Get Back To Design: Design Business | Designer | Creative Business

There’s a lot that goes into designing a website, especially if you’re trying to put some real thought and strategy into it. It can be really overwhelming if you find yourself trying to think of everything as a whole. To help with that, today we’ll break down one specific piece and talk about designing aContinue Reading

We recently got a great survey question about how to come up with a good design process and the different steps that one should include. It’s really all about figuring out what works best for you and your clients. Some designers have a lot more steps and some don’t do the popular steps that otherContinue Reading

At some point we all run into the situation where we don’t have the capacity to take on any more work. Sometimes this is temporary and we just happened to get a ton of clients at once, but sometimes it’s not and we’re really booked that far in advance for the long-run. When this happens,Continue Reading

One thing that can really make your design business stand out even more is when a part or all of your process is really unique in comparison to that of other designers out there. Presenting one logo solution to your clients certainly falls into that unique category, and Jamie Starcevich of Spruce Road is theContinue Reading

One thing that causes a lot of frustration with design clients is the lack of boundaries. Either the designer hasn’t set or maintained them or the client just doesn’t respect them. As hard as it is to do, you have to remember that you are the one in charge of setting boundaries and then makingContinue Reading

We’ve chatted a lot about collaborating with a developer and know it’s something that more designers are beginning to explore. But a part of the process a lot of designers are intimidated by is the pricing. Do I just list my design prices on my website and quote separately for development? Do I list theContinue Reading

Regardless of what type of design work you offer and how much experience you have, you’re always subject to getting in sticky situations with clients. Most of the time you’re left feeling uncomfortable or flat out awkward when these happen, but at the end of the day, it’s all about how you handle them. KoryContinue Reading

We’ve chatted quite a bit about designing strategic websites for your clients, but something we haven’t touched on is a piece that’s vital for being able to show off the results you create. Knowing what your client’s situation is like before you work together, which we’ll refer to as the “Before Picture”, gives you somethingContinue Reading

Focusing on parts of your job you’re good at, while giving your clients the best possible experience and results is an important part of standing out in the design field. Sometimes that means going above and beyond in your design work, but sometimes it means teaming up with others to provide services that you can’tContinue Reading

A lot of designers focus heavily on getting new clients when things are getting quiet. The problem with that is that it takes a lot more work to book new clients than it does to generate more work from previous clients. You have to continually be working to build trust with new potential clients asContinue Reading

As our businesses grow, it’s important to focus on tasks we really enjoy doing and less on the tasks that just seem to get in the way. As a designer, working with a developer is a great way to free up a ton of time for design. But getting ready for your first collaboration canContinue Reading

A few weeks ago we talked to Nesha about marketing your design business, and one of the great tips she had for us was about utilizing Facebook groups to get clients. We both loved her ideas because we’ve been really lucky to get a good deal of clients from the groups that we’ve been in. Kory here!Continue Reading

We all want to help our clients get better results and improve their businesses. After all, once we turn our passions into businesses, it can’t be just about us anymore. In reality, happy clients are more fun to work with and have a better chance of leading to more business for you down the roadContinue Reading

When you run your own business, you have to wear a lot of different hats. That means some days you’re doing design work for your clients, some days you’re focused on just managing your clients, and other days you have to market your design business. There’s such a huge market of designers, which means marketingContinue Reading

If you’re a creative and you work directly with people, then you need a contract. Even if you’re just covering yourself and making sure that you get paid for those all of those hours that you put into that project. If you’ve ever had a nightmare client or had to chase down a late payment,Continue Reading