February 16, 2024
Don: Hello. This is an Ask Kris and Don Quickie episode where we answer a question from a startup designer who is applying for graphic design contract work with other design businesses but is wondering whether to share their business or personal portfolio. You’re listening to Design and Prosper episode 124.
[Intro Music]
Don: Hello.
Kris: Hey everybody. So, we are just like doing a little dance in the studio today
Don: drum roll.
Kris: because we have an audio question. A beautiful designer named Sinead has submitted an audio question, and we get these so rarely that we’re just like, Woo! He’s So excited. So you too can submit an audio question to us. You just head to designandprosper.co/podcast, and there’s the option there to record a message for us, which we’ll feature on the podcast, or you can just type in a message. You can be anonymous if you wish.
Don: Make it easy, people. Whatever is easy.
Kris: Yes, whatever is easy, but thank you, Sinead. We’re just going to listen to your question.
Sinead: Hi ladies, thanks so much for your podcast and sharing all your awesome helpful tips. My name is Sinead. I’m a startup business specializing in brand design. My business name is Pure Muse Studio. My question for you is When I want to apply for jobs, whether it’s with another designer or another studio, um, should I be showing them my work website, as in my Pure Muse studio website, or should I have a personal portfolio that doesn’t relate to the studio? I don’t want them to be put off by the fact that I’m also doing my own work on the side. So yeah, any advice on that would be amazing. Thank you!
Kris: Okay. Thank you, Sinead. That’s, that’s a really interesting one.
Don: It’s a good question.
Kris: Yeah. We, we actually we did a little pause for a moment, like, hmm, what is the best solution here? But we’ve landed in something that we’re feeling very confident in.
Don: Yes, absolutely. It is a tricky one because your biggest concern, we are guessing, is that you are worried that your potential employers will think you’re going to steal their clients.
And that’s going to be your biggest fear because you have your own business. You are a business owner and you’re doing this extra work. So it’s that filler sort of work. You’re You’re a startup. which is fine and you’re wanting to make sure that you’ve got money coming through the door and this is an avenue for you to do that.
So there are a few things you can do straight away, straight out of the gate. You can get yourself organized with a non compete so that if that question comes up they know that their clients are safe and they’re not going anywhere. They’re their clients and you’re not going to take them.
Kris: Like a non-compete contract, which they can sign off on, so you can say I’m not going to take your clients, I promise I will not take your clients.
Don: And it can be just a clause in your contract. It doesn’t have to be a standalone contract. It could be just an additional clause in your contract that says you will not poach their client. It’s as simple as that. And then also a confidentiality agreement is also really important so that you can say I will keep confidential your processes, I will keep confidential your client list, I will keep confidential the work that I do for you on this client until launch date, things like that.
So, whatever makes that client feel really comfortable, you know, that things like your work to their processes, not to yours, which goes against the grain a little bit for Kris and I, and that’s why Kris said, Hmm, we had to pause a little bit going, Ah, how will this look?
How will it work? But we feel that when you’re working for another design business, it needs to be their business their way, because you are an external contractor, you are an employee to them, so when you are running your own business, like ideally, you won’t be working for other designers unless it’s on a contract basis where it’s project by project and you have full right to promote, full right, you’re collaborating.
So you might be doing a part of the project that is in your zone of genius that they don’t have and you get full right to promote. So all of these tricky little things can get ugly if they’re not addressed with complete transparency. So that would be the first thing that we would say. Address, address the icky stuff.
Kris: And I guess we didn’t quite answer your question, which was, yes, we think you should share your business portfolio. We went on like a bit of a tangent with about the clauses and things and, and the things to say up front, to, to, you know, put their mind at ease because we’re making an assumption that this is filler work for you, that you’re building up your own business, but you’re going to be working with them alongside it. And so that can make an employer feel a little nervous. In terms of your stability and your availability and all that sort of thing.
So we just need to put their mind at ease. And so you’d be doing that with your other correspondence when you’re applying for the position and all that sort of thing. We’d just be wanting to make sure that you, you really make sure that they’re going to feel really comfortable and safe and secure by employing you.
Don: Yeah.
Kris: And we really do think it’s perfectly fine to promote your business portfolio because it’s going to come out anyway. You don’t want to start off a business relationship that’s kind of smoke and mirrors there’s some hidden details behind the scenes. That’s not going to feel comfortable and it will come out eventually and then you’ll have that uncomfortable or potentially uncomfortable conversation later on.
So yeah, just use that beautiful portfolio and, really maximize the benefits of them working with somebody who’s also running a business or who has business experience because you’ve got an entrepreneurial spirit, that’s a really good strength. You know, you’re across lots of different aspects of business – that could be helpful for them as well. And you just look at things a little bit differently when you’re a business owner, so those things can be really played up on and enhanced and promoted so that this is not seen as a threat, it’s not seen as a negative. I think it’d be a good thing.
Don: I think so too, and honesty is the best policy, complete transparency is the way to go, definitely show your portfolio, your business portfolio, and I wonder Sinead, like Kris said when we were talking about this earlier, we said that there are assumptions that we need to make in order to answer this question because we don’t really know the type of work that you’re going for. We’re assuming it’s filler, but if it’s collaboration, then that’s actually different. It’s different to, to that type of work. So you won’t have that employee, e sort of mindset when you’re collaborating with someone, whereas if you’re going for a job at another design firm, that’s different.
You’re actually like a two day a week employee or whatever. That means you’ll be working within their business, their way. Whereas when you are collaborating, that’s a whole different ballgame. That’s really, really exciting and and like I was saying before, , you get to share all the spoils, you get to share all the gold, you get to share all the marketing and, and all of that type of thing and celebrate your strengths and, and that kind of thing.
So, I think the bottom line is, Honesty, transparency, making them feel like you are not a threat to their business and going for it. And I would like to say, we would like to see you shuffle and shift into attracting your dream clients as soon as possible. And that way you don’t have to have these situations where it feels a little bit icky for you.
So as soon as possible, you’re working toward the type of people that you want to work with because one of the biggest downsides to taking on work when you’re a start up business and you take on extra work for other people is that can take your eyes and brains and passion away from your own business.
Kris: Oh, it really can.. You can get swept up in it.
Don: You can get swept up and then all of a sudden you’re working really hard on work that is building up someone else’s business and you can’t extract yourself.
Kris: Yeah, you’re building somebody else’s dream.
Don: Yeah. And you have your own, you’ve got it as a side hustle. We’d like to see you working at building it up, step by step, pillar by pillar, get all of the foundations right, so you are running your very own dream business, how you want, with the clients that you want.
Kris: Yes. Okay, so, just to wrap up. Yes, share your business portfolio. make sure you communicate Being a business owner. It’s an asset to them.
Don: Yes. It’s not a negative.
Kris: It’s an asset. And, offer to have a confidentiality agreement. A non compete clause in there just to make sure that they feel really safe and secure in this. And yeah, it’s, definitely a way to help boost up your revenue at the beginning of starting a business. But as Don said, yeah, let’s focus in your efforts to start getting those dream clients in the door so that you are running your business full time and you’re not feeling like a freelancer. Cause we do not want you to fall into that, feeling like a freelancer.
if you haven’t listened to our episode about the freelancer, I’m just going to find it now for you. So you can have a listen to that one. Cause we get on a soapbox about this.
So the episode is number 37. Ditch the dirty F word in your design business, because we don’t want you to stay in that freelancer mindset for too long. But yeah, good luck with it. And we hope it all works out really well.
Don: Yeah, be brave with being really honest and transparent. And do you know, I believe with all of my heart, if you go into a meeting where you address their concerns first, and say you are willing to sign a confidentiality agreement, pop a non compete clause in your contract, they’ll be like, whoa!
We are dealing with someone who knows their stuff. It’ll automatically give you credibility straight away, and they will trust you. Straight away out of the gate. So yeah, all the best. Be brave. Let us know how you go.
Kris: Okay, until next time! Bye!
Don: Bye!
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