Profitable Graphic Designer: Clients, Business, Money, and Freedom

Have you ever had an amazing client show up in your inbox… and maybe you even had calls with them, or they put down a deposit… then, they disappeared?! In this episode, Kady Sandel talks about what to do when a freelance graphic, brand, or web design client ghosts you. Learn the top reasons why clients ghost designers, how you can prevent this from happening, and how to protect yourself when it do...

In this episode, Kady Sandel shows you what to do during client lulls and dry spells in your freelance graphic design, brand design, or web design business. Freelancers often fear those time periods between clients, but if you’re strategic, they offer the perfect opportunity to improve your design business, fine-tune your messaging, grow your network, and get your next five-figure client! Learn wh...

Have you ever tried so hard to seem “professional” for your freelance clients that you no longer felt like yourself? Is your content feeling stagnant and boring? In today’s episode, brand strategist & guest expert Destiny Washington sits down with Kady for an incredible conversation about how to let your authentic voice & personality shine through in your freelance design business! Learn h...

Want to crack the code of charging more while working less in your design business? This is the episode for you! Kady Sandel shows you how to explain your value to clients (and add the services they really want!) so you can charge more than other freelance graphic, brand, and web designers.  You will hear the story of her first $9,000 month as a freelance graphic designer – and why that month...

If your freelance design clients constantly want tweaks and revisions to your projects… you can learn how to limit revisions effectively & spend less time on them in this episode! Kady Sandel shares honest business advice around how you can massively reduce revision requests in your graphic, brand, or web design business. Learn how to set up your contracts, create boundaries with your clients,...

In this episode, guest expert Dot Lung joins Kady Sandel to share how freelance brand, web, and graphic designers can leverage social media to attract high-paying clients. Tired of getting a smattering of likes on your posts, but no $10k clients in your inbox? Learn the top mistakes designers make on social media, and how you can fix them to make more money in your design business! We also show yo...

We’ve all had them: the design client who wants to pay “in exposure,” who asks their entire family for opinions on your logo, who complains about all their previous designers… In today’s episode, Kady Sandel shows you the freelance client red flags to watch for, with plenty of examples from her own business. Learn how to spot potential headaches before accepting a project, set and hold your bounda...

Looking to grow your freelance design business ASAP? In this episode, Kady Sandel shares her simple 2-step strategy to help you to land freelance graphic, brand, and web design clients in the short term – like tomorrow! Learn how to get clear on who your next client is, contact them with confidence (even if you’re an introvert!), plus the long-term marketing tactics you can start using today. Reso...

There are things you should do to market your graphic, web, or brand design business, and other things you should definitely NOT do! In this episode, Kady Sandel dives deep into the 5 biggest marketing mistakes that cost her time, money, and clients when she was starting out as a freelancer. From awkward networking events to social media blunders to wasted advertising money… hear her personal free...

In today’s episode, we talk numbers: specifically, the math of how you can get to a $10k month as a freelance graphic, brand, or web designer! Kady Sandel breaks down the numbers of how you can hit six figures in your design business in a way that feels manageable, possible, and fun. There are a lot of ways you hit $10k per month, and some strategies require more work than others – let’s dive into...

You already know that branding and design are important… but how important are they to your own freelance design business? In this episode, Kady Sandel shows you the strategy of what your own logo, designs, colors, and fonts need to look like to attract high-paying freelance design clients. Learn what visual designs $12k brand, web, and graphic clients care about the most, where you should put you...

How good of a designer do you need to be before you can sign freelance clients? Will improving your design skills help you grow your business? If you feel like you’re constantly improving your portfolio and doing sketches, but STILL not catching the interest of high-paying clients – this episode is for you! Kady Sandel shows you the right balance between design skills and business skills so you ca...

In this episode, Kady Sandel takes you behind the scenes of her pricing journey as a freelance designer: from doing projects for free, to charging $65 for a logo on Craigslist, to charging $18,000 for a branding package within just a few years! Learn how to upgrade your mindset, raise your rates, sell bigger packages, attract higher-paying clients, and make a living with your design business. Reso...

You have heard the industry advice to niche down in your design business… but you might be afraid you will lose potential clients. Let’s bust that myth and show you the behind-the-scenes of what happens before and after you niche down! In this episode, Kady gives you a full view of her design business before and after she embraced a niche – including her financial numbers. Learn how to choose a de...

Are you constantly sending proposals to potential freelance clients, then never hearing back? Or maybe you’re confused on when to send a proposal at all! In this episode, Kady shows you how to create freelance design proposals that sell. Learn what your proposals need, the exact workflow of when to send one (without wasting your time), plus the biggest proposal mistake that is killing your sales....

There are millions of freelance designers out there… but in the end, none of them are competing with you. What?! In this episode, Kady will explain this concept and show you how to stop comparing yourself so you can make more money in your graphic, brand, or web design business. Learn how to do competitor research without getting jealous or deflated, plus how to stand out from them without even tr...

Have you ever been scared that when you present your designs to the client, they will be unhappy? Well… that happened to Kady! In this episode, she tells you the whole story, what you can learn from it, and most importantly: how to attract better freelance clients (and spot the red flags!) so this won’t happen in your design business. Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design cl...

Are you tired of clients who lowball you, negotiate your rates, or complain that your design services are expensive? In this episode, Kady will show you how to leave them behind and find freelance clients who are happy to pay your rates. Learn how to attract better clients, get them to hire you, set boundaries, and never look back! Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design clien...

Every designer knows your portfolio is important, but how should you format it to attract the attention of paying clients? In this episode, Kady gives you the real-life hacks to create a portfolio that sells projects and stands out from the competition. Plus learn the one change she made to her portfolio that finally got dream clients to reach out to her! Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, br...

How do you know if freelancing is right for you? And how can you structure your design biz to give you even more freedom than you have right now? In this episode, Kady shares the evolution of her branding agency over time – from freelance solopreneur, to hiring a team, to changing the structure of her business when her goals and priorities changed. Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or...

Welcome to The Profitable Graphic Designer podcast! In our very first episode, Kady Sandel breaks down the behind-the-scenes journey of how she started her freelance graphic design business. From posting endlessly on Craigslist at the beginning, to eventually signing $18k clients, you will learn everything from her biggest mistakes to the strategies that got her amazing results. Resources: Want to...