Resourceful Designer: Strategies for running a graphic design business

Contrary to popular belief, print is not dead. There was a time, not long ago, when graphic designers designed almost entirely for print. Sure there were trade show booths and vehicle graphics, but in their way, those are print as well. As the internet became more and more popular, graphic designers started to encroach on a turf that was mostly populated by computer programmers. And before you kne...

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...

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 an...

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 infor...

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...

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 wh...

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. B...

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 n...

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....

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 be...

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...

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...

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 offerin...

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...

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: Pixel Pushers , 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...

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 visi...

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 ra...

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...

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 Heyw...

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...

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 Marketin...

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. W...

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 o...

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, eve...

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 yo...