4 Mistakes New Designers Should Avoid
If you're a new designer looking to grow your business and start charging more for your designs, this post is for you!
We’re going to break down the 4 most common mistakes we see new designers make as they begin taking on their first clients and growing their businesses.
And if you’ve made any of these mistakes, don't worry- we have made all of them! We want to share where we went wrong so you can fast-track your way to being a pro!
We’re going to cover:
How to actually get your business launched
How to feel more confident in pricing your design services
How to create a bomb project workflow that works for your business
And, how to have a clear design strategy when working with clients
Mistake #1: Getting stuck obsessing over your own branding and website
As designers, we 100% know how important your own branding and website are.
But, here’s the thing: we see lots of new designers get so hung up on perfecting their own branding, that they hold themselves back from launching or finding those first, crucial clients.
And don't hear us wrong; your branding is very important, but if you are spending all of your time on it, you are holding yourself back.
In the early months of your business, you have to be devoted to finding your first clients, AKA sales.
It’s great if your branding is beautiful, but if you don’t have any connections, leads, or clients, you’re going to be stuck.
We recommend spending at least one hour per day reaching out to potential clients that you want to work with, sharing with them why your service is a valuable asset to them, and networking in every way you can.
Instagram, Facebook groups, and LinkedIn are all great places to start.
And, if you’re unsure of what to say, check out our post, “How To Have Sales Calls That Get Clients to Book.”
Mistake #2: Letting Your Emotions Dictate Your Pricing
When we first started our business, we really didn't know how to properly price our services, and simply charged what we thought clients would want to pay.
By charging what we assumed our clients would want to pay, we were severely underpricing ourselves.
When pricing, it’s important to keep in mind the true value of your creative service; you provide a product that will benefit your client’s business for many years to come.
The place to begin when pricing your services is determining a base price, based on your financial goals and expenses.
You can take the emotions out of your pricing and learn how to accurately price your services today with our free designer's guide to pricing your services!
You might be surprised at how much you’re undercharging after doing the math.
Mistake #3: Not Having a Strong Project Workflow
Having strong systems and a project workflow for your business is the key to scaling and finding long-term success.
Streamlining a project workflow takes some time and experimenting, but once you pin it down, you’ll be able to set client expectations better, map out your future projects more easily, and find peace of mind knowing your projects are on track.
If you don't already have a good workflow in place for your business, we've made it simple for you with our brand & web design workflow template featuring every task included in our 8-week process! This is a great place to get started, but you should absolutely customize this in a way that suits your personal flow best.
Mistake #4: Creating Designs Without Strategy
If you’ve been creating designs without a strategy, purely based on your client’s preference, it’s time to start using brand strategy. Brand strategy may sound intimidating, but it really shouldn’t; in its simplest form, brand strategy is strategizing who your designs are for and how they can be as attractive to that ideal client/customer as possible.
We always have a brand strategy meeting before we sit down to design, and here’s why: you and your clients need to be on the same page about WHO these designs are for.
This, #1, Helps you create designs that will truly bring your clients more revenue, and #2, helps your client understand that the purpose of their branding is to attract their ideal customers and clients.
In our design service, we also dive into some strategic messaging in our Brand Strategy Session that ends up influencing the website copy we write. (The book, Building a Storybrand, shaped so much of our brand strategy. It’s a must-read.)
If you know it’s finally time to implement a brand strategy in your designs, we’re ready to help you dip your toes in! Grab this free Brand Strategy Questionnaire that details every question we ask in our own strategy meetings with clients!
We’re here for you as you start this designer journey, and want to help you succeed! Sign up for our email community below to get our latest advice and resources.
“How To Have Sales Calls That Get Clients to Book.”Brand Strategy Questionnaire
