Resourceful Designer: Strategies for running a graphic design business

How much thought do you devote to protecting your WordPress website? [sc name="pod_ad"]I want to share something that happened to me this week. I came home from a nice lunch with friends to both an email and urgent voicemail message from a client saying someone had hacked their website and their URL redirected to a porn site. This is a relatively large client of mine that gets a decent number of visitors to their website each day, so there was a good reason for the panic. When I heard the message and the panic in my client's voice, my only thought was to get this problem fixed ASAP. But I wasn't worried because I know I have measures in place for exactly this sort of thing. But more on that later. WordPress is the most popular CMS in the world. That popularity also makes it the most popular choice for hackers. Fortunately, WordPress is on the ball and releases regular updates to patch any new and existing security holes. But, security as a whole is a reactive process. Patches are only issued once a security vulnerability is known. At its core, WordPress is incredibly secure, but the massive ecosystem of plugins and WordPress themes makes it more vulnerable to security holes. That's why you should have measures in place for protecting your WordPress Website and those of your client. It's not good enough to rely on what your web host provides as part of your hosting package. You need to have your own measures in place. Those measures need to include both a security plugin and a backup plugin. Step 1: A WordPress security plugin By installing a WordPress security plugin, you'll get access to additional features that WordPress doesn't have right out of the box, including things such as: Site, file, and malware scanning Protection from brute force attacks Regular security scans, monitoring, notifications Site firewalls Overall security hardening Sadly, a lot of site owners don't think about security for their WordPress website until it's too late. And once a WordPress site is compromised, there's not a lot they can do besides notify visitors and try to clean up the mess if possible. If only there were something they could've done to prevent the site from being hacked in the first place. Oh, there is. Installing a top-ranked WordPress security plugin is the first step in securing your WordPress website. Top-ranked WordPress security plugins All In One WP Security & Firewall Wordfence Sucuri Security SecuPress Free iThemes Security Pro (This is the plugin I use on all my sites) Google Authenticator - Two Factor Authentication Although not a security plugin, the Google Authenticator plugin is a great addition for protecting your WordPress website. It's something that should be installed on every website. Google Authenticator adds an extra level of security by adding Two Factor Authentication every time someone logs into the WordPress website. iTheme Security Pro, my security plugin of choice comes with Google Authenticator as part of the package. I'm unsure if the other security plugins mentioned above also include Google Authenticator. Step 2: A WordPress backup plugin Every WordPress installation should also have a backup solution. Not one provided by your web host, but one you implement and control yourself. There are too many instances where web host provided backup solutions either take days to provide you with the backup of your website, the backup is outdated, or in some cases, it's corrupted. Don't take any chances with your WordPress backups and install a top-ranked WordPress backup plugin such as one of these. Top-ranked WordPress backup plugins Duplicator BackWPup BlogVault VaultPress(part of Jetpack) BackupBuddy (This is the plugin I use on all my sites) So how did my story end? First off, let me tell you that I wasn't surprised that my client's site got hacked. I had seen increased login attempts on it lately numbering in the 10,000s. If a determined hacker wants into a website, there's only so much you can do to stop them. So I wasn't surprised when it got hacked, but I also wasn't worried. The first thing I did was wipe the site. I logged into my cPannel, went to File Manager, found the directory for my client's website and deleted everything in the folder. That immediately solved the first issue of the site being redirected to the porn site since there wasn't a site anymore to do the redirection. Then it was a simple matter of downloading the most recent backup from the cloud drive I send all my client site backups to and using BackupBuddy, reinstalled the entire site from the backup. In all, it took me less than 10 minutes to get the site back up and running. After reinstalling the site, I changed the password for the database as well as all User passwords and made sure WordPress, the installed theme and all plugins were updated. Only then did I call my client. When he answered and immediately started asking what can we do about the problem, it felt so good being able to tell him that everything was already taken care of and his site was back up and running. Please, don't delay, and don't rely on your web host's security and backups to handle this for you. If you are not already protecting your WordPress website with security and backup plugins get to it ASAP. Don't wait until it's too late. Are you protecting your WordPress website the way you should be? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode. Questions of the Week I didn't answer a question of the week in this episode, but I would love to answer one of yours. Submit your question to be featured in a future episode of the podcast by visiting the feedback page. Listen to the podcast on the go. Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen on Android Listen on Stitcher Listen on iHeartRadio Contact me I would love to hear from you. You can send me questions and feedback using my feedback form. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram I want to help you. Running a graphic design or web design business all by yourself isn't easy. If there are any struggles you face running your design business, please reach out to me. I'll do my best to help you by addressing your issues in a future blog post or podcast episode here at Resourceful Designer. You can reach me at feedback@resourcefuldesigner.com

Building Client Loyalty = Repeat Business I have to preface today's topic of building client loyalty by saying everything I'm going to talk about here won't help you if you are not a good designer. You don't have to be an amazing designer, simply being a good one will do. As long as you know what you are doing, then you will benefit from today's topic. Face it; if you are not a good designer, there's not much you can do to get repeat business from clients. Other than practice and get better that is. But I'm guessing by the fact that you are here right now, that you are serious about your design business and therefore must know what you are doing when it comes to design. So let's move on. The idea here is to build relationships with your clients. Building relationships is the main ingredient in building client loyalty. I'm not talking about designer/client relationships, but relationships on a more personal level. No, I'm not suggesting you start dating your clients to keep them coming back. Although that might work. I don't personally have any experience on that front, but hey, if it worked for you drop me a line and let me know. What I'm suggesting, is to get to know your client on a more personal level beyond the design projects you work on together. I've been following this principle since I got into the industry 30 years ago. Even more so since I started my own design business in 2005, and I must say, my track record is pretty darn good. The majority of my clients become repeat clients, and the majority of those repeat clients, keep coming back over and over again with more design jobs for me. I have a special mailbox in my mail app where I keep "praise" messages that clients have sent me over the years. Let me share a few lines from some of them. "There's nobody else I'd rather work with." "I can't imagine working with anyone else." "I feel like you're a part of our company." "You get me, I don't know how, but you get me." So how did I end up building client loyalty like this? Is it because I'm a world-class designer? Because I'm not. I consider myself very good at what I do, but I'm nowhere near world-class status. The reason I receive this sort of praise from clients is because of the relationships I've built with them over the years. Think about it. Relationships are built on two principles. Trust and how much you like someone. If you don't trust someone, chances are you won't have a relationship with them. Same if you don't like someone, chances are you won't have a relationship with them. Now the trust part is easy. Create good design work and deliver that work on time and chances are your clients will trust you. The other half of the equation is getting them to like you. Think about this: Clients would prefer to work with a good designer they like, than work with an amazing designer they don't like. My strategy for building client loyalty Here's my strategy for building relationships with my clients and getting them to like me. Are you ready for it? I listen, AND I take notes. That's all there is to it. No, seriously, that's the magic of it. Listening and taking notes. The goal is to get clients to like you. The more you know about your clients, AND the more your clients realise that you know about them, the better the likelihood of those clients liking you. Let me elaborate, whenever a client comes to me, for whatever project. Not only do I want to know about their organisation and how the particular design project fits in, but I want to know about the client themself, their personal life, their family, etc.. And I build up this knowledge over time through conversations. How? Through idle conversations and chit chat and by asking the right questions when the opportunity arises. Don't be too forward by directly asking personal questions. Instead, ask indirect questions that will allow you to gain knowledge about your clients. Let me give you an example. Let's say a client I'm working with calls me on the phone. Me: Hello? Client: Hi, it's Mike, I need to talk to you about the project." Now's the perfect time for me to gain some personal information about Mike, my client. Instead of getting right into it, I might try stalling for some chit chat. One method I like to use is telling the client I need to save what I'm currently working on before talking to them. In doing so, I might respond with something like this. Me: "Hi Mike, just give me a couple of seconds to save this file I'm working on." During the pause, I'll add"Do you have any plans for the weekend?" While Mike is waiting for me to save my file so we can begin our conversation about his project he'll probably answer my question. Mike: "My wife and I are going to our daughter's piano recital this weekend." Knowledge bomb! I now know that Mike is married and has a daughter who plays the piano. This opens me up to asking followup questions such as asking how old his daughter is, how long has she been playing the piano, does she get her musical talent from him or his wife?. This is information I can use in the future to help build my relationship with Mike. The next time I talk to him, I can ask how his daughter's piano recital went. That's the sort of question that makes the client think "wow, this person cares enough to inquire about my personal life. I like that about them." Building a client information database The first part of my strategy for building client loyalty is to gather as much personal information about them as I can (without getting creepy and stalking them). The second part of my strategy is to organise that information so I can easily access it in the future. To do this, I use my Contacts App since it syncs between my computer and mobile devices, so I always have it at hand. Most Contacts Apps allow you to enter information such as the name of their spouse, children, birthdays and more. Any information that doesn't have a dedicated field goes into the Notes filed. I also have a dedicated calendar on my Calendar App specifically for client information — things like birthdays, anniversaries and all other occasions I might want to remember. I do the same with their business information by keeping track of trade shows, launch dates, special events their business is holding. I try to gather as much information about my clients as I can. What do you do with this information? I use the information I've gathered through various conversations to build relationships with my clients. If I know their birthday is soon, I might bring it up in conversation "Isn't your birthday coming up?". If they told me they were going to Paris for vacation, I might ask them about their trip afterwards. If I know their son plays baseball I might inquire about the upcoming baseball season. Anything that helps connect on a personal level builds the relationship and forms a bond with the client. This bond will increase the likelihood of the client liking you, and as I stated earlier, loyalty is based on trust and how much someone likes you. Get to know your clients. I go into much more detail on the podcast so please listen to this episode for more examples if you want to know more about building client loyalty. Make sure you take the time to get to know your clients. Learn about their business and the work they do, but also learn about them, their personal lives, their family, etc. The more you know about your clients, the closer of a connection you can have with them. And when that connection becomes solid, the client won't imagine working with anyone else but you. Building client loyalty makes clients for life. Do you learn everything you can about your clients? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode. Questions of the Week Submit your question to be featured in a future episode of the podcast by visiting the feedback page. This week's question comes from Scott I love the idea that a design should not be quoted based on time but how do you come up with a price ? And what can you answer when a client asks you for justification for a price? To find out what I told Scott you'll have to listen to the podcast. Resource of the week abc.useallfive.com abc.useallfive.com is an online tool that shows you how ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant your colours are in relation to each other. By adding your colours on the right, you can generate a chart to see how they can be used together for accessibility, and find similar colours that work better. Listen to the podcast on the go. Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen on Android Listen on Stitcher Listen on iHeartRadio Contact me I would love to hear from you. You can send me questions and feedback using my feedback form. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram I want to help you. Running a graphic design or web design business all by yourself isn't easy. If there are any struggles you face running your design business, please reach out to me. I'll do my best to help you by addressing your issues in a future blog post or podcast episode here at Resourceful Designer. You can reach me at feedback@resourcefuldesigner.com

Have you ever considered selling digital products? Selling digital products is a great way to put your design skills to the test. Not only will you challenge yourself to come up with great ideas, but if you're successful, you can make excellent money doing it. I've never tried selling digital products myself so on this episode of Resourceful Designer; I'm happy to be joined by Tom Ross, the founder of Design Cuts, one of if not the best place for acquiring and selling digital products online. Listen in as Tom, and I discuss everything there is to know about selling digital products so you can hit the ground running and do it right. In this episode you'll hear us discuss: How to determine what product you want to create Choosing quality over quantity Ways to promote your digital product Creating sample and preview images for your digital product The difference between designing for clients and designing for a marketplace Income possibilities And more Whether you are contemplating selling digital products or you are an old pro at it, you're sure to gain some valuable knowledge from this episode. Be sure to share it with all your design friends. What's your experience with selling digital products? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode. Questions of the Week There's no QotW this week, but I would love to get one from you. Submit your question to be featured in a future episode of the podcast by visiting the feedback page. Resource of the week The Honest Entrepreneur Show The Honest Entrepreneur Show is a new podcast and YouTube channel by Tom Ross, founder of Design Cuts. Each episode is 10-20 minutes long and contains zero fluff and zero B.S. Just real, candid insight into modern entrepreneurship. Tom covers topics such as dealing with mental health, to burnout, to behind authentic. You can watch The Honest Entrepreneur Show on YouTube, or listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts on Google Podcasts or Spotify. Be sure to follow Tom on Instagram at instagram.com/tomrossmedia

Do you have an organization strategy? I was recently leafing through an old business magazine from the early 2000s, and I came across an article on organization skills. Specifically, organization skills to help you regain control over your schedule, your environment and your life. Although this article wasn't about design, I found a lot of what it said still applies to today's businesses and us as designers. Here's my spin on the article with some of my knowledge to bring you four basic organization principles to help you as a designer. Clear out the clutter In today's society, it's not uncommon to feel overloaded. We deal with too much stuff. Too many obligations, too many tools and resources, too much information. Clearing out the clutter means doing away with anything that is unnecessary. Clutter takes up time, space, energy and money. Make yourself a plan to clear out as much clutter from these areas as you can. Tackle them one at a time and free yourself. A place for everything The number one reason for clutter is not having a set place for stuff. In order to be organized, you need to have a system in place to organize your things. That may be hanging file folders in a drawer, a file cabinet or even a cardboard storage box. It also means having an organization strategy for your client files and folders on your computer. Whatever it is, having a clearly designated area for your "stuff" will make it more likely that your "stuff" will end up where it belongs. And when stuff is where it belongs, it will make it much easier and faster to find it in the future. That's the time-saving part of an organization strategy. Develop systems I talked about organizing your "stuff" but what about your time? You can go about your daily activities in one of two ways. You can either do things randomly, meaning you have to figure out how to do things each and every time you do them. Or, you can work systematically, where you have a set way of doing those things each time you need to do them. Systems can apply to any activity you do, from designing logos or websites to invoicing clients, to collecting your tax information at the end of the year. When you have systems in place, you end up spending less energy figuring out how to do things. Instead, it becomes automatic. I have a system I follow for building websites. It's a step by step list of everything I need to do in order to set things up to get started, such as installing Wordpress and plugins. Laying out the structure of the website. Figuring out the content of each page, putting those pages together, and finally testing the site to make sure everything is hunky dory. When you have systems in place, you can spend your time and effort focused on completing the task instead of figuring out how to do the task. Which in turn allows you to finish it much more quickly. Review and revise your systems Having systems in place is wonderful. They definitely help you become more organized. Providing they are still effective. If you are using the same organization systems you put in place 5 years ago there's a good chance they are not as effective as they were and they could actually be impeding you. Don't fall in the rut of doing things only out of habit just because it's how you've been doing them for so long. Every once in a while you should ask yourself these three questions about your familiar routines. 1) Does it even need to be done? Don't let "busywork" dictate your time just because it's a habit. 2) Is this something that needs to be done by you? Can it be deligated? 3) Is this the most efficient way to do this? Is there an easier or quicker way? Get your life in order and you'll not only be happier, but you'll be more productive. And if you're more productive, there's a good chance your business will grow. Develop good organization strategies. What's your organization strategy? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode. Questions of the Week Submit your question to be featured in a future episode of the podcast by visiting the feedback page. This week's question comes from Antonio Hi Mark, I'm studying graphic and web design. I'm from Spain and I start to listen your podcast for homework. After so many years in the business, what advice would you give to someone who is just starting in the industry? To find out what I told Antonio you'll have to listen to the podcast. Resource of the week Securitycheckli.st Securitycheckli.stis an open source checklist of resources designed to improve your online privacy and security. Check things off to keep track as you go. It covers interesting things such as how to encrypt your text messages — reviewing your social media privacy settings — reviewing permissions such as location services and even your camera setting.

Do you have a business plan for your design business? Did you make a business plan when you started your design business? If you did, then you are in the minority. Most designers who freelance or run their own design business don't bother creating a business plan unless they are required to do so by a bank or such. I'm lucky; my bank asked for one when I first approached them for a business account. At the time I thought it was a nuisance, but in hindsight, I'm glad they made me do it. It gave me direction and made me think about what I wanted to accomplish with my design business. So if you don't already have a business plan, even if you've been in business for a while, you may want to take some time to come up with one. Here are seven common business plan mistakes to avoid. 1) Putting off writing a business plan. Most designers don't bother with a business plan unless they're asked to create one. Once their business is up and running most think they don't need one, or that they are too busy running their business to make a plan for how to run it. That's a big mistake. The busier you are, the more you need a plan. Have you heard the term "work on your business, not in your business"? A business plan will help you accomplish that by helping you focus on the things you need to do to work on your business. 2) Fearing the business plan. The thought of writing a business plan is much scarier than actually creating one. A business plan is not a thesis paper or a novel. It's a simple guide for you to follow that will help your business to succeed. There are plenty of great resources online and in your local municipality, such as small business development centres, libraries, banks etc. that can help you with your business plan. 3) Ignoring cash flow. Most designers think in terms of profits and not cash. Profits are your sales minus your costs and expenses. Unfortunately, you don't spend profits; you spend cash. And that's where a business plan can help you. When you are running a home-based design business, there are plenty of things that require payments that go beyond the business — things like utilities, property taxes, home maintenance, and so much more. An essential part of a business plan involves creating a cash flow table showing you exactly how much of your profits get converted into spendable cash. 4) Establishing vague goals. A business plan is not about the dreams you have. You don't write "I want to be the best designer in my area" in your plan. That stuff is all hype. The objective of a business plan is to generate results for your business. And for results, you need to be able to track and follow up. S.M.A.R.T. goals are a great way to look at a business plan. Your plan should contain specific dates, the responsibilities you need to take on, and the budget you are allotting to those responsibilities. Then set milestones so you can follow up and check your progress against your business plan. No matter how well written your business plan is, it's meaningless if it doesn't produce results. 5) Copying someone else's plan. There is no one size fits all when it comes to business plans. The resources I mentioned above can help direct you in writing your plan, but it has to be tailored to your specific business and needs. Remember, a business plan is a sales plan, a detailed action plan, a financial plan, a marketing plan and even a professional growth plan. A business plan is essential for starting a new design business, but it's also useful for running and growing your business. You can bet that big design agencies such as Pentagram or Landor not only have a business plan but regularly review and revise it as their business grows. 6) Diluted priorities. A business plan is meant to be a focused strategy for your design business. Therefore you need to focus on the priorities in your plan. A plan with 20+ items to keep track of is not very focused and will be much harder to adhere to. Each section of your business plan should have only three or four essential items you are working towards. Remember, the more items you are focusing on, the less importance and less attention you can devote to each one. A short, precise business plan has a much higher chance of success than a long diluted one. 7) Not reviewing your plan. Hopefully, you're convinced of the importance of having a business plan, no matter how small or large your design business. But having a business plan isn't very helpful if you don't review it on a regular basis. Set annual reminders to review your plan and make amendments to it to help your design business grow. Doing so will help keep you focused and show you the direction to take to achieve to achieve success. Do you have a business plan for your design business? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode. Questions of the Week Submit your question to be featured in a future episode of the podcast by visiting the feedback page. This week's question comes from Rosey How do you balance multiple priorities? It causes me a great deal of anxiety to leave things unfinished. In a perfect world, for me, I would only have one thing to do at a time and could just work from beginning to end, but that never happens. If you're working on 4 things at the same time, and none of them are finished (that's me right now). How do you know when is the right time to stop working on one thing, and pick up working on another? To find out what I told Rosey you'll have to listen to the podcast. Tip of the week resource name I received a concise email from my copywriter this week. It went like this. Hi Mark, Here is the brochure copy. Let me know if there are any changes you would like me to make. Pam It's that second line that gave me pause. "Let me know if there are any changes you would like me to make." In a way, she was encouraging me to make changes to what she wrote. I opened the attached Word document with the thought in my head to look for things to change. I didn't find any, the copy was perfect, but the idea was there. This got me thinking about all the conversations I hear, where designers are complaining about the number of revisions clients ask for. The usual solution I hear is to limit the number of revisions you offer. Or Charge for revisions beyond X number. Maybe the problem is these designers are inviting their clients to make revisions by asking them if there are any changes they would like the designer to make. Instead, the designer should be asking their client what they like and don't like about the design. If the client wants something changed they will ask without being prompted, so what's the point of encouraging them to look for things to change? If you are guilty of this, maybe you should alter your wording and see if it somehow reduces the number of revisions you're asked to do. It's just a thought. Listen to the podcast on the go. Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen on Android Listen on Stitcher Listen on iHeartRadio Contact me I would love to hear from you. You can send me questions and feedback using my feedback form. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram I want to help you. Running a graphic design or web design business all by yourself isn't easy. If there are any struggles you face running your design business, please reach out to me. I'll do my best to help you by addressing your issues in a future blog post or podcast episode here at Resourceful Designer. You can reach me at feedback@resourcefuldesigner.com

Designing for family and friends is the bane of many designers. Opinions vary amongst designers regarding designing for family and friends. Some are firmly against it and for others, it's no problem. I fall into this latter group. A couple of weeks ago I released an episode on starting a design business from scratch. My second step in the process involved reaching out to family and friends to help spread the word about your new design business. After all, who better to spread the word then the people who know you best, your family and friends. And chances are one of them will become your first design client. I go into much more detail and share personal experiences in the podcast episode. Be sure to listen to it for the full story. Here is a rundown of what I covered on the podcast. Setting ground rules for family and friends. Because family and friends are familiar with you outside of a work environment, you need to set ground rules before agreeing to work with them. If you state the terms of your business relationship with them up front, your dealings should go much smoother. Here is the process that has worked for me over the years. Keep in mind that everyone's family and friends are different so what works for me may require some adjustments to work for you. A family member's or a friend's business is still a business. A business operated by a family member or a friend is still a business, and you should treat it as such. Your relationship with them should not change the way you operate your design business. You need to treat family and friends like you would any other client. Follow your standard procedure by sending proposals, making them sign a contract and issuing an invoice once the project is finished. Family and friends should not be exempt from good business practices. The only exception I make is offering them a "Family and Friends Discount" of 30% off my design services. I charge full price for all expenses such as printing or web hosting. Even if you are doing the work for free, you should still use a contract and issue an invoice with a 100% discount. This will teach your family member or friend to value your time and skills by showing them how much you would typically charge for the services you are providing them. Dealing with personal projects from family and friends. Family and friends will sometimes approach you with a personal project that has nothing to do with business. They're hoping that the bond between you is strong enough for you to volunteer your time and skills. How you handle these requests is entirely up to you but keep in mind that it's perfectly ok to say no to them. One option at your disposal is bartering, getting something in return for your services. Family and friends are a great resource for a "favour for a favour". The way I handle these situations is to determine if the project in question is personally for my family member or friend. If it's something specifically for them, I'll do it, as a favour to them. However, if they are asking on behalf of someone else or a group they belong to I will treat the project as a business dealing and determine if it merits a discount or not. Mom's are exempt. When it comes to your mom, everything I mentioned above goes out the window. The woman put up with all your nonsense growing up the least you can do it offer your skills and time to whatever she asks of you. You probably owe her way more than you'll ever be able to pay back anyway. How do you deal with family and friends? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode. Questions of the Week Submit your question to be featured in a future episode of the podcast by visiting the feedback page. This week's question comes from Kayla In a past episode I remember you saying that you upcharge print materials (i.e. you've designed a brochure and the client wants 500 more of the exact same design. You simply send it to print again). How do you suggest upcharging? A flat rate? Or a percentage? To find out what I told Kayla you'll have to listen to the podcast. Resource of the week Facebook Groups Facebook groups are a great way to stay connected with our industry and a great source of information when you need help. There are various Facebook Groups for just about any topic. Here are a few I belong to that may interest you. Resourceful Designer Group Logo Geek | Logo Design Community This Design Life Divi Theme Users Divi Web Designers Listen to the podcast on the go. Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen on Android Listen on Stitcher Listen on iHeartRadio Contact me I would love to hear from you. You can send me questions and feedback using my feedback form. Follow me on Twitter, Facebookand Instagram I want to help you. Running a graphic design or web design business all by yourself isn't easy. If there are any struggles you face running your design business, please reach out to me. I'll do my best to help you by addressing your issues in a future blog post or podcast episode here at Resourceful Designer. You can reach me at feedback@resourcefuldesigner.com

Don't ruin your design business, avoid the following. [sc name="pod_ad"]Think of your design business like climbing a mountain. To climb a mountain, you require willpower, perseverance, skill, knowledge, stamina, patience and concentration. All these traits come together to allow a mountain climber to make their way up a mountain. You need these same traits to run a design business. Sure, you use them differently, but they're the same traits nonetheless. And similar to maintain climbing, one slip can mean disaster. Luckily, slipping up on your design business won't result in death like falling off a mountain will. But it could ruin your reputation, which in turn will ruin your design business. That's why it's good to stay on your guard and avoid these 12 ways to ruin your design business. Doing these could ruin your design business 1) Failing to communicate - taking too long to reply to emails. You are not expected to drop everything you're doing to reply to each new email. It's standard business practice to respond within an acceptable window of time. However, that window shouldn't stretch several days long. It can become increasingly frustrating for the person waiting for your reply. Do this often enough, and clients will lose confidence in you and take their business elsewhere. If Gmail is your email platform check out Boomerang that allows you to set follow up reminders, so you never miss replying to an email. If you don't use Gmail, setting reminders is easy using Siri on your Apple device, your Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. Simply set a time for your device to remind you to reply to the email. 2) Missing deadlines. Missing deadlines is a sure fire way to ruin your design business. Miss more than one and there's a good chance your clients won't bring you any more design projects. Missing deadlines is usually a case of bad time management and biting off more than you can chew (see number 4). Whenever possible try to pad your deadlines, meaning once you figure out how long a project will take, add on a few days or weeks to act as a buffer, just in case. If you go over your estimated time that buffer will keep you within the deadline. And if you manage to finish on time, your clients will be that much more impressed with you. 3) Showing a lack of confidence in your skills. Nothing turns off a client more than showing a lack of confidence in your abilities. If you show any doubt in what you present to your clients, they will start having doubts about hiring you. Even if you are unsure, you need to present with confidence. Your client will let you know if your designs are not right for them. Never ask a client what they think about the designs you present them. You can ask them what they like or don't like, but not what they think. Asking them what they think is a way of saying you are unsure of what you are presenting and you are seeking their affirmation. 4) Biting off more than you can chew. Don't be afraid to turn down work or to delay working with a client because of your heavy workload. Being in a situation where you cannot take on any more work is a great position to be in. If a client wants to work with you, they will wait their turn. The worse thing you can do in this situation is accepting the work anyways. It's a sure fire way to missing deadlines (see number 2). The same goes for projects with scopes larger than you can handle. You should have a team you can call uponin certain situations, but some projects are just too big for solo designers, no matter how much you'd like to take them on. Don't be afraid to pass on them. 5) Overreacting to criticism. If you can't take criticism, you shouldn't be a designer. It's the nature of our industry that not everyone will like what you do. You need to learn and grow from the criticism you receive, regardless if you agree or disagree with it. Responding to criticism with a strong emotional reaction is an excellent way to alienate your clients. Keep your hurt feelings to yourself. 6) Over-promising and under-delivering. Over-promising and under-delivering is another way to ruin your design business. Examples are missing deadlines (see number 2) or biting off more than you can chew (see number 4). However, sometimes you might be tempted to over-promise your skills and abilities. Telling a client, you can do something, when in fact you are not sure how to do it can lead to disaster. Never promise a client you will/can do something unless you know you can follow through. 7) Don't take time to learn and experiment. This relates to you as a designer. Our industry is continuously changing with new tools, new platforms and new trends. If you fail to keep up your business is doomed. Clients hire designers to help them compete in their market. For that to happen, you need to know how to design things that can compete. Nobody wants a designer who is behind on the times. 8) Don't take time to be inspired. You are a creative person; it's why you became a designer. Feed your creativity by seeking out things that inspire you. Visit museums, read art magazines, watch documentaries or study the world around you. Inspiration can be found in everyday things if only you take the time to look. Not finding ways to fuel your creativity is another way to ruin your design business. 9) Commenting negatively on a client's previous designs. No matter what you think of a client's previous designs, you should never tell them they are bad (unless you are the one that designed them. In that case you are ok). You don't know the history behind the piece. The client may have created it themselves or had a friend or relative design it for them. The client may be very proud of the work. If you tell a client their previous designs are bad, you may be insulting the client and ruining your chance to work with them. Instead, tell the client how you will do things differently. How you will modernise the look. How you will use innovative new approaches to produce great work for them. Just don't tell them how bad their old stuff is. 10) Talking carelessly about clients. Once you've been at this for a few years, you'll build up a library of weird, funny, strange, and possibly horrible stories about clients. There's a whole website dedicated to lousy design clients. Even though they make great conversation topics, you should be very careful about what you say and to whom you say it when talking about your clients. You never know if someone listening may know and report back to the client. Talking about a client behind their backs will not only ruin your design business but ruin your reputation as a designer. 11) Lying to a client I shouldn't have to explain this one to you. Lying to clients is not good. Never tell a client you are "almost done" a project you have not started yet. Never tell a client you "didn't receive their email" (they may have Read Receipt turned on). Never tell a client... you get the idea. Don't lie to clients. Getting found out is a definite way to ruin your design business. 12) Passing off other's work as your own Another one I shouldn't have to explain. However, I'm not talking about stealing another designer's work. There's already enough of that happening on crowdsourced design sites. I'm talking about taking credit for stock images you use in your designs or taking credit for something you contracted out. Clients understand that you cannot do everything yourself. Let them know when you've gotten help. It's your reputation on the line. Your business and design reputation plays a very important role in people deciding to hire you and whether or not they keep working with you. Building a relationship with your client is the best way to ensure a long term commitment from them. By avoiding these twelve things, you are taking the proper steps to ensure you don't inadvertently ruin your design business. What did you think of this week's topic? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode. Questions of the Week Submit your question to be featured in a future episode of the podcast by visiting the feedback page. This week's question comes from Kevin I have a question about closing deals. At times potential clients reach out to me with an interest of having a website designed for them. They will usually reach out to me by email telling me the basic details for the website, such as page structure, features colors, etc. I realized that when replying to their first email, most of them never reply back. So how would you go about responding to a clients email? Do you tell them your pricing straight up? Do you ask them to tell you their budget for the project? To find out what I told Kevin you'll have to listen to the podcast. Resource of the week 4-Week Marketing Boost The Four Week Marketing Boost! is a free guide I created that will help you strengthen your marketing position, boost your brand's awareness & social presence and ultimately ensure you are in tip-top shape to offer a best first impression to potential new clients. This guide is divided into 20 short actions that comfortably fit into your regular day and are designed to take as little time away from your client work as possible. Although you can complete these exercises quickly, it is recommended you tackle only one per day, spending no more than 30 minutes per task. After completing this four-week plan you will be in a better position to present yourself to, and win over new clients. You can download the Four Week Marketing Boost for free by visiting marketingboost.net. Or, if you are in the U.S.A., you can text the word MARKETINGBOOST to 44222. Improve your business' image and create the best first impression possible to attract more clients. Listen to the podcast on the go. Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen on Android Listen on Stitcher Listen on iHeartRadio Contact me I would love to hear from you. You can send me questions and feedback using my feedback form. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram I want to help you. Running a graphic design or web design business all by yourself isn't easy. If there are any struggles you face running your design business, please reach out to me. I'll do my best to help you by addressing your issues in a future blog post or podcast episode here at Resourceful Designer. You can reach me at feedback@resourcefuldesigner.com

Micro Goals are the key to achieving your goals. [sc name="pod_ad"]For your design business to succeed, you must set goals for yourself, and for those goals to be reached you need to break them down into micro goals. I've talked on a previous podcast episode about setting S.M.A.R.T. goals for your design business, goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Related. But even S.M.A.R.T. goals fail sometimes. That's where micro goals come in. You need goals to measure your personal and professional success. Without them, it's much harder to know when you've reached a milestone or level of success. There's a certain satisfaction in accomplishing goals. It has even been scientifically proven that accomplishing goals releases dopamine, a bodily chemical associated with happiness. Unfortunately, plenty of goals go unaccomplished. Mostly due to a lack of urgency. This happens when a person concentrates too much on reaching an end goal and not on the steps required to get there. Micro goals are the day to day steps needed to achieve those loftier end goals. For example, a person wanting to lose 100 pounds may feel like it's a daunting task. However, it will seem much easier to accomplish if they set micro goals to lose two pounds per week throughout a year. Micro Goals give you a path. The path to reaching a future goal isn't always clear. Micro goals act as stepping stones that help you along the way by showing what needs to be done tomorrow, today, or even right now. Since they are easier to concentrate on, there's less chance you'll lose focus on your micro goals. If your goal is to start your design business within three months, what will you do between now and then? Perhaps some of your micro goals will look like these. Choose a name for your business Complete and file business registration papers Acquire a domain name Set up email accounts for your new business Design a logo for your business Build a website Have business cards printed Open a business bank account Choose and set up an invoicing system These micro goals act as reminders of the steps you need to take each day until you open your design business. Micro Goals give you a reminding push. Because micro goals are small and easy to accomplish, they encourage you to start doing things now that may otherwise get pushed off. They act as reminders that these things need to get done to make progress towards your end goal. Micro goals are also reminders of the progress you are making as you complete each one. Without micro goals, you may fall victim to procrastinating. You may feel that a goal that is still months away isn't a priority and you may delay working on it for another day, week or month. Micro goals keep you on track and help build momentum. Do you want to hear something funny? That momentum you gain by completing micro goals makes you feel good about each accomplishment and pushes you to do even more. That's the dopamine effect. Your body releases dopamine whenever you experience a pleasurable sensation, such as completing a micro goal. This effect is associated with your body's reward system motivating you to crave it even more. And that means a greater motivation to tackle the next micro goal to feel good again. According to Psychology Today, "everything from making your bed to doing all the dishes will give you the 'ding-ding-ding' feeling of having completed a task. Neurobiologically the satisfaction of completing a task creates internal rocket fuel that energises you to keep working towards your larger goal." And according to Teresa Amabile and Steven J. Kramer of the Harvard Business Review "The more frequently you experience that sense of progress, the more likely you are to be creatively productive in the long run," It doesn't matter how much is left to reach your end goal. Making these little strides can make a huge difference in how you feel and perform today. Isn't the human body a fantastic thing? Micro Goals help with time management Most of us have more than one long term goal. Sometimes those multiple goals compete for our attention, and it's hard for us to prioritise them. With our limited time available each day, on which goals should you concentrate? Because Micro goals have small time frames associated with them, they allow you to cut through that confusion by letting you work towards multiple end goals at once. Spend an hour or two on one, a few minutes on another, and an afternoon on yet another goal. By the end of the day, you will have made progress on multiple end goals, and you'll feel good about yourself. How Micro Goals Work To get started with micro goals you need to ask the question "What individual steps, once accomplished will bring me closer to my end goal?" Write out those steps and start working on and checking them off. You'll quickly learn to appreciate all these minor accomplishments, and you'll feel good about the progress you make towards your end goals. Examples of micro goals If your goal is to double your design business revenue, here are some micro goals you could try: Call clients you haven't talked to in a while and inquire if there's anything you can do for them Send out an email to your clients asking for referrals. Read one chapter per day of a business or marketing book that could help with business growth. Review and update your pricing strategy. These are just a few examples of micro goals you could use to double your revenue. Get started today What goals do you have for your future? Break them down into the smallest possible actionable units and get working on them. Pick a micro goal, finish it, and move on to the next one. Repeat this over and over, and before you know it, you will be reaching the goals you've set for yourself and your business. And don't forget to enjoy the dopamine hit along the way. Do you consciously set micro goals for yourself? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode. Questions of the Week Submit your question to be featured in a future episode of the podcast by visiting the feedback page. This week's question comes from Vincent I am just starting to get my business going and already have some good traction with some local churches that have asked for quotes. I am encountering a decent amount of questions about these services like ChurchCo (thechurchco.com) that will create a custom (on demand) website for you and are charging $20-40 per month for the service. I would assume that you have come across some of these. Do you have any advice on how to show the value proposition of going with a true web designer vs. a service like this? To find out what I told Vincent you'll have to listen to the podcast. Resource of the week remove.bg Remove.bg is a free service to remove the background of any photo. It works 100% automatically: You don't have to manually select the background/foreground layers to separate them - just select your image and instantly download the resulting image with the background removed! Currently, the resulting image is limited to 500px by 500px but they say they are working on increasing the size. Listen to the podcast on the go. Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen on Android Listen on Stitcher Listen on iHeartRadio Contact me I would love to hear from you. You can send me questions and feedback using my feedback form. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram I want to help you. Running a graphic design or web design business all by yourself isn't easy. If there are any struggles you face running your design business, please reach out to me. I'll do my best to help you by addressing your issues in a future blog post or podcast episode here at Resourceful Designer. You can reach me at feedback@resourcefuldesigner.com

Here are nine steps I would follow if I were starting a design business from scratch today. Since launching Resourceful Designer in 2015, one of the biggest struggles I've seen from my audience is starting a design business and finding clients. I realise that I've never actually said what I would do if I had to start a design business from scratch. Until now. Over the past 148 podcast episodes and via countless conversations on Facebook, I've shared plenty of advice on growing and starting a design business. This is advice I've garnered through my own experiences and what I've learned from other's who have gone through a similar journey. Every week I receive messages from listeners thanking me for that advice. They tell me how I've helped them start their own design business. Some even credit me with giving them the courage to leave their full-time job to pursue their dream. I'm glad that they find my advice helpful, but I also know that I'm far removed from where these listeners are in their careers. I have a successful design business. I don't need to go looking for clients; they come to me. I'm at a point where I can turn down projects and clients that don't interest me. I don't even have a website for my business. And yet, I'm prospering. That's because I'm 14 years into this. Plus I have another 15 years before that working at a print shop. All these years have helped me build my brand, my reputation, and the client loyalty that I talk about so often on the podcast. I know what I did to get to where I am today, and I share a lot of that with you. But I also know that I started at a time when "social media" wasn't a common phrase. When most people hadn't heard of Facebook. When YouTube was just getting off the ground and wouldn't become mainstream for several years. And talking about podcasts would be met with blank stares. Things were different then. When I decided to start a graphic design business I never dreamed that I would have clients all over Canada, the USA, some in Scottland, Australia, Hong Kong and more. Back then, I was just hoping to get a handful of good local clients to keep me busy. I built my business on that principle. But what about today? I've been thinking a lot recently. What would I do if I had to start a design business from scratch today, without the benefit of 30 years experience? Here are the steps I would follow if I were starting a design business today. Please keep in mind that I'm talking about starting a design business, not becoming a designer. In this scenario that I already know how to design. Step 1: Build a website The very first thing I would do while starting a design business is launch a website. I know it's ironic considering I don't have one for my current business. But a site is crucial to growing any business today. It's the hub where people can find out about you and your business. I'd Start small with just the basics and a small portfolio, and build upon it over time. But I would launch a website ASAP. Step 2: Tell family and friends about your design business The next thing I would do is start spreading the word that I've started a design business. I would tell my parents, siblings, aunts and uncles. I would reach out to cousins I haven't seen since so and so's wedding a decade ago and tell them that I've started a design business. The purpose isn't to get business from them, although if I did it would be nice. I would reach out hoping they will spread the news. You never know when one of your relatives may know of or hear about someone who needs a designer. I would then go through my email contact lists, my Facebook friends etc. and send them a message, even if I hadn't spoken to them since high school. Again, I just want to spread the word. The more people who know I'm running a design business, the better the chances of me picking up clients. I would say something like this. Hi Lisa, It's been a while, hasn't it? I hope life is treating you well. The reason I'm reaching out is to let you know that I've started a graphic and web design business. Here's my website (URL). If you or anyone you knows needs a graphic designer I would be grateful if you would pass on my name. Thanks and take care, Mark Step 3: Join the Chamber of Commerce After contacting family and friends, I would join my Chamber of Commerce. Not only would I join the Chamber, but I would set up a meeting with whoever the director is and get to know them. I would inquire if they have any events or projects coming up that may require my services. Then I would go through the Chamber's membership directory and reach out to every person on the list, introducing myself to them, and once again. Asking them to pass on my name if they know anyone that needs a designer. Step 4: Contact suppliers who may need design work done. Once my business was set up, I would visit every printer, screen printer, design agency, sign company, trophy shop, promotional marketing supplier, embroidery shop, etc. and let them know who I am and what I do. These types businesses sometimes need a designer but not enough to have one on staff. I would try to get my name on their contact list for when they do. Step 5: Contact the tourism bureau. Next, I would reach out to my local tourism bureau. The purpose of a tourism bureau is to attract visitors to your area, specifically to the events and attractions of the tourism bureau's members. I would ask the tourism bureau if they need any help in promoting the area. I would also ask them to pass on my name should any of their members need a designer. I wouldn't stop there; I would look at the tourism bureau's calendar of upcoming events and contact those people directly to see how I could help them. Step 6: Contact local theatre companies. Almost every community has at least one theatre company who needs to attract spectators to their productions. I would contact whoever was in charge of my local theatre companies and offer them my services. Step 7: Promote my services at networking events This is a trick I actually did use when I started my business 14 years ago. I attended as many networking events, trade shows, get-togethers, or anywhere with a crowd of people and walked around with a T-Shirt that read "Hi, I'm a graphic designer, Let's Talk". It worked in 2006 and I know it still works because DaJaniere, one of my listeners sent me a photo of herself in her own "I'm a graphic designer, let's talk" Tee and told me how she wore it to a women's empowerment conference in Detroit, and people were going up to her and inquiring about her services. It works and I would do it again. Step 8: Go door to door. It's not the most glamorous option but it is tested. I would pick an area in my community, do a bit of research on the businesses there and then approach them asking if they need help improving their marketing material or website. I would especially target any business with an unsecured website, those with an http:// instead of an https://. It's a great conversation starter. I would explain to them how Google is penalizing unsecured website and what it does to their search engine ranking. I would also make sure to offer my services as a solution. Once I exhausted one area of my community, I would move on to another until I've gone door to door everywhere I wanted to. Step 9: Leverage Linkedin. A lot of designers swear by Instagram, and of course, there are the popular Twitter and Facebook. The problem with these social media platforms is most people visit them to get out of a business mindset. They're there for the social connections and camaraderie. Except for Linkedin that is. Linkedin is a very business-oriented social platform. Most people use it with business purposes in mind, and it's a great place to pick up new clients. I would start off by writing a few short articles about how design affects business decisions. Perhaps topics such as: How to use colour as a marketing strategy. How a rebrand can boost a businesses exposure. How most businesses fail when it comes to their brand. Once I published these articles on LinkedIn I would start reaching out to people, probably people in my local area and once again, ask if they need design services. Those articles will act as social proof that I know what I'm talking about when they view my profile. It's all about the Ask, Do you see the pattern here? Ask family and friends to refer you. Ask the Chamber and Chamber members if they need your services. Ask printers, agencies, supply shops if they need any help. Ask the tourism bureau. Ask theatre companies. Attend networking events wearing a T-shirt asking if people need a designer. Go door to door asking businesses if you can help them. Finally, reach out to people on LinkedIn asking if you can help. It all comes down to the ask. When you are starting a design business, you can't simply sit back and wait for clients to come. That may happen later but not in the early stages. No, you have to persistently ask people if they, or if they know anyone who could use your services. It may seem daunting, but that's how you grow. Keep in mind that all these steps are geared toward landing your first clients. You don't need many clients when you are starting a design business. In 2006 when I quit my job at the print shop and went full-time on my own, I had less than 10 regular clients. Those few clients were enough to help me get started and grow to where I am today. So there you have it. What I would do if I were starting a design business from scratch in today's market. I hope if you are still new to running a design business that this episode gave you some motivation and some ideas that you could try right now in order to grow your business. If you stick with it, I'm sure you'll do fine. What strategies would you use if you were starting a design business from scratch today? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode. Questions of the Week Submit your question to be featured in a future episode of the podcast by visiting the feedback page. This week's question comes from Steve Hi Mark, you often refer to your "Virtual Assistant" who helps manage your websites on a monthly basis. Can you tell us more about using a "virtual Assistant" and where we should look to hire one? To find out what I told Steve you'll have to listen to the podcast. Resource of the week Trim View in Adobe Illustrator A feature in Adobe Illustrator that many have been asking for for years, is finally available. Trim View (View>Trim View) hides the part of any item or element that hangs off the artboard in Illustrator. Anything that touches the grey area around the artboard is hidden from view when Trim View is turned on. This allows you to view only the "active" part of your design. No more making masks or special layers to hide those items. Thank you Adobe for finally implementing this long sought after feature. Listen to the podcast on the go. Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen on Android Listen on Stitcher Listen on iHeartRadio Contact me I would love to hear from you. You can send me questions and feedback using my feedback form. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram I want to help you. Running a graphic design or web design business all by yourself isn't easy. If there are any struggles you face running your design business, please reach out to me. I'll do my best to help you by addressing your issues in a future blog post or podcast episode here at Resourceful Designer. You can reach me at feedback@resourcefuldesigner.com

You can't get worse by practising [sc name="pod_ad"]Every skill you try to learn has a learning curve to it. Sometimes that curve is small, and sometimes it's very long. And in some cases, that learning curve is never-ending. Such as with design skills. The title of this episode is Progress Over Perfection. That's because perfection is an unattainable goal, which is a good thing. Think about it. What if you designed the most fantastic logo or website, one that every single designer in the world acknowledged as being perfect. How would you follow that up? How can you improve on perfection? You can't. And that's a good thing. It's what keeps us creative. If you attained perfection, there would be no more motivation to carry on because everything after that point would be a step-down. That's why I choose the title Progress Over Perfection. Because perfection is unattainable, your goal should be to make progress instead by continually improving your design skills. You do that by practising. There will never be a time in your life when you don't need to improve your design skills. Even famed designers such as Michael Bierut from Pentagram or Kate Moross from Studio Moross continue to practice their skills. Carolyn Davidson designed the Nike swoosh when she was a student at Portland State University. It's one of the most recognisable brands on the planet. But do you think Carolyn stopped learning or trying to improve her skills after that success? The answer is no. These designers, as well as every other designer around the world, continue to improve their design skills by practising their craft. And by practising, I mean doing things over and over again with the intent of becoming better. It's a long road. I've been in this business for 30 years and the skill level I want to be at as a designer is still far beyond the horizon. That's why I continue to practice my craft every day. Have you ever watched an Aaron Draplin teaching logo design? He doesn't merely pick up a pencil or his mouse and design an amazing logo. No, he tests out idea after idea, discarding some and expanding on others. He keeps doing this 50, 100, 200 times until he begins to narrow down the ideas to one concrete logo design. Even then, that final logo design may get discarded for something completely different. That is practising. Call it brainstorming or brain-dumping or experimenting or whatever you will; it's still practising. When my daughter was a young teenager, she played on a competitive soccer team. One day, they had one of the women from Canada's Women's National Team help them out at practice. She was one of the players from the 2012 Olympic bronze medal team. She told my daughter's team that if you want to get good at soccer, you need to touch the ball over and over. Not kick it, or dribble it or bounce it on your knee, although those do help. Just keep moving it with your feet over and over and over again, and you will become a better soccer player. Every time a soccer player touches the ball, the ball reacts. They touch the ball with their foot one way the ball behaves in a certain way. They touch the ball another way, and it responds differently. Every time the ball reacts to their touch, they are learning what to expect. After doing it a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand times, they will come to know exactly what to expect from the ball. That is called practising. It's not as glamorous as practising penalty or corner kicks. Or as fun as dribbling the ball through an obstacle course of orange cones but it's practising nonetheless. And the more they do it, the better they will be on the soccer pitch because that practice will help them understand how the ball reacts to their touch. To stay at the top of their game, they need to continue practising. Amazing players such as Renaldo or Messi or Canada's Christina Sinclair don't stop practising just because they're at the top of their game. If anything, they need to practice even harder than before. The same goes for design. Every doodle you make, every sketch you make, every ill-conceived design concept you come up with, every logo, poster, banner, or website that gets rejected by a client should be considered as practice in the journey to make you a better designer. Every design you make will help you better understand how certain elements interact with each other, how things align, how colour combinations work or don't work, how fonts complement each other. What things create flow and what things break it. Every design you make is practice to become a better designer. There are no fast solutions. There are no books, tutorials, online courses or school programs that will magically make you a great designer. The only way to become a great designer is by learning new skills and practising those skills over and over and over again. This goes for both new and veteran designers. We all need to keep practising. The better you get at design, the more you'll understand the importance of practising. Remember, Progress over Perfection. Don't be discouraged if you're design skills are not improving as fast as you would like them to. Or the critiques you receive from your designs are harsher than you expected. Renaldo didn't become a superstar of soccer overnight. He spent years and years honing his talents. Practising every chance he got. If you do the same, if you devote your time to practising your design skills, there's no reason you can't become a superstar of the design world. You can't get worse by practising. How much time do you spend practising your design skills? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode. Questions of the Week Submit your question to be featured in a future episode of the podcast by visiting the feedback page. This week's question comes from Victor You mentioned before how it's good to get to know designers in the community so you can hire or pass work on to them. Do you think it would be a good idea to introduce myself to studios in my community as a freelancer? My thought was that if I could do this with freelancers in the community, why not studios? To find out what I told Victor you'll have to listen to the podcast. Resource of the week Squoosh.app Squoosh.app is a website that allows you to drag and drop images you want to optimise 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 optimised 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 optimised image. I don't know how they do it, but I've been able to take optimised images out of Photoshop and cut their filesize in half without any noticeable degradation of the image. Check it out; I'm sure you'll find the site useful. Listen to the podcast on the go. Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen on Android Listen on Stitcher Listen on iHeartRadio Contact me I would love to hear from you. You can send me questions and feedback using my feedback form. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram I want to help you. Running a graphic design or web design business all by yourself isn't easy. If there are any struggles you face running your design business, please reach out to me. I'll do my best to help you by addressing your issues in a future blog post or podcast episode here at Resourceful Designer. You can reach me at feedback@resourcefuldesigner.com