Resourceful Designer

Impostor Syndrome is a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist even in the face of information that indicates that the opposite is true. It is experienced internally as chronic self-doubt and feelings of intellectual fraudulence.

Let me ask you. If you are listening to this podcast because of your dream of running your own design business, but you haven’t started one yet, why not? Is it fear? Is it imposter syndrome? What factor is preventing you from moving forward? What's holding you back?

Downtime can be put to good use and become productive time, benefiting your business while still giving your mind a break. The next time you feel that pull from the rabbit hole that is YouTube or Facebook, I want you to think of productive things you could be doing instead. To help you, I’m going to share ten productive things you can do when you’re not busy.

Do you offer fixed prices to your clients or is hourly billing your pricing strategy of choice? I'm not interested in how you come up with your rate or your price. What I’m asking is, do you or don't you know how much a design job will cost before beginning the project?

A Cold email is a very effective way to reach out to potential new clients. So effective in fact that it’s been in use since the first businesses were around. OK, maybe not cold emailing, but cold calling has been. Even before phones were invented business people would knock on strangers doors trying to sell their wares. It was their version of cold calling. It’s a practice that has worked for generations and can work for your design business as well.

Do you worry about your eyesight? As a designer, there’s pretty much no escaping being in front of a screen. If you’re like me, between the computer, phone and TV, you probably spend more time each day with your eyes staring at a screen than you do sleeping. Face it, we’re slaves to our tech displays.

A Goodbye Packet is a document that informs the client of the end of their project. It lets them know that should they require any more work from you they’ll have to pay for it.

Client Offboarding is the final step in building that oh so meaningful client relationship that will keep them coming back to you time and again with more design projects.

The Design Contract is the crucial final part of the Client Onboarding Process. This vital part confirms that a potential client is now a paying client. Without a contract in place, you are opening yourself up to problems in the future.

A design proposal is a document you present to a potential client outlining details pertaining to their particular design project in order to convince them to hire you. The content of the design proposal is generated through the information you acquired during the client meeting.

Think of the client meeting like a job interview, which in a way it is. You are interviewing the client, and the client is interviewing you. This meeting is less about the design project and more about discovering if this client is someone with whom you want to have a working relationship. Both parties need to feel comfortable working with each other before anything else can proceed.

An intro packet is a tool you use to land new clients and facilitate the client onboarding process. It can either be a dedicated page on your website, a PDF or better yet, a well designed and nicely printed piece to hand out to potential clients.

Client onboarding is the process of turning potential clients into paying clients. It’s the process of introducing them to your business, addressing their questions and concerns, and ensuring they understand the services you offer and your processes while providing those services.

Understanding priorities become important once the ball is rolling, money is coming in, and your design business is out of the infancy stage. At some point, you need to take a measure of what it is you are doing with your business, compared to what it is you want to be doing with it and ask yourself, “am I saying yes to stuff I probably shouldn't be saying yes to?”

This week's release falls on April Fools Day. The one day of the year where tomfoolery, shenanigans and levity abound. A day when you put all seriousness aside and let out your inner practical joker. I decided to use this episode to share some of the practical jokes I’ve been part of over the years.