You’re listening to an award-winning podcast! I’m so grateful that we won Best Podcast at the 2019 Social Media Club Hashie Awards! I’ll share more details about it later, but I’m so, so grateful that you listen, share, DM me on Instagram and all the things! I could not do this without you!
In honor of publishing episode 50 today, I thought I’d share 8 things I think every creative biz owner needs to know about running a business. Here we go!
1. Get an abundance mindset.
Running a business requires a mental toughness no one talks about. I like to compare running a business to riding a ferris wheel. You’re up, you’re down, and when it stops, you’re waiting for other people to get on. You can get irritated or sad by things, or you can teach yourself to detach from the outcome when a client says no, or maybe you didn’t hit your financial goals, but you can always get back up.
I encourage you to stay in the “my cup is half full” zone, and surround yourself with people who are up to the same thing as you.
Resources:
The Get Rich Lucky Bitch Book by Denise Duffield-Thomas
The Design Business Show 002: Your Belief is Your Most Powerful Business Tool
2. Build a business friend circle + support system of people on the same path as you.
When my teenage son does something that annoys me (no my cup isn’t always half full, but most of the time it is) I can have a conversation with my friend who has teenage daughters and she can shift my perspective immediately. Almost every single person I’ve interviewed on this show drove home that it’s super important to connect with other designers and creatives in your field who have their own business. When you get a crazy client who demands to speak to you now, you have someone to ask!
Resources:
Click here to join my free community!
3. Learn to create services that create results for your clients – that you are super confident about.
Having design skills is one thing – but packaging those skills into an offer creates results for your clients is a skill you must learn. You’ll learn to price your design projects and set up payment plans that help create more recurring revenue. When you want to explore adding a new offer or program for a new type of client to your suite of products – you’ll know exactly what to do, step-by-step. By knowing what your ideal clients are struggling with – you’ll be ahead of the game by creating services that solve their problems. And then you can become super confident about your offers, which makes them easier to sell!
Resources:
The Design Business Show 046: Becoming a Female Design Industry Leader with Promise Tangeman
4. Learn how to confidently price your products and services.
How to price and position your design services so you always get a yes from your potential clients. Every design or consulting service is not built for every client. When you price your products and services with a high-perceived value – you’ll be able to add more profit to your bottom line. Need to outsource a project? Never, ever take a loss on a project again.
Resources:
The Design Business Show 003: Confidently Determine Your Prices as a Designer
The Design Business Show 049: Creating Goal-Driven Web Sites and Sales Pages with Christi Cooper
The Design Business Show 023: Believing Your Art Has Value with Lilah Higgins
5. Create smooth systems and process for working with clients and everything else.
Seriously. How many times have you went to McDonalds or somewhere cheap and had a bad experience? As a designer you want to create experiences that are out of this world for your clients so they can always come back wanting to work with you again.
Resources:
The Design Business Show 016: Mastering Your Onboarding Process
6. Learn to have sales conversations that get yes’s from the right clients.
Right Clients is the secret here. Once your offer has launched in beta mode, you can take the steps to take it to the next level. First, we’ll create an inquiry process that only attracts your ideal clients and impresses them from the first step. Then, we’ll talk about creating your own custom sales conversation process that features the benefits and results of your offer. Plus, I’ll show you how to present it with confidence so it’s easier to get the “YES.”
Resources:
The Design Business Show 037: How to Land High-End Design Clients
The Design Business Show 027: Mastering your Sales Call Process with Natalie McGuire
7. Build and nurture long-term client relationships.
Getting the “yes” to a client for the first time – it’s exhilarating! What if you could turn one yes into multiple “yes’s? I’ll show you why providing a high level of service with results will help set you apart from other designers and help you build long-term client relationships with the clients you want to work with.
Resources:
8. Create Space for Your Life and Business
Build a life + biz that doesn’t burn you out. Create space for your dream life + business. Learn how to manage your energy, finish your to-do’s and not have to work 24/7 to grow your business!
Resources:
The Design Business Show 024: Building a Multi-passionate Business with Stephenie Zamora
9. Bonus: Create a system for managing your money!
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