There comes a time in every freelancer’s life when they sit down and ask this question: Where can I find better leads? This is not necessarily a reflection of the freelancer’s current and past clients, but rather it’s a sign of their growth. (That’s not to say there haven’t been plenty of web designers who’ve been paid too little by clients who weren’t exactly ideal.) When you’re ready to start raising your rates and being compensated more robustly for your time, it means you’re doing something right. You’ve got some experience under your belt, you’re aware of what your colleagues and competi ..read more

Determining when to raise prices for your web design business can be a truly difficult task for a number of reasons. First, there’s fear (completely justified fear, too!). Finding clients is hard enough in the first place. The last thing you want to do is scare them away by changing your web design pricing. Then there’s the sheer logistics of it. Figuring out how to raise prices without causing confusion or client conflict is crucial. But after working closely with thousands of web designers (and other professionals) for over a decade, there’s one thing that gives me hope (and hopefully you ..read more

A lot of us in the creative workforce start our businesses by bootstrapping. Whether you want a side gig that pays for some fun “extras” or a full-fledged web design agency, you’ll probably do some bootstrapping right in the beginning. The good news is that you’ve got innumerable options for growing your business without having to spend a ton of money. For every premium solution you need, there’s almost always a low-cost way to make it happen. Later, when your business has seen the growth you’re working so hard to achieve, you’ll be in a much better position to spend a little money on those s ..read more

If you’re ready to grow your business and increase profits, there are a few ways you can go about it, no matter what type of creative business you’re in. The first strategy that probably comes to mind is to find more clients—it’s the natural next step, right? Then maybe you have the idea to find higher-paying clients. Even better, right?! But there’s a less obvious, easier way to start increasing your revenue streams that often gets over-looked: the upsell to current clients. Upselling current clients has quite a few advantages over focusing on new business. First, we’ll dive i ..read more

Nobody likes making mistakes. Sure, there’s that whole “fail faster” thing where you convince yourself that failure is a good thing because you can grow and learn and now you won’t waste your time on something that’s ultimately going to fail. That’s not what I’m talking about, though. What I’m talking about are the flubs. The dumb mistakes you make. The lost opportunities because you didn’t know better (or couldn’t have cared less). Mistakes like that can be devastating for your work if they’re left unchecked. And—as awesome as freelancing is—the inherent nature of freelancing is that there’s ..read more

As a project-based company, it can be challenging to find the right way to feature your work without overcrowding your website or negatively impacting the user experience. But, showing off your work in a clear, visually-appealing manner is important because it proves your expertise, builds credibility, and visualizes the quality of your work for your website visitors.  An interactive, high-quality portfolio is a great way to showcase your work on your website. It’s a feature that applies to any project-based business, from construction to real estate and interior design.  While it m ..read more

Ever heard of a sales funnel? Of course you have. But do you know what a funnel is and how to use one? That one’s less of a no-brainer. But have no fear! Today we’re going to start unpacking the online marketing universe of the sales funnel…starting with the basics. In this article, I’ll cover:  What is a sales funnel?  Why do sales funnels matter?  Why should designers care? What is a sales funnel? The customer journey. The value ladder. The front-end and back-end. There are all kinds of ways people talk about sales funnels. No matter what you call it, though, the thing you ..read more

You may be a creative professional, but that doesn’t mean you’re just a creativity widget that can be cranked every time you need a new idea. You need habits and routines that feed your creativity, to keep up your energy and inspiration during the design process. It’s especially important for those of us who make a living through some form of creativity because when your inspiration is gone, your ability to grow as a designer is pretty limited. This might translate into a loss of fulfillment at work and a stagnated income, among other super fun things. That’s not to say that you HAVE to ..read more

When you work in a creative industry, there’s an expectation that your creativity switch is always set to “on.” But ask any designer, and they’ll tell you just how untrue that is. Working on client projects all day, everyday is the dream, but the constant work-flow can make it difficult to keep the creative juices flowing. Plus, by the time you go through multiple rounds of client feedback, it can seem like all of the creativity set aside for a project was zapped. What’s more is that creativity blocks don’t just stop at the office. When you’re a fully loaded designer exercising your creativit ..read more

Referrals are just one of the many keys that contribute to your business growth. No matter if you’re working in landscaping, real estate, or web design, you’ll want client referrals. Why? Because that’s the easiest (and cheapest!) way to find new clients, with little to no effort on your end. In this article, I’ll break down what exactly client referrals are, why they matter, and lastly a few ways to ask your clients for them (without coming off as too sales-y of course)! What is a client referral?  A referral is a prospective client sent to you by an established connection. This could b ..read more