business. There were a few who used the print shop I worked at for their client's print work. But they were more of what I call freelance designers. Meaning, they had other sources of income and did design as a side-gig. So there was nobody for me to emulate. I did have one friend, Jason, with a successful design business in Toronto. I talked to him quite a bit before deciding to go it on my own. But even with those conversations, there was still a lot I didn't know or wasn't expecting when I did eventually jump ship. So here are ten things I wish someone had told me before I started my design business. 1) You don't need a lot of clients to run a successful design business. Before starting my design business, I thought I would need 50 to 100 clients for my new business to be sustainable. Boy, was I wrong. I quickly learned that a solo designer could make a good living with only a handful of clients. In fact, during the first two years of my business, I only had 11 or 12 clients. Clients come and go, but on any given basis, a dozen clients is a good number to aim for. More than that and you risk overloading yourself with work. 2) You'll spend a lot of time on things other than design. Running your own business is a lot of work. And a lot of it is considered non-billable time. Things like invoicing and bookkeeping, keeping track of expenses and taxes, writing pitches, contracts and proposals. And so much more. I thought I would be spending my days in creative bliss, designing beautiful things for grateful clients. But there have been days when I'm too busy running my business to design anything. 3) You need to become a time management expert. When you work for someone else, they tell you when to take breaks, go for lunch, and call it quits at the end of the day. When you're running your own design business, there's nobody prodding you along but yourself. Learn to take breaks and find time to eat—set boundaries between your work and non-work life. Otherwise, you'll burn yourself out by working days, evenings and weekends, and you'll start to resent what you do. Running your own business means a flexible schedule, but you need to learn how to manage your time effectively. When you make your own schedule, you have the freedom to go to the grocery store on a Wednesday morning or to cut your day off early so you can bring your kids to their karate class or their soccer game. That's the benefit of working for yourself. But you also need to be able to juggle multiple design projects with overlapping deadlines and clients who are not always on time delivering the content they promised you. Conquering time management is the only way to stay sane in this business. 4) The rejections and criticisms will never stop. Just because your the boss doesn't mean clients won't find fault with your work. But don't worry, that's a good thing. It doesn't matter how long you do this work or how good you become. There will always be room for improvement. Clients will reject your proofs or decide not to work with you at all. I've been a designer for over 30 years, running my own business for half that time, and I still have clients turn me down or tell me they don't like certain things I design. Learn to embrace failure, because there's a lot of it when you're on your own. The trick is to learn from them and grow as a designer and as a business person. When the rejections stop is when you need to worry, because that means you're either the best designer in the world and you're way undercharging for your services. Or you've stopped putting yourself out there, and there are no more clients to complain. 5) Fake it until you make it. You can't succeed in this design business if you're timid or hesitant or if you come off as self-conscious about the way you handle yourself. You need to present yourself as a solution to the client's problem. Their best option at success, even if you're not sure of yourself. Confidence comes with experience, but it also comes in the form of self-motivation. If you tell yourself you can do the job, then nobody else will doubt you. The way to make it in this business is to continually go after more prominent clients. Ask for

Find local design clients to grow your business. If you want to grow your design business, your best chance is to find local design clients to work with. After all, it's much easier to find a client among the people who know you. Of course, as your design business grows, you'll want to expand your reach and acquire clients farther and farther away until you have a global range, that's the dream. But never forget where you started, because, in a pinch, your local client market is where you'll find the most help and the most work. When I first started my design business, all of my clients were within 20 kilometres from me. As my business grew, so did the radius of my client base. 20 kb became 100 km, then 200 km and soon it was all of Canada. Then I started acquiring clients across the USA. Now, I work with people around the globe. But even with that wide-spanning net of clients, my closest connections and best relationships are with my local design clients in my area. And I'm not alone. Ask any successful designer, and they'll tell you there's something special about working with local clients. For one thing, it's easier. When working with distant clients, there's so much you need to learn about them and their environment. Where are they located? Where are their target market located? What's their local environment like? What's their local competition like? And so forth. But with local design clients, you have the inside scoop. There's a good chance you're already familiar with where the client is located. If not, it's easy for you to become familiar. You know the local environment. You know or can quickly determine their competition. All of this "inside knowledge" of your local area gives you an advantage over designers from outside your local area. Plus, you can sit down and talk face-to-face with local design clients, which can only deepen that oh-so-important designer-client relationship. From a local client's perspective, I'm sure they would prefer to work with a local designer rather than someone they can only interact with over the phone or the internet. Not to mention, most people feel good when they support local businesses. Focusing locally is more important now than ever. It's now more important than ever to embrace a Shop Local mentality. COVID-19 has taken its toll on businesses everywhere. I'm sure your local economy took a hit. Nobody knows how long this will go on, but as companies start opening up again, it's essential to support them however you can. Those business clients think the same way. If they need the help of a graphic or web designer, their first thought will be to focus locally for someone before looking elsewhere. That designer should be you. Make it easier for local design clients to find you. Here are some tips to help you get noticed in your local area. 1) Your marketing should have a local presence. Make sure your website prominently displays your address. Clients searching locally for a designer will look for your address to confirm you're local. Clients who are not searching locally won't care what your address is and won't bother looking at it. Carry business cards with you everywhere you go and leave one or two behind at opportune moments. 2) Join local organizations. Organizations such as your local Chamber of Commerce and other business groups are great ways to spread the word about your design services. You can also get involved with local charities. Join their board of directors to committees. Your child school might have a parent committee you can join as well. Business networking groups are another excellent opportunity to get your name out there. Remember, It's not who you know, but who knows you. 3) Submit your business to local directories. A great way to be discovered is to be listed in as many local directors as possible. Local municipalities, chamber of commerce, business groups, newspapers, etc. often host directories of local businesses. Find out how your business can be included. Make sure you are listed in Google My Business so you can be found in local online searches. 4) Do local SEO You know the importance of SEO. However, not everyone knows the importance of local SEO. Local SEO requires a different strategy to ensure you're not only found by local searchers but that you show up as close to the top as possible. 5) Pay for locally targetted ads. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Google all offer a way to target ads to your local area. Take advantage of this feature and promote your business to those around you who can benefit from your services. Local design clients are there if you look. There are many local design clients and local businesses in your area that can use someone like you. And even though it's great to work with clients around the globe, you shouldn't neglect the ones in your own backyard. When it comes down to it, they're the ones that are more likely to remain loyal when times get tough. They're more likely to refer yo

Uninterrupted time can help you become more productive. If you want a more productive design business, arrange your schedule to have periods of uninterrupted time. Time that is free of notifications and distractions, allowing you to focus all your energy on the task at hand. If you're anything like me, you have a million things on your mind, and a good number of them are on your to-do list. But no matter how efficient you think you are, there are only so many hours in a day, and never enough time to get things done. But what if I told you there is a way to get more hours out of your day? Ok, not really. Nobody has come up with a way to slow down or stop time yet. Or at least not that I know of. But there is a way for you to FEEL like you have more time and for you to be more productive. The trick is uninterrupted time. That means no distractions, a span where you focus 100% of your mental and creative energy on the task at hand. Have you ever had one of those days where you feel like you accomplished so much? Chances are, you felt that way because you were less distracted that day. One hour of uninterrupted time is equal to three hours of a regular workday, so it's no wonder you felt like you accomplished so much. How can one hour of uninterrupted time equal three hours of regular time? Let me explain. The University of Illinois and Microsoft did a joint study on the impact of disruptions on the workforce and recovery time after those disruptions. They tested a pool of workers, monitoring their work habits and how they were affected by typical, everyday distractions such as email notifications, text messages, social media DMs and phone calls. They deduced that the average worker takes nine munites to return to a task after an interruption. NINE MINUTES. They're not saying that it takes nine minutes to reply to an email or a DM. But that most people, when distracted, will take a bit of extra time before getting back to the task they were distracted from. Replying to a Facebook Message may only take a few seconds. But while distracted from their primary task, they might as well check to see if anyone liked or commented on their most recent post. Or after replying to a text message, they may as well see if any new emails came arrived. Or they may decide to take the time to refill their coffee before getting back on track. So, on average, simple distractions like a social media DM can take you away from your primary task for up to nine minutes. And that's just time away from the task. There was a study a while back that said it takes roughly 10-20 minutes of working on something to become entirely focused on the job. You may be thinking, "I don't take nine minutes to get back to a task after a distraction." The test subjects in the Microsoft and University of Illinois study thought the same thing. However, when interviewed after the study, almost every one of them was surprised by how long their distractions lasted. Most of them thought they were away from their primary task for only a minute or two, when in fact, they were away from it for three to five times longer than they thought. Even if you ignore your notifications, leaving them for later, they're still a distraction. If you don't click, the distraction still breaks your focus and interrupts your work. Which means it will take longer to complete that task. A study on people's work habits conducted by RescueTime said the average person couldn't go six minutes without checking some sort of communication platform. Once you add in other forms of distractions and 40% of people, never get more than 30 minutes of uninterrupted work time per day. How does this apply to your design business? We live in a world of communication overload. I'm sure that like me, you're bombarded with messages and notifications every day. But what you need to remember is that You Are In Control. You have the power to turn your distracting notifications off. You've probably heard about successful business people getting up at five or six in the morning to get an early start on their day. They often say it's the most productive time for them. The reason is there are no distractions during that time since most people are still asleep. If you're a morning person, you may want to try starting work early. Work from 6 am to 9 am and then take a break for a couple of hours to take care of all the emails, text messages and check in on your social accounts. Or perhaps you're a night owl. Try finding some uninterrupted time by working late at night after your family is in bed. But even if early mornings or late at night are not your thing and you work traditional business hours from 9 to 5, there's still hope. You're in control. You can choose to eliminate distractions from your workspace. Quit your email program. Turn off notifications. Set your computer to Do Not Disturb. Put your phone in airplane mode. If you eliminate all distractions and work for a few hours uninterrupted, you'll be amaz

What are you doing to stand out? I was listening to a podcast recently, and the guest on the show said something about how businesses need to stand out from its competition. To which the host replied, "That's for sure, you don't want to be a penguin." Sometimes, the most mundane things that I see, hear or read spark an idea for a podcast topic. Well, that phrase did it for me – Don't be a penguin. What do I mean by – Don't be a penguin? First, let me ask you, have you ever seen a large group of penguins? Maybe at a zoo, in the wild or even on TV? How do you differentiate one individual bird from the rest? I have no idea. And I suspect, unless you have an affinity for penguins, neither do you. Unless one of the penguins has some form of distinguishing feature, they all look pretty well the same. So if I asked you to pick out one penguin from the bunch, you might have a hard time deciding since they all look the same. You would probably look harder for that distinguishing feature to make your selection easier. It's much simpler to choose something that stands out from the rest, than something that blends in. Think of your design business. I want you to think of your design business in terms of those penguins. Or more on point, I want you to think about a client looking for a designer. To a client, unfamiliar with the design space, we're all penguins. As far as they're concerned, we're all the same. So how do you expect them to choose you out of all the other design businesses out there? You need to be different. Your design business needs that distinguishing feature that will help clients chose you. I recently had Col Gray on the podcast. Col's business, Pixels Inc, is growing because he stands out. I'm not talking about Col's Scottish accent. Sure, that's a distinguishing feature in most parts of the world. But it doesn't help him in his home country of Scotland. I'm pretty sure most of the other native designers he's competing with locally have a similar accent. No, Col stands out because of the personal brand he's developed, Including his look. If you don't know Col, he has a very distinct look. He's almost always wearing black. He has a very long beard that grows down below his chest level that he often ties it with hair elastics. On top of that, you never see Col without a ball cap. And not just any ball cap. It's either black or red. So visually, Col stands out. If a company asked multiple designers to pitch them, they'd remember Col. In fact, I'm sure they'd remember him months or even years later. Col is not a penguin. Niching. Do you remember Craig Burton, who was on the show a while back? Craig's design business is called School Branding Matters. One look at his website or even just hearing his business name and you know right away how Craig's design business is different. Imagine a school principal or school director looking to rebrand their institution. If presented with three or four different designers to choose from, which one do you think will stand out as the best choice? The three designers who have practically the same message on their website just worded in different ways? Or the one designer whose website says he helps schools craft compelling visual brands? Do you get my point? The penguin that stands out is the one that gets picked. Even niches have penguins. Even within a niche, you don't want to be a penguin. Take my Podcast Branding business. I know several other people in this niche that offer podcast cover artwork as a service. I also know I'm one of the more expensive options. Some of them charge a fraction of what I do. And yet, I get new orders every week. Why is that? Because I stand out. I ask every client who hires me why they chose Podcast Branding? Most of them say it's because the other options all looked the same, and they couldn't tell which was better. But my business looked different. I presented as the most professional, and even though I cost more, I seemed more trustworthy, and I looked like the one that could help them the most. I'm also the only podcast cover artwork service, as far as I know, who insists on meeting and talking with each client before I design anything for them. I've had several clients tell me that was the clincher. They felt that personal touch meant I would take better care of them than any of the other services that wanted them to submit their information via a web form. So you see, It doesn't matter who's the better designer. It doesn't matter who's the fastest designer. It doesn't matter who's the most affordable designer. What matters is which designer stands out from the others because the one that stands out is the one chosen most often. How can you stand out? What can you do to stand out? You could try embracing a uniquely personal look as Col has. But that strategy could take years to develop. Or you could try narrowing down and focusing on a niche like Craig, and I have. Niching automatically sets you apart from all-purpose designers.

If you don't tell them, they won't know. Before I launched the Resourceful Designer podcast on September 30, 2015, I sat down and wrote a list of over 50 topics I could discuss on the show. I wanted to be sure before embarking on this journey that I wouldn't run out of things to say. Almost five years later, and 219 episodes in, I still haven't covered all 50 of those original topics. The ideas behind many of my episodes come from my own experiences in the week or weeks before recording. Maybe I'll read something in a book, or an article or on social media that gets me thinking, and those thoughts emerge into an episode topic. Or perhaps something I hear on another podcast or TV sparks an idea. And of course, my interactions with my design clients often turn into teaching moments for the show. All of this to say, I'm never genuinely lacking for content. But back before I started Resourceful Designer, I wasn't so sure I'd have enough discussion material. That's why I wrote my original list. To prove to myself, I had enough things to discuss. I remember when I was getting ready to start the podcast, looking at that list and wondering which topics I should cover first. There were a lot of good ones, after all. In the end, I settled on what I thought was one of the most important topics a home-based designer should know and "Do Your Design Clients Know What You Do?" became the first topic I shared with my audience. It's an episode devoted to telling your clients what it is you do, because, believe it or not, most of them don't know. I know it sounds strange, but it's true. Most of your clients don't know what services you offer beyond what it is you currently do for them. And almost five years after recording and releasing that episode, the situation hasn't changed. Earlier this week, a client I've been working with for over 20 years, dating back to my days working at the print shop, asked me to send him a copy of his logo in vector format. Curious because most clients don't know what a vector is, I emailed him questioning why he needed a vector of his logo. To my surprise, he told me he hired a designer to create a flyer for his clinic. I immediately called him on the phone and asked if I had done something wrong that made him look elsewhere for a designer instead of asking me? It was then his turn to be surprised. He told me no, not at all, we have a great relationship, and he loves working with me, but I do websites, and he needed a flyer. A bit of back story. Before I continue my story, let me give you a bit of history between myself and this client. I designed this client's logo almost 20 years ago. I also designed his business cards and the rest of his stationary. The signage outside and inside his clinic, that was me. I've also created rack cards, postcards, posters and probably other printed material I can't recall. That's not counting his original website back in 2005 and the two re-designed sites I made for him over the past 15 years. Back to my story. When I reminded my client of all the things I designed for him in the past, he tried to dispute it. He told me his logo, business card, etc. etc. were all created by the print shop where I used to work. Which is correct, I designed all of them when I was working at the print shop. However, even though he remembers me working at the print shop before starting my own business, he doesn't remember me being the one who designed his stuff. He remembers dealing directly with the shop owner on every project. Not the designer who worked on his projects. This admission surprised me even more. He has one of the most recognized brands in our community, something I'm incredibly proud of, and yet he doesn't remember that I designed it for him. Talk about bursting my ego. He then proceeded to tell me he's had several print-related projects designed over the years by various designers. When I questioned him on why he never asked me for any of them – I worked at a print shop after all and know a thing or two about print design – he told me he thought I left the print shop to get into web design. I didn't realize I still do print design. I'm not blaming my client for his shortsightedness. This situation falls wholly on my shoulders. In hindsight, it was stupid of me not to realize that in the 15 years I've been running my own design business, this client has only ever contacted me for his website. What kind of company goes 15 years without needing print design? So this is on me, not him. He had a preconceived notion of what I do, and I never corrected him. But you see, that's the issue. I never thought I had to educate this client because of our history together. In my mind, I had designed all sorts of print material for him. So it only made sense that if he needed anything else, he would come to me. But in his mind, I was his "web guy," and he never considered me for any of his print projects. Unfortunately, he signed a contract and gave a deposit to the other designer

Have you ever considered YouTube as a way to market your design business? Ask any marketer, and they'll tell you that if you're not doing video, your missing out on a massive part of the market. In the past couple of years, revenue generated through video marketing has outpaced all other forms of promotion. And of course, YouTube is the number one place to be if you're using video. But how do you use YouTube to promote a graphic or web design business? I'm no expert when it comes to YouTube. I would consider myself an absolute novice. But as you know, when you want to learn something, your best option is to learn from someone who's doing it successfully. In today's episode of the Resourceful Designer podcast, I'm talking to designer Col Gray, owner of Pixels Ink, a logo and brand design studio in Dundee Scotland. We discuss how he's making significant strides with his YouTube channel, Pixels Inc, as a means to market his business. In this episode you'll hear us discuss: How Col got started on YouTube. The strategy he decided to embrace. Why he chose business people instead of other designers as his target audience. How he finds topics for his videos. How YouTube is a long term marketing strategy. His experience in getting his first client through YouTube. What makes a video engaging. What equipment you need if you're just starting. The equipment Col uses to optimize his show. His video process Equipment and software mentioned in the episode: Rode Smart Lav Mic Canon G7X camera Davinci Resolve Adobe Premiere Camtasia ScreenFlow Tube Buddy Morning Fame What's your experience with video and YouTube? Do you have a YouTube channel for your design business? Please share it in the comments for this episode.

Communicate clearly and jargon-free. Pixels. Bleed. Wordmark. Hero Image. SSL. White Space. I imagine, as you read each of those words, your mind quickly thought of each one's meaning and how you use them. To you, a designer, deciphering these words uses up the same amount of brainpower as reading the words eggs, horse, car, or house. There's no need to burn brain calories contemplating them since they are second nature to you because you're familiar with the jargon of the design industry. You wouldn't be much good as a designer if you didn't know what pixels or bleed or a wordmark, etc. were. But you deal daily with people who are not in our industry. That's why they hire you, after all, because of your creativity and knowledge of all things design. But sometimes, that knowledge can become a crutch—especially when dealing with clients who don't know what we know. I recently had a Zoom chat with a new client looking for podcast cover artwork. The gentleman was in his 80s and starting a podcast about the commonalities between creationism in religion and science. He's a retired professor of quantum physics with an in-depth knowledge of string theory. He's no dummy. Some may even consider him a genius. However, during our discussion about his podcast cover artwork, he asked me what a pixel was. He had read how podcast cover artwork should be 3000px by 3000px square. He was unfamiliar with the term but rightly surmised that pixels are a form of measurement. But he had no idea how big or small a pixel was because, in his vast knowledge of the inner workings of our universe, pixels had never come up. This goes to show you that even the brightest minds don't know everything from every field. And nor should they. Maybe you're thinking, "The guy was in his 80s, so that's understandable. However, most people these days know what a pixel is." And I'll concede that point. I, too, believe most people know what a pixel is. However, if you ask a non-designer how wide 300 pixels are, they probably couldn't answer. You, on the other hand, could probably make a reasonably accurate guess as to how wide 300 pixels are. That's because you're familiar with them. You work with pixels daily and therefore have a good idea. For the rest of the world, there's no reason for them to know how wide 300 pixels are. Let's get away from pixels. What I'm getting at is jargon is an excellent way for us to learn, for us to share information and communicate with our peers, and for us to instruct the next generation of designers. But jargon has no place when communicating with our clients unless you explain what you mean by the terms you use. For example, I never tell a client I'm installing an SSL Certificate on their website because they have no idea what that means. Instead, I say I'm installing a security certificate because most people understand the word "security." I then further explain, in terms they know that a security certificate encrypts the communication between a visitor's web browser and their website. So when the browser and website are exchanging information, it's like that information is put in a sealed envelope and handed to someone to deliver it to the other side. Nobody can see what's in that envelope until it reaches its destination, and the appropriate party opens it. Without a security certificate, it's as if that information is delivered back and forth on sheets of notepaper that everyone can read. When explained in these terms, a client can understand the importance of an SSL Certificate without knowing the jargon. When you're talking with your clients, be conscious of the terminology you use. If you need to use jargon, make sure the client understands what you are saying. If you're not sure, ask them. For example, "I think a wordmark would suit your brand. Do you know what a wordmark is?" Don't presume the client knows what you're saying. Give them a chance to learn during the process by asking. They'll appreciate and trust you more for it. Clients are guilty of using jargon as well. Communicating with our clients is not the only time jargon comes into play. Our clients are just as guilty of this when they deal with their clients or customers. Industry speak, another word for jargon is seen in marketing material everywhere, mucking up the message it's trying to relay. Your job as a designer isn't to create pretty designs for your clients. It's to ensure your designs tell a precise and accurate message, a message that provides a solution for your clients. One that those who see it will understand. One of my clients is a Chiropodist (foot doctor). When he acquired a new state of the art laser unit to help him treat various foot ailments, he asked me for a new brochure to help him spread the word. Rightly so. It was a great addition to his clinic. However, the way he wanted to spread the news was all wrong. He sent me the text for the brochure he wrote himself. Copy that included all sorts of technical information about

Do you offer Website Maintenance to your web clients? [sc name="pod_ad"]Offering Website maintenance is a great way to make extra money while putting in minimal effort. It's right up there with print brokering as a way to supplement your design income. Way back in episode 9 of the podcast, I shared 12 ways designers can earn extra income. On that episode, I mentioned making extra income by offering to host your client's websites. Since then, I've made a few changes to the way I operate. I no longer provide web hosting on its own. Instead, I offer website maintenance, and I make a lot more money doing so. And so can you. The typical lifecycle of a web design project. A client approaches you to design and build their new website. You agree on a price, get the contracts signed and receive your deposit. You get to work on their site. When it's ready, you present your client with their new website. You make any requested adjustments until they're thrilled with what you did for them. They pay the balance owing to the project, and you launch their site. The client is happy with their new website. You're pleased with the money you earned—end of the story. Once this process is over, you may or may not hear from that client again until they need a new website in a few years. That's providing they don't meet another web designer between now and then. If they do, then all bets are off. But it doesn't have to be that way. By offering a website maintenance plan as part of your web design services, you retain that client on the books, and chances are when they need new web work in the future, they'll turn to you because of your ongoing relationship. Plus, wouldn't it be nice to earn a recurring monthly income that gives your clients piece of mind while costing you very little in return? If you are not offering a website maintenance plan as part of your services, you're leaving easy money on the table. Offering a website maintenance plan doesn't require much tech knowledge. The best part of a website maintenance plan is if done right, you don't need much tech knowledge. I didn't know much when I started. And to be honest, there's still a lot I don't know. But I don't have to know much for my plan to work. What a website maintenance plan looks like. Website maintenance plans differ from designer to designer. However, let me break down what my website maintenance plan looks like. When I started offering website hosting in 2005, I charged my clients $12/month. When I switched from hosting static HTML sites to hosting WordPress websites, I raised my hosting fee to $35/month. Then I attended WordCamp Ottawa and met a fellow designer whose business was very similar to my own. However, instead of just hosting his client's websites, he was offering a website maintenance plan. After hearing about his success, I immediately implemented it in my business. I raised my price to $69/month and expanded my offering from simple hosting to a full-fledged website maintenance service. Some web designers may find $69 per month expensive. But it's not. I know designers who charge much more than I do for their website maintenance plans. Look at it this way, if you're building $500 or $800 websites for clients. Then yes, they'll find $69/month expensive. However, a client who pays several thousand dollars for a website, won't hesitate to pay $69 or more each month to keep their investment safe. That's what a web maintenance plan offers, safety and peace of mind. My website maintenance plan consists of: Managed WordPress hosting (I have a shared hosting plan that I divide and resell to my clients.) Premium licence fees for themes and plugins. Unlimited email accounts for the client's domain name. An SSL Certificate for their site. Malware Scans. Weekly WordPress Core, Theme and Plugin updates. Daily website backups to an offsite storage location. Enhanced Website Security. Uptime Monitoring. In return for these monthly services, my clients get a stress-free website. They don't have to worry about their website getting hacked. They don't have to about keeping their site updated. They don't have to worry about evolving security measures. They don't have to learn how to manage their own website. Instead, my clients can concentrate on growing their business, knowing that I'm taking care of their website for them. Over 90% of my website clients see the value in my maintenance plan and sign up without hesitation. Variations on website maintenance plans. Some web designers offer a certain number of non-carryover hours as part of their monthly plan that allows a client to request small updates to their site. I don't provide this. If a client wants changes to their website, I bill them extra. Some web designers offer to maintain their client's website regardless of where the site is hosted. I don't provide this either. If one of my clients wants me to manage their site, I insist they host it with me. This way, I'm familiar with the web host, which makes it

Is your side gig a hobby or a business I had a conversation with a fellow designer recently who works full-time for an ad agency and periodically takes on small design projects on the side. He called it a hobby. That got me thinking, what is a hobby and does what he's doing qualify? Hobby vs. Business Standard disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer, accountant, tax expert or business advisor. The following is solely my opinion. Hobby: A hobby is an activity done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. A hobby encourages the acquisition of skills and knowledge in that area. Business: Business is the activity of making money by producing or selling products such as goods and services. Simply put, business is any activity or enterprise entered into for profit. By those definitions, any design work you do where you get paid should be considered a business venture. At least you would think. When does a hobby become a business? According to the IRS, a hobby is an activity that an individual pursues without the intent of generating a profit. "Intent" is the keyword here. Meaning it's ok to make money pursuing your creative hobbies as long as it wasn't your intent, to begin. For example, let's say you have a screen printing machine and print yourself graphic T-Shirts. If someone sees one of your shirts and offers you money to make one for them, it's still considered a hobby, because it wasn't your intent to sell the design or shirt when you created it. However, if you designed and printed the shirt with the hopes of selling more like it, then it's a business. An artist who paints for the joy of it, and sells the odd painting to cover the cost of supplies is considered a hobbyist. But as soon as that artist decides to showcase their paintings, in the hopes of selling them for a profit, it becomes a business. If you create something because you want to help a friend, a family member, your church, a local organization or charity you support or your kid's sports team, and they offer you money for your generosity, as long as you intended to help them and not of making a profit, then it's not a business dealing. However, if that friend, family member, church, organization or charity asks you to create something for them in exchange for payment of some kind, then your acceptance is based on the knowledge you will be making a profit. Therefore it's a business transaction. Why is the distinction between hobby vs. business important? The distinction between hobby vs. business is essential for tax purposes. Yup, blame it on the government. If you are making a profit from something, they want their cut. But that could be a good thing. If you are making money from your "hobby" or "side gig" you should want the taxman to take a cut. Why? Because as a hobby, you can't deduct losses and expenses on your tax return. But once you're hobby is classified as a business, you are entitled to the same tax advantages other businesses enjoy. Including home business expenses or additional costs that don't typically apply to income from your day job. Who knows, declaring your hobby a business, may even end up saving you money on your taxes. Check with a professional. Rules may differ depending on where you live, so check with a professional in your area to see if your side gig or hobby qualifies as a business. Keep in mind; you have to be actively seeing to make a profit for what you do to be considered a business. But be careful. Even if you are actively seeking to make a profit, don't just declare what you're doing as a business without checking with a professional first. There are stiff penalties for claiming business expenses on your taxes if you don't qualify for them. What the IRS is looking for in declaring a venture a business. The IRS has a vague outline for determining the state of your earnings. However, here are some rules that may help you achieve business status with your hobby. You engage in your activity with continuity and regularity. You're taking actions to improve profitability. You keep accounting and business records. You consult professional advisors to help improve profitability. Officially declare yourself a business. The easiest way to get the IRS or any government tax agency to view what you do as a business is to make it official. Name and register your business. Open a business banking account Begin collecting sales tax if applicable Hire a CPA and other advisors. There are no guarantees the IRS or whatever taxing agency there is in your country will consider you a business. But if you officially register as one, chances are they'll agree with your assessment. Is your design business registered? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode. Resource of the week Savvy Social School If you're looking for a simple, easy (and fun) way to use social media as a tool to grow your design business, the Savvy Social School takes you from wasting time to feel confident that you're making the right choice for you and y

Are you a Pixel Pusher or a Design Thinker? Do you exude confidence when dealing with your design clients? If you answered no, you could be losing out on valuable business. Designers usually fall into one of two categories: PixelPushers, and Design Thinkers. Pixel Pushers rely mostly on instructions to do their job. A client or art director tells them precisely what they need, and the designer uses his or her skills to create it. Pixel Pushers can be amazing designers. Capable of turning those simple or vague instructions into something beautiful. However, Pixel Pushers tend not to exercise their creative powers as much, since they let other people do the conceptual thinking for them. Design Thinkers, on the other hand, not only know how to use the tools at their disposal to create stunning designs, but they also have the skills to imagine and conceptualize those designs from scratch. They think up vague ideas, the smallest of thoughts and massage and expand on them until they turn it into something amazing. Now, of course, I am harsh with these distinctions. There is no hard line separating Pixel Pushers and Design Thinkers. Pixel Pushers do require design thinking skills to turn someone else's ideas into reality, just as Design Thinkers need the technical expertise to turn their own ideas into reality. In fact, in most cases. Design Thinkers started their careers as Pixel Pushers. Following the instructions of someone more experienced than them. Think of your path. Were you ever a junior designer? Did you ever follow the instructions of a more senior designer? That's how I started. The print shop hired me straight out of college, and without any experience working with real clients, I relied upon the other, more knowledgable designers around me for guidance. It's how most of us start and grow as designers. Some designers are content with that life, content with the limited creative freedom they have, as they design things based on someone else's ideas. There's nothing wrong with that. I know several designers who enjoy what they do, while recognizing the pressure of the design concept, dealing with the clients, the success or failure of a design campaign, is all on someone else's shoulders. But for people like you and me, being a Pixel Pusher isn't fulfilling enough. We want more. We want to deal directly with the clients. We want to come up with the design ideas ourselves. We want to manipulate those pixels and bring the images from our head to life. We want to revel at the successful campaigns we design for our clients and learn from the failed ones because that's what makes us better designers. But how do you go from being a Pixel Pusher to a Design Thinker? One word, confidence. Confidence in your skills. Confidence in your knowledge. And confidence in your ability to do what it is you do, without the need for instructions from anyone else. You're probably reading this because you either run your own part-time or full-time design business or you're dreaming of one day starting one. So chances are, you fall into the Design Thinker category. Congratulations, and welcome to the club. But, just how much confidence do you have? There's a wide range of Design Thinkers, and where you stand among them is mostly determined by your confidence level. That's why you see some self-employed graphic and web designers who are struggling and barely getting by, while others are hugely successful. It's not their design skills that separate them. It's their confidence level. Their confidence when they deal with clients. Their confidence in their abilities. Their confidence in what they charge. All of this adds up to greater success. Think about it. How much confidence would you have in a lawyer who tells you they're not sure about your case? How about a surgeon who says they've seen the procedure they're about to perform on you many times, but have never done it themselves? What about an auto mechanic who says, "sure, I'll have a look at your car, but I have no idea what I'm looking for?" Your trust in them would be very low, giving you second thoughts about proceeding with them. Now imagine your interactions with your design clients. From the client's perspective, how are you coming off? Are you exuding enough confidence for them to know you're the right person for their project? If you quote with confidence, clients are more likely to accept your price and hire you. If you present your project proposal with confidence, clients are more likely to trust your instincts. If you submit your design concepts with confidence, clients are more likely to agree with your ideas. So, how do you exude confidence? Here are my thoughts combined with a few ideas I read on articles about confidence in business from entrepreneur.comand wisdomtimes.com. Stop waiting to feel confident. Confidence is a state of mind that grows the more you practice. You don't have to feel fully confident before starting anything. Start small and expand on i

Do you have a vision statement for your design business? I heard this quote on a podcast recently. Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare. I looked it up, and it turns out this is an old Japanese proverb. It means if you have a vision, but you don't do anything to achieve it, it's nothing more than a daydream. However, if you take action, without any sort of vision to guide you, the results can be chaotic and possibly catastrophic. I know that sounds kind of dire. But many new businesses, including graphic and web design businesses, never achieve their full potential due to a lack of vision. That's why having a vision statement is essential. The difference between a Mission Statement and a Vision Statement. What is a Mission Statement? The purpose of a Mission Statement is to define the what, who and why of a company at the present moment. It's kind of an action-oriented instructional roadmap for how a business operates. It defines the purpose of a business; it's function and objectives. What is a Vision Statement? A vision statement, on the other hand, defines where the company, in this case, your design business, wants to be in the future. It guides you in your decision making when it comes to setting goals to reach an eventual destination. When comparing the two, a Mission Statement is a journey, one you take to reach your destination, the Vision Statement. As Jessica Honard, co-owner of North Star Messaging + Strategy, a copywriting and messaging company, puts it "A mission statement focuses on the purpose of the brand, the vision statement looks to the fulfillment of that purpose," In most cases, a Vision Statement is shared within an organization, while a Mission Statement is shared with the public. Why do you need a Vision Statement? The primary purpose of a Vision Statement is to give you focus. Many business owners, including designers, start businesses without any focus. And without focus, you can end up all over the place. You know you want to start a design business, but what does that entail? Finding clients and designing projects for them? But what else? Do you want to be still doing the same thing 3-4 years from now that you're doing today? Do you want to be working for the same types of clients? Do you want to be doing the same kinds of design projects? Do you want to be making the same income? Without a proper vision to follow, you may end up being very busy but not accomplish anything. A vision statement creates a clear picture of the future of your business 3-4 years from now. What's the difference between a vision and a goal? Think of a vision as a mindset, a position to strive for in the future. It's something you want to achieve, but it isn't as measurable as a goal. For example, your vision might be to become a recognized design influencer. Your goal to achieve that vision might start with talking at 30 regional and national design conferences within the next three years. Visions are more abstract, something to dream of. Goals are more concrete, something you can measure. Having a Vision Statement makes it easier to create goals. Goals that help achieve your vision. A Vision Statement for your design business. If you don't have one already, you need to write a Vision Statement for your design business. Figure out a destination, a place you want to be in three to four years from now. Then figure out how to get there. The purpose of a Vision Statement is to inspire you, encourage you, to push you. What do you need to do to fulfil your vision? What do you need to stop doing because it's preventing you from achieving your vision? What do you need to learn that will make it easier for you to reach your destination? Who can you partner with to help you realize your vision? Without a vision for your future, it's easy to get bogged down by the day-to-day details of running your business. It's like you're on a boat in a river without oars. You're making progress, but you have no control over the direction you're going. You have no idea how far you'll get, you have no idea where you'll end up down the river, and you have no idea when you'll get there. Do you see why it's essential to have a Vision Statement for your business? Writing your Vision Statement. There are no templates or plans to follow when writing a Vision Statement. It can be as short as one sentence or several pages long as long as it outlines what you want for the future of your business. Things to consider. Set it in the future but write it in the present: Your Vision Statement shouldn't reflect what you are doing now, but where you hope to be 3-4 years down the road. However, you should write it in the present tense as if you've already achieved it. It will help encourage you. Make it challenging: Your Vision Statement needs to challenge you; otherwise, what's the point? Make it attainable, but it shouldn't be so easy that you lose focus over time. Make it clear: Focus on one or two goals for

Do you have enough of these? When it comes to running a home-based design business, there are some things you can never have enough of. Here's a list of twelve you should consider. 1) Printer supplies You should always make sure you have spare ink cartridges and extra paper on hand. It's never fun when you need to print something, and you can't because one of your ink cartridges is empty of you ran out of paper. 2) Input devices It's always a good idea to have a spare input device for your computer. Perhaps an extra mouse, trackpad, trackball or pen and tablet to operate your computer. Should something happen to your primary instrument, you'll be glad you had a spare. 3) Digital storage space When it comes to graphic/web design, you can never have enough storage space for your digital files. The price of hard drives keeps dropping, so there's no reason not to have extras on hand. As for cloud storage. You are always better off purchasing more storage space than you believe you need. Chances are, you'll end up glad you did. 4) RAM Whenever you purchase a new computer, you should try to maximize the amount of RAM you get. The more RAM you have, the longer your machine will last as software and operating systems become more demanding on memory. The extra cost upfront will be worth it if you can get an additional year or two out of your computer. 5) Backups It's better to be safe than sorry. And that means having backups of your backups. When disaster strikes, you'll be glad for the redundancy. Services such as Backblaze make it extremely easy to backup your computer and physical hard drives. BackupBuddy by iThemes is my plugin of choice when it comes to backing up WordPress websites. 6) Business cards I don't understand people who don't have business cards for their design business. They make a great marketing tool. And at such a small cost to produce, the return on investment is well worth it. 7) Cables You can never have enough cables. Power cables, charging cables, connection cables are just some of the various wires you should have on hand. You never know when you'll be required to connect a new device and not having the proper cable can cause unnecessary delays. 8) Connection ports Most computers come with a limited number of connection ports. I'm talking about USB, Thunderbold, Video, Audio, etc. Devices that add extra ports are convenient in avoiding having to juggle your connections. 9) Internet Bandwidth When it comes to graphic and web design businesses, the faster your internet, the better. Don't skimp on your internet plan. You'll be glad for the faster speeds. Plus, you get to write it off on your taxes as a business expense. 10) physical storage space Your home office should have sufficient storage space to keep all your "stuff." Drawers, shelves, cabinets and closets are a must to keep your work area organized. 11) Suppliers contractors Try to keep a list of people who could help you with your endeavour. Web and graphic designers should keep lists of copywriters, photographers, developers, illustrators, translators, printers and anyone else you may need to call upon for future projects. Even if you have your go-to people. It's good to know others just in case. 12) Peer support Working from home can get very lonely. To battle the isolation, you need to build a community of peers you can connect with regularly. Join clubs, organizations and networks that keep you connected to what is happening in your local area, your niche and your industry. What can you never have enough of for your design business? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode. Resource of the week Udemy As graphic designers, we need to keep our skills and knowledge in peak form. Udemy is one of the best places to learn new skills or brush up on rusty ones. Udemy offers a wide variety of courses for all stages of your career. I've personally bought courses on SEO, Google Analytics, Facebook Ads and more. Have a look today and see what you're going to learn next.

Are you nervous about video chatting? Without proper video chat etiquette, you and your design business can come off as amateurish and unprofessional. Not the impression you want to present to your clients. I work with design clients from around the world. As such, video chatting is a practice I take for granted as part of doing business. But right now, the world is isolated at home to flatten the curve on the Coronavirus. That means that many people, perhaps yourself included, are only now discovering the intricacies of video chatting. Allow me to share my experiences and make this new practice more comfortable for you and allow you to present yourself in the most professional manner possible. Scheduling a call You should always allow your client to choose a time that suits them for your video chat. However, you should dictate the times you're available. Online scheduling software works really well for this. They show your availability and allow the client to chose the time they want to talk. Here are a few scheduling options you may want to try. Book like a Boss Calendly Schedule Once Appointlet MeetFox If you don't have a calendar booking tool, email your client a range of times you are available and let them choose a time that works best for them. Be sure to let them know approximately how long the video chat will be so they can choose a time appropriately. Once you agree on a time, add it to your calendar and set two reminders, one a couple of hours before to remind you of the upcoming call, and a second reminder five or 10 minutes before so you can get ready. If you plan on recording the call, which I suggest you do for later referral, let your client know in advance. In most places, it's illegal to record someone without their consent. Your equipment To video chat, you need a computer or a mobile device. Although most modern devices have a camera built-in, you may want to use an external camera for better quality. The same goes for the microphone. The one built into your device is acceptable for infrequent video chats. But if you plan to implement regular video chats into your routine, you will want to invest in a better microphone. If you are using a mobile phone or tablet for your video chatting, a stand or tripod will help you keep the camera steady and at a proper hight. The next thing to consider is your lighting. Natural light is preferable but not always available. There are several desktop options for lighting your call. With hardware taken care of, you should next consider your software. There are numerous platforms for video chatting, including the following. Zoom(what I use) Skype Facetime GoTo Meeting Your environment You should video chat from a quiet, well-lit area. Before the meeting begins, make sure your lighting is in place and turned on, and turn off anything that makes noise, including washing machines, furnaces, fans, etc. Close your windows to prevent distracting noises from outside. Examine your background. The person you are video chatting with can see what's in your room behind you. It's ok to have a busy background, so long as it's not messy. If you're unsure about your background, try hanging a drape or curtain of some sort to act as a backdrop. Your setup If you are using a laptop, make sure it's plugged into a power source. Video chatting uses a lot of CPU power. If you're running on battery, your laptop will heat up faster, and your noisy fans will run longer. If possible, plug your computer directly into your modem or router. You want the best internet connection available, and WiFi can be unreliable when video chatting. Close all unnecessary running software during the video chat. Some software connects periodically to the internet without your knowledge and could interfere with your connection. If you are unsure, try restarting your computer and only opening the required software. Turn off all notifications. All those pings and beeps can distract you while video chatting. Set your camera as close to eye level as possible. If not elevated, a laptop camera will force your guest to look up your nose. For best sound quality, external microphones should be as close to your mouth as possible. If you are using your phone or tablet, set it horizontally. Portrait mode is fine for Facebook and Instagram stories, but most video chatting takes place on a computer where landscape mode is preferable and professional looking. If you plan on sharing your computer screen with your guest, clean up your computer's desktop and close unnecessary windows. Preparing yourself When preparing yourself for a video chat, you should dress in the same manner you would if you were meeting your guest in person, including your grooming. Just because you are video chatting from home is not an excuse for not shaving. Be sure to check yourself in a mirror before getting on the call. You don't want to find out afterwards that you had food stuck in your teeth or worse. Depending on your lighting, you may

Want to use your illustration skills to earn extra income? A conversation I had with Andrew, a member of the Resourceful Designer Community, inspired me to write this post. Andrew is a very talented illustrator and designer. He's created many illustrations for his clients as well as illustrating and publishing his own children's book Heyward the Horse! In his book, children follow along with Heyward, a carriage horse from Charleston, South Carolina, as he takes them on an illustrated tour of local landmarks. Andrew and I were discussing various ways he could use his illustration skills to earn extra income. After our conversation, I started thinking, Andrew is not the only designer with illustration skills. So why not use our discussion as a starting point for a podcast episode? Just to preface, you do not need to be an illustrator to benefit from what I'm about to share. I am not an illustrator, and yet I've generated a decent amount of passive income over the years by putting my design talents to use on things other than client work. Also, these are not ways to earn money quickly. That's not the point of all of this. What I'm sharing today are ways to put things into motion to generate a form of recurring income down the road. Be it a year from now or even ten years from now. Earning extra income. I've always believed that creative people should never lack for work. A creative person has the skills to make money from their creations. As graphic and web designers, you earn your primary income by completing projects for clients. But there are numerous other ways you could make money with your skills. We're living in an unprecedented age for creative people. There are more opportunities today than there has ever been before. Take Etsy, for example. Before platforms like Etsy, a craftsperson could only sell their wares in local bazaars or craft shows. Now, they can reach clients around the globe. The same opportunities are available for illustrators and designers. Here are some ways for you to use your creative skills to earn extra income. Talent Marketplaces Talent marketplaces such as Fiverr or Upwork have a bad reputation amongst designers. However, these are perfect marketplaces for illustrators. Many people search these platforms for illustrators for both small and large projects. If you are an illustrator, you should create an account on talent marketplaces to showcase your services. Don't think of these marketplaces as cheap discount services. You can charge whatever you like for your illustrations. Showcase your portfolio of work, and even if your prices are higher than other illustrators on the platform, clients who love what they see will find it within their budget to hire you. If you're not on these platforms, there's zero chance of being discovered. Stock Image Sites Earn extra income by digitizing and uploading your illustrations to sell on stock image sites. A friend of mine has been doing this for years. He's uploaded hundreds of illustrations to various stock image sites. He doesn't make much money on each sale, but the volume of sales adds up to a nice income. Stock image sites are one and done platforms. Meaning you create something, upload it to the platform, and forget about it. Allowing you to draw your next illustration as the first one earns you money with each sale. The trick to earning extra income through stock image sites is diversification. While some images will sell very little, others will bring in a steady earning each month. The more images you have for sale on these sites, the better your chances of a monthly payout. Add in compounding by uploading the same image to multiple stock sites, and you increase your return for that one image. Design Marketplaces Design market places such as Creative Market and Design Cuts offer a platform for designers and illustrators to sell digital products. Fonts, digital brushes, and illustration bundles, amongst other digital products, provide various opportunities for creative people to earn extra income. Designers and other creative people frequent these marketplaces looking for ways to simplify their process. Make money by offering a solution to their needs. Unlike stock image sites that sell individual images, the benefit of design marketplaces is the bundles they offer. Bundles contain many similarly themed illustrations packaged together for one price. An example of a bundle might be a collection of illustrations of farm animals all drawn in the same style. Floral packages are also trendy. Whatever you enjoy illustrating, try to find a way to turn it into a product to sell. If you're not an illustrator, you can create brochure templates or logo templates that people can use as a starting point for their projects. Print-On-Demand Print-on-demand services allow you to upload your image or design and sell it on merchandise in their marketplaces. Popular merchandise includes T-Shirts, mugs, phone cases, stickers, pillows, leggings, notebook

Will your design business survive the 2020 Pandemic? Are you worried your graphic or web design business won't survive this 2020 pandemic? With so many clients forced to temporarily close their doors due to social distancing, it's no wonder designers around the globe are lacking for work. We're living in an unprecedented time, and people are reacting and being affected in different ways. As a home-based designer, isolation is part of daily life. We chose this lifestyle for ourselves. And the longer this pandemic goes on, the more evident it becomes that this lifestyle isn't for everyone. Many people are not taking well to being cooped up. Others are embracing this new way of working and may decide it's something you want to continue doing once life gets back to normal. Only time will tell, and only you can make that decision for yourself. But there's a difference between voluntarily working alone and being forced to stay at home day in, day out. For many, the isolation is too much. And unfortunately, the typical remedy for isolation of getting out and being amongst other people is not a solution right now. Even for someone like me, who is used to staying home, it feels strange. But like all things in life, this too shall pass. I heard a great quote today. "In order to appreciate a beautiful sunrise, you first have to live through the darkness." Stay strong and stay the course. You'll get through this. But what about your design business? Is your design business suffering right now because of the coronavirus? Are your clients and projects drying up? Over the past week, I've seen designers at both ends of the spectrum. Some are busier now than ever, while others are desperate for work. How are you going to weather this storm? State of the world today. Around the globe, almost all businesses except for essential services are shut down. And with so many companies temporarily closed, it's no wonder work is drying up for graphic and web designers. Government aid packages created to help businesses affected by COVID-19 may not be enough. Many of the businesses forced to close due to the coronavirus will never reopen. Financially, this is the nail in their coffin. Without money coming in, there's only so long a business can hang on. No matter how much aid is offered. I know this sounds grim, but I assure you, there is a silver lining to this. Back in 2008, when the last big recession hit, almost all businesses suffered. Many of them forced to close, except for designers. in 2008-09, design businesses saw a boom. How can that be? When businesses shut down, their employees start looking for jobs elsewhere. But when multiple companies in the same industry shut down, there are not enough available jobs for the number of people searching for work. This leads to a large number of those people deciding to start their own business. I saw this myself in 2008, especially in the trades field. Layed off electricians, plumbers and construction workers started their own business. Other people started businesses based on their areas of expertise, their hobbies, or other skills they had. All of these people needed a logo, a website, and other branded material to get their business started, and designers everywhere saw an increase in work. I anticipate the same thing will happen once this pandemic has passed. With the inevitability of businesses closing, many of their employees will decide to start their own business, and they can use your help. Pivot your design business. To take advantage of this influx of new entrepreneurs, you may have to pivot the way you do things. 1) Forget about niching. I've talked before about the importance of finding a niche for your design business but now is not the time. Right now, you should focus all your efforts on getting as many new clients as you can, regardless of niche. 2) Focus locally. These new business people are not seasoned entrepreneurs. They don't know about the various resources available to them online and abroad. They don't know about Fiverr or 99designs. What they do know is they need help, and when someone needs help, the first place they look is close to home. And that's why you should be focusing all your marketing effort locally. Create landing pages on your website to attract these new clients. Focus on local SEO and speak to them in a way that shows you understand what they're going through. Use locally targetted online ads to attract clients. Google AdWords, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn all offer the ability to create ads targeted to your local area. Increase your social media presence and post local content. Use popular local hashtags in your posts. Join your Chamber of Commerce and other local business groups. You may not be able to meet people in person right now, but there are still benefits and exposure to be gained by being a member. List your design business in Google My Business. You can also contact your local business center and let them know you're

What structure are you planning for your design business? In this final instalment of The Definitive Guide To Starting A Home-Based Design Business, I'm covering your business structure. If you haven't heard the first three parts of this series, I suggest you go back and listen to them. Part 1 - Is Self Employment For You? Part 2 - Business Plan and Your Workspace Part 3 - Legalities and Marketing Once you know what you're going to do with starting your business. You need to decide what form or structure it will take. Sole-Proprietorship, Partnership Cooperative Corporation Your business structure will determine how and when you pay taxes. It may affect how you deal with banks, especially if you are applying for a loan or line of credit to help you get started. Different insurance rates may apply depending on your business structure. I'm not a business expert. I highly suggest you talk to your local business center, your accountant, your lawyer and seek their professional advice on the structure that is right for your design business. Plus, the information in this article is based on Canada and the USA. Rules and regulations may differ where in the world you are and may even vary depending on what state or province where you live. That's why it's important to seek the guidance of someone in your local area. Also, your business structure can change over time. It's possible that you start off using one model today, and switching to a different structure down the road. The four business structures. Sole Proprietorship A sole proprietorship is the simplest way to structure your business. A sole proprietorship is a business that is owned and operated by one person, you. Advantages Easy and inexpensive to set up. Flexible - there are few regulations to comply with. The business is directly controlled by you, the owner/operator. Business losses can be deducted from other personal income. Disadvantages The owner is personally liable for all debts of the business. The life of the business is confined to that of the owner. All business income is taxed as personal income. If you are running a sole proprietorship under a name other than your own name, you are required to register the name with your government business registry. Partnership A partnership is an agreement between two or more parties where they combine their skills and resources and share ownership in the business. Advantages Reasonably easy and inexpensive to set up. It allows a group of people to pool their skills and resources without the expense of incorporating the business. Reasonably easy to add or remove partners from the business. More people means more sources of capital. Business risks are shared by all partners. Disadvantages Each partner is personally liable for all business debts. Each partner is responsible for the actions of the other partners, which affect the business. Profits are personally taxable. Slow decision-making and conflict resolutions because the approval of all partners is required. Cooperative (Co-op) A cooperative is an enterprise, or business, owned by a group of people or companies seeking to satisfy a common need. The initial capital for a business cooperative is raised by member shares, and personal liability is limited to the value of each member's share. All members have one vote, regardless of the value of their shares. Advantages More sources of capital due to members' contributions. A higher volume of production and service possible because there are more people involved. Members provide mutual support and pool skills. A relatively flexible structure allows for changes in membership and responsibilities. Disadvantages Members may have trouble making decisions together and resolving conflicts. Some banks don't like lending to cooperatives, so individual members may have to arrange their own financing. Corporation A corporation turns your company into its own legal entity. Meaning the company has the same rights as an individual. It can acquire assets; it can go into debt; it can enter into contracts, etc. A corporation is the most expensive and most complex business structure to set up and operate. However, the majority of big businesses, as well as some smaller ones, are incorporated. In Canada, you have the choice of incorporating provincially or federally. In the USA, a business can be incorporated at the state or federal level. For a home run design business, if you want to incorporate, you're probably going to do it at the state or provincial level unless you regularly do business in a different state or province. For example, if you live in northern Florida and often travel to Georgia to meet clients in person, you may be better off incorporating on a federal level. As an added benefit, if you incorporate on a federal level, you're ensured that no other design business in your country can operate under the same business name. If you incorporate at the state or province level, there's nothing stopping someone in

Is the coronavirus (COVID-19) fording you to work from home? This past week, sports organizations around the world have stopped play to minimize the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Broadway closed down all performances. Disney World, Disney Land, Disney Paris and Universal Studios shut their doors for the rest of the month. Even Mount Everest shut down to climbers for the rest of the year. When one of the most remote places on earth shuts down, you know the situation is serious. In light of this global pandemic, many businesses are asking their employees to self-isolate and work from home. If you are not a self-employed designer and instead work for an employer, one who is asking you to work from home here is some advice to help you through this temporary job relocation. 1) Create a work from home schedule. Working from home is very different than working in an office environment. Without a formal structure, it can be easy to lose track of time and become less productive. A schedule helps you stay on track and get your work done. And the good thing is your home schedule doesn't have to follow your regular work schedule. You can adjust your home schedule for the times you're most productive. If you're not a morning person, then shift your schedule an hour or more. If your morning commute typically starts around 8 am to be at work for your 9-5 shift, why not start working at 8 am and finish at 4 pm. Eliminating the commute gives you two extra hours per day. Of course, you need to work the hours that your boss needs you to work. And be conscious of what times you may need to communicate with clients, contractors or co-workers. 2) Make a to-do list. Since working from home is out of your element, and since there's nobody there keeping an eye on you, the best thing you can do is make yourself a to-do list and adhere to it. Identify what you need to accomplish each day and check off each task as you complete it. You'll feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day, and it will hold you accountable and make sure you are using your time productively. 3) Find a dedicated work area. Find a dedicated space in your home and designate it as your "work area." Your bed or sofa doesn't count. Lounging on the couch with your laptop on your lap may sound pleasant and relaxing, but it doesn't lead to productivity. In this case, your kitchen or dining room table is acceptable as a workspace if you don't already have a desk. The more you make the area feel like a work environment, the more you'll feel like working. Inquire if your company has any allowance or budget to help you with expenses. Sitting at a kitchen chair all day is not comfortable. Your employer may be willing to purchase or rent you a chair to use while you work from home. Or they may ship one to you from the office. The same goes for computer equipment or whatever else you need to do your job. Your employer is paying you to be productive, even when you're working from home. They might be willing to invest a bit to ensure you can do the work properly. 4) Handling meetings while working from home. When working from home, any regular office or client meetings will most likely take place over video. Here are some tips. When in a conference call with several people, make sure you acknowledge your presence. Let people know you are there. Sure they can see your avatar or your video, but letting them know you are there tells them you are focused on the meeting. You should also acknowledge the others who are on the call. If you would typically say hi to everyone before a live meeting, do the same on a virtual one. If you are not familiar with video conferencing platforms, two that I use are Skype and Zoom. All Resourceful Designer Community chats take place over Zoom. You can also try Loom, which allows you to send video emails to people. It's great for presenting things to your boss or clients that you would generally do in person. 5) Dealing with isolation. For someone not used to working from home, it can get lonely, especially if the situation lasts for several weeks. Here are some tips to help you deal with isolation. Go outside. Even if there's nobody around, just getting out of the house can help ease that feeling of isolation. Move your workspace. Work for a couple of days in the kitchen, then move to the living room. Changing up your environment, even if it's within your own home, can help you feel less isolated. Keep in touch with your co-workers and colleagues. Find out what they're working on and update them on your progress. Have the same conversations you would be having if you were back in the office. There's no reason to stop just because you're working from home. Engage on social media, or, better yet, become part of an online community like the Resourceful Designer Community. Members of the Resourceful Designer Community talk to each other daily. It's one of the ways we cope with the loneliness of working all by yourself day after day. And

Are you legally allowed to run a business from home? [sc name="pod_ad"]By this point in the Definitive Guide To Starting A Home-Based Design Business series, you've determined that you want to start a home-based design business, you've written your business plan, and you've figured out your workspace situation at home. If you haven't done any of that, go back and listen to Part One and Part Two of this series. Now that the ball is rolling, and you've figured out precisely what you want to do and how to go about getting it all started, it might be a good time to see if you are allowed to run a business from home. Legal restrictions. Are there any restrictions that may prevent you from starting your home-based design business? Depending on where you live, there may be certain rules and regulations in place dictating what is allowed and what is not allowed when it comes to home-based businesses. Some municipalities and communities require all home-based businesses to have a business license. Some require a home occupation permit, and some may require a regulatory license depending on the business model. Contact your local government to see what licenses and permits your business requires. These licenses and permits cost money and, in some cases, may take time before they are approved. Some of them are one-time fees, while others must be renewed on an annual basis. All permits and licenses are tax-deductible as a business expense. On top of the licenses and permits, you must check if there are any municipal or even neighbourhood by-laws that may prevent you from running a home-based business. For example, the neighbourhood I live in has a by-law preventing me from seeing clients regularly in my home. Something else to look into is whether or not you might require license and permits from nearby municipalities. For example, if you live in one municipality but regularly commute to a nearby municipality to do business, you may require a license in both places. No employees. Many municipalities have by-laws prohibiting home-based businesses from having employees other than family members residing in the home. In most cases, this won't be a problem for a home-based design business. However, if you are starting as a partnership or want to hire a salesperson or anybody else, you may not be allowed to depending on where you live. I suggest you contact your local municipality to find out exactly what you need to run your business in your area legally. You can also contact your local business center and your chamber of commerce for their advice as well. Employment Contract. If you are starting your home-based business on a part-time or casual basis while you work another job for someone else, be sure that your main job doesn't have restrictions against employees owning or working at another business. If you signed a contact at your current employer, review it and make sure nothing in the contract prevents you from moving forward. Insurance Another thing to think about is insurance. Both on your business and your property. Your home insurance premiums may increase if you are operating a business from your home. And some insurance companies may void your coverage altogether, so be sure to check yours. Some municipalities require proof of insurance before issuing you any business permits. When reviewing your insurance policy, consider increasing your liability coverage. This protects you should anyone come to your home for business purposes and are hurt while on your property. You may be thinking you don't' need extra liability coverage because you don't plan on having clients over. But what about delivery people? If you order a new printer or computer and the delivery person slips and falls on your steps, and your insurance company discovers they were delivering goods for your business, they may decide not to cover you. Also, as a sole proprietor, you are personally liable for all debts. If you order a $10,000 print job and your client fails to pay. You are liable to the printing company. You may also want to acquire business interruption insurance in the event of a fire, theft, etc. It can help cover the costs of getting things up and running again. Permits, licences and insurance may not be fun, but they are something you need to think about when starting your home-based design business. Marketing Let's talk briefly about marketing your business. As you know, marketing is key to any business's success. It ensures that your services are put in front of people who need them. Because all businesses market themselves differently, and that includes design business, home-based or not, you must decide how you plan on promoting yours. Your skill levels, knowledge, experience and resources will help determine who your clients will be and how you will promote your services to them. A business that's just starting should ask both existing and potential clients what they should be doing to promote their business. Start conversations

Part 2: Business Plan and Workspace In the previous episode, I talked about whether or not running a home-based business is for you as well as things to consider before deciding to start one. This episode I'm making the assumption that you've decided to go ahead with your plans and discuss the next steps in the process. Some startup advice. There is a cost involved with starting any business, even one run from your home. You may not be paying to lease office space, but you will still need to fork out money to get your design business started. Some of the costs may include a separate phone number to keep your business and personal communications separate, preferably a plan with voicemail and call display. You'll need a computer and design software required to do your work. And then there are things such as a desk and chair, bookshelves, maybe a file cabinet. Don't forget your internet. If web design is part of your services, or you'll need to upload and download large print files you may want to increase your internet plan for more bandwidth. Other costs include business cards, We may be living in a digital world, but you really should have business cards. And maybe you'll want a printed flyer or brochure to help spread the word of your new endeavour. An Intro Packet might be a good idea as well. Plus, there's the fee involved with business licenses and permits, the cost of accounting and legal fees, and memberships, clubs and communities to help you get started. It all adds up. Sure, starting a home-based design business is the least costly option to begin your entrepreneurial life, but there's still a start-up cost involved. And that's not taking into account the cash buffer you should have to tide you over as you build up your clientele, start designing and wait to get paid. Suggestions to help with costs. You should set long-term goals to acquire some of the above-mentioned things which allow you to spread out the costs. Buy only what you absolutely need right now. Buy used or refurbished to save money, or purchase lesser models until you can afford top-of-the-line equipment. Make do with what you have and grow along with your business. For the first two years of my business I sat at a desk I picked out of the trash bin at the printer I used to work for. I had to replace one leg with a 2x4, but It got me by until I was able to barter a better desk by exchanging services. Even though you're starting a home-based business, there will be costs involved in the beginning so do what you can to save money. Let's talk about business plans. A business plan is a written document describing the aspects of your proposed business. Although not absolutely necessary to start a business, a business plan can help you when it comes to business decisions and keep you focused on the right path. A business plan is a worthwhile exercise because it helps you think through your ideas, focus on what needs to be done, and identify what information or assistance you still need. A business plan will improve your chances of success by setting out realistic goals and financial projections that you can measure your progress against. Plus, if you plan on securing a start-up loan or applying for any grants, you will need a business plan. There are various ways to write a business plan, and if you're doing this just for yourself then whatever way you choose is fine. However, If you are applying for a loan or grant, I suggest you reach out to the organization and ask them what their preferred format is. It will save you time and trouble in the long run. There are plenty of online resources, some free and some paid, that can help you write a business plan. But here are the general elements that should be included. Background Information: Your business concept: Describe the services you plan on offering in your design business. Perform a SWOT analysis of your business. Operations: Describe your working environment. List the equipment and supplies you already have, as well as those you need to acquire. Be sure to mention the costs involved. List any suppliers and contractors you'll be working with. Marketing: Describe the industry and target market you're going after. Talk about how you plan on selling your services. Mention your marketing strategy to gain clients. Finances: A Business plan should include a financial statement showing the startup costs, projected sales forecasts, financial projections, how much you're investing in the business and how you plan on paying yourself. There's a lot more that goes into a business plan, but I wanted to give you a quick idea of how to lay one out. Your WorkSpace. Let's talk about your actual workspace. If at all possible, your workspace should be a separate part of your home dedicated solely to your business. Having a designated area will help you feel like you are "going to work" and at the end of the day like you are "leaving work". Keeping the two separate makes it much easier to designate betwee

Can you imagine anything better than doing something you enjoy while in the comfort of one of your favourite places - your home - and making money while doing it? Starting a home-based design business is the dream of many designers. The idea of giving up the daily commute, of no longer sitting through rush hour traffic, and nobody looking over your shoulder while you work sounds desirable. Plus you get to choose your hours, dress however you want and be there for your family whenever they need you. It's very tempting. These and many other perks sound very appealing to designers dredging away at their daily 9-5 job. It's a perfect life. Or is it? Before you take steps towards setting up your own home-based design business, you should first do a self-assessment of yourself and your situation to determine if the solopreneur life is for you. Is Self-Employment for you? When it comes to running a home-based design business, there are three options; casual, part-time and full-time. Casual: A casual business is one where you spend less than 10 hours per month on your venture. Perhaps it's doing small odd projects for only one or two clients. The income you make while working casually gives you a little bit of extra spending money or helps pay a bill or two as it supplements your other full or part-time income. Part-Time: A part-time design business is one where you dedicate between 10 to 40 hours per month. You might have a hand full of clients, and the money you earn adds nicely to your overall household income. You can run a part-time business while working another part-time job or even a full-time job if you're devoted. Many designers start a part-time business while on maternity or paternity leave. It's a great way to stay mentally active and socialize with other adults while caring for your new bundle of joy. Full Time: A full-time design business requires your full attention daily. You should be spending as much time on your full-time business as you would if you worked 9-5 for someone else. As your main source of income, you should be working with several clients, and when you're not designing for clients, you should be devoting your time to acquiring more clients. Those are your three choices for running a home-based design business. But before you jump in, you need to determine if you have the self-discipline to work in an unstructured environment. You also need to determine if you are willing to take on the financial and personal risk of starting a venture that may not work out, especially if your new design business is your only source of income. Things to consider before starting a home-based design business. Is your family behind you? If you're on your own, this might not matter as much. However, if you have a family, you must realize that starting a home-based business is not only a significant adjustment for you but them as well. You need to speak with your family members about your need to dedicate yourself to starting, growing and eventually succeeding in this venture. If you don't discuss this with them beforehand, they may believe that since you are at home, you have the time to do extra little tasks around the house. This "added benefit of working from home" may seem harmless, but these things tend to add up and take time away from your business and impede your success. Do you have the self-discipline to manage your time and working hours? Anyone who works from home will tell you that it's easy to get distracted. The lawn needs mowing; the dishwasher needs emptying, the new season of that great show just dropped on Netflix. Do you have the confidence and self-discipline to devote your time to work in the face of all the distractions you'll face daily? Also, if you're a workaholic, do you have the self-discipline to say "enough's enough" and stop working? Working day and night may seem like a great way to grow a business, but it's no way to live your life. It's great to hustle, but not if it leads to increased stress, health issues and self-neglect. Do you have a dedicated workspace? If you're working casual or part-time, you may be able to get away with working from the kitchen table. But that's no way to run a full-time business. It's impossible to concentrate on your work if family members and other distractions are constantly hindering you. By dedicating a designated work area in your home, you make a statement saying you take your undertaking seriously. A dedicated work area provides the atmosphere needed for you to fully concentrate on your work and have the quiet and privacy necessary for important business calls. If a dedicated work area isn't possible, you must explain and make arrangements with your family to not disturb you while you are working. This may mean keeping the volume low on music and the TV or even moving their activities to other areas of your home while you are working. Does your business fit a home base? Resourceful Designer is aimed at graphic and web design business,

Design Selling 101 Newcomers to the freelance life often believe that the success of a graphic or web design business lives or dies with their design skills. This is partially true. After all, if you are not a good designer, you're going to have a hard time being successful on your own. But the truth of the matter is, your skills as a designer are second to how good a salesperson you are. Because if you cannot sell, you might as well give up your freelance dreams. Get hired somewhere and earn an hourly salary to design all day, while someone else handled the selling part. There's nothing wrong with that scenario. Many designers spend their entire career working for someone else, and they're delighted doing so. Running a home-based design business is not for everyone. However, if you do give it a go, you better feel comfortable selling because your business will depend on your skills as a salesperson. Have you ever heard the saying, "Good marketing can sell a bad product, but bad marketing cannot sell a good product?" The same applies to home-based or freelance design businesses. Someone good at selling, but a mediocre designer can still make a living as a freelancer. However, a fantastic designer that has no sales skills will have a difficult time staying afloat. Become a good seller. So how do you become a good seller? Like with everything else, it comes with practice and experience. Although being a people person does help. Let's break it down. First, you need to get the notion out of your head that selling is about making a sale. It's not. The sooner you realize this, the better you'll be at sales. Selling is not about the exchange of money for services, it's about giving a client relief and lowering their anxiety when it comes to spending their money. Clients come to you because they need something. It's that "problem" that your job as a designer is to provide a "solution." However, even though the client realizes they need something from you, they feel a reluctance to part with their hard-earned money to get it. If you can put them at ease with that notion and make them realize what their money is buying, they'll be more willing to spend what is necessary. Putting the client at ease. How do you put a client at ease? The core principle of successful selling is making the client feel cared for and appreciated. When someone feels cared for and appreciated, they let their guard down and open up, and become much more receptive to ideas. If you offer a client a solution to their problem, and you make them feel cared for and appreciated in the process, it becomes much easier to lead them through the sales process. The sales process. Let's break the sales process into basic components. Imagine the sales process as a video game. In a video game, you can't just turn on the game, jump to the final level and expect to win. Video games are designed, so every level along the way equips and better prepares you for that final level and victory. The same principle applies to the selling process. You can't win over a client by jumping to the final level of the sales process (which is price by the way). Before you discuss price, you need to lead the client through the various levels of the sales process. Think of these levels as objection points. Obstacles to overcome before moving on to the next level of the "video game sales process". Level one is: Trust. If you cannot get a client to trust you, there's no point moving forward because you'll never make the sale. Think about it. What was the last thing you purchased from someone you didn't trust? I can't think of anything. However, I can think of several things I did not buy because I didn't fully trust the person doing the selling. It's the stereotypical used car salesman. No matter how much they smile and say the right things, you always wonder what they are not telling you. So the first level of the sales process is getting the client to trust you. How do you do that? There are many, many ways to get someone to trust you. Here are the two most important ones, especially when pressed for time, such as on a phone call. 1. Listen more, talk less. Trust is about focusing on what is important to the client and less on what's important to you. If you can prove to the client that you care about their concerns and genuinely want to help them, they'll trust you more. 2. Address their pain points When a client comes to you with a design project, they imagine it will fix the overarching problem they're facing. However, there may be many pain points to that overarching problem you need to address. A client may say they need a website to promote and sell their services. But there's sure to be some underlying issues they may not be talking about. Things like. a lack of brand awareness for their services increased competition negative publicity low conversion rates dwindling sales As you're listening to the client, try to pinpoint their various pain points and be sure to acknowledg

If you ever created a business plan, you're probably familiar with the term SWOT Analysis, but here's how designers can use it for their projects. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, & Threats. It's a process first developed at Harvard Business School in the early 1950s. To run a SWOT Analysis requires four "areas," such as four pads of paper or perhaps a board divided into four quadrants, each labelled Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, & Threats. Regardless of the medium you use, the process goes like this. By asking questions, you place the answers under one of the four categories. The first two categories, Strengths and Weaknesses, are internal matters you can control. The second two, Opportunities and Threats are external matters that are out of your control. SWOT Analysis for a freelance web design business. Here are some example questions and answers you might use when doing a SWOT Analysis for a home-based web design business. 1) Strengths: Questions you could ask: What are the strengths of the business? What advantages does the business have? What does the business do well? What resources does the business have? What do other people think of the business? Possible answers: The designer running the business is fast and proficient at creating web sites. The designer can use many different design applications. The designer is very experienced with WordPress. The designer knows some coding languages. The designer is great at time management. The business has many connections with writers, photographers, coders, etc. 2) Weaknesses: Questions you could ask: What disadvantages does the business have? What improvements can the business make? What skills is the designer lacking or knows but isn't very good at? Are there any parts of web design the business should avoid? What objections might clients have towards the business? Possible answers: The designer lacks development skills. English is the designer's second language, which may complicate communication with clients. The designer has weak administrative skills. The designer is Introverted. 3) Opportunities: Questions you could ask: What options are there for the business to grow? Are there new technologies emerging you can take advantage of? Is there a shift happening in the economy? Are social patterns changing? Possible answers: Few talented web designers in the local area. Knowledge of a particular field or industry can allow the business to niche. Clients are seeking sustainable products with low environmental impact. 4) Threats: Questions you could ask: What risks or potential hurdles does the business face? What obstacles does the designer face? What is the competition doing? Will new technologies threaten your business? Possible answers: Inexpensive DIY website builders can potentially lure clients away. More people learning web design could become competitors. Services offered by competitors may lure clients away from the business. Of course, this is a very simplified SWOT Analysis of a freelance web design business. If you were doing this for your own business, I would expect many more items listed under each section, but you get the idea. Once you've filled out the four categories, you can then use the information to form a strategy for your business to grow and succeed. And who knows, your SWOT Analysis may inspire a change in direction you might not have considered before. That's the power of performing a SWOT Analysis. But a SWOT analysis isn't just used for business plans. You can apply it to products, services, design strategies, and so much more. Using a SWOT Analysis as part of your design strategy. As a designer, you can use SWOT Analysis for many things, such as. Determining if a client is a right fit for you. Figuring out how to tackle a design project. Vetting potential candidates to hire as contractors. During design strategy sessions with clients And many more. Let's look further into how a SWOT Analysis can help with design strategy sessions. Let's say a new startup company hires you to develop their branding. Your first step is to hold a discovery meeting and ask questionsto get to know the client and their new company. Compose your questions in a way that allows you to place the answers in one of the four SWOT categories. For example: Strengths: What are the advantages of the new company's product or services to their customers? What are the advantages this new company has over its competition? What makes this new company unique? Weaknesses: What areas of the new business can be improved? What issues need to be avoided? What limits does the new business face in providing their product or service? Opportunities: What opportunities are there for the product or service? Are there peaks or trends the new business can take advantage of? Can the business's strengths be turned into opportunities? Are there any changes in the industry that could lead to opportunities? Threats: Who are the existing or potential com

Are you charging enough for your design services? Many home-based designers don't charge high enough for their services. They undervalue their work and struggle to find meaningful relationships with great clients. And although it might sound counterintuitive, when you find yourself in this situation, the solution is to raise your prices. It's been proven time and again that the more you charge, the better and more appreciative your clients will be. But when should you raise your design prices? Below are ten indicators to let you know it's time to increase yours. But before we get to them, here's a quick way to determine your hourly rate. For the record, I don't believe you should be charging by the hour. The following just gives you an idea of where you stand. Calculating your hourly design rate. Say you want to make $60,000 per year, a realistic number for a freelance designer that allows for comfortable living. As an employee working 9-5 for someone else, you would need an hourly rate of $28.85 to make $60K annually. But you're not an employee getting paid for an 8 hour day, five days per week. You're a home-based designer, a freelancer if you want to use that term, and there's nothing steady about a freelancer's income. To make $60,000 as a home-based designer, how much do you need to charge as an hourly rate? Let's do the math. There are 260 weekdays per year. Let's eliminate 25 days for vacation and other miscellaneous days. (3 weeks vacation plus sick days, medical appointments, children's activities, etc.) That leaves us with 235 working days per year. During an 8 hour workday, freelancers average 4.5 billable hours. This adds up to 1057.5 billable hours per year. So $60,000 per year, divided by 1057.5 billable hours, equals $56.74/hour (let's round it up to $57.) $60,000 ÷ 1057.5 hours = $57/hour (rounded up) Although you shouldn't be charging hourly for your design services, knowing your hourly rate helps you figure out if you are charging enough per design project. 10 Signs You Should Raise Your Design Prices 1. You're super busy and starting to feel overwhelmed. All the big business sites (Forbes, Entrepreneur, Inc., Business Weekly) all say the same thing, having a back-log of projects or a waiting list of clients or just being super busy all the time is a sign that you are not charging enough for your services. The strategy here is that raising your rates, and being more selective in who you work with, will lessen the fell of overwhelm, but the higher prices you're charging will make up for any loss incurred from having fewer clients. 2. You're attracting undesirable clients. Are you attracting the type of client that doesn't put much value in what you do? Clients that want it all but are not willing to pay much for it? Clients, that micro-manage you complain and criticize your work, or tell you how to do your job? Clients that would leave you in a heartbeat for a competitor to save a buck? If this sounds like the type of client you're currently working with, raising your rates should fix the problem. Those clients will stop bothering you and go looking for a less expensive solution. Your new rates will attract new clients who are willing to pay higher prices. Plus, they'll trust and value your services and are likely to stay loyal, even if a lower cost option presents itself. 3 You're not landing your ideal clients. If clients are reaching out to you but not hiring you, it might be because your prices are too low. When someone is expecting to pay a certain amount for a project, and you quote a price lower than they expected, red flags go up, and they start wondering if perhaps you're qualified or experienced enough for what they need. They'll imagine all sorts of deficiencies to justify your low prices. So if you're losing more clients than you're landing, consider raising your prices. 4. You start offering a new service. Have you learnt a new skill such as video editing or 3D animation and have added it to your services? New skills and services make you more valuable to clients, and your rates should reflect it. The convenience of getting more services from you instead of needing to hire additional people is worth the extra expense to clients. 5. You're price-matching your competition. A strategy used by many freelancers is to price-match their competition or even undercut them. This only works if the service you offer is equal to, or inferior to what your competition offers. If you believe you are a better designer than your local competition, then indicate it with higher prices. From a client's perspective, a designer charging $3,000 for a website must be a better web designer than one charging $2,000. Many clients want to work with the best and won't hesitate about the price. 6. Your competition charges much more than you. On the flip side of #5, if your prices are much lower than your competitions' prices, then you'll develop a reputation as the cheapest designer around, which is not a go

Words of wisdom for designers. Welcome to the 200th episode of the Resourceful Designer podcast. In celebration of this milestone, I'm going to try something a bit different. For this episode, I'm going to be succinct and to the point as I share 100 wise words with you, in the hopes that some of them will help you grow as a designer and help your business succeed. Before I get to my 100 words of wisdom I want to take this opportunity to thank you for being a part of my journey in reaching episode 200. Maybe you've been with me from the start, or have gone back and listened to each and every episode I've put out. Perhaps you discovered this podcast somewhere over the past 4+ years, and picked up from there and keep listening. It could be that you're a casual listener and only listen to certain episodes depending on the topic. Or, this might be your very first episode of Resourceful Designer. Regardless of how much or how little you've listened, I just want you to know how much I appreciate you. YOU are the reason I keep doing this. I love helping designers like you. If just a small portion of the things I talk about on this podcast each week, helps you to become a better designer and a better business person. Then I'm a happy guy, I've accomplished what I set out to do when I published episode 1 of this podcast four and a half years ago. And I'll keep doing what I'm doing, as long as there are people like you who are willing to take the time to listen and to grow. So once again, thank you for being part of my journey in reaching 200 episodes. And now, 100 Wise Words To Designers Everywhere. 100 Wise Words To Designers Everywhere. 1. Save your work, often 2. invest in a comfortable chair 3. learn how to give a good handshake 4. splurge when buying your computer. it will last you longer 5. raise your prices. you're worth more than you think 6. look people in the eyes when talking to them 7. learn keyboard shortcuts 8. make the time to stretch 9. look at application preferences. You may find settings to turn on or off that will make your job easier 10. If you're not sure how to improve a design, try simplifying it by taking something away from it 11. Clean your keyboard 12. Get out of your comfort zone 13. Password protect your computer and other devices 14. Never show a client a design you're not proud of. 15. name your layers. you'll be grateful whenever you revisit your file in the future. 16. create another user accounts on your computer. never let anyone use your own 17. don't forget to take breaks 18. turn off distractions 19. avoid open drinks or messy food near your computer. it's called an accident for a good reason 20. smile. it releases endorphins, and that's a good thing. plus, people can hear it in your voice 21. charge for it. you do enough non-billable things. make sure you charge for everything you can 22. step back from your work. literally. stand back several steps. you may notice small details you might otherwise miss 23. eat well. a healthy body creates a healthy mind 24. creative blocks will happen. you will get over them 25. don't forget to drink. it's harder to concentrate when you're dehydrated 26. don't rely on bevels or drop shadows, they rarely make a design better 27 know a good lawyer 28. hire a good accountant 29. find a dedicated place in your home to work 30. claim everything you're allowed to on your taxes 31. be daring. trends are started because someone dared to try something no one had done before 32. understand the license for whatever you use. know what it allows you to do and what it doesn't 33. empty your trash 34. befriend other designers 35. trust your gut. it often knows better than you do 36. always use a contract. even for free work 37. buy lifetime deals. they're more expensive up front, but they'll save you money in the long run 38. proofread. don't rely solely on spell-check. this goes double for headlines, they're were most errors are missed 39. make time for exercise 40. doodle whenever you can 41. always under-promise and over-deliver 42. network every chance you get 43. get to know your suppliers and contractors 44. meet clients face to face whenever possible 45. keep a list of people with unique skills you may someday have use of 46. don't fret about your business name. you can always rebrand yourself 47. study the designs of others. it's a great way to learn 48. don't steal. but feel free to borrow ideas 49. it's ok to ask for help 50. never stop learning 51. decide if you want to market yourself as I or We. And then own it 52. diversify. don't stake your business on a couple of good clients 53. repurpose old ideas and unused designs 54. find a hobby that is not design related 55. get to know your clients 56. give criticism constructively 57. don't neglect family and friends for the sake of the job 58. remember to thank your clients, suppliers, contractors 59. ask for criticism from your peers. it's the best way to grow as a designer 60. time your work. you'

Do you do retention marketing? You already know that for any business to grow, people have to know about it. After all, if someone doesn't know a business exists, there's very little chance they'll interact with it, let alone purchase from it. And the process for letting people know about a business is called Marketing. When it comes to marketing, there are hundreds and hundreds of strategies you can choose for promoting a business. But, when narrowed down to its two fundamental principals, There are only two forms of marketing. Growth marketing, which is all about attracting new customers. Retention Marketing, which is all about retaining existing customers. Today we're looking at that second one, retention marketing. As a designer, people must know about your design business before there's any chance they'll hire you. Don't you agree? That's why companies put so much effort into growth marketing. They want to attract new clients. However, while most businesses are marketing to attracting new clients, only 16% of them make any effort at marketing to their existing clients. They ignore the people who are already familiar with their services. A study published in the Harvard Business Reviewstates that acquiring a new client requires a minimum of five times more effort than retaining an existing one. And research done by Bain & Company says that if you can increase the number of returning clients by 5%, your profits will go up by at least 25%. Therefore, marketing to your existing clients is a valuable strategy when it comes to growing your design business. Your current client base is a priceless treasure trove of future opportunities. That's why you need to focus effort on retention marketing, meaning marketing to your existing clients for them to bring new projects to you. You may be thinking "my clients already know what I do. They were happy with the last project I did for them. The next time they need my design services, they'll know how to get a hold of me." Don't be so sure of that. Clients who "spread the wealth." I've designed dozens of things for a local jewellery store over the past fifteen years. They keep telling me how much they love my work. And yet, in all that time, only once did they contacted me to initiate the project. Almost every project I've designed for this client was initiated by me when I contacted the client to see how things were going. During those conversations, the owner would sometimes ask me if I was interested in working on a design project for him. I guarantee you, if I had not initiated those conversations, I wouldn't have gotten those projects. I know this because every time I go into his store, I see things that I didn't design for him. And everything I inquire about was created by a different local designer. You see, this particular client likes to spread the wealth amongst local designers. He wants to make everyone happy, so he gives his next design project to the next designer he sees. That's why part of my retention marketing strategy when it comes to this client is making sure I reach out to him regularly. You snooze, you lose. Taking "the client will contact me when they need my help" approach could hurt you. I lost a long-standing website client last year. This client was in bad need of a website refresh, and he knew it, but he didn't have the money in his budget. I understood and asked him to contact me when he was ready to proceed. The client knew my services; he knew I was familiar with his business and eager to work with him on their new site. Plus, I manage his domain name for him. So I had nothing to worry about. The client would contact me when he was ready. Or so I thought. Then one day, out of the blue, I received an email from someone asking me to change the nameservers for the client's domain. Confused, I called my client, asking what was going on, and he told me he had hired a different local firm to design his new website. When I asked if there were any issues with the service I provided him, he said no. It was just that this newer company had mailed him info packages, had reached out by email and had visited the store to talk with him. My client said he was impressed by their dedication and decided to reward this new design firm with his new website project. Because I was too confident that my client was loyal and didn't bother doing anything to retain him, I lost him. I learned a valuable lesson that day. Don't take your existing clients for granted. No matter how good you believe your relationship is, you still need to make an effort to keep that relationship going strong. It's just like healthy friendships. The friends you keep in contact with are the ones that will ask if you want to get together. The friends you don't stay in touch with are less likely to do so. The same happens with clients you don't keep in contact with. Maybe If I had put in the effort to keep in contact with my client, he would have turned down the new company. But he didn't

Is working from home for you? Designers fall into one of three categories, those who work from home, those who long for the ability to work from home, and those who don't want to work from home because they don't realize how great working from home can be. Ok, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. Even though working from home is great, I admit, it's not for everyone. In past episodes of the Resourceful Designer podcast, I've shared numerous excellent reasons for working from home. Still, I always cautioned you to examine your lifestyle before taking the entrepreneurial plunge, to make sure this life is for you. If you are an introvert or someone who likes to do things at your own pace, then the idea of working alone, without anyone looking over your shoulder sounds terrific. Plus, of course, there are all the benefits. No commute time You get to set your hours Tax benefits More freedom and flexibility when choosing design projects. The list goes on and on. That's why, as we start this new decade, more and more people, designers included, are opting to work for themselves by starting a home-based business. But what many of these people fail to realize is, as I stated earlier, working from home is not for everyone, and you may fall into that category. You see, even though working from home has plenty of perks, there's a downside to it as well that I don't touch on very often on this podcast. For one thing, you may be the type of person who will get bored being by yourself all day, every day. There have been entire weeks where I haven't seen another human being other than my family. That may seem fine to you at first, but will you be ok as time goes by and your life becomes more and more monotonous? Work-Life balance goes out the window Anyone who works from home will tell you that inevitably, your work-life balance will be affected. Unless you have strict structures in place, the freedom that working from home gives you could cause you to falter and become lazy. If you don't set guidelines for yourself, you'll start putting things off, and procrastination will become a problem. And before you know it, all your good intentions go out the window, and you become more interested in binging the newest Netflix series than working on that crucial website for your client. Why not? There's nobody there to stop you. Being all alone, without anyone to hold you accountable, can lead to your downfall. When you're alone, it becomes easy to lose track of time, to forget to stop for meals, it can cause you to neglect your health. I know, I've been there myself. There have been days when my wife walks in at the end of the day, asking about supper, and I realize I never even stopped for lunch. I remember seeing the school bus pull up at 3 pm to drop off my kids and sprinting to the bedroom to get dressed because I was still in my bathrobe. And I can't tell you how many times over the years my wife has asked If I was planning on shaving soon because I hadn't bothered for a few days. Why should I? I wasn't leaving the house. When you work from home, things that people with 9-5 jobs would never think of suddenly become the norm for you. To some people, this might sound great. But to others, it's self-neglect, and self-neglect once started, can grow and grow. Coping with isolation When you work in an office environment, you get to interact with your coworkers. You talk about your families, your vacations, the latest sports scores, television shows you've watched and of course office gossip. When you work from home, there's none of that. Talking to your family members is not the same as interacting with others. And even the most introverted individuals need some interaction with others. I did an entire episode on dealing with isolation If you're interested in learning more. Unlike the rest of the world, people who work from home need to schedule social time consciously — time to interact with other human beings. When your family members get home at the end of a long day, they may want nothing more than to curl up on the couch and watch tv. That's great for them, but you've been alone all day, so you don't need to unwind as they do. In fact, contrary to what they desire, you may want to get out of the house. That's one of the reasons I do the groceries for our household. At the end of a busy day, my wife has no desire to go shopping. Me, on the other hand, I want to get out. I love going to the grocery store, even if the only person I talk to is the cashier I'm still out and among people. A study done by the University of Iowa found that the average office worker has face-to-face interactions, a conversation of more than a few words with 20-28 people per day who are not members of their family. For a remote worker, such as a home-based designer, that number drops to 0.8 interactions per day. Translates to 71 days per year that a remote worker doesn't interact with another human being. Depression is a possibility. For some people,

When a value is perceived, presentation trumps price. In February of 2019, I launched a new side business called Podcast Branding. I started this side business because I wanted to put into practice the advice I shared in episode 54and episode 93of the podcast, as well as my interview with Craig Burton in episode 174 on niching down your design services. Before starting Podcast Branding, I had been designing artwork and websites for podcasters for several years. Still, I was but one of the hundreds of general designers who dabbled in the podcast space. At the beginning of 2019, I decided to take that dabbling more seriously and focused my efforts on becoming known as a designer specializing in the podcast space. How did I do it? Did I take specialized courses to become a podcast design specialist? No. Did I undergo podcast design certification? No. Did I hire a podcast branding coach to show me the way? No. All I did was launch a new website and start telling people in the podcast space that I specialize in podcast branding. All of a sudden, people that knew me started passing my name around more and more often, and shortly after that, people who didn't know me but had heard of Podcast Branding started sharing it whenever someone asked about podcast artwork or websites. This proves how valuable niching can be. People are sharing my name not because I'm a designer who can help, but because I'm a designer who specializes in podcasting. Presentation Trumps Price In October of 2019, a very respectable podcast hosting company released a great blog article on how to design stunning podcast cover art. The author knew that not everyone would be comfortable creating their own cover art, so he listed five sources people can use to have podcast artwork designed. Podcast Branding was one of them. The other sources listed were Fiverr, 99designs and three "independent" designers, including Podcast Branding. Side note: This is another benefit of niching. The author included Podcast Branding in his article because I focus on the podcast space. If I had a generic graphic design website, it wouldn't have made the list. Since that article came out, I've seen a spike in cover art orders through my website. The order form on my site asks the question, "How did you hear about Podcast Branding?" and over a dozen people so far have told me it was through that blog article. When the author listed the five design sources, he included the price each source charges for podcast cover art, of which Podcast Branding is the most expensive. But if I'm the most expensive, why have I received over a dozen orders for podcast cover art in the past two months? I asked each new client that exact question. Of the five services listed in the article, why did you chose Podcast Branding? Do you know what they said? Of the five services, my website looked the most professional and gave them the most confidence. Over a dozen people were willing to place an order, knowing I was more expensive than the other four services, solely based on how my website looks. It's my presentation. It's the perceived value they get from ordering through me. The clients told me why. Here are some of the comments I received from these new clients. "I wanted to deal with a professional, and I got that from your website." "I wanted to work with someone who understands the podcast space, and your site clearly indicated that you do." "Your website looked more professional than the others." "I wanted to deal with a real designer, not someone on Fiverr or 99designs and your website impressed me more than the other two designers listed in the article." Even though I'm the most expensive service listed, the perceived value of what I offer was enough for over a dozen people to invest a bit more of their money with me to get their artwork designed right. I have no way of knowing how much new business the other four sources received from the article. Maybe they got more than me. But I don't care about them; I care about me and my business. And I've proven to myself that what I'm doing is working. The point I'm trying to get across here is that even if your prices are higher than others, people are willing to invest in you for the perceived value of what they will get in return. So how are you presenting yourself? Are you making sure you portray your professionalism? Do you instill confidence in your abilities? Take a bit of time and look over your website and marketing material and see if there's anything that can be improved. And while you're at it. Why not raise your design prices. If you present yourself as worth the value, people will be willing to pay your higher rates. Resource of the week Resourceful Designer Community January is the perfect time of year to take charge of your design business future, set goals for yourself, create a visual path to follow, acknowledge your career ambitions and figure out how to reach them. The start of a new year, heck, the beginning of a new d

A look back at 2019 and a look ahead to 2020. Thank you for your continued interest in Resourceful Designer. You have no idea how much I appreciate you. There are so many great resources available for learning and growing as a designer, and I'm humbled that you choose to spend a bit of your valuable time with me. Last week in the Resourceful Designer Community, we held a video chat where we shared our goals for next year. We also listed our goals in the Personal-Growth channel in our Slack group so we could refer back to them as the year progresses. Sharing my goals for 2020 reminded me that at the end of last year, I did a podcast episode titled A Look Back, A Look Ahead, where I talked about what I had accomplished in 2018 and my goals for 2019. I thought it would be fun to turn the idea behind that episode into an annual tradition. So, as my final instalment of 2019, I bring you A Look back, A Look Ahead 2019 Edition. A Look Back at my 2019 goals. At the end of 2018, I set these goals for myself. ACCOMPLISHED: Narrow down my niche: In February of 2019, I launched podcastbranding.co, a new endeavour where I focus on visual identities for podcasters. It's growing strong. FAILED: I wanted to talk at more conferences in 2019, but I ended up not having any speaking engagements at all. ACCOMPLISHED: Grow the Resourceful Designer audience. A change in the way podcast audience size is calculated makes this one hard to measure, but from what I can tell, I do have more podcast listeners now than I did at this time last year. ACCOMPLISHED: Create and grow the Resourceful Designer Community. The Community has quickly become a place where friendships form and help is freely given. It's even more wonderful than I anticipated. Some of my numbers from 2019 Resourceful Designer Released 50 podcast episodes Reached over 430k episode downloads in 2018 Resourceful Designer released on Pandora and Deezer My design business Switched to Plutio, a digital project management system. Worked on design projects for 29 different clients in 2019 Seven of those clients were first-time clients. I sent out 57 invoices resulting in income in the high five figures. Podcast Branding Launched a new website Worked with 18 different clients Mentioned in an article on how to create stunning podcast cover art. A Look Ahead at my 2020 goals. My 2019 goals carry forward. I want the listenership of Resourceful Designer to continue growing. I want to speak at conferences (I'm already booked to speak at one in March). I want to build the Resourceful Designer Community. It's such a fantastic place right now, but I know it can be even better. New Goal for 2020. Grow Podcast Branding to become THE place for podcast websites and branding. What about you? Did you accomplish your goals for 2019, and What are your goals for the new year? Are you a student getting ready to graduate? What are your goals once you're done school? Are you still relatively new to the design world? What are your goals to hone your skills? Are you a veteran designer like I am? What are your goals for continued growth? Are you a designer working for someone else? Maybe you enjoy your job; maybe you don't. Either way, what are your future goals? Or perhaps you're already a home-based designer, a freelancer if that's the term you use, what are your goals to grow your business? Wherever you are in the world, whatever your level of skill, whatever your situation is, I want you to take some time to look back at 2019 and think about your accomplishments AND your shortcomings. Did you stop after your accomplishments? Or did you plow right through them happy with yourself but reaching even further? What about your shortcomings? Did they discourage you, or did they create a sense of want even higher than before? Did you reach the goals you set out for yourself and your design business in 2019? If yes, were you happy with the outcome? If no, think about what prevented you from reaching those goals. So long 2019 As 2019 comes to an end. I encourage you to reflect on this past year. Think about everything you've accomplished and those things you fell short on. And come up with a plan to make 2020 your year of success. To help with your planning, perhaps you should listen to episode 55 of the podcast, Setting Goals For Your Design Business. I'll be back in 2020 with lots more advice for starting and growing your design business. I'm Mark Des Cotes wishing you a Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season. And of course, that no matter what goals you set for yourself in the new year, the one thing you have to remember is to Stay Creative. What are your goals for 2020? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode.

Speed up production with these design hacks. [sc name="pod_ad"]If you spend a long time in the design profession, you tend to pick up a few tricks here and there. Methods that help make your job easier. Design hacks to increase productivity. Here are some design hacks I've learnt over the years. Perhaps you can put some of them to use and become a more productive designer. Be sure to listen to the podcast episode where I share stories on how you can put these design hacks to use. Design Hack #1: Get the files you require. Clients are often confused as to what files you require in order to work on their projects. Stop wasting time explaining filetypes and resolutions to them. Instead, contact their head office and ask to speak to the marketing department. Chances are the people there will understand and be able to provide what you need. If your client doesn't have a head office, you can try acquiring the assets you need by extracting them from PDF files the client already has. This is an excellent design hack for finding good quality vector files for logos and graphics. Design Hack #2: Search websites for PDF files. The easiest way of finding PDF files (other than your client supplying them) is to find them on your client's website. To find PDF files (or any file for that matter), you can use this search query. In the Google search bar type: site:nameofsite.com filetype:pdf The search results will only display the PDF files found on the domain you entered. NOTE: You can search for other file types as well, such as jpg, png, doc, etc. Design Hack #3: Remove unwanted formatting from text. Copying text from word processing software such as Microsoft Word for use on websites can sometimes produce unwanted results. The reason being, the formatting the text received in the word processing software can often remain. There are many tools to eliminate unwanted text formatting, but a quick and easy method is to create a new blank email message and convert the message to "Plain Text." Now, all text pasted into that email message will be stripped of all formatting. You can then copy it back again for use on a website. Design Hack #4: Creating autoflow documents for print. Autoflow documents are an easy way to add sequential numbering to tickets or names to certificates. After setting up your master page, all you do is take your list of numbers or names and paste them into the first ticket or certificate. The software will automatically create additional pages until the list runs out. Here's an example of how to do this in InDesign. Design Hack #5: Use Find and Replace to remove poor formatting. If a client ever gives you poorly formatted text for a design job, you can use Find and Replace to remove the poor formatting. Easily remove cases of tab, tab, tab, tab, or worse space, space, space, space, space, by searching for the multiple infringements and replacing them with your desired results. For example: Find all cases of "tab, tab" and replace them with a single tab. Keep running the search until there are no more double tabs. Do the same for double spaces, excessive carriage returns or any other formatting you want to fix. Design Hack #6: Find inspirations from a colour palette. An easy way to find ideas and inspiration for a project is by uploading the project's colour palette to a Google Reverse Image Search. In the search results, click on the "Visually similar images" link and see hundreds of ideas that use the same colour palette you uploaded. Design Hack #7: Find the flaws in your designs. One of the easiest ways to find any flaws in your design is to look at them upsidedown. By changing the perspective, your eye stops focusing on familiar things such as photos and text copy and instead sees the overall design. This allows you to spot inconsistencies or areas of your project that need attention. Looking at large bodies of text upside down can help you spot typography faux-pas such as rivers in the text. What design hacks do you use? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode. Resource of the week Clockify Clockifyis a free tool for creating timesheets and tracking the time you spend on projects and tasks. Clockify allows you to create separate timers for every part of your work. Track your time with a handy timer, log your time in a timesheet, categorize your time by project and mark your time as billable or not. Clockify also allows you to create shareable reports breaking down your time. Clockify works across all devices, both desktop and mobile so you can track your time from anywhere, and it's all synced online. Did I mention that it's FREE? Visit clockify.me to learn more.

These applications are One Trick Ponies. A One Trick Pony is a person or thing with only one unique feature, talent or area of expertise. In the scope of today's episode, a One Trick Pony is an application that only does one thing, but it does that one thing very well. Here are sone One Trick Ponies I regularly use that could help you with your design business. 1) 1Password (Mac + Windows) 1Password is an application for managing passwords on Mac, Windows, IOS and Android. 1Password allows you to store all your strong hard to remember passwords in a secure location. All you have to do is remember one single password and let this password manager do the rest. 2) Squoosh (Web-based) Squoosh.app is a useful website to optimize and shrink the file size of your images without compromising quality. Drag an image onto the browser window, adjust the settings if needed, and download the smaller image file for use. 3) BackBlaze (Mac + Windows) BackBlaze is a set-it-and-forget-it backup solution for your computer. Install it and let it do its job unhindered and rest assured that your computer is continuously backed up. Should you ever need to restore your computer, you can easily do so from the online backup, or order a physical hard drive containing all your data shipped to you. 4) Carbon Copy Cloner (Mac only) Carbon Copy Cloner creates bootable copies of any hard drive. Create manual backups or schedule automated backups of any drive. Smart Updates saves time by only backing up files that have been added or modified since your last backup. Windows users, here are some alternatives to Carbon Copy Cloner. 5) Disk Inventory X - (Mac) Disk Inventory X is a free disk usage utility for Mac. It shows the sizes of files and folders in a unique graphical way. Quickly determine what is using up the most space on your hard drive. Disk Inventory X is based on WinDirStat for Windows. 6) Font Doctor (Mac + Windows) Diagnose and fix common font problems automatically with FontDoctor, FontDoctor locates and eliminates hard-to-find font issues that can cause problems on your computer. 7) Grammarly (Mac + Windows) Compose clear, mistake-free writing that makes the right impression with Grammarly's writing assistant. Grammarly works in all your favourite web browsers and applications. 8) Little Snitch (Mac Only) Little Snitch makes invisible internet connections visible so that you remain in control of who your computer is talking to. Keep track of your computer's network activity and take charge of who it does or doesn't communicate with. Windows users, here are some alternatives to Little Snitch. 9) MAMP (Mac + Windows) MAMP creates a local server environment on your Mac or Windows computer allowing you to run WordPress locally. MAMP is available in a Free and Pro version to match your needs. 10) Paparazzi! (Mac) Paparazzi! is a small Mac utility for taking screenshots of entire webpages, even the portions not visible on the screen. Enter the URL and tell Paparazzi! what format you want your screenshot, PNG, JPG, TIFF or PDF. Google Chrome screenshot feature. On Mac 1.Opt + Command + I 2.Command + Shift + P On Windows/Linux/Chrome OS 1.Ctrl + Shift + I 2.Ctrl + Shift + P These keyboard shortcuts will open Chrome's developer menu. Then Type "screenshot," and you'll see options for capturing portions of or the full webpage. Chrome will automatically save the screenshot to your Downloads folder! 11) PDFKey Pro (Mac + Windows) PDFKey Pro lets you easily unlock password-protected PDF files allowing you to open, edit and print them. 12) TNEF's Enough (Mac) TNEF's Enough allows Mac Users to extract and read Microsoft TNEF stream files, often received as windmail.dat attachments. 13) VLC (Mac + Windows) VLS is a free cross-platform multimedia player that plays most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio Cds and VCDs. What One Trick Pony applications do you use? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode. Resource of the week 4-Week Marketing Boost The Four Week Marketing Boost! is a free guide I created that will help you strengthen your marketing position, boost your brand's awareness & social presence and ultimately ensure you are in tip-top shape to offer a best first impression to potential new clients. This guide is divided into 20 short actions that comfortably fit into your regular day and are designed to take as little time away from your client work as possible. Although you can complete these exercises quickly, it is recommended you tackle only one per day, spending no more than 30 minutes per task. After completing this four-week plan, you will be in a better position to present yourself to, and win over new clients. You can download the Four Week Marketing Boost for free by visiting marketingboost.net. Or, if you are in the U.S.A., you can text the word MARKETINGBOOST to 44222. Improve your business' image and create the best first impression possible to attract more clients.

Your mobile phone is so much more. There are many uses for your mobile phone besides the obvious. Sure, you can text people, take photos and videos, peruse your social media accounts, watch YouTube, listen to music and podcasts, browse the web and even make phone calls. But there are so many other uses for your mobile phone that can help you with your design business. Here are 12 ways to use your phone to support your design business. 1) Two-factor authentication Two-Factor Authentication is an easy way to add extra security to a website. Apps such as Google Authenticatorturn your phone into a security key by generating a constantly changing number that is required to log into a website in addition to a user name and password. 2) What The Font App Quickly identify fonts while you are out and about your day with What The Font App. Launch the app on your mobile phone, point your camera at a line of type, and What The Font will show you the closest matches in its database. 3) Pantone Color Studio Pantone Colour Studio uses your mobile phone's camera to capture and identify colours. Discover the Pantone number for colours in everyday objects and share them with your Creative Cloud account. You can also use the app to generate colour pallets and test colours on 3D-rendered materials and designs. 4) Testing mobile versions of websites Another use for your phone is to check the mobile-friendliness of sites. Many web design platforms and page builders, such as Divi, let you simulate what a website will look like on a mobile device. But it's never the same as actually visiting the site on the phone. Use your phone to spot problems before releasing a website to your client. 5) Time Tracking/Mileage Tracking Stop guessing your time spent, or distance travelled. Your mobile phone is an excellent tool for keeping track of time and mileage associated with a design project. 6) Invoicing/bookkeeping/banking Your mobile phone makes it easy to manage all your finances while on the go. Send and check the status of invoices, verify your accounts and do your banking, all from your phone. 7) Passwords Use a password manager like 1Passwordor LastPass to access all your passwords in one convenient location securely. With the app on your phone, you never have to worry about not being able to access an online portal. 8) Project management/File Management With Project Management software, your mobile phone allows you to keep track of your design projects regardless of where you are. Software like Trello and Plutioare perfect tools to manage your projects. Your files can also be conveniently management through services such as Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive. 9) Make lists Use your mobile phone to create all sorts of lists for your business and everyday life. Apps such as AnyListand Todoistmake it easy to create lists for anything and everything. 10) Set alarms and reminders Never forget an appointment or meeting by setting alarms and reminders on your mobile phone. It takes just seconds with Siri or a similar mobile service. 11) Calendar Keep track of your schedule and appointments by accessing your calendar on your mobile phone. Create different calendars for your business and personal life and always know what you have coming up. 12) Take written or audio notes Jot down important details or record things you don't want to forget so that you can review them later. Use your mobile phone's voice recorder to record meetings to capture everything you discuss with your clients. What else do you do on your mobile phone? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode. Resource of the week Streamline icons Streamline Icons boast over 30,000 icons. That's Over 10,500 in three different weights. Fifty-three categories, 720 subcategories, and over 30,000 something in total. These icons are great for UI designers. They have different pricing categories depending on if you want all three weights or just one of them. They also offer 100 icons in all three weights for free.

Network without a face-to-face meeting. Networking is an essential element to grow your business. In part 1 of this two-part series, I shared advice for getting out and interacting with people face-to-face to promote your design business. But to many people, the thought of networking is intimidating. That's why I suggested you don't think of it as networking, but instead think of it as relationship building. When you adjust your mindset, it alleviates a lot of the burden that comes with trying to grow your business. However, meeting people face to face isn't the only way to network. There are other ways to build those relationships. Here are some less intimidating methods of reaching out to people. Network with Email You may not realize it, but every time you send out an email, you're building relationships. And since relationship building is a crucial element in your business's growth, you should consider upping your email game, especially when you're just starting. The best advice I can give you as a new design business owner is to email everyone you know. Not just family and friends. I'm talking Former co-workers Former bosses Other designers Printers Former classmates Your neighbours Email everyone in your contact list. Let them know you've started your own design business and explain how you're helping people solve their problems through your design services. Then ask if they know anyone who could benefit from working with you. That's a secret trick to networking. Don't ask if they need your services, ask if they know anyone else who does. This way, you're asking for their help, which goes much further towards relationship building than asking them if they need a designer. It's implied that if they need a designer, they can hire you. Email is also an excellent way to grow an established design business. It can never hurt to reach out to people. Just change your message from "I started a design business" to "I'm looking for new clients for my design business." Don't just ask them if they know anyone who could use your services, ask them for that person's contact information so you can reach out to them directly. Most people won't give you that information, but it shows them you're serious, which will make them less likely to delete your message and instead ponder your question and possibly forward it on to someone. Network with Social media Networking is all about building relationships, which is the driving force behind social media. The trick to networking on social media is to interact with people positively. Join groups and communities where the type of people you want to work with hang out and help them. If you work in a niche, then you're all set. Join niche related groups and start engaging. If you don't have a niche, try to figure out the type of client you want to work with and go to where they hang out online. Once you find a group, start interacting. Answer people's questions whenever you can. Leave comments on people's posts. Post useful information and tidbits that will benefit people. Let people know you're there. For example, as a designer working in the podcast niche, I'm part of several podcast-related communities. I scan those communities regularly for people asking questions about podcast artwork, or websites, and I try to answer them in the most helpful way I can. I don't offer my design services unless it's directly related to their question. Instead, I offer advice free of any sales pitch. I'm building relationships. On Instagram, I comment when people post their new podcast artwork. My comment usually goes something like this. "Hi, I just wanted to let you know how much I like your new artwork. I design podcast artwork and websites, but you obviously don't require my services. Good luck with your new podcast." Why do I bother when they already have artwork? Because maybe that person has their cover art done, but they still need a website. Seeing my comment may make them check out my website and hire me. That's what happened with one of my clients. She saw a comment I left about her friend's new podcast artwork and reached out to me for help with the social media branding for her show. The other reason I do this is that from time to time, someone will ask a question on facebook or LinkedIn such as "does anyone know where I can get my podcast cover artwork designed?" Inevitably, someone usually ends up mentioning my name before I get a chance to reply. Why? Because they've gotten to know me through my interactions in the group. And when the person who asked the questions receives a dozen different designer names, I'm hoping they recognize my name from all the times I've helped other people in the group. I'm building relationships. And you can too, all it takes is a tiny bit of time and the willingness to help. Network with a Newsletter Another great way to build and strengthen relationships is with a newsletter. Andrew, a member of the Resourceful Designer Community,has a fabulous n

How do you feel about design business networking? For some people, networking comes naturally. Put them in a crowd and watch them work their magic. But to other people, the thought of walking up to a stranger and starting a conversation fills them with dread. I know, I was that guy. Growing up, I was as introverted as they get. Unless I was with my small group of friends, I preferred to be by myself. I was quiet, shy, and tended to avoid eye contact whenever possible, especially with those of the opposite sex. I was not one of the popular kids at school. Then I got a job working at Sears and met my friend Mike. Mike and I worked together throughout high school and college. We didn't work the same departments, but since we were the same age and had the same breaks and lunchtime, we started hanging out. Mike was the complete opposite of what I was. I was quiet and kept to myself. Mike was loud and outgoing and treated everyone like they were great friends, even if they had just met. From the day we met, Mike set a goal to get me out of my shell. And he eventually did to an extent. I'm by no means a converted extrovert. I still prefer to be by myself than spend time in large crowds. A small dinner gathering with a few friends, I'm in. A large party or gathering with dozens of people, I may take a raincheck on that one. But I am much more outgoing than teenage me was. I have no problem striking up a conversation while in the checkout line at Walmart, or asking a perfect stranger for advice at a store. But stick me in a large gathering of people and tell me to go network, and I still feel that apprehension creep back. Therein lies the problem for many designers, the apprehension towards networking. However, to grow your design business, you need to get out there and talk about your design business. You can't just sit at your desk all day and hope the work comes to you. You can't keep your fingers crossed and hope that your SEO efforts pay off, and clients start arriving in droves. It doesn't work that way. Or at least for most designers, it doesn't. If you want your business to grow, you need to get out there, meet new people and talk about what you do. So how do I get over the apprehension towards networking? I stopped thinking of networking as "networking." Instead, I try to think of it as "relationship building." I don't attend gatherings with the intent of getting new clients or growing my business. Don't get me wrong. That is the desired outcome. Otherwise, why do it at all? But I don't set it as a goal. Instead, I set a goal of starting and building relationships with people. I'm not there to win them over or sell them. I'm there to get to know them. Removing the burden of being a salesperson makes it much easier for me to interact with perfect strangers. I present myself as an interested bystander as I get to know people. You see, Landing a new client is a byproduct of building relationships. Not the other way around. I've talked many times before on the Resourceful Designer podcast about the importance of building relationships with your clients. And yes, you should be trying to build a relationship with every client you have. But relationship building isn't exclusive to existing clients. Relationship building can be a strong precursor for someone to become a client eventually. I do work for a media agency. I got the gig because I had built a relationship with the owner of the agency. Because of that relationship, when it came time for him to find a designer, I was the first person that came to mind. But how does that help you at networking events? It doesn't, but it does show you the power of relationship building. So what if you're an introvert and the thought of networking or relationship building still terrifies you? Here are some tips to help you network. Start with people you know. It's a lot easier to have a conversation with someone when you're familiar with them. Talk with your doctor and dentist, the mechanic who services your car, your landlord, parents of your children's friends. Old schoolmates. Anybody with whom you're already familiar. Have conversations with them and be sure to mention small tidbits about what you do. Find small gatherings. You don't need to attend large conferences to be successful. Start building relationships at a small gathering. If you have kids, try talking with other parents at their school events. Don't have kids? Look in your local area and attend events where you can meet people. Check Facebook for events happening near you, or try meetup.com. Check to see if there's a WordCamp near you. It's a great place to meet people, and you'll probably learn something while you're there. Listen and ask questions. The best part of building relationships as opposed to networking is instead of trying to sell yourself; you're trying to get to know people. Ask them questions about where they work and what they do. Then listen and follow up with more questions depending on how t

No matter how nicely a client asks, don't cut prices. [sc name="pod_ad"]Does this sound familiar? You present a quote for a design project, and the client responds with, "Is there any way you can cut your price?" If you haven't heard that question before, or something similar, it's only a matter of time. It's almost a right of passage for home-based designers. Because you work for yourself, some people think they can haggle with you as if you were selling your services at a yard sale. So what do you do when someone asks you to lower your price? My advice is never lower your price. On Resourceful Designer 113, I talked about offering discounts. In that episode of the podcast, I shared six valid reasons for providing a discount, and three times you shouldn't offer one. Can you guess where "Because the client asked for a discount" falls? If you lower your price, you'll be setting future precedences. Once a client knows they can negotiate with you, they'll never take you, your services, or your prices seriously again. You'll become a discount designer. Even worse, the client may start spreading the word that your prices are negotiable, which is not the kind of reputation you want when trying to grow a business. Hopefully, you're in a good enough financial situation that you're ok with possibly losing clients if you don't cut prices. But what if your financial situation isn't stable? What if times are tough and bills are piling up? Or you just started your business and money hasn't started flowing in yet? Or for whatever reason, you cannot afford to turn down clients. What then? That's a conundrum. Lowering your prices may bring in a bit of money now, but it's bad for future business. Whereas not cutting your prices may drive away clients, which is bad for your present business. So what's the solution? Don't cut prices, lower your offering instead. What does this mean? It means you can appease your clients and meet their lower price expectations, but only if you equally lower the service you're offering. Look at it this way. Imagine a contractor gives you a quote of $9,000 to completely renovate your bathroom. You think that price is a bit high, so you ask if there's any way he can do it for less? The contractor replies he can do the job for $7,000, but only if you choose a laminate countertop instead of granite, and choose a ceramic tile for the flooring instead of marble. He lowered the price by reducing the offering. You can do the same with your design services. Don't cut prices. Instead, offer fewer services for a lower cost. For example, If a client thinks a web design project is too expensive, offer to lower the price in exchange for a three-page website instead of a six-page site. If a client thinks your logo price is too high, offer to lower it by providing only two initial concepts instead of three, and allow only a single round of revisions instead of two or three. Whatever the design project is, lower the price by offering fewer services or features. This way, the client gets a lower price, but you also reduce the amount of work required to complete the project. The client will appreciate you accommodating them, but they won't think they are getting a discount since they're still paying full price for the reduced services you are offering them. And you know what? When you lower your offerings to lower the price, many clients will decide to stick with your original higher price for the extra value. This is a similar concept to Three-Tier Pricing. Implementing a three-tiered pricing strategy is a great way to prevent people from asking you to lower your price because it's built right in. A three-tier pricing strategy works by offering a client three price options, the middle price being the one you hope they choose. The lower price option cuts back on the provided services, and the higher price option adds in extra perks and bonuses that may not be necessary. The reason a three-tier pricing system works so well is that the human brain is wired to compare things to the first item it sees. If you go into a store to buy a new shirt, and the first shirt you pick up has a price tag of $40, then subconsciously, you will compare every other shirt in the store to that first one. A $60 shirt will seem expensive by comparison, and a $30 shirt will look of lesser quality compared to the $40 shirt. This is why you see three-tiered pricing so often used for online purchases. In most cases, the middle price is labelled as "Best Value" or "Most Popular." It's a way to subconsciously embed that middle price as the focus element in the viewer's mind. When they see it, their brain automatically registers it as the base price. The higher price on the right may seem too expensive, and the lower price on the left won't feel like a good deal compared to the middle one. The other benefit of three-tiered pricing is that instead of the purchaser wondering what other options are available elsewhere, they often use the three pri

These four questions will change your design business. [sc name="pod_ad"]Your job as a designer is to solve problems, not to create pretty designs. When you embrace the notion that your job is to provide a solution to whatever dilemma your client is facing, a few things will happen. You'll start to understand your client's needs better. Your clients will show more respect for what you do. You'll be able to charge more money for your services. After all, a solution to a problem is much more valuable than a pretty picture, no matter how well designed that picture is. Before you can find the perfect solution, you need to figure out precisely what the problem is your client is facing. The only way to do that is to ask questions, lots of questions. In episode 15 of the Resourceful Designer podcast, I shared 50 questions you can ask before every design project. Those questions cover a wide variety of topics, including: Questions about the company hiring you. Questions about their target market. Questions about their current brand. Questions about their design preferences. Questions about a project's scale, timeframe and budget. What I didn't get into on that episode are the four most valuable questions you can ask your design clients. Questions that will get to the root of the problem for which they need your services. Questions that can either change or narrow down the focus of a project. Questions that may allow you to charge higher rates because as I said earlier, solutions to problems are much more valuable than pretty designs. Here are the four most valuable questions you can ask your design clients. Question #1 - Why do you need this? The power in asking, "Why do you need this?" is that the question is unexpected. When was the last time you tried to buy something, and the salesperson asked you why you wanted to buy it? I can't remember either. That's why this question is so powerful. It gets the client thinking, and it gets them to open up. It doesn't matter if a client is coming to you for a logo, a website, a poster or a trade show display. And it doesn't matter if you think the reason is apparent, ask your client why they need this? And then listen carefully to what they say for some real gems. The deep insights that could completely change your way of thinking about the project or help you narrow down your focus to one small area. Question #2 - What results do you expect from this project? The results a client is expecting can often change the direction of a project. As a designer, you may see better options to reach those results than what the client is expecting. For example, your client may be asking you to design a poster for an upcoming event. However, you can explain to them, based on their expectations, that a postcard may produce better results. Listen to the podcast episode to hear my story of how this question helped me deliver a better solution for one of my clients. Question #3 - How will you judge the success of this project? This is another great question that can change the direction of a project. If you're building a website for a client, you may make different design choices depending on how a client will judge the site successful. If the client is looking for increased website traffic, you may design it one way. If sales measure success, then you may create it differently. And if it's to elevate their brand image, then you may design it a third way. How a client judges a design project successful can have a significant influence on how you tackle the project. For example, You're hired to produce a poster for a local school's drama club. Will success be measured by ticket sales, or by the awareness the production brings to the school's drama program? In one case, you will design a poster with emphasis on how and where to purchase tickets, with only a little focus on the school itself. In the other case, you will design a poster with more emphasis on the school and keep only a small portion of the poster for ticket information. That's why asking, "How will you judge the success of this project?" is so important. The most important question of all. Question #4 - And What else? "And what else?" The power of this simple question is endless. Why do you need this? Ok, great, ok... And what else? What results do you expect from this? Mmm, mmhmm. And what else? How will you judge the success of this project? Perfect, that's great, I understand. And what else? Use this short and yet amazing question during any conversation you have with your client. Tell me about your target market. And what else? What marketing approach have you tried in the past? And what else? Do you see the power of this question? By asking "and what else?" you are; Showing your interest to your client, which helps build your relationship. Getting them to open up to you, making them feel more comfortable talking to you. Getting additional information your client wouldn't have offered freely. Asking, "And what else?" will giv

Less about you and more about your clients. Graphic and web designers tend to have visually striking websites. However, where they excel in visuals and usability, they often lack in their marketing message. A lot of designers don't know how to market themselves properly. Have you ever heard the statement, "The best marketing in the world can't help a bad product?" The same is true of the opposite. Bad marketing can harm a great product or service. That's what many designers are doing to themselves — bad marketing. Flip your marketing message. Want to know a secret? Clients don't care about you; they don't care where you got your education; they don't care what awards you've won; they don't care what big-name clients you've worked with before; they don't care about your processes and procedures. What the client cares about is whether or not you can help them with their problem. As a designer, you're a problem solver, and that's all the client cares about, whether or not you can come up with a solution to whatever problem they are currently facing. No business person wakes up in the morning, thinking, "I want to hire a designer today." What they actually think is, "I need a logo, or website, or marketing material, etc. for my new business, and to get that, I'll have to hire a designer today." It's the end product that will help their business that's important to them, not the designer. They don't care about you. They care about whether or not you can provide what they need. When it comes to their marketing message, a lot of designers are not putting the client's needs first and foremost in their marketing. So what's the trick? Stop talking about yourself and start talking about the client when promoting your services. Put your clients' needs first. It all comes down to your wording. Let me give you two hypothetical examples. Designer #1has this statement on their home page. "Need a designer? I'm an award-winning designer with over 15 years experience and I would love to work with you. If you would like to diacuss your project, please schedule a time via my contact form." Designer #1's statement is all about themself. There's no incentive for the client to hire them. The client may be impressed by the credentials. But there's nothing in the statement telling the client what's in it for them. Designer #1 delivered a very brief resume for the client to contemplate. Almost as if they were applying for a job position instead of being a professional business for hire. But if we reworded the same message? Designer #2 "Do you have an idea that requires a designer? You've come to the right place. For over 15 years I've been helping people just like you with their creative needs. I look forward to working with you on your design project. Please let me know the best time for us to discuss your project via my contact form." Do you see the difference? Let's dissect both statements from a client's point of view. Opening statement: Designer #1"Need a designer?" Designer #2"Do you have an idea that requires a designer?" Remember, a client never needs a designer, what they need is something designed, and someone to do it for them. The design itself is more important to the client than the designer. So Designer #2 wins the opening statement because they appeal to the actual needs of the client. They talk about the problem. The body: Designer #1"I'm an award-winning designer with over 15 years experience, and I would love to work with you." Designer #2"You've come to the right place. For over 15 years, I've been helping people just like you with their creative needs. And I look forward to working with you on your design project." Once again, Designer #1 is talking about themself, whereas Designer #2 is saying the same thing but from the point of view that takes the client's needs into account. Closing statement: Designer #1"If you would like to discuss your project, please schedule a time via my contact form." Designer #2"Please let me know the best time for us to discuss your project via my contact form." These two statements are almost identical, yet Designer #1 still manages to make it about them by telling the client, "here's when I'm available, pick a time." Designer #2, on the other hand, is asking the client to pick a time that is most convenient for them, making the client feel in charge. Both designers may have the same time slots available on their calendars. But the difference in wording changes the emphasis from the designer to the client, creating a subtle difference that could persuade a client to choose Designer #2 over Designer #1. The power of putting your client first. These examples use one small paragraph. Imagine if you used this same marketing message strategy across an entire website. A client visiting a site with a marketing message talking about them and their problems would quickly start to feel like the designer behind that site gets them, understands their challenges and their needs. When that happen

Are you having trouble choosing a name for your design business? [sc name="pod_ad"]How much trouble are you having choosing a name for your design business? Do you already have a name picked out or are you wracking your brain thinking up and then discarding dozens of names hoping to find one that suits you? One of the hardest decisions entrepreneurs face is choosing a name for their business. In a previous episode of Resourceful Designer, I talked about the pros and cons of using your name as your business name compared to using a unique made-up name. Consider this episode a sequel to that one. Why choosing the right business name is important. Why is the name you choose for your design business so important? It's important because word of mouth is and always will be a design company's most lucrative avenue for acquiring new clients. Ask any home-based or freelance designer, and they'll tell you that the bulk of their work comes from word of mouth referrals. Therefore, choosing a good, memorable name could help propel your company by making it easier for clients to spread the word about your services. Whereas, if you choose a poor, hard to remember name, you could impede your company's growth. Imagine someone asking a friend about web design. – "Do you know where I can get a website made?" – "Yes, I heard of this place called 'The Web Design Studio,' you could try there." OR – "Do you know where I can get a website made?" – "Yes, I heard of this place called... 'Stellarific Web Design'? or maybe it was 'Synergific Web Design'? 'Stunningific'... I don't know, it started with an S and had 'ific' at the end of the name. Sorry I can't be more helpful." Yes, your business name matters. A process for choosing a name for your design business Make the process of choosing a name for your design business easy on you by starting with a procedure you should be familiar with. Chances are every design project you start begins with a design brief. It might be a multi-page document with a detailed analysis of what the design project needs to accomplish. Or it might be a 5-minute conversation where a client briefly explains what they are looking for. Either way, you have a brief to work from to create your designs. Use the same method for choosing your business name. Create a naming brief. Ask yourself some standard brief questions to help guide you in choosing a name. 1) Who is your target audience? If you are targeting a niche, it might make sense to choose a name for your business that fits in well with that niche. If you are targetting small to medium size law offices, then a name such as Rock On Designs may not be suitable. However, if your target market is people in the music industry, then Rock On Designs may be a perfect fit. If you plan on targetting a niche, you may want to consider a name that suits that niche. For example, Craig Burton's design company is called School Branding Matters. Can you guess who his target market is? 2) Descriptive or Abstract? Do you want a descriptive name, something with meaning like Reliable Design Services? Or do you want something more abstract like Peacock Creative Agency? 3) Real or Made Up Words? Do you want a business name that uses real words like Solid Core Creative? Or do you want to create a new word like Ryjo Design Services? Rember that word of mouth is a key source of new design clients. If you create new words, make sure they're short, easy to remember and easy to pronounce. Be careful with the fad of dropping vowels from words. It may be cute and the "In thing," but it could also confuse your target market. How many times do you think Chris Do has to say, "That's 'The Futur' without an "e" at the end." I'm sure that can become tedious very fast. There are no right or wrong names for your business. Names are subjective, just like designs are. What one person likes another won't. Make sure you choose a name that feels right for you and the design market you are targetting. Criteria for choosing a name. Here are some criteria you can use to determine a name's effectiveness. Create a grid with potential names listed on the left and these criteria listed along the top. Then assign a score of 1 to 5 under each criteria for each of the names. Once done, add up the scores for each name, and the one with the highest score is probably the best choice for your design business. Assign a score from 1 to 5 for each of the following criteria. Distinctiveness (How distinct is the name? Ex. Joe's Design Studio probably ranks a 1 or 2, whereas Joe's Emporium of Creativity ranks a 4 or 5) Emotional Impact (What emotional impression does it give clients? Joe's Design Studio doesn't enlist much of an emotional response, but Amazing Creations Design Studio does.) Clarity (Do people know what the business does just by hearing the name?) Pronounceable (Is the name hard for people to say?) Memorable (Is the name easy to remember?) Trademarkable (Can the name be trademarked?) Do Your Research

How do you answer the question, "What do you do for a living?" Does this sound familiar? You meet someone for the first time, and they ask, "What do you do for a living?" and you reply that you're a graphic designer or a web designer or a UX Designer or whatever form of designer you identify as. Then one of two things happen. The person you're talking to replies with "that's great" and then immediately changes the subject. Or, they show a mild interest and ask you to explain more. Perked up by the inquiry, you stumble through your repertoire that you design logos and websites and posters and brochures and t-shirts and tradeshow booths, etc. etc. etc. Pretty soon, the person you're conversing with is smiling and nodding with a glassy-eyed expression that indicates they regret asking you for more details. That's the problem with our industry. Most people have heard of designers, but unless they've dealt with one of us before, they have no idea what it is we do. And when they do find out, they quickly realize they don't care. Saying you're a graphic designer is not the same as saying you're a firefighter, or an electrician, or a dentist, or an accountant. All these professions have a distinct image in people's minds. Sure, there are many different types of accountants, but regardless of what branch of accounting someone works in, most people understand that an accountant spends their day working with numbers. That's the acknowledged impression of who an accountant is. But when it comes to designers. Most people don't know what you do on a day to day basis, nor do they care. And the reason most people don't care is that most designers are not clarifying their brand message when it comes to presenting themselves. The proper way to respond when someone asks you, "What do you do for a living?" is not to talk about yourself; instead, you should be talking about your ideal client and how you solve problems for them. The idea for this topic came to me after reading an article on Medium titled Stop Calling Yourself A Freelancer, written by Andrew Holliday of Special Sauce Branding. If you've been following Resourceful Designer for a while, you'll know that I don't like the term freelancer, I find it demeans what we do as designers. The connotation behind the term freelancer is someone who is flighty and doesn't take what they do seriously. I've never called myself a freelancer. I'm an entrepreneur, a business owner. And the business I chose is design. While reading Andrew's article, I found myself agreeing with his statements, especially on how people perceive freelancers as interchangeable commodities. Then one part of his article jumped out at me. A section titled "Clarify Your Message." In his article, Andrew states that the easiest way to clarify your brand message, one that connects with your ideal client and doesn't just sound like spewed blabber about yourself, is to write a brand script and memorize it. And it's so easy to write a branding script. All you have to do is complete these four sentences. My client is... They struggle with... I help them by... The one thing that makes me different is... That's all there is to it. By completing these four simple sentences, you'll have a script that provides structure for your business, your brand, AND all your marketing for your design business. It identifies your ideal client, it defines their problem, it solidifies your solution, and it states why you are the perfect design partner for them. Now, maybe you're thinking, "I'm not going to say all of that when someone asks me, "What do you do for a living?" and you'd be right not to. It's overkill. This script is meant to clarify your brand message for YOU. When it comes to the "What do you do for a living?" question, you need to simplify your script to a single sentence. As Andrew put it, it's your brand one-liner. Your brand one-liner is something you'll be able to use on your website, your social media accounts, your marketing material, AND in every conversation you have where you talk about what you do. Especially when asked, "What do you do for a living?" Here's how you shorten your script down to a single one-line sentence. You take what you composed for your four-line script and break it down to this. I help _______________ to _______________. For example, I help small businesses to grow their customer base with a strong brand image. Or, if you want to be a bit more creative, I help small businesses to clobber their competition with comprehensive sales funnels that drive sales through the roof. Now those are conversation starters that are sure to peak interest, especially if the person you're talking to is a small business owner. Once you have your brand one-liner figured out and memorized, you won't be stumbling over an answer the next time someone asks you, "What do you do for a living?" If you are interested, Andrew, who wrote the Medium article inspiring today's topic, has a worksheet to help you craft your

When pitching, do you position yourself as an Investment or an Expense? I've covered a similar topic to this in a past episode of the podcast. This time around, I don't want you to think like a designer. Instead, I want you to put on your entrepreneurial hat, and think like a business owner. As a business owner, what is your number one goal? If you answered anything other than growing your business, you need to rethink your priorities. Any business owner who's first goal isn't to grow their business, might as well throw in the towel and find a job working for someone else. Don't get me wrong; according to Entrepreneur.com, there are plenty of reasons to start a business. To provide a needed service To help people The Freedom it gives you The pride of ownership Allows you to follow your passion Gives you more flexibility Lower taxes However, regardless of why someone starts a business, if their priority, once the business is running, isn't growth, then failure is almost a sure thing. Because in the business world, standing still is the same as going backward. With that in mind, what is one fundamental way to grow any business? Let me give you a hint. To make money, you need to... SPEND MONEY. For any business to succeed, the owner has to spend money on the company's behalf. And there are only two types of spending when it comes to business — spending as an investment or an expense. What's the difference between spending as an investment or an expense? The difference is ROI, Return on Investment. When spending money on a business the owner needs to determine whether or not there is an expectation of return from that spending. With an investment there is. The same cannot be said of an expense. Have you ever heard the term ROE - return on expense? I haven't. An article on the website Ratchet and Wrench states "you can recover an expense, but only by identifying it and reframing it as an investment" So with an expense, a return is not expected. However, there is a return expected with an investment. The very definition of an investment is "to allocate money in the expectation of some benefit in the future." So once again, thinking like a business owner, what do you think will help you grow your business faster? Spending money on an expense or spending money on an investment? The obvious answer is as an investment. The tricky part is knowing how to identify which is which. Investment vs. Expense. How do you know when an expenditure is an investment or an expense? Is a building an expense or an investment? What about a vehicle? Office furniture? Decore? Association or Memberships fees? Training? It can sometimes be challenging to identify because many spendings could fall into either category. A business owner needs to be able to identify, which is which and try to minimize expenses while spending on investments to grow their business. Ok, you can take off that entrepreneurial hat and start thinking like a designer again. As a designer, whenever you pitch an idea to a client, be it a logo design, a new website, a car wrap, or a trade show booth. Are you consciously positioning yourself as a business expense or as a business investment? Are your clients wondering how much your services will cost them, or do they imagine how much your services will earn them? Do you see the importance of that distinction? As soon as you flip that switch, and get clients thinking about the ROI, the return on their investment with you, then the price you charge isn't an issue anymore. When done right, the client will think you are not charging nearly enough and sign your contract before you come to your senses. How to position yourself as an investment. The way to position yourself as an investment is by showing your client the value you bring them. For a logo design project, you want to explain how the new logo will be memorable, increase client retention and familiarity with the brand and grow the customer base. More customers sound good to any business owner. Plus, a new logo can rank at the top of the market and possibly even surpass the competition's brand imagery. How much is it worth to a business to be seen in higher standards than their competition? $1,000? $5,000, $10,000? There's much more to successfully pitching a branding project, but you get the idea. Your part of the selling process is much easier when the client sees you as an investment. For a web design project, never agree to a web project simply because "the client needs a website." It's a given that every business needs a website, but there's much more to it. Why do they need a website? If a client's only reason for a new site is because everyone else has one, then what you are offering is an expense for the client. However, by positioning the website as a client acquisition tool that, once again grows its customer base, increases their sales rates, brings more awareness to their brand, etc., etc. Suddenly the cost of the website changes from an expense to an inv

Do you claim all the business expenses you're entitled? [sc name="pod_ad"]Are you aware of all the things you can claim as business expenses when running a home-based design business? You've heard the saying, "You need to spend money to make money"? People quoting that often neglect to inform you that some of the money you spend running your design business, can be recuperated as business expenses. If you are running your own design business, you really should enlist the help of a professional when it comes to filing your taxes. If not, you could be losing out on entitled money. The cost of hiring an accountant or bookkeeper is a wise investment when it comes to doing business. With that said, I am not an accountant or bookkeeper. I'm going to share some often overlooked expenditures that may qualify as business expenses for you. Please verify with whoever prepares your business taxes if you are allowed to claim any of the following. People In the course of running your design business, you may need to hire external help. The money you pay these people may qualify as business expenses. Virtual Assistants Business Coaches Contractors (illustrators, programmers, developers, designers, etc.) Massage Therapists / Physio Therapists (after those long days sitting in your chair) Counseling Accountant / Bookkeeper Subscriptions As a designer, there are plenty of reoccurring expenses when it comes to your design business. You can claim many of them on your taxes. Design Software Wordpress Plugins Software Addons Membership / Club fees Magazine subscriptions Business Expenses You can claim the costs involved with running and promoting your design business as business expenses. Advertising fees Delivery and Shipping Costs Legal, accounting and professional fees Tax prep Bank fees Processing fees Travel Expenses You can claim business-related travel expenses, whether it's to a conference or to see a client, on your taxes as business expenses Conferences costs (travel, hotel, ticket fees, meals) Networking event fees Travel Expenses (fuel, parking, rental, car wash, maintenance) Vehicle expenses, including interest on loan or lease payments. Home Office Expenses Office Decorations Work Clothes (must be branded to your business) Cleaning (house, yard) Office Supplies Personal Expenses Computer Glasses Cellular phone Computer Tablet Smart Watch Training / Courses Child Care These are only a few of the hundreds of things that may qualify as business expenses. In some cases, you won't be able to claim some of these items. It all depends on your situation, your business, and where you live. Check with your accountant. They'll know what you can and cannot claim. I go into more detail on each item on the podcast. Be sure to listen to the episode for the full story. What unusual item have you claimed as a business expense? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode. Tip of the week Entrepreneur Mindset I heard someone quote Tony Robbins on a podcast recently. To paraphrase the quote, "Being an entrepreneur is 80% mindset and 20% mechanics." I couldn't agree more. Without the confidence and proper mindset, you will not succeed. And when you do have the appropriate confidence and mindset, the actual running part of your business should come easily. As Henry Ford put it, "If you think you can, or you think you can't, you are right." So when it comes to running your design business, make sure you have a "CAN" attitude. It will make things so much easier. Listen to the podcast on the go. Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen on Android Listen on Stitcher Listen on iHeartRadio Contact me I would love to hear from you. You can send me questions and feedback using my feedback form. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram I want to help you. Running a graphic design or web design business all by yourself isn't easy. If there are any struggles you face running your design business, please reach out to me. I'll do my best to help you by addressing your issues in a future blog post or podcast episode here at Resourceful Designer. You can reach me at [email protected]

There's wisdom in all of us. I chose the title "With Age, Comes Wisdom" for this episode not because I believe I'm very wise, but because it's inevitable that as time passes, all the ups and downs, the successes and failures, the roadblocks and overcome hurdles all add up. And whether you realize it or not, each one of them helps in its own way to shape you into the wise person you are now. As I approach my 50th birthday, I can't help but reminisce and ponder the choices I've made in my life, the paths I've followed, and of course the journey that's still ahead of me. And I've come to appreciate better something I'm sure you've known for a long time. And that is, that with age comes wisdom. And what use is wisdom if you can't share it with people? I'm not talking about being a know it all. Please, don't be a know-it-all. I'm talking about using the knowledge you've gained over time, whether you're 20, 50 or 80, to help the people you serve. Including your family, your friends, people in communities you frequent, and yes, your design clients as well. I've said it before on the podcast but let me repeat it. No matter what stage you're at in your design career, to everyone out there who knows less than you, you're a professional. Even if you're fresh out of school and have never worked on a real client project, when it comes to designing, you are a professional compared to the majority of people out there. Hold on to that thought every time someone questions your prices or tries to negotiate a "special deal for exposure" with you. You are wiser than that, because of the time you've put in to get to where you are. Nobody can take that away from you, and nobody has the right to devalue what you've learned during that time. Have I ever told you that Resourceful Designer is the third name I chose for this podcast? I first came up with the idea of doing a graphic design podcast in 2014, shortly after I turned 45. I had just passed the threshold of the early 40s to late 40s. I know there's the whole mid 40s thing but face it, once you hit the five mark, you're on the downward side of that hill. As I realized I was in the latter part of my 40s, I started looking at my future. I began having thoughts in my head saying, "who's going to want to hire a 45-year-old designer, let alone a 50, 55 or 60-year-old designer?" Especially with all the tremendous young design talent that is emerging these days. Not to mention the up and coming generation that's seeing business owners, managers, CEOs in their early 30s if not their 20s. Wouldn't they want to partner with someone closer to their own age? Luckily I didn't stay in that funk for too long. sIn fact, it didn't take me that long to appreciate that at 45, I had accumulated a lot of useful knowledge and skills. Wisdom if you will, that could be very useful to that same younger generation of businesspeople. I had 15 years of experience working at a print shop, plus another nine years running a successful design business. At that time, I had already been podcasting about TV shows, so I knew what I was doing, so I decided to start a design-related podcast. I was going to call it The Aging Designer.I even designed the logo and website. I was going to use the podcast as a platform to talk to 40, 50, 60-year-old designers and remind them that we still have a lot to share with the younger generation. I recorded an introductory episode but never published it. I sat on that podcast idea for quite a few months, not doing anything with it because something didn't feel right about the whole concept. I ended up sharing my frustrations with some trusted podcast friends, and they told me that the knowledge and wisdom I wanted to share, although useful to people my age and older, might better serve a broader audience. That's when I switched gears from how to survive as an ageing designer, to how to grow and thrive as a home-based or freelance designer. So with renewed enthusiasm and a clearer path for the podcast, I renamed the show The Wise Designer (I never designed the logo). However, I soon started thinking that calling the podcast The Wise Designerpeople might think I was pretentious. So after some more contemplation, I settled on Resourceful Designer, and I'm glad I did. The word "resourceful" has helped me stay on track and navigate the direction of the show. The podcast allows me to share my experiences and knowledge, you can call it wisdom if you want, with designers like you. I'm talking to you, designer to designer. I don't know how old you are. I don't know at what stage of your design career you're at or what discipline of design you are pursuing. I don't know where in the world you live, your background, your heritage. None of that matters in the context of Resourceful Designer. What does matter is that you're a designer who cares enough about your current or potential business to listen to my podcast. That's what counts. Since I launched Resourceful Designer, I've probably ga

When was the last time you updated a piece of software? Think about the last time you updated a piece of software. Whether it was an app on your phone, a website plugin or theme or an application on your computer. When you updated it, did you look at why it was being updated by reading the release or change notes? There are three main reasons why a piece of software requires an update. Bug Fixes Security improvements New Features and Functionality Do you know which of these reasons each update you perform is for, and why it was released? We've been taught to update without thinking about the reason. It's become so easy these days to update software. Our phones have a convenient "Update All" button, so we don't have to scroll and update each app individually. There are convenient services that allow you to manage and update multiple WordPress websites from a single dashboard. Even the software on your computer makes it easy. Most of the time, a popup will appear informing you of a new update and asking if you want to update the program right away or do it later. In some cases Later will happen in the background without you needing to be there. What added new features and functionality do those apps, plugins, and software you download offer? By not paying attention to why there's an update to a piece of software, are you being left behind? Are you missing out on functionality that may improve your processes and your abilities as a designer? I remember back in the day when physical floppy disks or CDs were required to update software. In those days, software companies would mail you promotional material showcasing all the great new features they were adding to their program hoping you would purchase it. I also remember reading magazine articles leading up to the new releases describing how each new feature would make my life easier. With today's subscription models, software companies don't need to sell us with the hype of new features, they already have our money. I remember reading about the upcoming version 3 of Adobe Photoshop with the introduction of great new features, including one called Layers. I just had to have it, no matter the cost. By the time I received and installed the latest versions, I knew every new feature available to me and whether or not it was something I would use. Nowadays, there isn't as much fanfare with software releases as there used to be. We've been conditioned to automatically click when we see a little red dot without giving it much thought. Maybe it's just me not being on top of things or following the right blogs or social media accounts, but I don't think I'm the only one in the dark. Are you're like this too? It makes me wonder what other features programs such as Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop have that I don't know about that could benefit me. Adobe regularly releases a major update for all their programs each October. Many Adobe users, myself included have absolutely no idea what new features Photoshop, Illustrator and all the other CC programs will have. There are probably articles highlighting what new features to expect. But unless you search for them, there's a good chance you'll update your software without giving it much thought. What will you be missing out? If you want to improve your productivity, increase your skills, and add to your toolbox, the next time you update an app, plugin, or software, read the changelogs or release notes. Learn why the update was released and what possible new features and functionality they offer. So let me ask you again, when you perform a software update, do know why? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode. Questions of the Week Submit your question to be featured in a future episode of the podcast by visiting the feedback page. This week's question comes from a member of the Resourceful Designer Community I have a website project that has stalled out and has been dormant for several months. My client is unable or unwilling to provide me what I need to complete the site. The copywriter I hired is demanding full payment for her services even though there's still some outstanding copy to be written that's dependent on what the client still needs to provide me. Should I be paying the copywriter her full fee even though not all the agreed upon copy was written? To find out what I told them, you'll have to listen to the podcast. Resource of the week Careful Cents article on Lowering Invoicing Fees Do you use PayPal as part of your invoicing process? Are you aware of the fees you are paying to use the service? Would you like to lower those fees and keep more of your hard-earned money? Decrease PayPal Fees: 5 Ways To Lower Invoicing Feesis an article on Careful Cents that may be able to help you do just that. Sure, transfer and processing fees are the costs of doing business. But lowering those fees by even half a percent could save you thousands of dollars each year and put more money in your pocket. Listen to the podcast

Are you moving the needle and growing your design business? Let me ask you a question. What have you done today, this week, this month that will help propel your design business? How are you moving the needle towards future growth and sustainability? Isn't that a funny saying; "Moving the needle"? It means making a significant difference, having a measurable statistic that will change as a result of an action. So let me ask you again, how are you moving the needle for your graphic or web design business? What actions are you taking that will produce a measurable change in the statistics of your business? Statistics such as: Getting more clients. Increasing your revenue Streamlining your processes. What are you doing to move your business forward? Businesses are like sharks. Just like a shark can't sit still or it will die, for a business to prosper, it needs to make advancements. it needs to look forward towards the future, It needs to evolve. Think of car companies such as Ford or Honda. They don't just develop a new car and let it be. No, every year they make advancements and evolve each one of their models. The 2020 Ford Edge or Honda Civic is better than the 2019 models which were better than the 2018 models. Subway, the biggest restaurant chain in the world, even larger than McDonalds, did not get to where they are by riding the status quo and always offering the same sandwiches. No, all these companies grew, because they evolved with the times, they experimented, they introduced new options and features. These companies are continually moving the needle. Now I don't expect your design business to compare on the same levels as Subway, Ford or Honda. But if you're not consciously trying to improve your business, there's a good chance others who are will surpass you. Even if you are happy with the current state of your business, if you're lucky enough to be making a decent living and you have plenty of clients to keep you busy, that doesn't mean it will always be that way. If it did, your town or city would have a family run general store instead of a Walmart or other big-box chain. No matter how great your design business may be right now, you can never forget that even the best clients can shut down, reduce their design budget or even find another designer. New technologies and software are always emerging, that makes our jobs easier, but they also make it easier for clients to do things on their own, requiring less and less of our services. And as time goes by, you'll need to adjust your income to accommodate your ever-changing lifestyle, not to mention inflation who's steady pace seems to be a sprint. It's great to be happy with the current state of your business, as long as you don't get complacent. Avoid getting into habits and routines that keep you in the status quo. If you do, you'll find that eventually you'll become out of the loop and be outdated. So how do you move the needle? Make sure you stay up to date with technology and trends. Learn a new skill that makes you more valuable to your clients. Find new avenues to promote your business. Become more involved with your existing client's business. Streamline your process and become more efficient. Build a team that can help you evolve and grow. Once again let me ask you. What are you doing to move the needle for your design business? Take one step today that'll help you in the long run. That's what moving the needle is all about. Growing a business is a journey; you need to do it one step at a time. Even a baby step still counts. How do you plan on moving the needle for your design business? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode. Tip of the week Professional Head Shots Clients always prefer dealing with a person over a faceless company. Having your photo visible on your website creates that sense of intimacy clients seek when hiring a designer. Seeing your face gives them comfort that they are dealing with a real person. Since you only get one chance to make a first impression, why not give it the best shot you can by having your photo taken by a professional photographer. Not only will a professional photographer capture the best you, but visitors to your website will see that you take your business seriously enough to invest in professional photos. Listen to the podcast on the go. Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen on Android Listen on Stitcher Listen on iHeartRadio Contact me I would love to hear from you. You can send me questions and feedback using my feedback form. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram I want to help you. Running a graphic design or web design business all by yourself isn't easy. If there are any struggles you face running your design business, please reach out to me. I'll do my best to help you by addressing your issues in a future blog post or podcast episode here at Resourceful Designer. You can reach me at [email protected]

Do you have a YES attitude when it comes to accepting design projects? If you want to grow as a designer, you need to embrace a YES attitude when it comes to dealing with prospective design projects. I'm hearing more and more designers, both graphic and web, who turn down projects because the job doesn't fit their skill set. It frustrates me when I hear this. It frustrates me because I've been there and I've done that. When my design business was still relatively new, I turned down several projects and several clients because I didn't know how to do what they were asking. I turned down a $50K website project because I wasn't comfortable enough with my knowledge of PHP and MySQL. I wasn't sure I was capable of doing the job and was afraid to try. I'm not an illustrator, so when projects requiring illustration came my way, I would turn them down. It frustrates me now knowing how much work I turned away, and how many possible great clients I ended up not working with because I didn't have the skills for the job, so I turned them down. I wish I knew then what I know now. Running a design business as a solopreneur, all by yourself doesn't mean you have to do everything yourself. Yes, you should take every opportunity to learn and expand yourself as a designer, but in some cases, the best option is to team up with someone proficient in the skills you lack. Every independent designer requires a team. In episode 77 of the Resourceful Designer podcast, I talked about how being a self-employed designer requires a team effort, how every independent designer needs to have an arsenal of peers and associates with complimenting skill sets to fill in the gaps that they have. That's where embracing a yes attitude comes in. And it's simple. When a client asks you if you can do something, say yes even if you don't know how to do it. Saying yes to one of these projects can open incredible doors for you. If it's doable, use the project to learn the skill you are lacking and add it to your repertoire. If it's not something you can or want to learn, find someone who can do it for you. When I started embracing a yes attitude, it propelled my design business by leaps and bounds. I embraced a yes attitude and stopped turning down jobs on the pretense that I wasn't sure I could do them. This doesn't mean you should take on every single job presented to you. There are still plenty of valid reasons to turn down design projects. What I'm saying, is to embrace a yes attitude for projects that sound great but that you're not sure how to do. Then figure out how to do them yourself, or figure out who can do them for you. Grow as a designer. Since embracing a yes attitude, I've had a client ask me if I could add their logo to a photo and make it look like a neon sign. I've had a client ask me if I could create a realistic-looking 3D type heading and make it look like it was on fire, with realistic flames. I've had a client ask me to create a title heading for their poster with the words made out of stacked ice cubes. I didn't have the foggiest idea of how to do these things when I took on the jobs. But when they asked me I readily said yes, I could do that. And you know what? I figured out how. You don't need to know how to do something beforehand to get it done. Learn along the way. Grow your design entourage. Since embracing a yes attitude I've had clients ask me for e-commerce websites, I've had clients ask me for illustrations, for video. In each case, I found someone who could do those things for me and delivered the job. Saying yes to a client doesn't mean you have to do it yourself. It just means you can get the job done. Solve the problem. Remember, as a designer; you're a problem solver. It's your job to provide a solution to what your clients want or need. Solution, that's the keyword. A solution indicates that the answer is unknown and you must discover it. This challenge applies to every design project. So the same way the answer is unknown, the skills and knowledge required to complete a project may be unknown at the start as well. Part of finding that solution may be trying to figure out how you're going to get something done that you don't know how to do. Say yes, and then find the solution. When you say yes to one of these design projects, you end up adding to your skill set, your repertoire, possibly to your portfolio, and of course, to your reputation. Clients will appreciate you. I know some designers feel like this is being deceitful to their clients. However, a client doesn't care if it was you or someone you oversaw that completed the work as long as they are happy with the outcome. Think of it this way, whenever someone is having surgery, they want to know who the doctor operating is. But surgeons never operate alone. They have a team assisting them and doing things the doctor can't or shouldn't be doing themselves. The same goes for your design business; you're the "design surgeon"; the client is hiring you. They don'

Finding clients at niche conferences I had planned a different topic for this week, but after attending Podcast Movement last week, I want to share my experiences hoping they can help with your design business. Here's a little background. I've attended five out of the six years Podcast Movement has been around. The first year I couldn't attend, but I did purchase a virtual ticket so technically I've been part of all of them. The first one I went to was in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2015. That was before I launched Resourceful Designer. At that time I was a TV Show Fan podcaster, in fact, I still am. If you're a fan of the science fiction television shows Killjoys or The Expanse you can check out my fan podcasts on my network at Solo Talk Media. In 2016 I attended Podcast Movement as both a TV Show fan podcaster and as host of Resourceful Designer. But my attendee badge still listed me as Mark Des Cotes from Solo Talk Media. I changed that In 2017 and 2018. When I attended those conferences, I made sure Resourceful Designer was front and center since it was my main podcast. Attending the conferences as the host of Resourceful Designer started to get my name out there as a designer. After all, I was doing a podcast related to the design industry, so I must be a designer, right? What started happening was whenever the topic of podcast artwork or websites came up, my name got passed around. It would be in the context of, "you need artwork, or you need a website? Mark is a designers, maybe he could help you." Sure, my name was shared, but so was every other designer out there. A change of strategy. This year I did something different. In February 2019, I launched Podcast Branding; a company focused on providing professional design services to podcasters. I've talked about niches in episodes 54 and episode 93 of the Resourceful Designer podcast. Not to mention my interview with Craig Burton in episode 174 where we talked about his work in the School Branding niche. I decided to take my advice and started a company that focused on the podcast niche. Podcast Branding was born. Attending the conference. At a podcast conference, the icebreaker question whenever you meet someone new is, "do you have a podcast?" After all, the majority of attendees either have a podcast or are thinking of starting one. So at Podcast Movement, when someone asked me, "do you have a podcast?" I answered, "Yes, but I'm here promoting my company Podcast Branding," and the rest of the conversation focused on their branding needs and the services I offer. Before I knew it, my name was being passed around to anyone interested in podcast artwork or websites. People were tapping me on the shoulder, saying, "so-and-so said I should talk to you." In some cases, I didn't even know who the "so-and-so" who referred me was. These conversations usually ended with them asking me for my business card so they could reach out to me after the conference. Throughout the four day conference, I quickly gained recognition, not as Mark, the graphic designer who can possibly help you. But as Mark, the guy who specializes in artwork and websites for podcasters. I was the "podcast designer." It just goes to show you that being available to a niche and actively focusing on a niche are two different things. For years, I was available to podcasters for their design needs. It wasn't until I decided to focus and target podcasters that things took off. And for the record, I landed several new clients at the conference, and even more emails with "Hi Mark, I met you at Podcast Movement." are starting to come in. I put my money where my mouth is and took my advice. I attended a conference where my target market was. I promoted a business that focuses on that target market, and my name is now slowly spreading amongst that market as THE person to talk to when it comes to their branding needs. It could work for you. If you target a particular niche, even as a side gig, the best thing you can do is go where your target market is. After all, what better place to network, than a large gathering of your ideal target market? Find a conference in your niche market and try to attend. Before you know it, your name may become known as THE designer for that niche. Clients know the added value of working with a designer who specializes in their industry and are willing to invest more in hiring them. Have you ever attended a conference to pick up clients? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode. Questions of the Week Submit your question to be featured in a future episode of the podcast by visiting the feedback page. This week's question comes from Juliane I'm curious if you have any resources on how to charge sales tax for prints? To find out what I told Juliane you'll have to listen to the podcast. Tip of the week Dealing with stubborn or difficult clients. Sometimes, it's easier to make a client happy by doing what they ask, even if it goes against your better design judgement. It

Are you promoting your design business through social media? [sc name="pod_ad"]Many designers don't know how to use social media to attract design clients. They post their work hoping to attract business, but all they get is a following of fellow designers. Does this sound familiar? I'm by no means an expert on social media. That's why I invited Andéa Jones of OnlineDrea to join me and help clear the confusion of attracting clients via social media. Andréa is a social media strategist who helps businesses build their online presence through targeted social media and content marketing solutions. Andréa is also the founder of the Savvy Social School, where she shares her proven strategies for succeeding on social media. Savvy Social School helps businesses to stop wasting time on social media and finally get more attention, leads, and sales from their online community. Through the strategies she teaches, you learn to build a following of people who will hire you for your design services. As a Resourceful Designer listener, save $20 off the monthly membership fee. Here are some of the topics you'll hear us discuss in this episode. Building your social media presence. Social media platforms should you use. The Power of LinkedIn. Narrow down or diversify your social media presence. How much time to devote to social media. Attracting and converting followers into clients. Best times to post to social media. What content works best for social media. What language to use in your posts. Using #hashtags. Turning a sigle case study into multiple social media posts. Are paid social media ads worth it. And so much more. Here are the tools Andréa recommends for managing social media. Social Report Later Cyfe Asana Are you successfully using social media to grow your design business? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode. Listen to the podcast on the go. Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen on Android Listen on Stitcher Listen on iHeartRadio Contact me I would love to hear from you. You can send me questions and feedback using my feedback form. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram I want to help you. Running a graphic design or web design business all by yourself isn't easy. If there are any struggles you face running your design business, please reach out to me. I'll do my best to help you by addressing your issues in a future blog post or podcast episode here at Resourceful Designer. You can reach me at [email protected]