June 16, 2021
First things first, we want to celebrate the courage it took for you to start your graphic design business.
Starting your own business would have to be one of the scariest things in the world to do and you did it! Or you are considering doing it!
So, consider this a love letter to you beautiful designer. A passion statement to let you know how courageous you are. A very big congratulations—BRAVO!
It’s a huge commitment to make and a super brave thing to do—the safe thing to do would be to get a job, pick up your regular paycheque and never truly push out of your comfort zone.
Being courageous can be uncomfortable—even scary! And it can feel really hard.
If being in business isn’t feeling particularly easy, you are not alone, because there are a lot of complex factors that go into running a successful design business.
Truthbomb: You may be more courageous than you think.
Simply showing up regularly can be really hard. You’re revealing a part of yourself and your creativity and it’s a potentially vulnerable position and you risk being judged. This is a courageous act!
This. is. hard. But an effective way to bring in new business into your design studio.
We’ve dedicated an entire podcast episode dedicated to reaching out to existing clients for work:
Episode 27 The Magic of Repeat Work for Design Studios—check it out!
A lot of design business entrepreneurs tell us they have a desire not to be too salesy, they don’t want to be obvious in their sales approach. But, in business the reality is that you have sell, you have to ask for the sale—which means you have to put yourself out there and ask for business.
Be courageous, put yourself out there and you will be surprised at the people who want to work with you. Because at the end of the day you will be offering your beautiful service, your skillset and your talent to help transform them. If you shift from sell to serve—the courage is a little easier to access. You still have to show up, and that takes courage! But it’s a little easier to be courageous when you know you are helping your clients—Its a beautiful thing to let people know that you are available to help them.
It is a vulnerable position to be in to send out a design proposal and not be entirely sure of how it is going to be received. But when you do it and your client says ‘yes’ and they pay the money, it is exhilarating!
Good news! Every time you put yourself out there and receive a ‘yes’ it chips away at the scariness and it becomes easier and easier. Showing up with a mass of courage at the beginning and then continually showing up with smaller daily acts of courage won’t take as much energy as you get more experience with it.
This is a super vulnerable act and requires massive courage. The ultimate act of putting yourself out there—your work is a literal representation of your beating heart flung on the table (or on the screen) for your client to judge.
And what happens when you hear crickets?? You have to dig deep again and find the next level of courage for the follow up!
Our beautiful clients might take too long to respond and you are forced to be courageous and follow up. It’s ok, you can (and must) do this.
We are big believers of niching but it does take a lot of courage.
Especially with the perception that by niching you are cutting off other avenues of income—stopping work from flowing because you are shutting down potential avenues elsewhere.
But the exact opposite is true. Niching is an extremely profitable way to operate your business.
To be seen as the expert rather than the generalist is powerful. Just because you are intentionally targeting a particular type or style of work doesn’t mean you are going to shut down all the other doors, you will still receive a broad range of enquiries. Niching just helps to position you as an expert in your chosen area.
This takes a HUGE amount of courage—but it is essential!
We are about setting, beautiful, healthy, respectful and kind boundaries. Kindness toward yourself and your clients. Setting clear, healthy boundaries means that you are in control of your business.
You may find it also helpful to listen to our recent poddy Episode 35 ‘Done is better than perfect’.
Saying no to clients’ unrealistic requests, no to projects that don’t fit with your vision, no to deadlines that you can’t meet. The list goes on. Saying no is extremely POWERFUL and is an ultimate act of courage.
When you are in this kind of business, whether you are a web designer or you have a graphic design studio or you’re a branding specialist—this kind of business requires daily acts of courage.
We are super proud of you even considering having a graphic design business or having a graphic design business if you have already started. YOU are super brave. Congratulations—go forth and continue to be brave.
You’ve got this!
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