I work with all sorts of creatives, and designers make up quite a chunk of my clientele. Interior designers, graphic designers, illustrators, and web designers. Most of them work on their own, or have a small team whom they run the business with. They usually book a call with me when they reach the point of feeling stuck and exhausted, find themselves on an income plateau, or generally feel they want more structure and a better work-life balance. How does a business coach for designers help them? What can you expect?
“I feel like I am always firefighting”. An interior designer from Barcelona phoned me recently, and she needed help. “I have great clients, very rich ones in fact, but I feel like I am wearing all the hats, and I am busier micro-managing the contractors than being the visionary, creative director that I set out to be. I hate the chaos in my head and the constant running around.”
What a business coach for designers does
Clients like this interior designer I am able to help very well. You see, I am like an eagle, and I fly above that chaos. I take everything in, I listen carefully and I watch it all from a distance, and then I spot the thing we need to focus on. BAM. Target that priority. Catch the mouse. Ignore the rest. Create clarity and direction.
It’s not just the designers amongst my clients who find this helpful, most of my clients love my calm approach to their overwhelm. But designers can often suddenly have a huge workload, and a lot of clients to keep happy. Jobs at different stages, deadlines, stuff to chase up, endless emails back-and-forth. Any strategic business planning goes out of the window. They are firefighting, and just trying to get through the week.
Grow a design business the healthy way
Most designers start off as freelancers, taking on every job that comes their way. They are often over-delivering and undercharging (sounds familiar?), and working with demanding clients who push them to the limit. But, because they are just starting out, they keep going. Working late, working weekends, just to get the jobs done and the invoices paid.
When you want to grow your design business the healthy way, there are a number of things you can do. First of all, think deeply about your core values and what you find important in life, and also as a designer. As a business coach for designers and other creatives, I currently work with web designers who have strong values around social equality, eco-lifestyles, and generally want to make the world a better place. But because they haven’t been running their business for that long, they feel they have to say yes to every client.
The result? Clients who are not aligned, have different expectations, and are giving the designers a lot of headache.
So get clear on what you stand for, and who you want to work with. Your ‘dream client’; who is this? What type of client do you love working with? Why do you love this type of client or type of project? With this clarity, you feel better armed to target the right clients, and also find it easier to say ‘no’ to the ones who don’t fit this picture.
Build in time to plan ahead
The fire-fighting pace often takes over when there are multiple clients to keep happy. Still, this is exactly the rushing feeling that most designers hate.
Having a lot of work is a blessing and a curse. On one hand, there will be money coming in, but on the other hand, you feel exhausted.
It is not easy, but if you want to grow a healthy and sustainable design business, you have got to build in time to think. Even if you can manage once a month, make it a habit to block a day in your diary, and step away from the laptop. You can do this alone, or together with your team, but make the effort to set some long-term goals. Not just staying alive until Friday.
Questions to ask yourself and your team during a ‘Strategy Day’ could be:
- Where do we see ourselves heading as a design business?
- What would be our dream scenario?
- What needs to happen in order to manifest this dream?
- Do we need more of a certain type of client? How and where will be find them?
- Do we need to outsource some tasks? To whom, and what?
- With how much do we want to increase our annual income in 12 months time?
- Do we need to up your prices? Are our packages on point?
- Who can we speak to to increase our network?
A business coach for designers, more than a ‘nice to have’
Of course I would say this, as I am one. But all joking aside; how will you change things in your business from now on? Will you keep on being the hamster in a wheel? Or do you desperately need to create a better system?
A business coach for designers, or creative entrepreneurs in general, can be the best thing to have by your side over the next six months. It requires an investment, sure, but you will earn this back in no time. And apart from money, you will earn back time and your sanity.
Many of my clients had never worked with a business coach before they called me. They felt that was something ‘for other people’, or people who were way further up the career ladder. But this is not true. We all need mentors, especially while we are learning and growing, and having any kind of support network as a small creative business, is essential. Hiring a coach is nothing ‘over the top’ or just ‘nice to have’; it is exactly for ambitious entrepreneurs like you, who want to have a positive impact in the world. Who dream of having an amazing business that earns them a good income, gives them daily joy, and feels healthy and ready for growth.
Let’s talk this week if you are ready for change