Resourceful Designer: Strategies for running a graphic design business

Learn the power of psychological reactance. Have you ever heard of the term Psychological Reactance? According to Wikipedia, Psychological Reactance is unpleasant motivational arousal (reaction) to offers, persons, rules, or regulations that threaten or eliminate specific behavioural freedoms. Reactance occurs when a person feels that someone is taking away their choices or limiting the range of alternatives. This last part is what comes into play in today's topic. When a person feels that someone is taking away their choices or limiting the range of alternatives, in other words, say they can't have it, and they'll want it even more. Just look throughout history. People are constantly doing things they're told they can't or shouldn't do. Books that are banned by school systems quickly become some of the most sought after books around. When a song is banned from television or the radio, it soon tops the charts. When the USA introduced prohibition in the 1920s banning the production, importation, transportation and sale of alcoholic beverages, what happened? More alcohol was produced and distributed than ever before. When you tell someone they can't have something; they want it even more. That's Psychological Reactance. So how does this apply to running a design business? Simple, tell a client they can't have something or something isn't for them, and they'll want it even more. What do I mean by this? Let's say a client is looking for a logo design, and they only have $500 to spend. Using the three-tier pricing method, a pricing strategy where you offer three different options to a client, each one consisting of a slightly better "package" at a slightly higher price, you may present something like this. Option # 1: Design a logo for $500 Option # 2: Design a complete branding package including a logo, stationery and social media branding for $1000 Option # 3: Same as option #2 plus additional assets and a brand style guide for $1500 This pricing strategy gives the client options to choose from. It reduces the chance of them shopping around for other design prices. And it shows them the value of the different product tiers. This pricing strategy is great for upselling to your clients, but it works even better when combined with psychological reactance. Even though the client told you they have a $500 limit, you present options outside their budget. Show them what's available if only they had more to spend, for example. Here's a proposal I prepared for you showing various options I can provide. Please look at options two and three. I know you can't afford them according to the budget for this project, but at least they'll give you ideas for when you can afford it. When you present your three pricing tiers, you can do so in a way that the client feels their choices are being taken away. By telling a client they can't afford something, you make those options more desirable. They'll feel like their choices are being taken away, and they'll look at those two options even closer. I can't tell you how many times clients told their maximum budget was X only to end up agreeing to one of the more expensive and more valuable options I presented them. Sometimes they chose options that are double or triple their original max budget. Somehow, the money is there. This is not swindling or conning the client. You are simply presenting in a way that makes them feel like their choices are limited, which makes them want it more. People want the freedom to choose for themselves what they can and cannot do or have. A good salesperson knows how to take advantage of that. Putting Psychological Reactance into practice. The way it works is to use phrases such as. "You probably can't afford this..." "You'll probably refuse this idea..." "This may not be for you..." "You probably won't agree to this..." "You may not be the best person for this..." Anything that tells the client they're not a good fit for whatever you are offering. Another great way to present something is to say. "Do you know someone who may be interested in... or, who may be suitable for..." This last example subtly tells the client they are not suitable or not a good fit. You're not actually saying it, but it's implied, and they may look more closely at what you are offering. The best way to get new work from old clients is not to ask them if they have any work for you, but to ask them if they know anyone who may need your services. Dear Jill, I hope you're satisfied with the website I built for you. I know you don't need anything else from me right now, but I would be grateful if you would give them my name and contact information if you know anyone who does. By telling the client they don't need anything from you, you're subconsciously making them feel left out. And since nobody likes to feel left out, they may think of something else you can do for them. This method not only makes clients more receptive to what you are offering, but it actually gives them an out by giving them the freedom to choose for themselves. If they truly cannot afford it or are not a good fit, no harm was done. The client can move along without feeling affronted. However, if that's not the case, if their budget is more flexible than they told you or they are more open than they led to believe, they may decide to hear you out. And in most cases, that seals the deal allowing you to make a bigger sale. Congratulations. Do you use this method in your business? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode. Resource of the week FontOfWeb.com Ever want to know what fonts are being used on a website? Fontofweb.com to the rescue. Just enter the URL of the website in question, and Fonttoweb.com will present you with a nice list of all the web page's fonts and how they are being used. Everything from which ones are bolded or used in spans to what weight, line height and point size each header tag is using.

Are you ready to take your side gig full-time? Many home-based designers started off freelancing as a hobby or as a side gig before ever going full-time. It's the way I did it. I worked at both the print shop and evenings and weekends at home for about a year before I made the leap to solopreneurship. And even though I knew I wanted to do it from the start, I remember the uncertainty of it all was scary. In hindsight, I can tell you it was one of, if not the best business decision I ever made. I only wish I had done it sooner. Ask most full-time home-based designers, and they'll tell you the same thing. But thinking about making the leap and actually doing it are two different things. Maybe you have a cushy design job working for someone else. Or perhaps your full-time job isn't even design related, and designing is something you do in your spare time. How do you know you're ready to do this, on your own, full-time? I'm not going to talk about the physical aspect of it. Whether you have the right environment or the right equipment. Or even if you have the financial means to do so. But I hope I can help you with the mental side by sharing 4 signs that indicate you're ready to take your side gig full-time and embrace the life of a design business owner. 1) Are you willing to be persistent at it? Designing on the side can be fun. And earning a bit of extra spending money is always a good thing. But turning your "hobby" into a full-fledged business is a completely different matter. It requires a daily commitment and a persistent effort to sustain it and work at growing it. As a business owner, you'll be faced with deadlines, acquiring and dealing with clients, working on projects and tasks you may not be that interested in, and just overall dealing with a whole new form of stress you may not be used to. Not to mention it could take a while before you start earning a profit. Success is not guaranteed. Especially instant success. Take a reality check and know before you start whether or not you are willing to stick it out for the long haul as you strive to turn your "hobby" into something successful and profitable. If you're willing to do just that, you've passed indicator number 1. 2) Are people willing to pay for your work? A key indication that you can turn your design skills into an actual business is knowing you can earn a living at it. It's one thing to create an invitation for your grandmas 80th birthday. It's a completely different thing to create an invitation for your city's business awards gala. Are your design skills good enough that people are willing to pay you to do it? A good indication is when people start asking you to design things without you offering first. If people you know are approaching you for design work, there is an excellent chance other people, people you may not know, are willing to pay for your services. If that's the case, it's a clear indication that there's potential to expand beyond your "hobby" into a full-fledged design business, and you've passed indicator number 2. 3) Do you understand what's involved in running a business? Turning your design side gig into a design business doesn't simply mean you're designing all day, every day. If you start a full-time design business, you will be expected to do what it takes to run a business beyond just designing. This includes marketing your business, acquiring clients, answering emails and phone calls from potential clients. You'll be Invoicing clients, chasing payments, keeping your books up to date, filing your taxes. Understanding how to run a business is just as important as your skills as a designer. Most home-based design businesses that fail do so not because they are bad designers but because they're bad business people. Your design talent will only get you so far. If you don't take time to learn the basics of running and scaling your business, you won't succeed. Regardless of how much you think you know about running a business, you'll want to put in some extra time to understand better all it entails—everything from the principles of managing your finances, to time management, to client relationship building. Once you grasp what it takes to start and run a design business, you've passed indicator #3 4) Are you willing to make sacrifices for your business? Starting a home-based design business will often require some sacrifices, especially financially. Until your business is up and running and you have clients bringing you design projects, there will be no money coming in. Are you willing and able to put in the effort every day knowing there's no money coming in yet? It can become very stressful. Starting a home-based business is also a major lifestyle change. Can you cope with the isolation of working all by yourself every day? Do you have the discipline to sit at your workstation and actually work without being distracted by anything? Are you able to separate your work life from your family life when needed? All "hobbies" that are turned into businesses require sacrifices of time, money and work-life balance. Possibly even sleep. You have to be sure that whatever sacrifices you make for your business to succeed won't compromise other essential aspects of your life. Suppose you are someone with a career in a different field and designs on the side. You have to realize that this "fun hobby" you enjoy so much may start to feel less enjoyable and more like work as you spend your time growing your business. If you believe you can proceed without any of these things affecting you, then you've passed indicator #4. Evaluate your opportunities If you can acknowledge and say for certain, you're comfortable with each of the four signs. You are willing to be persistent at it. People are willing to pay for your work. You understand what's involved in running a business. You're willing to make sacrifices for your business. Then you are in the right mindset to turn your "hobby" into a legitimate full-time design business. Take the time to fully evaluate the opportunities presented to you and create a plan for you to follow. You can turn your hobby or side gig into one of the most enjoyable things you will ever do to earn a living. As most of us who previously followed this path to varying degrees of success will tell you. We can't imagine doing anything else. Our only regret is we didn't start sooner. Resource of the week Squoosh.app Squoosh.app is a website that allows you to drag and drop images you want to optimize for web use. The image appears in a full browser window with a slider in the middle. Your uploaded image is on the left, and the optimized image on the right. You drag the slider left and right to compare the two images. Options allow you to resize the image as well as reduce the colour pallet. You can also adjust the type of compression and quality of the image until you are satisfied and are ready to download your newly optimized image. I don't know how they do it, but I've been able to take optimized images out of Photoshop and cut their file size in half without any noticeable degradation of the image. Check it out; I'm sure you'll find the site useful.

Are you a print designer who wishes you knew how to design websites? There are many graphic designers who don't offer web design services. Some have no desire to do so. While others would love to add web design to their list of skills. However, they feel intimidated by the notion of tackling a new medium. What they fail to realize is that although the usage between print design and website design is different, the design principles required to make both look good are the same. At their core, the foundation principles that govern what is good design are the same regardless if you are designing for paper or screen. I got into web design in the mid-90s when having a website was a novelty for most businesses. At that time I was offering something unique. Most websites in the early to mid-90s were built by computer programmers, and at the time, most computer programmers were not very adept at design. My sales pitch was to ask clients if they wanted an ugly website with beautiful code, code that nobody sees. Or if they wanted a great looking website with not so perfect code but still functioned perfectly. Most clients sided with a good looking website. As a web designer, I offered the aesthetics of good design. I took the skills I learned as a print designer and applied those skills to web design. And I do the same today. If you are a print designer who would like to learn web design, the process is not as difficult as you may believe. Because of your design knowledge, you are already halfway there. It's just like learning to drive a second vehicle Think back to when you first learned to drive a car. There was an awful lot of information you needed to learn. The rules of the road Street sign meanings When you're allowed to change or not change lanes. How much distance to keep between you and the vehicle ahead of you. Which vehicle has the right of way when multiple vehicles arrive at a four-way stop simultaneously. These are just a handful of the many, many rules you needed to learn. On top of the rules of the road, you also had to learn how to operate a vehicle. The amount of pressure on the accelerator required to get the car moving. The force required on the brake pedal in order to stop the car where you want it to stop. How much you have to turn the steering wheel in order to direct the car around a curve or corner. When during a turn do you start straightening the wheel in order to proceed in the desired direction. Using your turn signals. Looking in your mirrors. Checking your blind spots. and so on, and so on. When you think of every small aspect of learning to drive, there was an awful lot you needed to know. Now, imagine as an experienced car driver, you want to learn how to drive a motorcycle. You're going to have a much easier time learning to drive a motorcycle than someone who is learning to drive for the very first time on a motorbike. Why is that? It's because of the foundation you already know. The fundamentals, the principles of driving are the same whether you are driving a car or a motorcycle. The street signs are the same. The rules of the road are the same. You're still going to use turn signals. You're still going to check your blind spots. The accelerator and breaks on a motorbike are different than those on a car but your previous knowledge will help you get accustomed to them much faster. If you already know how to drive a car, learning to drive a motorcycle is so much easier than if you didn't know how to drive a car. The same applies to a print designer learning web design. The foundation of good design, the principals you follow on every print piece you create apply just the same on a web page. You want to create a visual hierarchy, You want to create a flow for the eye to follow. You want to pair fonts that work well together. You want to use colours, photos and other design elements that complement each other to create a visually pleasing layout. etc. etc. The principles of design are the same. What's different are the tools you use and the medium you're creating on. Think back to when you first started as a print designer. Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign all seemed very daunting. But slowly, through experimenting and practice, you learned how to use them. It's the same thing with web design only the tools are things like WordPress, Squarespace or Wix. And I'm not talking about coding. There was a time when coding and web design went hand in hand, but that's not the case anymore. There are plenty of web designers, making a good living designing websites for clients, who don't know anything about code. And if for some reason you do end up needing code to accomplish something on a website, Uncle Google is always there to help you. It's not that intimidating. Just like learning to drive a motorcycle is so much easier if you already know how to drive a car because the same driving principles apply to both vehicles. Learning web design is so much easier if you already know the principles behind what makes good design. Start off small, get a Wix or Squarespace account if WordPress intimidates you too much. Then once you get comfortable designing websites, branch out and give WordPress a try. Themes or page builders like Elementor or my preference Divi are very intuitive and easy to learn and allow you to build amazing looking and functional websites without having to code. You know what they say, anything is easy once you know how to do it. Well as far as web design goes, if you're already a print designer, you're more than halfway there. So don't be afraid, give it a try, and before long, you'll be adding web design to your list of design services.

How are you standing out from your competition What do you think of when you hear the word "pencil"? I bet that one of the images that flashed through your head is of a yellow-painted piece of wood with a graphite center. The quintessential yellow pencil found the world over. A Medium article by Melissa Gouty titled "Why Pencils Are Painted Yellow" got me thinking about the parallels between a yellow pencil and your design business. I'm going to paraphrase Melissa's article for the sake of my comparison. The common yellow pencil that we take for granted helped spark the renaissance. Before the invention of the pencil, quill and ink were the only means of writing, and they were reserved for the elite. The invention of the pencil allowed common people to record knowledge and write whenever and wherever they wanted. The discovery of graphite was so valuable that the English government guarded it and controlled its distribution. People took to smuggling graphite around the known world, and innovative individuals devised ways to use it for writing. In 1565, A Swiss man named Conrad Gessner came up with the idea of encasing graphite in wood and the pencil industry was born. This common instrument familiar to every schoolchild, which you probably have strewn around your home, was a valuable commodity back then. To own a pencil made you special. But like most things, time and wider availability diminished the pencil's appeal. Over the next 300 years, the thrill of owning a pencil fizzled out. This marvellous invention was no more than a boring piece of brown wood with graphite in the middle, until 1889, that is. In 1889 the World Fail was held in Paris, France. It attracted more than thirty-two million visitors and showcased exhibitors from around the world. One exhibitor was an Austrian-Hungarian company by the name of Koh-I-Noor Hardtmuth. They had been in business for over 100 years and were knows for producing high-quality art and drafting supplies, including pencils. But really, how is one pencil better than another? Koh-I-Noor came up with an idea. You might even say it was one of the first things to go viral. At that time, the largest diamond known to exist, coincidentally named The Koh-I-Noor Diamond, was about to be inset to the crown of the Queen of England, Elizabeth II. So the drafting supply company did something nobody had ever done before. Since the name Koh-I-Nor was getting so much publicity, they gave their pencil the same name. They called it the Koor-I-Noor Series 1500. But naming their pencil wasn't enough. They had to somehow make their pencil different. That's when they came up with the idea of painting their pencils yellow. They put a lot of thought and energy into selecting the perfect colour. Settling on their particular shade of yellow for three reasons. The best graphite, the same they used in their pencils, came from China, and in China, yellow represents prestige and royalty. The Koh-I-Noor Diamond has yellow flecks in it. The crowns on the Austria-Hungary flag depicted yellow crowns. So at the 1889 World Fair in Paris, France, the Koh-I-Noor Hardtmuth art and drafting supply company introduced their new Luxury pencil, the Koh-I-Noor Series 1500. This "Luxury" version of the common pencil quickly became associated with wealth, power and prestige. Soon, nobody wanted to be seen with a plain brown pencil, and Koh-I-Noor cornered the pencil market, selling a more expensive "Luxury" version of the same product everyone else was offering. Back then, there was nothing stopping others from following their lead, and soon, pencel manufacturers around the world were painting their pencils yellow as well. But for a short time, one company figured a way to corner the pencil market by making their product more desirable than what their completion was offering. The Yellow Pencil and Your Design Business So what does the story of the yellow pencil have to do with running a design business? Think of all the services and products you offer and how similar are they to your competition? You design logos. They design logos You design business cards. They design business cards. You create websites. They create websites. We are all designers, and to an extent, we all pretty much offer the same thing. Take a cue from what one company did 140 years ago, and do something different that makes what you offer unique compared to everyone else. What are you doing to stand out from your competition? How are you offering the same services they do in a manner that will entice clients to chose you over them? I can't give you the solution, but I can encourage you to pursue your own answer. Figure out what may work for you. Become the "luxury" option that clients will covet. How do you stand out from your competition? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode.

Being diligent today will make you more productive tomorrow. Last week I talked about dividing your to-do list into three sections, non-negotiables, procratinatables and optionables, and how doing so will help you organize your day. I also discussed listening to your body's clock to determine the best time of day to tackle certain projects and tasks. Today's post is all about setting up for a more productive tomorrow. And to do that, you need to start today. For as long as I can remember, my nightly routine before bed has included looking and preparing for the next morning. Call it my shutdown ritual if you will. I like to know before my head hits the pillow what's on my schedule for the following day. Getting things ready the night before allows me to hit the ground running and start my next day with a purpose. There's no wasted time in the morning figuring out what projects or tasks I need to do. It eliminates me from looking through emails, creating a to-do list, and getting myself organized because it's already all done for me. When I sit down at my computer at 9 am, I can immediately get to work on whatever task or project takes priority on my to-do list. If you don't have a proper plan of attack, you could find yourself wasting the better part of an hour accomplishing nothing as you try to figure out what you need to do. Do that every morning, and it can add up to several days worth of time by the end of the year. But what's the difference between organizing yourself in the morning, compared to doing it the night before? The difference is, the night before, or at the end of your workday, you're pretty well spent already. The time you take preparing for the following day is time you probably wouldn't have gotten much accomplished in anyways. However, in the morning, you're much more energized. Even if you're still groggy from sleep, you still have more "gung-ho" than you do at the end of a long workday. So why waste that energy on prep work? If you know ahead of time how you're going to spend your day, you'll be much more productive and much more efficient in doing so. I usually do my prep work before going to bed. It's one of the last things I think of at night and allows me to mentally work out my next day's plan of attack as I nod off to sleep. But maybe you don't want to do this right before going to bed. Maybe you fear it will get your mind racing on work-related issues, and you won't be able to fall asleep. If that's you, then I suggest you set aside a few minutes at the end of your workday. 5 to 10 minutes is all you need as you wrap things up to plan for the following workday. 3 steps to a more productive tomorrow. Step 1 If you combine last week's topic with this one, you should be working on your non-negotiable tasks every day. If you have the time, you also tackled some procrastinatables and maybe even some optionable tasks. Take the time at the end of your workday to review and reflect on what you managed to accomplish that day. Take satisfaction in the projects and tasks you completed, no matter how small. They'll help motivate you for the following day. Research has proven that keeping track and acknowledging your progress actually helps boost your working morale and creates a better outlook in your overall life. Step 2 Start a new to-do list. Do not use the same list as the day before. You may think that seeing previously scratched tasks off will motivate you, but they won't. In fact, studies have shown that our brain has a hard time differentiating checked or scratched off items on a list from the unchecked ones. All that registers is a long list of items that could be discouraging. That's why most digital to-do lists automatically hide completed tasks. It's not to subconsciously discourage you. So start with a fresh list. Take note of those projects and tasks you didn't complete that day and add them to your new list for tomorrow. Organize them using last week's method. Remember that what might have been a procrastinatable task today might need to be a non-negotiable task tomorrow. Once you have tomorrow's list, determine the two or three most important tasks and mark them as the top priorities. These will be the ones you'll tackle first thing in the morning. Then look at the other items on the list and mentally rank them in order of importance. Try to imagine how your day will unfold. What will you do first thing? What will you get done before lunch? What will you do after lunch? How do you plan on finishing off your day? Having a good mental picture of what you need to do will go a long way towards allowing you to accomplish it. Step 3 Prep your space. Declutter your workspace and get it ready for the morning. Put away papers and files. Organizing your tools and take out anything you may need for tomorrow's tasks. This also means getting your computer ready for the next morning. Quit any open applications that won't be needed the next day. I like to quit my Mail app and Slack every night, so I'm not tempted to check them as I sit down at my computer. I also close any browser tab with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or any other social media that could be a distraction to me in the morning. There will be plenty of time to check email to see what's happening on social media later in the day once I've accomplished something from my to-do list. The last thing I want is to waste time at the start of my day by sifting through junk mail or scrolling through meaningless social media posts. All of that can wait until later. If there's a real emergency, my clients know my phone number, and they can always call me. That's the 3 step process. That's pretty much my process. It's how I end every day and how I'm ready to hit the ground running every morning. It's also how I can juggle so many things every day. I set priorities, figure out which ones to do, and get to them. It's that simple. If you want to give it a try and see if you can be more productive, why don't you take 5 to 10 minutes at the end of the day today and follow my three steps? Step 1: Reflect and feel satisfied with what you've accomplished today. Step 2: Start a brand new to-do list, including new tasks and projects, as well as anything you didn't finish today. And prioritize them. Step 3: Prepare your working environment, both your physical space and computer, so you're ready to hit the ground running tomorrow. I bet, if you do this, you'll soon discover how much more productive and efficient your time will be. Are you going to give it a try? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode.

The Perfect To-Do List + Time Management = Success. If you search through the Apple or Google app directories, you will find dozens, if not hundreds, of options for creating so-called perfect to-do lists. I like Anylist for grocery lists and shopping lists or keep track of the unending chores and tasks I need to do around the house. For work-related lists, my go-to is Evernote (get a free month with this link). I have Evernote fine-tuned with different notebooks for every part of my work life. But it doesn't matter if you use a digital tool or pencil and paper if you don't understand the fundamentals of the perfect to-do list. For a to-do list to function at its best, you need proper time management along with your to-do list. When the two work hand in hand, your to-do list becomes much more achievable. Writing the perfect to-do list. To write the perfect to-do list, you must determine what to put on it and in what order. You must also decide what not to include on your list. If you put too many things on your to-do list, it becomes unmanageable and discouraging. A good to-do list has three sections. 1) Nonnegotiables Nonnegotiables are things that absolutely have to get done on time. These are priority items such as scheduled appointments or tasks with a fixed deadline. If you don't get them done promptly, it will be too late. 2) Procrastinatables Procrastinatables are things that absolutely need to get done, but are not as time-sensitive as nonnegotiables. It would be nice to get them done soon, but if you don't manage to get to them today, tomorrow or the following day will do fine. Be careful putting them off; procrastinatables will eventually become nonnegotiables if you don't get to them. So try not to ignore them for long. 3) Optionables Optionables are all the projects and tasks that you would like to do, but have no priority as to when, or sometimes if you should do them at all. Optionables are tricky. You need to figure out how each one aligns with your goals. For example, if there's a recording of a webinar you missed, but it's only available for a few days, you need to figure out if watching the recording will help you achieve your goals. If yes, then make the time on your to-do list to watch it. If you determine the webinar doesn't align with your goals, let it go and forget about it. Once you have your list of optionables, rank them in descending order of priority and tackle them in that order. How to tackle your to-do list. Once you have a to-do list with the three sections mentioned above, it's time to get to work. Mark Twain is credited with saying, "if you're tasked with eating two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest frog first." In other words, look at your to-do list and figure out the biggest and possibly the task you're dreading the most and get it done first. Not only will you feel good crossing off the biggest and most dreaded task, but it will also make the rest of the list easier to get through. HINT: Whenever possible, try to complete as many items from your to-do list before checking your email or social media. Email and social media have an uncanny way of disrupting your day and often add to your to-do lists. Avoid to-do list overload by completing a few things before you end up having to add to your list. Listen to your body clock. The perfect to-do list composed of nonnegotiables, procrastinatables and optionables is your guide to get through your day. However, the order your list is written in isn't necessarily the order you need to complete it in. Tackle your list according to your body clock. If there are certain times when you feel the most creative, use that time to work on the creative projects on your to-do list. When you feel less energetic, such as first thing in the morning or late in the day, tackle the to-do list items that don't require much brainpower. To-Do lists and time management To make the most of your perfect to-do list, you should have a rough idea of how long each item on your list will take and plan your routine accordingly. If it takes you an hour or so each morning fully wake up, choose tasks that fit that time. Don't start a mundane task that requires three or four hours if it's going to eat into the more focused time of your day. Try not to block to-do list items into 15 minutes, 30 minutes or 1-hour time blocks as most calendars do. Most tasks are not structured that way. What you think will be a 30-minute phone meeting with a client may only take 8 minutes or could end up being over an hour long. If it finishes early, you have extra time to take on something else from your list. However, if it goes long, you won't feel stressed for the call eating into the time block of the next task. Of course, time management and to-do lists are not as cut and dry as this. Brain fog and high creative periods can't be scheduled, so your days need to be fluid and flexible. Plus, there's always the unexpected you can't plan for. The school calling saying your child is sick. Or a client in a panic because their website suddenly went down. Life can't be perfect. It would be nice if it were, but that's unrealistic. But hopefully, by writing the perfect to-do list and taking control of your nonnegotiables, procrastinatables and optionables, you'll add a bit of peace and order to your daily life. Resource of the week Logo Package Express 2.0 Logo Package Express automatically generates and exports logo packages from Adobe Illustrator with blazing speed. Packaging logos is boring and complex. First, you have to know what formats to provide your clients, then you have to make them. Manually. One at a time. It takes hours and is a real pain. Logo Package Express turns that dreaded task into a breeze by pumping out 200+ logo files in under 5 minutes. It's truly one of the greatest additions to the design market in a while. Save $20 off the purchase of Logo Package Express 2.0 with this link. Already own Logo Package Express version 1? Click this link, log in and purchase the updated version 2.0 for only $20.

Are you producing any of your design projects in-house? I got the idea for this episode of the podcast when a member of the Resourceful Designer Community shared her new toy with us in our Slack group. Laura bought a Roland VersaSTUDIO Desktop Sign Maker BN-20. It's an eco-solvent printer she plans on using to produce stickers, vehicle graphics and apparel graphics, among other things. This new piece of equipment will allow her to produce materials for her clients in-house. She also plans on using it to make pieces to sell through her Etsy shop. This got me thinking about different ways designers can produce things in-house. Now for the record, I don't produce anything in-house myself. I had the opportunity years ago, which I'll share with you a bit later, but I chose to focus my time solely on the design part and not production. But if you're into it, producing in-house can be a very lucrative income stream for your design business. Years ago, a designer I knew lost her job and opened up her own home-based design business. When I later ran into her, she told me getting laid off was one of the best things to happen to her. She had purchased special equipment and was now serving clients she loved and happily producing printed materials for them in-house. Items like posters, business cards, postcards and wedding and party invitations, That was my first exposure to the idea that a home-based graphic designer could also produce material in-house. When I started my home-based design studio, an office supply representative offered me a high-end office copier for zero dollars. All I had to do was agree to purchase copier toner through him and to pay a small fee of $0.12 per sheet printed on the machine. The offer was very tempting. But then I started thinking of the time involved running the copier, cutting, folding, and everything else involved with producing in-house, and I decided it wasn't for me. I prefer to do the design part and let others handle the production part even if it costs me more to farm out these projects. But many designers love producing their materials. And not just sheets of paper. Home-based designers can produce things such as: Stickers/decals Heat transfers for garments and apparel Posters Banners Vehicle graphics Foil stamping Laminating Embroidering Die-cutting using circuit makers Screen printers Block print Letterpress 3D printing There are so many options you can choose from. It might be hard to decide what sort of products you want to produce in-house. What if you can't afford the equipment? What if you can't afford the equipment required for producing in-house? It might be easier than you think to acquire them. New equipment is a tax expense. Keep in mind that any equipment you purchase for your business claimable on your taxes as a business expense. Check with your accountant to find out how to claim the equipment. Purchase second hand or refurbished. Second hand or refurbished equipment can often be just as good as purchasing new, except you pay much less. There's always someone out there selling old equipment. It's just a matter of looking. Purchase floor models or demo units. As new models of equipment are released, stores and distributors must sell their current inventory to make room. These units are often available at great sale prices. But for a more significant discount, ask if they have a floor model or demo unit for sale. These units have minor usage and often come with the original warranty. Look for grants or low-interest loans to fund your purchase. Ask your local economic development group or business centre if they know of any grants or low-interest business loans available for small businesses wanting to expand or purchase equipment. You may be surprised at the amount of money available for anyone who knows where to ask. Grants are great because you don't have to pay them back. But they often require a lot of paperwork and jumping through hoops to get. But free money may be worth the hassle. And some "expansion" loans for small businesses are available at 0 or very low-interest rates, which allows you to purchase equipment and pay it back over time. Open a line of credit. If you qualify, a line of credit is a good option for purchasing new equipment. Lines of credit often have much lower interest than loans or credit cards. Most, however, do require collateral to secure them. They're easier to get if you're a homeowner and not a renter. Incentive from seller Lastly, contact the seller or distributor of the equipment you want and see what sort of deals they can give you. As I said earlier, I could have had a high-end office copier for zero money. All I had to agree to was purchasing the toner through the supplier and a fixed fee per copy. If you can convince a supplier you'll be purchasing enough supplies through them; they may offer you a great deal on the equipment. Producing in-house: Pros and Cons. Pros of producing in-house You can make better profits compared to farming out projects. You can compete better by charging lower prices than your competition. You control the entire process from design to production. You can produce projects much faster than farming them out. Make extra money by producing for other designers. Cons of producing in-house The equipment takes up space in your house. You need room to store supplies. You must make sure you have supplies on hand to produce projects. Equipment can be noisy and interfere with your family's life. You are responsible for repairs should the equipment break down. Producing in-house is time-consuming. Conclusion I made the decision years ago that producing in-house was not something I wanted to do. But I'm not you. Maybe this is just the thing you need to expand your design business and take it to the next level. This might be the niche that will set you apart from your competition. If you think producing in-house is something you would like to do, then look into it.

Do you farm out design projects? Finding yourself overwhelmed with too many design projects is a sure sign that you are not charging enough for your design services. Don't turn clients away. Instead, raise your prices and start farming out design work. The following is a post from the Resourceful Designer Facebook Group. Hi guys So I'm turning away a lot of work at the moment, as I have my day job, and seem to have very little energy in the evenings and weekends to take on many freelance jobs. Seriously, I'm feeling so burned out, have been for a while now. I do the odd freelance jobs here and there for previous clients that I'm friendly with, but I still get a lot of requests, despite not advertising or putting any vibes out there that I'm available. I usually just recommend one or two other designers, and they really appreciate the work coming their way, but I also sometimes wonder if I'm being too kind? Would this be reciprocated? Could I charge a % from the jobs I recommend? Would outsourcing them take too much energy if I still need to be the person in-between the client and the designer? Has anyone else been in a similar situation? I'm sure the original poster is not the only designer facing this problem. At some point in your design career, you will find yourself burdened with more work than you can handle (trust me, it will happen). When faced with this situation, the first thing you should do is review your design rates, because chances are you are not charging enough for your services. The same applies to all service-based industries. Too much work coming in is a sure sign that prices are too low. Raising your rates will reduce the number of inquiries you receive, and those inquiries that come in will come from higher-quality clients. It's a fact experienced by designers the world over. The more you charge, the better calibre of clients you receive. Raising your design rates can be scary. Raising design prices scares many designers. What will your current clients think? Will they leave you for a less expensive designer? Will clients stop referring you if you charge more? Will the influx of new design work dry up? In my experience, and from others I've talked to, nothing drastic will happen when you charge more, other than you making more money. Yes, there is a possibility of losing some clients. But the increased income from remaining clients will make up for the losses. Plus, with fewer clients, you'll have more time to devote to projects, which means you'll probably do a better job, one worthy of the higher prices. Raising rates usually rectifies work overload. However, what if there are still too many projects for you to handle? In the original poster's situation, quitting their day job to run their design business full time is an option. But what if that's not feasible? The solution is farming out design work. Referring clients to other designers doesn't help you. And asking for referral fees or commissions from other designers becomes complicated and seldom works. Instead, you should retain the clients and farm out any design projects you cannot handle. Hire other designers to work for you and earn a percentage of the project cost. Be an "art director" and farm out design projects. When you start farming out design work, you act as an "art director." Your job is to talk to the client, figure out what they need, possibly sketch out some rough design ideas and pass all this information to another designer to complete the work. This lets you satisfy the client without devoting all your time to the project. It's a win-win for everyone. How to farm out design work. To farm out design work, you first need to find capable designers. Inquire within your network of design acquaintances if anyone is available to freelance for you. If you don't know any capable designers, you are sure to find some on platforms such as: upwork.com toptal.com peopleperhour.com freelancer.com workhoppers.com guru.com fiverr.com Once you find a freelance designer, you act as the go-between. You talk to the client, figure out what they need. Maybe come up with some rough ideas and then get these other designers to complete the work for you. In some cases, you may give these designers creative freedom to develop their own ideas based on the information you provide them. In other cases, you may dictate exactly what they should design. It will depend on the project and the capabilities of the designer. Once the freelance designer completes the work, you present it to the client. Saving you time. Farming out design work allows you to take on more projects with minimal time commitment on your part. A 10-hour design project may require only one or two hours of your time. Do this several times a week, and you can bill your clients for a full week's worth of work, even though you've put in less than a day's work yourself. Once a design project is complete, you pay the designer from the money you charged the client. The difference becomes your income. Many designers farm out more work than they take on themselves. They meet with the client, go through the whole discovery process, brainstorm ideas, and then farm the actual work out to willing designers who charge them less than they charge their clients. Farming out design work allows you to keep clients. Farming out design projects allows you to make money from projects you couldn't otherwise handle yourself. The clients remain yours and will return to you the next time they require design services. In the future, should you have more time available, you can do the work yourself. So the next time you feel overwhelmed by the amount of design work you have, consider raising your rates and farming out any design work, you can't or don't want to handle yourself. Do you farm out design work? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode.

If you want to succeed as a designer, you must invest in yourself. Have you heard the quote, "it takes money to make money?" The same concept applies to growing your design business as well as improving yourself as a designer. If you don't invest in yourself, you'll become stagnant, outdated, and eventually overlooked. Clients hire graphic and web designers because they want fresh ideas and skillsets to implement them. These clients will quickly tire of someone if all they ever produce are the same old things. No business or person, for that matter, can do the same thing over and over and expect to succeed. Sure they may thrive in the short term. But if I were to hazard a guess, I would say you have long term goals for yourself and your business. The only way for you to achieve those goals is to invest in yourself. To prosper and be successful as a designer, as well as live a content life. You must make sure you are always moving forward. Think of yourself as a shark. Certain species of sharks must keep moving if they want to breathe. If they stop moving for any length of time, they'll die. Try to have a similar mentality as a shark. To flourish in this business of design, you can't sit still. Keep learning, improving, acquiring, and more. I graduated from college in 1992 from a three-year graphic design program. It was only during the second half of our third year that we were introduced to computers. That means most of my design education was done using archaic methods compared to today's standards. I learned how to use: Proportion wheels French curves blue non-repro pencils Rubylith or Amberlith Letraset rub-on type PMT cameras Waxers Xacto blades and the list goes on There's no way I could have built a successful design business and gotten to where I am today without investing in myself. The skills I learned in school just wouldn't cut it in today's world of design. Here are seven ways you can invest in yourself. 1) Invest in equipment I always say that creativity comes from the designer, not the tools he or she uses. Just like a skilled carpenter can still make beautiful furniture with old tools. But let's face it. The creativity may come from the designer, but having newer devices sure helps a lot. That's why it's worth investing in the equipment you use as much as possible. I hate spending money on new equipment, but when I do, I make sure I get the best bang for my buck. If that means paying more money upfront for a better option that will last longer, so be it. I'm a Mac guy. One of the most heard complaints about Macs is their price. But to me, it's worth the investment for the peace of mind of knowing my computer will run flawlessly for years to come. I used my previous 2010 iMac from the time I bought it new to 2017 when I upgraded it for a new model. That was a good investment. Of course, there's other equipment you need besides your computer. Purchase each one with the knowledge that it's an investment. And the idea behind investing is to get the best return for your dollar. 2) Invest in software and online resources The software you use to run your design business, as well as the online resources that support your business is all investments. Without them, you couldn't run your business or earn a living. Invest in things such as web hosting, plugins, fonts, graphic resources from sources like Design Cuts or Creative Market. Tools like Logo Package Express or Services for creating mockups are all essential for your success. Don't forget project/client management software, bookkeeping and invoicing software, and so much more. There are plenty of free options for you to run your design business. Gimp, for example, is a free design software alternative. But most designers choose to invest in tools such as Adobe CC because it makes their lives easier. TIP: If you think you are going to use a software or online service enough, and the option is available, I suggest you purchase a lifetime deal. It costs more upfront, but it pays off big time in the long run. 3) Invest in learning Remember what I said about my college days? The only way I got from then to now was by taking courses, watching tutorials, attending webinars and conferences, reading books, and any other way I could learn. Times are different now than they were even a few years ago. If you want to learn something new, you can usually find someone on YouTube teaching it. However, YouTube and other free online resources are no substitute for taking a course. I learned HTML and CSS by taking courses on the old Lynda.com (now LinkedIn Learning). I also tried to learn PHP that way, but my brain didn't grasp that one. Over the years, I've bought courses on Udemy, Skillshare, and many courses offered by private individuals or companies. The difference between a paid course and something you can find for free online is enormous. Both the quality and the content is so much better in most cases. Not to mention, the people behind paid courses want you to like their product so you'll share it with others and possibly purchase more from them in the future. Therefore, they make sure you get the best information possible for your money. When it comes to learning something new, you can start with YouTube. But if you're serious, find a paid course and invest in yourself. 4) Invest in networking/conferences Ever since I got into this profession, I made a point of going to conferences and networking events. It's not just about what you learn at these events. It's about the people you meet. Have you heard the saying, "It's not who you know, but who knows you?" This statement should be the foundation of your business. If you want to build a name for yourself, you need to get out there and meet people. Conferences and networking events offer perfect opportunities to do just that. Plus, you have the bonus of leaning things at the same time. If you work in a design niche, consider attending conferences for that niche. I attend podcast conferences every year, which has allowed me to grow my Podcast Branding business quickly. There are many design-related conferences you could attend. Here are just a few. Adobe Max South by Southwest AIGA WordCamps Design Thinkers Attending conferences may be costly, but you should make an effort to attend as often as you can, even if it's only every few years. If attending conferences is out of your budget for now, why not consider joining online communities. The Resourceful Designer Community is a perfect place for you to meet fellow like-minded designers on a similar path as you. And it's much less expensive than attending an in-person conference. There are other paid communities you can join as well. I belong to several paid podcaster communities. I also belong to a paid entrepreneur community. And there are others I'm looking into because I know that each one is an investment in myself. 5) Invest in a team I made a massive mistake in the first few years I ran my design business. I tried to do everything myself. And I know I'm not alone in this. I believe that many new entrepreneurs make this same mistake. It's your business, after all; therefore, you want to do everything. Only after I let the notion that I had to do it all go, and starting hiring outside help for various tasks, that I truly learned what it is to run a business. A team is not the same as having employees. A team is a group of specialized individuals you can call upon should you need their skillet. My team is made up of: My accountant My layer My business advisor My virtual assistant Photographers Illustrators Programmers Copywriters Translators and probably more that I'm forgetting. You use these people to help grow and operate your design business. In point #3 above, I talked about investing in learning. But one thing all great entrepreneurs need to know is when to learn and when to delegate. Plus, having a team means you have more time on your hands to do the things you are good at doing. So investing in a team is investing in yourself. 6) Invest in your environment Whether you rent office space, or you work from home as I do. You want the room you spend your days to not only be practical but also to reflect who you are. Take the time and invest in turning your working space into a place you enjoy hanging out. It will make those long workdays that much more enjoyable. As I look around my office, I see some of the swords from my collection on the walls. I see various dragon figurines on my shelf. As Well as lots of geeky bobbles and nick-knacks I collect. All of these reflect who I am. If you know me and came into my home, there's no mistaking that this office is mine and mine alone. So invest in yourself by investing in your environment. If you are someone who likes listening to music while working, then invest in a good set of speakers. Invest in good lighting, so you don't strain your eyes. And invest in a good chair. Please, do not skimp when it comes to the seat you're going to park your butt on for hours upon hours for the foreseeable future. Make your workspace your own. Invest in it. 7) Invest in your health As a designer, you spend a lot of time sitting down in front of a computer, to the point of neglecting yourself. Don't let your love of design impede your health. Remember to takes breaks, get exercise, eat healthily even though that pantry full of junk food is so easily accessible. See your doctor and dentist regularly. Get your eyes checked. Every point I made before this one is no good if you don't take care of your health. So if you're going to invest in yourself, I suggest you start here, with point #7. How do you invest in yourself? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode.

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 knew it, a whole new industry was born–Web design. Offering website design allowed graphic designers to help clients on two fronts—both digital design and print design. But as time moved along and the world moved closer to being a "paperless society" (it still hasn't reached what people predicted), more and more designers shifted away from print design to concentrate more on the digital side of the design industry. Nowadays, it's common to find designers who only design websites. And there's nothing wrong with that. But contrary to popular belief, print is not dead. There is still a vast market out there for printed design. In fact, it's become even more critical in today's world. With the popularity of websites, landing pages, social media, online advertising and everything else digital, printed material is still a very viable form of marketing. You can almost say that printed marketing can help a business stand out from its digital competition. Not to mention, print can be a very lucrative part of your design business. Not only are you paid for your design work. But you can also earn a commission on the cost of the print run if you offer print brokering as a service. Sometimes, those print commissions can make you more than what you charge for the design itself. You might charge a client $1,000 to design a brochure and then earn an additional $2,000 commission if the client opts for a large print run. Print can play a good part in rounding out your design business. Here are five reasons why you should offer print design. 1) Print is effective. People are bombarded every day with digital advertising to the point where they become blind to it. If you checked your social media accounts today, you were probably exposed to a minimum of a dozen ads. Can you name a single one of them? Digital ads, although effective, are also considered digital noise by most people and can easily be lost among the other pixels on the screen. Printed material, however, stands out. People trust print. The low cost of digital advertising allows anyone to start with minimal risk. Print, on the other hand, requires more significant thought and more investment. So when someone sees a printed marketing piece, they tend to trust it more than a digital equivalent. Tests run by MarketingSherpa show 82% of people trust print ads over digital ads when it comes to making a purchasing decision. In addition to the trust factor, print regularly outperforms digital when marketing to a local audience. Posters, yard signs, banners, vehicle graphics are great ways to present your message out to a local audience. This is evident during election campaigns. But even outside of elections, print is an excellent way to reach your target audience. A printed brochure captures a person's attention in a way that a website can't. Studies have also proven that it's easier to recall information seen in print form than when viewed digitally. So if you're designing for local clients, why not include print design as part of your services. Your clients will see you as someone who does it all, print and digital. Plus, you could use print to promote your design business and stand out from your competition. 2) Print brings in big profits. As mentioned above, you can make extra money by offering print brokering as a service. But even if you don't, designing for print provides excellent income opportunities for designers. There's a particular belief among the public that most graphic designers offer both print and web services, but web designers don't do print. Don't limit yourself. By offering both print design and website design, you expand your potential client pool and creates an additional revenue stream. Many smaller local businesses continue to use print design as their primary means of marketing. 3) Print allows you to upsell and cross-sell. Offering both web and print allows you to upsell and cross-sell your services to your clients. This is especially useful when combined with the three-tier pricing strategy. This strategy involves presenting three prices to your clients. Each pricing tier is offering a higher degree of service. Offering print design is a great way to supplement your tiers. A client looking for a website may choose a higher-priced package that includes a flyer and business card design. Or a client looking for a brochure may be willing to pay extra if you package the brochure with a landing page. Upselling and cross-selling offer more options to your clients and extra income for you. 4) Designing for print is tangible. Graphic design is known as a visual medium. As designers, we create things that are aesthetically pleasing as well as functional. But design is so much more where print is concerned. Different paper stocks or printing methods can convey a meaning on their own. Some papers look and feel cheap, while others give a sense of quality and prestige. Embossing, die-cutting, stamping, special coatings are all part of the print design process, which can increase the perceived value of a marketing piece. The University of Oxford did a study that shows that consumers generally value physical goods more than digital goods. Meaning they are willing to pay more for something they can touch. Designers can use this to their advantage. Designing something that will be physical increases its perceived value allowing you to charge more for it. 5) It takes a different creative mindset to design for print. When designing a website, the page automatically becomes longer to accommodate more content. Digital ads don't require much copy because they link to a landing page with more information. Print, however, requires advanced creative thinking. A piece of paper has fixed dimensions. A designer must be creative in the use of that limited space. What's the best way to include all the necessary information on a poster, a postcard, a billboard? What are the best typefaces to use, and at what size? How will colours interact with each other on paper? How will folding the piece affect the design? When designing for print, you must stretch your creativity and find the best way to create something that not only looks good but serves its purpose, all while conforming to the restrictions imposed by the medium and printing process. Conclusion If you are one of the countless new generations of designers specializing only in digital media, I hope this episode whet your appetite for print design enough to give it a try. As someone who started in print, then moved to the web and now offers both, I can tell you designing for print is quite fulfilling in a creative way. So believe me when I say, print is not dead. Do you offer both print and web design? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode. Resource of the week Catchafire.org Catchafire strengthens the social good sector by matching professionals who want to donate their time with nonprofits who need their skills. If you are a new designer looking for a way to create meaningful work while building your design portfolio, Catchafire may be a great option for you. Check them out and see if there's a design project you would like to volunteer your time on.