How to Start Your Own Design Business
Now more than ever, people are wanting to make the move to creating their own online business. If you have an interest in design or a background in the industry, here are some of my top methods for starting your design business.
Niche Your Design Offerings
When starting your business, it’s important to become a specialist in your design business. Have you ever heard the term “jack of all trades, master at none?” You’ve got to hone in on your skillset and your specialty.
By focusing on one area of design and honing in on your skills in that area, you start to become more desirable to clients that need you. You also differentiate yourself from other businesses out there by niching your offerings.
Think of it this way - if you’re offering everything under the sun, you become a designer for hire vs. a specialist. By niching your design business you can also begin to charge more for your services. Plus, if clients see that you’re an expert in web design they know that you must be the go-to designer to hire and you’ll start to become highly sought after.
Identify Your Dream Clients
Next, you need to discover your dream clients. By defining your dream customer, you aren’t saying ‘no’ to business, you are simply talking directly to the people you want to be working with.
Your dream customer is that one customer that you just “click” with. They are the kind of customer that values your expertise and creative opinion while also providing feedback that helps your working relationship move forward. They have the budget to afford your product and they understand that the investment they are making will help them solve the problem they came to you with in the first place.
Narrowing in on who your dream customer also gives you a better idea of how to talk to customers through your marketing, on your website, and on social media.
Related: How to Define Your Dream Customer
Define Your Process
You’ve niched your offerings, selected your dream client and now it’s time to get specific about your design process when working with clients.
First, think about how you will get your services to your clients. Review each step from the first interaction all the way to the final payment. Will they book an appointment with you online or via email? Once they work with you, do they want to work with you again or are they done? How will you take people’s money and get paid and send your contract over to them? Get specific.
Your process can make or break your client experience, so keep this top-notch!
Refine Your Brand
When your dream clients interact with your brand, how do you want them to feel? Have you ever heard the saying, “Your vibe attracts your tribe?” This same practice applies to your overall brand.
Your vibe could be surfer, California lifestyle or maybe it’s pink frilly bows and baby clothes. It is up to you to decide what makes your brand special and how it attracts your dream client.
Related: Use Branding to Attract Your Dream Clients
Price Your Design Services
Time to get ready to make that money! For designers, there are a few ways you can structure your pricing but for the purpose of this blog post we will focus on two; project-based or hourly. Project-based or flat-fee is when you have a set or fixed price for an agreed amount of work. Hourly is when you track your time and bill for each hour that you work. Similar to when you work in house for an employer.
When it comes to hourly pricing, one of the benefits is that you and your clients know exactly how much time is spent on a project. By tracking your time, you have a full view of how much each line item takes you to complete.
Flat rate pricing is a pretty common setup for the majority of designers out there. This is a great structure to receive payment for your worth and value of expertise in your business. Clients enjoy knowing the costs upfront and you are able to create a payment plan or structure for deposits and such for your projects.
Take time to review your options to pick the best route for your business.
Related: How to Price Your Design Services
Start Attracting Clients
It’s go time! Now it’s time to start selling your design services.
You will need a brand identity and website to establish credibility and so that people can find you.
Tell every single person you know that you’ve started a new business, shout it from the rooftops and then tell them again. The squeaky wheel gets the grease! Below are a few ways that I have been able to find clients.
Yelp or Facebook Reviews
Getting online reviews for your design business really helps with SEO when you’re just starting out. Kindly ask a past client to review your business online.
Curate a feed that shows your highest quality work. Direct the content towards your dream customers. This allows potential clients to get to know you and your design style.
Cold Emails
You don’t get what you don’t ask for! There is nothing wrong with putting together a few emails telling a person or brand why you would be a good t and what you can do for them. Keep it simple, to the point, and make sure you provide ways to get in touch or schedule a time to talk more with you.
Blogging
Blogging has been a great tool for me to use for getting new clients. People often nd me through my blog and if they don’t contact me to work with them straight away, they sign up for my email list and reach out later.
