Are you tired of working at the same company without having the opportunity to really make a big leap in your career? If yes, you are probably thinking about starting your own graphic design business because it’s the only natural way to move on. But this process is not so simple. Read on to find out more about starting your own graphic design business.
A report shows there are approximately 125 thousand web design-related businesses in the United States alone, with more than 220 thousand employees. It’s a huge figure that reveals how serious and competitive the industry really is.
However, it doesn’t mean you should quit. On the contrary, it only suggests you have to make a good plan before taking any concrete actions. In this article, we will show you how to prepare for starting your own graphic design business.
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Things to Know Before Takeoff
Before you enter the entrepreneurship game, you should know a few details about it. Mike Jones, a business strategist at UK Essays, says designers need to be aware of all obstacles and be ready to work hard: “Of course, you need enough funds to help you get through the first year. This is the period of reputation building, so you need to have enough savings.”
Besides that, you must understand the pros and cons of launching a graphic design company. The benefits include:
- Flexible schedule: Private entrepreneurship allows you to plan time according to your own needs and preferences.
- Independent work: Now you can finally put all those creative ideas into practice.
- Motivation: It’s also a great way to stay motivated and accumulate energy for the fresh start.
The benefits we mentioned are truly amazing, but a graphic design business also comes with a few side effects. Some of these include:
- Professional risk: Graphic designers who launch their own companies need to understand the risk they are taking: “They have to play two roles now and prove their business administration skills.”
- Stress: This is a natural consequence of the previous disadvantage. Solo entrepreneurs feel a lot of stress because they have to find enough clients to make ends meet.
- Hard work: Perhaps we shouldn’t consider this to be a disadvantage, but the fact remains that you must work twice as hard as you used to.
3 Tactics for Launching a Profitable Business
When you think about all these pros and cons of starting a graphic design business, it seems like the benefits definitely prevail. However, not you need to figure out how to do it properly. These three tactics will help you with that:
Get ready
The first thing you need to do is to create a realistic business plan. If you are not really sure of how to do it properly, don’t hesitate to consult with professionals at Do My Writing or similar services that employ experienced business consultants.
Make sure to keep the plan objective – you should hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. Don’t forget to consider the following details if you want to kickstart a company:
- Do I have a solid design portfolio and client case studies of previous works? This is a critical question because your portfolio is the only thing that sets you apart from competitors.
- How long will it take to acquire enough clients? You can’t expect to attract tons of new clients within a month, but try to make an estimation to see how it fits with your budget plans.
Pricing
This is a pivotal issue because you don’t want to chase clients away with high prices, but you also don’t want to work for peanuts. If you don’t have experience with graphic design budgets and prices, do the research and check out competitors.
For instance, PayScale says that the average salary for a graphic designer is around $43 thousand per year. There are a lot more online sources to see here, so make sure test them all and compare the prices. On the other hand, it’s even more important to focus on yourself.
How much do you really need to live a normal life and pay off the loan you took to launch a company? Do you already have a wide portfolio of amazing projects or you are just starting? Are you an expert in a specific niche or an all-around player? Do you have a network of professional contact or need to build one now? Answering all these questions will help you to understand your position and determine the price of your work.
Know Your Clients and Who You’re Working With
Not only is it important to know how to run your graphic design business and do amazing work for your clients. It’s also very important to understand the clients you are working with. Learn how to avoid the red flags of bad clients. It will save a lot of trouble and wasted time. It’s vital you understand how to handle certain clients and work with good clients and the type that will elevate your graphic design business.
Promote your business
Both the beginner-level designers and experienced professionals need to promote their newly-established businesses. If you want to get the foot in the door, you have to add at least three items to your marketing plan:
- A website: You can’t run a graphic design business without a good website. Use it to showcase your portfolio and to publish relevant industry-related content. If it sounds like too much for you, you can always hire content creators to help you.
- Social media: The likes of Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook gather billions of daily active users. You must seize the opportunity to promote your work through social platforms and let the world know about your company.
- Paid search: Over 90% of online experiences begin with a search engine. In such circumstances, investing a small budget in paid search definitely seems like a reasonable solution because it guarantees online exposure instantly.
Conclusion
Becoming a design entrepreneur is a dream come true for most professionals in this field because it allows a fair share of independence and flexibility. However, it’s not possible to launch a successful business without a comprehensive plan of action.
Our post showed you three keys to starting a profitable graphic design business. Remember our suggestions and feel free to leave a comment if you need additional information – we would be glad to discuss this important topic with you!
The Logo Creative has a brilliant Design Resources Page with lots of useful things that can help you. If you’re just starting out in graphic design this article about Things Graphic Designers Should Know is also a good useful read.
Author Bio
Becky Holton is a journalist and a blogger. She is interested in education technologies and is always ready to support informative speaking. Follow her on Twitter.