How To Start A Graphic Design Business

Updated: January 18th, 2023

How To Start A Graphic Design Business

When it comes to starting a graphic design business, you may find yourself in a place where you have to make some big decisions.

You may be asking yourself:

  • What's the first step in establishing my business?
  • How much will it cost to start my graphic design business?
  • How do I price my graphic design business?
  • How do I market my graphic design business?
  • ... so much more!

We walk you through all of the steps; from idea → starting → launching → growing → running your business.

The purpose of this guide is to act as an outline for the steps you'll need to take to get your business running successfully!

avg revenue (monthly)
$45.6K
starting costs
$19.6K
gross margin
50%
time to build
300 days
growth channels
Word of mouth
business model
Advertising
best tools
Slack, Google Suite, Google Analytics
time investment
Full time
pros & cons
13 Pros & Cons
tips
25 Tips

💡 Introduction To Starting A Graphic Design Business

Is Starting A Graphic Design Business Right For You?

There are many factors to consider when starting a graphic design business.

We put together the main pros and cons for you here:

Pros of starting a graphic design business

• Flexibility

You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own.

• Ability to start your business from home

It's not necessary to have a physical storefront or office space to get your business started. You can do everything from the comfort of your own home, at least in the beginning!

• Little startup costs required

The cost to start a graphic design business costs significantly less money than most businesses, ranging anywhere from 62 to 39,111.

• Rewarding work

Starting a graphic design business can be really rewarding work. After all, you are solving an immediate issue for your customer and you're working on something you truly care about.

• Scalable

With businesses and processes changing daily, there will always be demand for new features, products and services for your business. Additionally, there are several different business models and pricing tiers you can implement that will allow you to reach all types of customers.

• Traffic to your website

A graphic design business gives people a reason to visit your website and to keep coming back to you!

• No overhead costs

To get your graphic design business started, there are no costs associated with overhead, storage, packaging, etc. This will save you a lot of time and money!

• Meaningful business connections

You never know who you will meet as a graphic design business. This could be the start of an incredible business opportunity!

• High margins

The gross margins for your graphic design business are typically around 50%, which is considerably high and allows you to grow your business and manage costs easily.

• Quick build time

The average time it takes to build your product is quick - typically around 10 months. This will allow you to bring your product to market faster.

Cons of starting a graphic design business

• Crowded Space

Competition is high when it comes to your graphic design business, so it's important that you spend a good amount of time analyzing the market and understanding where the demand lies.

• Motivation of employees

If you plan to have a sales/content team on board, finding creative ways to motivate them can be a challenge. It's important that you're able to offer great incentives and a good work environment for your employees.

• Longer Sales Process

A graphic design business can be a big time and money investment for your customer, so it's important you plan and predict a longer conversion funnel and stay in communication with potential customers.

Players

Big Players

Small Players

Search Interest

Let's take a look at the search trends for graphic design business over the last year:

How To Name Your Graphic Design Business

It's important to find a catchy name for your graphic design business so that you can stand out in your space.

Here are some general tips to consider when naming your graphic design business

  • Avoid hard to spell names: you want something easy to remember and easy to spell for your customers
  • Conduct a search to see if others in the space have the same name
  • Try not to pick a name that limits growth opportunities for your business (ie. if you decide to expand into other product lines)
  • As soon as you have an idea (or ideas) of a few names that you love, register the domain name(s) as soon as possible!

Why is naming your graphic design business so important?

The name of your business will forever play a role in:

  • Your customers first impression
  • Your businesses identity
  • The power behind the type of customer your brand attracts
  • If you're memorable or not

It's important to verify that the domain name is available for your graphic design business.

You can search domain availability here:

Find a domain starting at $0.88

powered by Namecheap

Although .com names are the most common and easiest to remember, there are other options if your .com domain name is not available. Depending on your audience, it may not matter as much as you think.

It's also important to thoroughly check if social media handles are available.

As soon as you resonate with a name (or names), secure the domain and SM handles as soon as possible to ensure they don't get taken.

Here's some inspiration for naming your graphic design business:

  • Psyop Inc. check availability
  • Demo Graphics check availability
  • Graficle Flex Designs check availability
  • Out of Context check availability
  • Enhanced Opticals check availability
  • Logo By Design check availability
  • Urban Graphics check availability
  • Open Expressions check availability
  • Visual Deco check availability
  • Nicer Collective check availability
  • Noble Desktop check availability
  • Apple Press check availability
  • Digitize Designs check availability
  • Mega Print Promo check availability
  • Design Time check availability
  • Crystal Ball Creative check availability
  • Sull Graphics Inc. check availability
  • The Art Of Graphics check availability
  • The Greatest Graphic check availability
  • Five One Development check availability
  • Solar-Rise Designs check availability
  • Underdog Designs check availability
  • Impress Designs Inc. check availability
  • Virga Marketing, Inc. check availability
  • Fertile Frog check availability
  • The Workbench check availability
  • Graphicsmith check availability
  • Spotlight Graphics check availability
  • Big Film Design check availability
  • Boosted Marketing check availability
  • Prime Graphics check availability
  • 3 in 1 Design check availability
  • Click Here, Inc. check availability
  • Graphic Gold check availability
  • Ideas on Purpose check availability
  • Thrive 3D check availability
  • All City Graphix check availability
  • Music City Arts check availability
  • New Life Digital check availability
  • Design Duo check availability
  • Octa Graphics check availability
  • Graphical check availability
  • Graphic Web Design check availability
  • Black Leaf Signs check availability
  • Webmaster Freelance check availability
  • Graphics Haven Designs check availability
  • Graphizine check availability
  • Orange Square check availability
  • Go For Graphics check availability
  • Design Hub check availability
  • Eye Catching Graphics check availability
  • Vignette Images check availability
  • Monster Signs check availability
  • Amigos Graphix check availability
  • Rainfall Design Studio check availability
  • Web Spinner check availability
  • Sunny Skies Creative check availability
  • Elite Image check availability
  • Ulterior Mapping check availability
  • BLACKBOX Graphic Designing check availability
  • Oasis Graphics Design check availability
  • Limitless Designs check availability
  • Luxe Logo check availability
  • Graphics Wonderland check availability
  • Comics Corner check availability
  • Rare Assembly check availability
  • Three Cat Media check availability
  • Promedia check availability
  • Worldwide Graphics check availability
  • Graphic House Inc. check availability
  • Graphmatics check availability
  • Graphics Gurus check availability
  • Point Five Design check availability
  • Ultimate Design check availability
  • Coast To Coast Graphics check availability
  • Creative Coalition check availability
  • Design Associates check availability
  • Future Primitive Graphics check availability
  • Diagram Design check availability
  • Ion Graphics check availability
  • Red Door Interactive check availability
  • Pixels Graphix check availability
  • El Grafico Modelo check availability
  • Meta Design check availability
  • Breezy Borders check availability
  • Pixel Bytes check availability
  • Designocracy check availability
  • Feels Design Studio check availability
  • Magic Box Editorial check availability
  • Paper Switch check availability
  • Your Creative Junkie check availability
  • Designs Without Walls check availability
  • Evertype Brand check availability
  • Design Manifesto check availability
  • One Stop Graphic Shop check availability
  • Got Graphics? check availability
  • Boxless Designs check availability
  • 360 Degrees Design check availability
  • Slide Genius check availability
  • Vibrant Visual check availability
  • Kitchen Sink Studios, Inc. check availability
  • Local Graphics check availability
  • Graphix Pyramids check availability
  • Graphicology check availability
  • Monographatic check availability
  • Tell Your Tale check availability
  • Design Shop check availability
  • Granted Graphics check availability
  • Build a Sign check availability
  • InDesign Graphics check availability
  • Golden Graphics check availability
  • Creative Team check availability
  • Graphics Galaxy check availability
  • On Trend Graphics check availability
  • Pentagram Designs check availability
  • Complex Creative check availability
  • Tiger Graphics check availability
  • My Lens Studio check availability
  • Remixed Branding check availability
  • Creative Juices check availability
  • Abstract Symbols check availability
  • Impression Studio check availability
  • House Industries check availability
  • The Creative Group check availability
  • Composure Graphics check availability
  • Rhythmic Schemes check availability
  • Pixels Dexterity check availability
  • Creative Haus check availability
  • Elite Designs check availability
  • 24 Seven Graphic Design check availability
  • Fusion Technology check availability
  • Freedom of Creation check availability
  • Swish Graphics check availability
  • Visual Graphix check availability
  • Pixel 1080 check availability
  • Right Lines Graphics check availability
  • Design Tech Grafix check availability
  • ImageWorks check availability
  • Out Of The Box Graphics check availability

Read our full guide on naming your graphic design business ➜

How To Create A Slogan For Your Graphic Design Business:

Slogans are a critical piece of your marketing and advertising strategy.

The role of your slogan is to help your customer understand the benefits of your product/service - so it's important to find a catchy and effective slogan name.

Often times, your slogan can even be more important than the name of your brand.

Here are 6 tips for creating a catchy slogan for your graphic design business:

1. Keep it short, simple and avoid difficult words

A great rule of thumb is that your slogan should be under 10 words. This will make it easy for your customer to understand and remember.

2. Tell what you do and focus on what makes you different

There are a few different ways you can incorporate what makes your business special in your slogan:

  • Explain the target customer you are catering your services towards
  • What problem do you solve?
  • How do you make other people, clients, or your employer look good?
  • Do you make people more successful? How?

3. Be consistent

Chances are, if you're coming up with a slogan, you may already have your business name, logo, mission, branding etc.

It's important to create a slogan that is consistent with all of the above.

4. Ensure the longevity of your slogan

Times are changing quickly, and so are businesses.

When coming up with your slogan, you may want to consider creating something that is timeless and won't just fade with new trends.

5. Consider your audience

When finding a catchy slogan name, you'll want to make sure that this resonates across your entire audience.

It's possible that your slogan could make complete sense to your audience in Europe, but may not resonate with your US audience.

6. Get feedback!

This is one of the easiest ways to know if your slogan will be perceived well, and a step that a lot of brands drop the ball on.

Ask friends, family, strangers, and most importantly, those that are considered to be in your target market.

Here's some inspiration for coming up with a slogan for your graphic design business:

  • Exceptional designs for you
  • Designs crafted with passion
  • Graphic designs that rocks
  • Choose your design and use it
  • You'll keep coming back for more designs
  • We live and breathe graphic designs
  • Amazing designs just for you
  • We ensure the best designs on the planet
  • High-quality designs for you
  • Great designs by the experts
  • We do designs with enthusiasm
  • Exclusive designs made available for you
  • Keeping every design topnotch
  • Every design matters
  • We keep it simple yet very elegant
  • Dare to compare our designs
  • Graphic designing is our way of life
  • We design our way to perfection
  • Designing all kinds of mediums
  • Design that matters
  • Amazing designs made affordable
  • We design anything under the sun
  • Designing is our way of life
  • Cool designs made possible
  • Creating cool stuff virtually
  • Every design is crafted with love
  • Enthusiasm for designs never stops
  • The epitome of graphic designing
  • Designs that will keep you going
  • Every design looks so amazing
  • Our weapons are our paint tools
  • The designs you'll never regret having
  • Designs of a lifetime
  • Graphic designing at its finest
  • Making visions a reality
  • Entire Silk Screen Prints Are What We Do
  • Figurative Is What We Do
  • Australians Wouldn't Give A Graphic For Anything Else.
  • It's That Graphic Feeling.
  • Home Of The Written
  • Red Hot Graphic.
  • Graphic Makes You Sexy!
  • From Married To Unity
  • Seat Of The Vivid
  • You Can't Beat Graphic.
  • New Vulgars Are What We Do
  • I'm A Secret Graphic Drinker.
  • Graphic One Size Fits All.
  • Monsieur, With This Graphic You Are Really Spoiling Us.
  • Large Graphic, Satisfaction Guaranteed
  • Simple And Crippled
  • Monsieur, With This Design You Are Really Spoiling Us.
  • Graphic Stands Above The Rest.
  • More And Obscure
  • All The Graphic That's Fit To Print.
  • Crunch All You Want. We'll Make Graphic.
  • Large Decals Are What We Do
  • Most Graphic, Redefined
  • Erotic Is What We Do
  • Graphic Works Like Magic.
  • Graphic Is Your Friend.
  • New Shockings Are What We Do
  • Graphic - One Name. One Legend.
  • Entire Graphic, We Take Care Of You!
  • Graphics With Country
  • Designs With Art
  • The Joy Of Graphic.
  • Site Of The Lifelike
  • The Graphic People.
  • Graphic For A Brighter Shine.

The Consulting Business Model

When implementing a consulting business model, you have a number of approaches to choose from:

Here are a few of the most common consulting business models:

1. The Time-Based Model

This is one of the more traditional consulting business models - where your rate, terms, and scope of work are outlined at the very beginning of the project.

Typically, with this model you would choose a day rate or an hourly rate.

2. The Project-Based Model

With a project-based model, you and your client agree on the scope of work you will be performing for a set amount of money.

There is typically a contract in place which covers the deliverables and expectations from both parties.

3. The Retainer-Based Model

The retainer model involves providing ongoing service for your clients over a specific period of time.

You may not provide a specific deliverable for your client, but instead, a broad scope of work over a set period.

4. The Consulting-Firm Model

This model is becoming more and more popular. The consulting firm model involves hiring freelancers or employees to complete work for your clients on your behalf.

Typically, in this situation, you still manage the relationship with the client, but you delegate some or all of the work to your team.

Which model should you choose?

The best way to determine which business model you will choose is to research other entrepreneurs or agencies in your space that are offering the same or similar service.

This will allow you to identify your competition, set your pricing, and determine your target audience.

Learn more about starting a graphic design business:

Where to start?

-> How much does it cost to start a graphic design business?
-> Pros and cons of a graphic design business

Need inspiration?

-> Other graphic design business success stories
-> Examples of established graphic design business
-> Marketing ideas for a graphic design business
-> Graphic design business slogans
-> Graphic design business names
-> Graphic design business Instagram bios

Other resources

-> Graphic design business tips
-> Blog post ideas for a graphic design business
-> Graphic design business quotes

🎬 How To Start A Graphic Design Business

article

How Much Does It Cost To Start A Graphic Design Business

If you are planning to start a graphic design business, the costs are relatively low. This, of course, depends on if you decide to start the business with lean expenses or bringing in a large team and spending more money.

We’ve outlined two common scenarios for “pre-opening” costs of starting a graphic design business and outline the costs you should expect for each:

  • The estimated minimum starting cost = $62
  • The estimated maximum starting cost = $39,111
Startup Expenses: Average expenses incurred when starting a graphic design business. Min Startup Costs: You plan to execute on your own. You’re able to work from home with minimal costs. Max Startup Costs: You have started with 1+ other team members.
Office Space Expenses
Rent: This refers to the office space you use for your business and give money to the landlord. To minimize costs, you may want to consider starting your business from home or renting an office in a coworking space. $0 $5,750
Utility Costs For Office Space: Utility costs are the expense for all the services you use in your office, including electricity, gas, fuels, telephone, water, sewerage, etc. $0 $1,150
WiFi & Internet: Whether you work from home or in an office space, WiFi is essential. Although the cost is minimal in most cases, it should be appropriately budgeted for each month! $0 $100
Total Office Space Expenses $0 (min) $7,000 (max)
Employee & Freelancer Expenses
Payroll Costs & Fees: Payroll cost means the expense of paying your employees, which includes salaries, wages, and other benefits. This number depends on if you decide to pay yourself a salary upfront and how many employees you have on payroll. At first, many founders take on all responsibilities until the business is up and running. You can always hire down the road when you understand where you need help. Keep in mind, if you do plan to pay yourself, the average salary founders make is $50K. $150 $250
Employee Hiring Expenses: Apart from payroll and benefits, there are other hiring employees costs. This includes the cost to advertise the job, the time it takes to interview candidates, and any other turnover that may result from hiring the wrong candidate. $1 $2
Employee Rewards: It's vital to acknowledge and reward workers, whether they hit their goals or do a great job. This does not have to be costly. In fact, simply taking workers out to a meal or giving a gift or bonus is among the many ways to show how the worker is valued! $0 $100
Total Employee & Freelancer Expenses $151 (min) $352 (max)
Website Costs
Website Builder: The cost of your website will vary depending on which platform you choose. There are many website builders on the market, so it's important you choose the right one for your business and overall goals. To learn more about your options + how to build a great website, check out this article. $10 $500
Web Designer: Web design includes several different aspects, including webpage layout, content creation, and design elements.If you have the skills and knowledge to design your website on your own, then outsourcing this to an expert may not be necessary. There are plenty of other ways you can design a beautiful website using design tools and software. $200 $6,000
Domain Name: Your domain name is the URL and name of your website - this is how internet users find you and your website.Domain names are extremely important and should match your company name and brand. This makes it easier for customers to remember you and return to your website. $12 $200
Business Email Hosting Service: An email hosting runs a dedicated email server. Once you have your domain name, you can set up email accounts for each user on your team. The most common email hosts are G Suite and Microsoft 365 Suite. The number of email accounts you set up will determine the monthly cost breakdown. $1 $15
Website Hosting Costs: Server hosting is an IT service typically offered by a cloud service provider that hosts the website information and allows remote access through the internet. A hosted server can help you scale up and increase your business’s efficacy, relieving you from the hassles of on-premise operations. $0 $300
Website & Live Chat Tool: If your business values high-end customer service, you must consider utilizing a website chatbot. Website chatbots play a pivotal role in converting site visitors into long-term customers. Typically, there are different tiers of pricing and features offered by Live Chat service providers. $0 $200
Total Website Costs $223 (min) $7,215 (max)
Business Formation Fees
Small Business Insurance: Depending on which state you live in and the business you're operating, the costs and requirements for small business insurance vary. You can learn more here. $500 $2,000
Permit and License Fees: Depending on your industry, there are certain licenses and permits you may need in order to comply with state, local, and federal regulations. Here is an article that goes over all the permits and licenses you may need for your graphic design business. $50 $700
Trademark: Filing trademark registration will protect your brand and prevent other businesses from copying your name or product. USPTO has several different types of trademarks, so the cost to apply can vary (typically anywhere from $400-$700). $0 $700
Lawyer Fees: Although you may want to avoid attorney fees, it's important that your business (and you) are covered at all costs. This comes into play when creating founder agreements, setting up your business legal structure, and of course, any unforeseen circumstances that may happen when dealing with customers or other businesses. $0 $1,500
A Patent: Patents provide protection against others stealing or selling your idea.Securing a patent can be very valuable, but it's important that you are 100% sure this will be a smart business move for you, or if this is something to consider down the line.The process of securing a US patent can be both lengthy and pricey, and typically includes filing an application with the USPTO. $5,000 $15,000
Set up business: LLC & Corporations: The first step in setting up your business is deciding whether your business is an LLC, S Corp or C Corp. The cost for this depends on which state you form your business and which structure you decide on. We put together an article that goes over the 10 Steps To Setting Up A Business. $50 $500
Total Business Formation Fees $5,600 (min) $20,400 (max)
Training & Education Expenses
Online Learning Sites: With a graphic design business, you and your team may not know all the steps for starting and growing a business. There are plenty of resources out there to help you, such as online courses or learning platforms, but they aren't always free! Starter Story is a great resource for case studies, guides and courses for starting your business. $0 $1,000
Total Training & Education Expenses $0 (min) $1,000 (max)
Software Expenses
Design Programs & Software: These programs might include the Adobe family of design tools: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and others. This is typically a monthly subscription ranging from $10-$50/mo. $0 $50
Email marketing tool: If you plan to grow your email list and email marketing efforts, you may want to consider investing in an email marketing platform (ie. Klaviyo, MailChimp). We put together a detailed guide on all of the email marketing tools out there + the pricing models for each one here. $0 $100
IT Support: IT support installs and configures hardware and software and solves any technical issues that may arise.IT support can be used internally or for your customers experiencing issues with your product/service.There are a variety of tools and software you can use to help with any technical issues you or your customers are experiencing. This is a great option for businesses that do not have the means to hire a team of professionals. $150 $2,000
Accounting & Invoicing Software: It's important to have an accounting system and process in place to manage financials, reporting, planning and tax preparation. Here are the 30 best accounting tools for small businesses. $0 $50
CRM Software: CRM (customer relationship management) software system is used to track and analyze your company’s interactions with clients and prospects. Although this is not a necessary tool to have for your business, implementing this, in the beginning, may set your business up for success and save you valuable time. $12 $300
Project Management Software: You may want to consider using a project management and collaboration tool to organize your day-to-day. This can also be very beneficial if you have a larger team and want to keep track of everyones tasks and productivity. For a full list of project management tools, check out this full list here. $0 $25
Internal Communication Tool: If you plan to have multiple members on your team, you may want to consider an instant message tool such as Slack or Telegram. The cost is usually billed per month (approx $5/user/month) or there are freemium versions available on many platforms. $0 $20
Social Media Management Tools: If you plan to do social media marketing for your graphic design business, you should consider investing in a social media automation or publishing tool. This will save you time and allow you to track performance and engagement for your posts. Here is a list of 28 best social media tools for your small business. $0 $50
Payroll Software: The main purpose of payroll software is to help you pay your team and track each of those payments (so that you don't have to do it manually). If you do not have any employees or have a very small team, payroll software may not be necessary at this stage. Here are the 11 best payroll tools for small businesses! $0 $200
File Hosting Service: It's important to make sure the information for your graphic design business is stored and protected should something happen to your computer or hard drive. The cost for this is affordable and depends on how much data you need to store. To learn more about the different options and pricing on the market, check out this article. $0 $299
Total Software Expenses $162 (min) $3,094 (max)
Advertising & Marketing Costs
Business Cards: A graphic design business involves quite a bit of customer interaction, whether that is attending tradeshows, sales calls or simply having face to face interaction with prospective clients. Business cards are a great way to stay front of mind with your clients. $0 $50
Total Advertising & Marketing Costs $0 (min) $50 (max)
Total Starting Costs $62 (min) $39,111 (max)

Raising Money For Your Graphic Design Business

Here are the most common ways to raise money for your graphic design business:

What Skills Do I Need To Succeed In Starting A Graphic Design Business?

As a graphic design business, there are several essential skills and characteristics that are important to identify prior to starting your business.

Let’s look at these skills in more detail so you can identify what you need to succeed in your day-to-day business operations:

Advice For Starting A Graphic Design Business

We've interviewed thousands of successful founders at Starter Story and asked what advice they would give to entrepreneurs who are just getting started.

Here's the best advice we discovered for starting a graphic design business:

Dan Frist, founder of Sttark ($1M/month):

As a business owner, I’ve learned the importance of mindful meditation and taking time to think. This is a personal habit that is good for all business owners to have.

Read the full interview ➜

-

Scott Tarcy, founder of caddesignhelp.com ($8K/month):

I worked this as a side hustle for about 6 months before quitting my full-time job and doing this full time. That was probably the hardest I ever worked in my life.

Read the full interview ➜

-

Mimi Council, founder of Above 8000 Creative ($10K/month):

Set a goal for yourself to email potential clients, start with once a week, then go to a few times a week, then even a few times a day. The more you communicate, the more people find out about you.

Read the full interview ➜

-

Marilyn Wo, founder of MeetAnders ($7.32K/month):

Our customer acquisition relied solely on referrals. We had enough referrals coming to keep us busy. But because I was drowning in a sea of day-to-day tasks, that didn’t leave me time to set up a proper lead generation system.

Read the full interview ➜

-

Junaid Ansari, founder of Draftss ($15K/month):

The most effective method we tried for our validation was initiating a conversation with every person who visited our website to understand more about what they were looking for and what would make Draftss an ideal provider for their needs.

Read the full interview ➜

-

Lewis Jenkins, founder of Percept ($110K/month):

If you are prepared to do whatever it takes and have the passion to follow it through, you will be rewarded in the long run.

Read the full interview ➜

-

Lewis Jenkins, founder of Percept ($110K/month):

In a service-based industry, your people are the key. Their skills, capabilities, attitudes, and personalities will make or break your business.

Read the full interview ➜

-

Tony Hardy, founder of Canny Creative ($50K/month):

If you love what you do, and can’t stop thinking about it, then you’re going to be able to build something awesome. So do it.

Read the full interview ➜

-

Mimi Council, founder of Above 8000 Creative ($10K/month):

We are not hiring, and I don’t plan to ever hire. I had employees for many years when we owned our bake shop, and they are so much work! While it may be some people’s goal to have a staff, it’s a goal of mine to not have one.

Read the full interview ➜

-

Peter Kozodoy, founder of Quantum Digital Assets ($160K/month):

Entrepreneurship is 10% about business, 100% about people, and 1,000% about the self.

Read the full interview ➜

-

Lewis Jenkins, founder of Percept ($110K/month):

Life and business are full of ups and downs. Enjoy the good times, and try not to stress too much when things aren’t the best.

Read the full interview ➜

-

Christiaan Huynen, founder of DesignBro ($/month):

Get a coherent ‘go to market’ strategy, it won’t work if you just create a shop, and expect that people will just magically find you.

Read the full interview ➜

-

Junaid Ansari, founder of Draftss ($15K/month):

Having to do day-to-day operations is a serious hazard to your company's innovation.

Read the full interview ➜

-

Johnathan Grzybowski , founder of Penji ($/month):

Success will come, but the degree of success that you will obtain is the level of success you set out for.

Read the full interview ➜

-

SumanJung, founder of DesignPac ($4.2K/month):

I grew up in a non-English speaking country, yet today the majority of my clients are English speaking. I had to practice to get to this point. Sometimes you will stumble, sometimes you will fail, but the important part to remember is to keep getting back up.

Read the full interview ➜

-

Scott Daigger, founder of Buddy Web Design & Development ($15K/month):

Providing quality products or services will gain you fans and advocates that will help you grow your business

Read the full interview ➜

-

Write a Business Plan

Writing a business plan from the start is critical for the success of your graphic design business.

Why?

Because this allows you to roadmap exactly what you do, what your overall structure will look like, and where you want to be in the future.

For many entrepreneurs, writing out the business plan helps validate their idea and decide whether or not they should move forward with starting the business.

You may want to consider expanding upon these sections in your business plan:

  • Executive Summary: Brief outline of your product, the market, and growth opportunities
  • Overviews and Objectives: Overview of your business, target customers, and what you need to run your business
  • Products and Services: Specifics on the products and services your business will provide
  • Market Opportunities: Analysis of customer demographics, buyer habits and if your product is in demand
  • Marketing: Outline of your marketing plan and how you plan to differentiate yourself from other customers
  • Competitive analysis: Analysis of your competition and the strengths and weaknesses therein
  • Operations: Hierarchal structure of the company and what it will take to run the business on the day-to-day
  • Leadership Team: Detailing roles and responsibilities of each manager based on their specific skill-set
  • Financial Analysis Understanding of all expenses, operating budgets, and projections for the future.

Learn more about how to write a business plan here

Determine Which Business Bank Account You Need

There are hundreds of banks out there, and it can be overwhelming to find one that's right for your business.

Here are some factors you may want to consider:

  • Location - Is your bank close enough that you can easily make deposits or get cash?
  • Low Fees - Make sure to understand any and all fees associated with setting up and maintaining your bank account. Ask for a list - banks usually try to keep this hidden and in the fine print.
  • Online Banking Services - Make sure you can easily navigate through your online portal and you have easy access to everything you need.
  • Line of Credit - What do your options look like (even if you don't need this now, you may need this down the road).
  • Every bank has something that differentiates them from the rest, so make sure whatever that is applied to your needs and values.

Check out this list of the 13 Best Banks for Small Business in 2020 and what makes them so unique.

When it comes to setting up your business, you may find yourself in a place where you have to make some financial and legal decisions.

The first thing you'll want to decide on is whether you want to be an LLC, S-Corp, or C-Corp.

These three options are found to be the most common when starting a small business, and all serve to protect your personal assets and also provide you with certain tax benefits.

  • LLC: All income and expenses from the business are reported on the LLC personal income tax return.
  • S corp: Owners pay themselves salaries + receive dividends from profits.
  • C Corp: C Corps are separately taxable entities that file a corporate tax return (Form 1120). No income tax is paid at the corporate level and any tax due is paid at the owners individual expense.

Depending on where you're conducting business, you'll also want to consider securing the proper permits, licenses and liability insurance.

Learn more about securing the right permits and licenses ➜

Need to start an LLC? Create an LLC in minutes with ZenBusiness.

How Do I Pay Myself As A Small Business Owner?

Most entrepreneurs start a business to do something they love- but at the end of the day, you still have bills to pay (maybe now more than ever).

But it's important to strike the right balance - if you pay yourself too much, you could be putting your business at risk.

There are two common ways to pay yourself as a business owner:

1. Owner's Draw

Many entrepreneurs pay themselves through an owner's draw. This means that you are technically sean as "self-employed" through the eyes of the IRS and are not paid through regular wages.

At the point that you collect money from the draw, taxes typically are not taken out - so make sure you are prepared to pay these taxes once you file your individual return.

As an owner who takes a draw, you can legally take out as much as you want from your equity.

This type of compensation is suited for Sole props, LLCs, and partnerships. If you’re an S corp, you can pay yourself through both a salary and draw if you choose.

2. Salary

If you decide to pay yourself a salary, you will receive a set and recurring amount. This will be taxed by the federal government and the state you reside in.

The reality is that it can be really complicated to set your own salary, so we have some tips for you to consider:

  • Take out a reasonable amount that allows you to live comfortably but also sets your business up for success
  • Consider the number of hours you are working weekly + the type of duties you are performing.
  • Set your salary based on your industry-standard, location, and profits (or projected profits)
  • Look at your P&L statement: Deduct your own pay from that amount. This is important so you can first tackle important business expenses, and then pay yourself from the amount leftover.
  • Pick a payroll schedule (and stick to it)! In the US, it's most common to pay yourself and employees twice a month.

https://media.giphy.com/media/xT0xeLTRncS90ptpfi/giphy.gif

To learn more about how to pay yourself and what is a reasonable amount, check out this article.

How To Price Your Graphic Design Business

One of the most challenging aspects to starting a graphic design business is determining how much to charge for your graphic design business.

When businesses under-price their product, this can be extremely detrimental to their bottom line and reputation.

Often times, businesses under-price their products to drive demand and volume, but that last thing you want is for customers to view your product/service as "cheap." Additionally, this can have a big impact on the type of customer you attract, which can be difficult to recover from.

On the other hand, when businesses over-price, this tends to be just as damaging to the business.

When customers buy, it's likely that they will explore the internet and look at other competitors to ensure they're getting the best value + deal. This is why it's so important that you research your competition and understand where you land in the marketplace.

Here are some factors to consider when pricing your product:

Understand your customer

It's important that out of the gates, you identify the type of customer you want to attract and how much they're willing to pay for your service. One great way to do this is by surveying your customers. Here are some important items you'll want to takeaway:

  • Customer demographic: Age, gender, location, etc.
  • Buying habits of your customer: What they buy + when they buy
  • Level of price sensitivity with your customer

All of these segments will help you identify the type of customer you're attracting and how to price your product accordingly.

Understand your costs

When pricing your graphic design business, it's critical that you first identify all of your costs and consequently mark up your graphic design business so you can factor in a profit.

The actual cost of your graphic design business may include things like:

  • The actual cost to make the product (ie. raw materials, supplies, manufacturer).
  • Shipping + overhead fees
  • Rent
  • Operating costs to run your business

You may want to consider creating a spreadsheet with every single expense involved in operating/owning your business. This will give you an idea as to what you need to generate in order to at the very least, break-even and will help you price your products to factor in a profit.

Create revenue goals

When determining the price of your graphic design business, you'll want to create goals for revenue + how much profit you want your graphic design business to make.

This process is simpler than you may think:

  1. Think about your breakeven cost (by completing the above step).
  2. Create a revenue goal based on your break-even cost
  3. Evaluate the # of items you plan to sell in a given period (make sure this is a realistic number)
  4. Divide your revenue goal by the number of items you plan to sell

This figure will help determine your estimated price per product in order to meet your revenue goals.

Evaluate your competition

The last piece in determining how to price your graphic design business is by simply looking at your competition.

The best way to do this is by finding like-minded businesses that offer product(s) with similar perceived value. Then, you can compare prices of the different businesses and determine where your graphic design business fits best in the marketplace.

All of these factors play an equal part in pricing your graphic design business, so it's important you evaluate each one individually to come up with an accurate price that will help optimize your business from the start.

Rate Calculator: How to Calculate The Price For Your Graphic Design Business Services

Our calculator is designed to be simple and easy to use.

The goal is to help you set realistic expectations and understand the hourly rate you should be charging to make your desired profit.

Please input below:

What Type Of Clients Will Buy Your Graphic Design Business

It's important to first establish who you will be selling to, whether it's to businesses or consumers.

Typically, in this industry, products are sold to B2B markets (business-to-business).

Let's take a look at what this means for your graphic design business:

B2B (or business to business) is a transaction where your graphic design business sell's your product or service to other businesses to help them grow.

Business-to business industries typically includes SaaS products, B2B marketing firms, and other business supply companies.

Unlike B2C markets, the audience is not a consumer at all, but instead a business - so it's important to understand how to best market your product/services to that target audience.

With B2B, driving leads means understanding another company's business processes and creating a business strategy that will help their operation scale and grow.

Here are some tips to consider:

  • Your main focus when selling to other businesses is showing value to their business and overall return on investment
  • Focus on building relationships, rather than extending your brand awareness through social networks.
  • Marketing approach should include things like attending conventions, conferences, and optimizing your online presence (SEO, email outreach, etc)
  • Understand that the sales process may mean more effort educating your client, so it's important that you have a well-trained sales team that is knowledgable about the product

Identify Target Customer

A very critical piece in building graphic design business is to identify your ideal target customer.

  • Develop a niche and create a consistent brand that reflects your target customer.
  • The colors, logo, content, and overall website should resonate with your target customer and should draw them in by helping them solve their specific "need".

Building an MVP (Minimal Viable Product)

When building a graphic design business, it's critical that you first validate your product/service rather than rushing to build it right away.

This could save you months, if not years of building the wrong product/service.

If you're hoping to decrease any sort of risk that comes with launching your graphic design business, designing a prototype can be a great way to de-risk your situation.

The point of your graphic design business prototype is that it doesn't have to be perfect.

In the beginning stages, it doesn't matter how rough V1 of your prototype is, it's more important to just get started and you can always refine from there based on feedback from your network and most importantly your customers.

How To Build A MVP

Here are several different ways of building a prototype/MVP:

  • Start by building a landing page to see if customers actually need your product and if they are willing to pay for it
  • Build a very basic version of your idea and ask for immediate feedback from potential customers
  • Present a problem and solution via Facebook/Instagram Ads and see what the response is like

SHUBHAM DHAWAN, founder of Anytime Design dives deep into the process of designing and prototyping their product:

Case Study

Launching a service-based business, with a SaaS-like model was something new. We came across a couple of tweets by people who had been building productized services and joined this Facebook group for the same.

If you consider this business with 2/3, maybe 4 clients - it's very difficult to sustain as 4 clients bring in $10k/mo and that's almost what a senior designer costs.

The economics make sense when the number of clients is 10+ as then there will be 2-3 clients who request only 1 or 2 designs per month. These are the kind of clients that just need the assurance of having a fixed designer available, whenever they want - kind of like the family doctor or the family lawyer. You don't need them often, but when you do - they're a call away.

Then there will be clients that will request 1/2 requests every week or so - at times these requests will be as simple as a business card design, a brochure, etc.

Then there's the third category of clients that will keep on requesting items every single day - these are the clients that are the least profitable.

Profitability here will come with time. Another thing that we have here is that these designers are not hired specially for Anytime. Since we already have our agencies, we didn't need to hire anyone, especially for this.

After deciding to build it together, all we had to do was:

  • Finalize a name
  • Get all domains and social media handles
  • Prepare the logo
  • Write content for the landing page and design it

We assigned our existing team members to each one of these tasks and in less than 3 weeks, had the entire thing ready for launch.

Here are a few screenshots of when we were starting Anytime:

Tweets from launch:

https://twitter.com/Shubham_dhawan/status/1516791155987718146

https://twitter.com/Shubham_dhawan/status/1545046347644309507

One point that has helped a lot is building the entire thing in public. As soon as we decided to build Anytime together, we started tweeting about it and started speaking to multiple people in the domain. Even early discussions like the name of the business, the logo, and the landing page copy - we put it all out there on Twitter and built it by taking feedback from as many people as we could.

This helped pinpoint the specific value propositions to use in our landing page, our sales emails, and even during our sales calls. (By the way, DEFINITELY recommend building stuff in public)

A good example of this is how people helped us select the logo for Anytime.

Once we had the landing page copy in place, we built a quick version of it in Notion and floated it throughout our existing clientele.

These people are decision-makers in companies of various sizes. Based on the questions that they asked and the items they needed clarification on, we made changes to the copy and subsequently the landing page.

For example, when multiple people asked us about Trello and how it works, we created a custom illustration for Trello-specific processes and created a dedicated section on our new landing page.

Once I started sharing tweets about Anytime, I got a couple of DMs asking about the process and the service in detail. We then covered these questions as FAQs in the new site shared above

That helped a lot during the first few weeks.

-  
SHUBHAM DHAWAN, on starting Anytime Design ($2,500/month) full story ➜

🚀 How To Launch Your Graphic Design Business

article

Build A Website

Building a website is imperative when launching your business, and with the right tools in place, this can be a simple task to check off the list (without having to hire someone).

  1. Pick a domain name that's easy to remember and easy to type
  2. Choose a Web Hosting Plan (ie. Shopify, Squarespace)
  3. Make sure you choose the right theme and design
  4. Implement the proper page structure (ie. about page, contact page, pricing etc)

To learn more about how to build a stellar website with little stress, we give you all the details on this step-by-step guide.

Best Website Platforms To Use For Your Graphic Design Business:

There are a variety of websites platforms out there, and it's important to choose the right one that will set you up for success.

Here's everything you need to know about the two most common platforms for your graphic design business:

WordPress

Free and open-source content management system based on PHP and MySQL.

Free to use/open source but you will need to pay for the hosting.

Businesses using WordPress:

834 successful businesses are using WordPress ➜

Get WordPress ➜

Squarespace

The all-in-one solution for anyone looking to create a beautiful website.

  • Personal Plan: $12/month
  • Business Plan: $18/month
  • Basic: $26/month
  • Advanced: $40/month

  • Pricing: Freemium

  • Twitter: @squarespace

  • Website: squarespace.com

Businesses using Squarespace:

131 successful businesses are using Squarespace ➜

Get Squarespace ➜

Web Design

Once you have chosen the domain, web hosting, and platform, it's time to get started with the design phase.

Themes are a great way to produce the fundamental style and identity of your website - this includes everything from your font design to your blog post styles.

One of the best ways to get started is to simply explore the various themes (free or paid depending on what you're looking for) and test them on your site.

If web-design really isn't in the cards for you, you may want to consider outsourcing a web designer to help bring your vision and brand to life.

Get Press Coverage For Your Graphic Design Business

The more buzz around your brand - the more the phones ring, the more traffic to your website, and the more customers as a result.

Here are a few ways you can get press for your business:

Press releases:

Press releases are a great way to share big announcements or news, but in order to get any traction, you'll need to find a way to make your press release stand out amongst others.

Try to convey a story that really matters, not just to you, but to the reporter and to their audience.

Here are some things to consider when submitting a press release:

  • Craft a catchy subject (keep it short and sweet).
  • Acknowledge the journalist's past work and interests - this is key!
  • Include the main point of the story in the first paragraph, heck, even the first sentence. Reporters want to hear the juice first and foremost.
  • Focus on the facts and try to limit the amount of jargon used.
  • Pitch yourself! Help them put a face to the story.
  • Make sure your topic is newsworthy. If it's not, find a way to!
  • Try not to include any attachments of your release!

Email is one of the most effective and preferred way to send your press release, so as long as you keep your pitch brief, interesting and personalized (no cold emails), you should stand a chance!

Get Press Using HARO

HARO, otherwise known as "Help a Reporter Out" is an outlet for journalists to source upcoming stories and opportunities for media coverage.

The best part is, HARO is free to use! There are, of course, premium versions you can purchase, but the free version is still an accessible way to get press.

Once you set up an account, HARO essentially will email you based on stories (that are relevant to you) that need to be covered where you will then have a chance to essentially "bid on the story."

Here are some tips when crafting your pitch:

  • Discuss your experience and expertise in the space. Make sure it's obvious why you're relevant to this story.
  • Answer the question in 3-4 sentences. Try and be as direct as possible
  • Offer to provide the reporter with more information and make sure to give them your contact info

Plan a Publicity Stunt

Planning a publicity stunt is an effective and quick way to raise awareness for your brand and gain some traction from the press.

If you're looking to plan a stunt, the objective should be to be bold and create something memorable

However, being bold has a fine line - it's important that you consider the timing of your stunt to ensure you don't come off insensitive or unethical. For example, timing may not be in your favor if you plan something during the general election, or in most recent cases, a global pandemic.

In order to measure the success of your stunt, it's important that you first determine your end goal, for example:

  • Is the stunt aimed to raise money for your business or a particular organization?
  • Is the stunt aimed to drive more traffic to your website?
  • Is the stunt aimed to get more followers and engagement on Instagram?

Here are a few tips for creating a great publicity stunt:

  • Research to ensure that there haven't been similar stunts done in the past by other businesses - this could easily turn off journalists and your audience.
  • Make sure you can explain the stunt in one headline - this will help grab the media's attention. In other words, simplify!
  • The stunt should be related to the product you are promoting. Even if the stunt is a success in terms of viewers, but it doesn't tie back to your original goal, then it's not useful.
  • Keep the stunt visual with videos/images.
  • Leverage the internet and social media platforms for your stunt by sharing your message across a variety of audiences. This will help with word of mouth and the overall success of your event.

To learn other strategies on how to get press, check out our full guide here.

Traditional Launch Strategies For Your Graphic Design Business:

There are various different ways you can launch your graphic design business successfully.

Here are a few different strategies to get customers excited about your graphic design business:

  • Set up a Facebook page for your business. This is a great way to establish an online presence
  • Host an event in a fun location with drinks & food. This is a great way to get exposure in the local community.
  • Get Press! Pitch your story to the media and you may just land in an amazing publication
  • Live sales to get customers excited
  • Send a hand-written letter in the mail with a discount on your services to the local community/neighborhoods.

Anebi Agbo, founder of Eikon Labs dives deep into the process of launching the business:

Case Study

After completing my altmba program in 2019, I officially registered with Eikon Labs in August 2019. The plan was to do it as a side hustle until I was ready to jump all in. I did a few projects in 2019 and 2020. I began to take the business seriously after doubling down on Webflow and getting a glimpse of what it could help us do. Once I started offering web design work in Webflow, we started getting more clients and I saw that we were onto something there.

I vividly remember the day I decided to go full-time with Eikon Labs. I knew it was coming but was still a bit hesitant to go all-in with it as I had a good consulting gig with an amazing team at the time and was a bit wary of moving too fast. On a cold January morning earlier this year (2021), it suddenly hit me that I could not keep doing this on the side and expect to see the kind of growth I was looking for. I had this ‘knowing’ that it was time to jump all in.

I had discussed it with my wife earlier and she knew it was happening but did not expect it that soon. I called my boss and put in my 2-week notice. I then talked with my wife about it. In hindsight, I should have reversed that order. At the time though, I worried that she would talk common sense into me.

The prospect of going solo with Eikon Labs was at once exhilarating and scary. I was finally doing what I had wanted to do for a long time but was also going to have to hunt my food now too - haha, alright, alright, wait for what? I had a barrage of questions going through my head like did I jump too soon? Maybe I should have grown MRR to a certain amount first etc

When we started seeing clients

Once we started doubling down on using Webflow as a primary tool for web design work, I started getting more clients. Initially, we focused on building a lot of websites directly for clients or white label - to get friggin’ good and become a Webflow superpower (we recently became a Webflow Professional Partner by the way!).

I did not spend a lot of time in the beginning focusing on online presence as a lot of our clients were referrals or people in my network already. I grabbed the social handles on the main social media platforms and held on to them for when we started utilizing them.

Landing Page screenshot while the site is being worked on.

Financing

The business is completely bootstrapped, as I wanted to be able to reinvest profits back into the business and grow at a sustainable pace. I may be open to taking on extra external funding later on if it makes sense. I used a mix of my income and credit cards to cover operating costs. Typically, cost includes subscription payments for software tools we use and contractor pay. We are a fully distributed remote team, so I don’t pay for office space.

Lesson from starting

As I reflect on starting, the biggest lesson that I have learned from the process of launching a business is the fact that at times it's easy to wait so long because you're trying to perfect your formula or perfect your business model before going on but what I've learned is even really good business models are subject to further customizations. The market is constantly evolving, so it is a fool's errand to wait till things are perfect.

My biggest advice just starts! Having a plan in place is worth it, but don’t be so married to that plan that you are unable to adapt. Also, I learned super fast that it is a lot easier to put things down on paper and learn a lot of theoretical applications than it is to execute in the real world haha. One of my bosses would always say, “progress not perfection.”

-  
Anebi Agbo, on starting Eikon Labs ($15,000/month) full story ➜

🌱 How To Grow Your Graphic Design Business

article

Social Media Advertising

Social Media Advertising is one of the leading ways to get the word out when it comes to graphic design business.

There are various different Social Media platforms available to you. Some may be more critical for your marketing efforts than others, however, it's important to have an understanding of what's out there and available to you.

Let's talk about a few of the main platforms and what makes them unique:

  • Facebook Advertising - more than 2 billion monthly users. Facebook is the best for lead generation + capturing email addresses for e-commerce businesses.
  • Instagram Advertising - approximately 500 million monthly users and has a higher audience engagement rate than any other platform. Instagram ads are best for linking to a product page or landing page and reaches the 18-29 age group most effectively.
  • Twitter Advertising- Small businesses typically use twitter ads to drive brand awareness, but the platform is meant more for organic engagement (and is not as heavily used for paid advertising)
  • Pinterest Advertising - 175 million monthly users and most effectively reaches the female audience. Pinterest is great for promoting products without "promoted". The promoted pins have a way of blending right in.
  • LinkedIn Advertising - 227 million monthly users and is geared towards the B2B market and generates the highest quality leads. Great platform for recruiters, high-end products and services that will help businesses

It's important to first define your goal/objective so that you don't waste time and money into the wrong platform:

Here are some different questions to ask yourself as it relates to your goals:

  • Do I want to simply drive brand awareness?
  • Do I want to drive users to my website to gather information?
  • Do I want to increase sales and get my customer to take action?

From there, choose the platform that targets your audience best and start experimenting!

Learn more about social media advertising ➜ here.

Case Study

Founder Andy Hayes talks about mastering FB ads and the pixel:

The biggest bang for your buck will likely be mastering Facebook and it’s platform - which we all know is pay for play, so you’ll have to come up with a small amount of budget to start for marketing.

We’ve spent countless hours (and paid numerous coaches) before we cracked the code that works for us on Facebook, but it is working really well for us now.

Some of the most important things to know when it comes to FB Ads:

  • Start with retargeting (that’s showing ads to people who already know you but did not purchase). Master this - and start building information on your Facebook Pixel - before you do anything else
  • Once you have that down, try working with the 1% “Lookalike” audience to prospect for new customers. This may take awhile because your pixel audience is small, so try layering on interests - 1% Lookalike and your largest competitor, for example. Don’t use interest-only targeting until you master this.
  • Great photography and videography is key, as is smart copy. Research what’s out there in your industry and constantly test - what works for one company may not work for other people.
  • Make sure you have good offers. For example, we have a $5 trial for our subscription, which converts affordably - if we promoted our subscription with the standard $30 front charge, it wouldn’t be as cost-effective.
-  
Andy Hayes, on starting Plum Deluxe Tea ($75,000/month) full story ➜

Grow Your Email List

The more engaged list of emails, the more engaged customers, which ultimately leads to more sales.

One of the best ways to start growing your list is by providing your customer with something free (or discounted) in return.

This could also be anything from:

  • Ebook
  • Fascinating case study
  • Video series
  • Free week of the product
  • Discount on the product

Learn more about how to grow your email list and improve email marketing ➜ here.

Case Study

Dylan Jacob, founder of Brumate states their email collection tactic that is proven to work:

We use Spin-a-Sale for this (you spin a wheel for a discount code in exchange for subscribing to our email list). This has been the best email-collecting tool we have found because the customer truly feels like they won a prize rather than just a coupon code.

Even if a customer doesn’t convert right away, if we have their email we have a 19% chance of converting them into a future customer whether that is through future promotions, new releases, or simply just sending an email at the right time for a purchase to finally make sense for them.

We also have a return customer rate of over 14%, so one out of every 6 people we convert will end up buying from us again with an average order value of over $60.00.

article

-  
Dylan Jacob, on starting BrüMate ($12,000,000/month) full story ➜

Add an exit-intent popup to your online store

A great way to double, or even triple, your email opt-in rate and to grow your list is to add an exit-intent popup to your site, and offering a discount or content upgrade for subscribers.

Here's an example of what that might look like:

article

Case Study

One thing that I spent years NOT doing, that I now kick myself about, is adding an "exit intent pop-up" to our site, which lets people enter a sweepstakes to win a Xero Shoes gift certificate.

That one idea has added over 100,000 subscribers to our email list, which is one of our most effective marketing channels.

-  
Steven Sashen, on starting Xero Shoes ($4,000,000/month) full story ➜

Improve Your Email Marketing

Different types of emails

Here are the most common types of email campaigns you can send to your customers and their benefits:

  • Welcome emails - the perfect way to provide information from the start with a clear CTA. Make sure to tell your customer everything they need to know about your product or service.
  • Newsletters - a great way to give customers updates or send out your latest content
  • Product launch emails - the quickest (and easiest) way to increase sales is by selling to current customers. Make sure they're the first on the list to know about your new product
  • Promotional emails - promote discounts, deals coupons etc. Try and make this feel exclusive and for a limited time only
  • Abandoned cart emails - give your customers a reason to complete their purchase!

Here's a great resource for finding curated email designs, for all types of email campaigns!

Abandonded Cart Flow

The abandoned cart workflow is one of the most effective strategies for turning your lead into a customer, and a powerful tool to have if you're an e-commerce business.

Think about all the times that you went on a shopping frenzy only to add items to your cart and then either forget or realize nows not the right time to pull the trigger.

Then, minutes later you receive an email saying "Hurry up! Your cart is waiting - and we want to provide you with 20% off your order."

Maybe that's the special touch (and discount) you needed to pull that trigger.

Implementing this workflow can automatically trigger this for your business every time a customer abandons their cart.

Here's a great example of an abandoned cart email from Brooklinen:

article

Things they do well:

  • Showcase 5-star reviews from other customers
  • Offer a small discount + free shipping
  • Great design + clear call to actions!

Improve your SEO

SEO is not just about driving traffic to your site, it's about driving the RIGHT traffic to your site, and ultimately, converting leads into customers.

One of the most important aspects of SEO is understanding what your customers are searching for, otherwise known as "keyword research."

Here are some tools that can help you choose the right keywords for your graphic design business.

Publish Great Content

Finding keywords is an important piece of the puzzle, but Google also ranks your site based on the actual content you produce, as this is what your customers are reading and engaging with.

There are various different "forms" of content that you may want to consider diversifying on your sites, such as blog posts, articles, studies, and videos.

So let's discuss what google considers "good content:"

  • Length - This will vary depending on the page, however, generally having a sufficient amount of content helps search engines recognize that your site is a good source for a specific topic
  • Engagement - The longer people stay on your website to read your content, the higher Google will rank your website. It's important to have informative and "thick" content that keeps people reading
  • Avoid Duplicating Content - Google will recognize this and may consider your content to have low value
  • Ensure pages load quickly - This will also help with engagement and time spent on your website
  • Shareability - Create content that people want to share, and is easy for them to share, especially to their social media accounts (ie. "click to tweet" is a great example of this).

Another element of creating good content is creating consistent content.

If (and hopefully you are) publishing content frequently, it's important to stick to a schedule - this helps build brand trust and easy user experience with your customers.

Planning out your content with a content calendar is key to staying consistent.

Here are a few great content calendar tools that can help you:

  • Trello
  • Airtable
  • If you prefer to keep it simple, your average spreadsheet is just as useful!

Backlinks

Backlinks are an important piece to SEO, as they allow for other websites to link to your content.

Search engines recognize that other sites are essentially "verifying" your content and essentially rank you higher because of this.

Of course, some links are more valuable than others and can affect your site in different ways.

For example, if a highly valuable and credible site like the New York Times links to a page on your website, this could be remarkable from an SEO perspective.

Aside from organically getting mentioned from other sites, there are other ways that you can increase and earn backlinks:

  • Create infographics with relevant data that people want to share
  • Promote your content on different sites/look into "guest blogging"
  • Contact influencers/journalists/bloggers and ask them to mention you!
  • Write testimonials for other sites in exchange for a backlink
  • Leverage existing business relationships

Learn more about the fundamentals of SEO ➜ here and check out Neil Patel's 3 Powerful SEO Tips below

Build A Blog

One of the most effective ways to build brand awareness and grow your business is through consistently blogging.

We've outlined some useful tips for you to consider when creating content:

Consistency and Quantity

Quality is important, but it should be the standard for any content you publish.

What’s more important is consistency and quantity.

Consistency is as simple as committing to publishing and sharing a certain number of posts per week. For me, that’s three per week right now.

This kind of commitment is key, because one day, a random post will blow up, and you will have never expected it.

Oversaturation

The easiest mind trap is to think "I’m posting too much", and “I need to give my readers/audience/this platform a break”.

This is nonsense.

There is no such thing as oversaturation. Well, there is, but it is just someone else’s opinion.

For every person that tells you you are posting too much, there is another person that wants even more of your content.

You should ignore people’s opinions on how much you post.

Patience & Persistence

Keep posting, keep trying, and keep putting out good content on the regular. Your time will come, and when it does, it will change everything.

The only thing you have control over is your content.

You can’t control how people will react to it. You can’t control pageviews, likes, or shares.

So the only metric you should focus on is how much content you can put out in a week, month, etc.

Where to share your blog content

Mailing List

I know it sounds obvious, but the best places to share your content is on your mailing list. It is guaranteed traffic and it is a great way to get rapid feedback from your most loyal readers.

Send newsletters often. I have done once a week since starting, and I’m moving to twice a week soon.

Work on increasing your mailing list as well. Look into ways to increase your conversion rate to your mailing list. I added a flyout popup thing to my site and now I’m collecting ~30 emails per day.

An email newsletter is one of the most powerful assets you can have and it is worth its weight in gold.

Reddit

Reddit is one of my favorite places to promote content.

It is a very scary place because you will often get banned or heckled, but it can really pay off.

Create social media accounts for your blog, the main ones I use:

Twitter Facebook Instagram LinkedIn

Set up Buffer and share all of your blog posts to all of your accounts. All of these little shares really do add up.

Automate this as much as possible. I automated all of my social media for Starter Story.

Facebook Groups

When I started out, I put together a spreadsheet of relevant Facebook groups for my niche, and I would post to these groups whenever I had a big story I wanted to share.

Experiment With Pay Per Click Ads (PPC)

Pay-per-click (PPC) is a performance-based marketing method that allows you to show specific ads for services or products oriented to a very defined target, with the goal that the user visits your website or landing page.

Here are some tips to consider:

  • Consider connecting the ad to your corresponding landing page so that the audience receives the necessary information after clicking on the ad.
  • Conversion Tracking: When running PPC campaigns, be sure to run the ads with conversion tracking.
  • Focus on quality keywords, even if there are few as this will save you time and money. When assessing the performance of a keyword, it's important to track the expense, conversion, and cost per conversion, as well as the ROI.

PPC advertising can be a very important lead generator as long as it's done properly. Your PPC campaign is intended to drive traffic to your website and help the business scale.

Additionally, if the campaign is not having the desired results, you can make the necessary changes immediately to improve them.

Case Study

Ryan Schortmann, founder of Display Pros talks about their investment in PPC Ads:

My name is Ryan Schortmann and I’m the founder of Display Pros. We are a custom trade show display booth company offering easy to use portable display “kits” for small and medium businesses wanting to get into the trade show game.

It did not take long to come to the realization that to compete at any reasonable level, we were going to need to take the plunge and invest in Pay Per Click ads and display.

From experience, I know that it is important to give Google’s hivemind some time to settle in before each campaign starts seeing consistent results (this is largely dependent on budget).

A certain amount of PPC budget must be viewed as a “marketing research” expense and then you can look at the analytics data and make informed decisions on where to refine, tweak or plain scrap an idea.

Google Shopping was an entirely new concept for me. You can’t assign keywords to products so at first, I was asking myself “How the hell do you refine these?”. Then I found some good reading material and courses and learned of some advanced methods that the pros are using. It turns out you can utilize negative keyword lists combined with the priority setting on each shopping campaign to “shape” the keywords that are coming in and how much you are spending on them.

To learn more about PPC Ads and Google Shopping, check out this video to learn everything you need to know!

-  
Ryan Schortmann, on starting Display Pros ($30,000/month) full story ➜

Build A Facebook Community

Building a community is a great way to grow your network and your business.

There are several different ways of building a community, one of the most effective (and simplest) ways is to build a Facebook group

Setting up the group page takes less than 10 minutes, and we've outlined ways the top 5 ways to create an engaging and successful group:

  • Make the group exclusive. This may sound counter-intuitive, however, this ensures privacy and that the group will feel comfortable posting and engaging with members.
  • Try to be warm and welcoming. A great way to do this is by having a "Member Monday" where you welcome new members and ask them to introduce themselves in the group
  • Use polls/surveys. This is a great way to know your audience and see what people want more of in the group (more business tips, networking opportunities, etc).
  • Include influential people & conduct AMA's (ask me anything). This is a great way to get members engaged
  • Host an in-person (or virtual) event with members in the group. This will create stronger relationships and build a strong community.
Case Study

Mike Doehla, founder of Stronger U, an online nutrition company noticed that his customers needed a little motivation and sense of community:

Most diets are lonely so we wanted to give support and a community.

I think many people fail diets because there is no one to talk to and no accountability.

You can by a book, or google a meal plan but who’s going to keep you on track? We will. The entire SU community.

We give our members access for life to our Facebook community filled with people around the world who are looking out for everyone’s success.

Most diets make up arbitrary rules and we thought they just didn’t make sense. Meal timing, Cutting carbs, butter in coffee, sugar being the devil? Ehh no need to overthink that stuff.

We’ll give you the science behind of what we do and show you what actually matters based on real research.

Luckily we have a PhD at our disposal to educate our staff and members so everyone is getting the most up to date information out there.

-  
Mike Doehla, on starting Stronger U ($500,000/month) full story ➜

🏃🏼‍♀️ How To Run Your Graphic Design Business

article

How To Retain Customers For Your Graphic Design Business

Retaining customers is one of the most effective ways to grow your graphic design business.

Oftentimes, it's easy to find yourself focusing on generating new customers, vs retaining your current ones.

Look at it this way - you are 60-70% more likely to sell a new product to an existing customer than you are a new customer.

That's not to say that finding new customers and revenue streams is not important, however, the easiest (and most inexpensive) source of new revenue is right there in front of you.

Here are some ways you can retain customers for your graphic design business:

  • Responding to comments on social media
  • Send discounts (or freebies) to loyal customers
  • Provide valuable content, for free
  • Write a hand written thank you note
  • Provide awesome customer service and build relationships with customers

To find out more tips and tricks on retaining customers, check out this article ➜ here

Christopher Gimmer, founder of Snappa dives deep into the process of attracting and retaining customers:

Case Study

When we first launched Snappa, we were getting pretty much all of our leads from StockSnap and our free stock photo blog post. I spent the next few months trying to optimize the amount of leads we could get from these two sources.

One thing that worked super well was creating an animated gif of our product in action and adding it to a popup whenever someone downloaded an image from StockSnap. This is what it looked like:

Once I implemented the popup, we doubled our signups for Snappa overnight.

We relied pretty much exclusively on StockSnap and word mouth to drive acquisition for the first year or so. However, we knew that we were going to plateau if we didn’t figure out other marketing channels.

Eventually I started focusing on content marketing and SEO. In the beginning, our content marketing efforts weren’t driving any results. I realized after the fact that our content was too generic and we were focusing way too much on top of the funnel content, ie content that targets a large group of people that may or may not ever need your product.

I decided to take a step back and look at all of the use cases for our product. For example, you can use Snappa to create Facebook covers, Twitter headers, Pinterest pins, and so on... I then started plugging-in these various keywords into the AHREFs keyword explorer (using phrase match) to get a list of potential keywords. I quickly realized that there was a huge amount of search volume related to the sizes and dimensions of the graphic types we offer.

So with that, I put together a guide that walks through the proper Twitter header size. After a few months of promotion, it started ranking #1 in Google and was bringing in a significant amount of traffic.

With the success of that post, we created a similar article for the Facebook cover size, the YouTube channel art size, and pretty much every other size that we supported in Snappa.

The best part about these blog posts is how relevant they are to our product. Clearly, if someone is searching for which size to use for a Facebook cover, there’s a good chance they need to create a Facebook cover! So in order to drive leads to our product, we added a call-to-action right after the introduction to let them know that we’ve integrated Facebook’s cover dimensions and safe zones into our product and they can create one for free.

Since the Twitter header size post worked so well, we decided to focus almost exclusively on getting these posts to rank and spent several months doing outreach and writing guest posts. All the hard work paid off and you can see from the screenshot below that we significantly increased our traffic after implementing this content strategy.

Today we’re continuing to double down on content and focusing heavily on topics that are most likely to convert readers into signups.

-  
Christopher Gimmer, on starting Snappa ($83,500/month) full story ➜

Diversify Your Product Line

Adding new products to your business is a great way to expand into new markets and grow your business.

It's important to note that adding new products and diversifying may not be in the cards for you right this moment, and that's okay. You can always consider it down the road.

Here are some reasons you may want to considering adding/diversifying your product

  • Meeting the needs of your customers
  • Establish yourself as a top provider in your industry and stay ahead of the game with competition
  • Resistance to downturns/trends fading
  • Create new revenue streams

How To Crush The Sales Process For Your Graphic Design Business

You may find yourself in a spot where you're ready to hire a few (or many) salespeople to support the sales conversion process.

Regardless if you have one or thirty salespeople, it's critical that you assign them specific roles and responsibilities to nurture the client and provide excellent support.

Mike Korba, co-founder of User.Com walks us through the entire sales process and which teams are responsible for what:

Case Study

User.com Sales Process

Each user and account is qualified with a specialist. For business leads, they are handled by the sales team, and if they are qualified we give them a demo, more than often at the end of their fourteen-day trial. If they’re happy they’ll add a payment, and get an account manager, so a customer support and success team who will help implement the solution and to use the technology.

Sometimes, users will convert naturally on their own, after using the freemium product and finding it to be something that they will find beneficial.

After they convert, we help with onboarding, give them some personalized tips for their specific business or industry to grow plus all kinds of support, for whatever they need - something we take huge pride in.

The team is right now more than 30 people, with more than half working on the IT and product side, and the rest are in three teams: Support, Marketing, and Sales who all work together very closely.

article

-  
Mike Korba, on starting User.com ($100,000/month) full story ➜

Word of Mouth

The most tried and true way to grow a graphic design business is through word of mouth - some entrepreneurs would say it's more important than all social media.

Why you should focus on word of mouth:

  • Consumers trust word of mouth above all other forms of marketing
  • 92% of consumers believe recommendations from friends and family over all forms of advertising
  • 64% of marketing executives indicated that they believe it is the most effective form of marketing

Learn more about word of mouth in our guide: 30 Ways Founders Grow Their Business ➜

Authenticity

As a brand, you want to deliver an experience that authentic, honest and transparent.

Don't make the mistake of giving your audience less credit than they deserve.

Case Study

Be Authentic

If you go around chasing every trend and only focused on yourself and money, you’re going to lose very quickly.

There have been many times where we have been tempted to do this but stayed true.

Sure we sacrificed sales, but we kept our integrity, played the long game and people saw and appreciated that, and really began emotionally investing in the brand.

-  
Valentin Ozich, on starting I Love Ugly ($300,000/month) full story ➜

Outsourcing

If you can afford to hire someone to help support your graphic design business, outsourcing is a great way to save you time and energy.

Most importantly, outsourcing can help you focus on the core growth of your business, versus spending your time on day to day tasks that other people can do just as well!

If you do plan to outsource your work, it's important to be hyper-familiar with the actual work involved.

Why is it important to be hyper-familiar with the work?

  • So you can understand how long it takes
  • So you understand the full process, edge cases, things that can go wrong.
  • So you can explain it in detail to your employee.
  • So you can make sure it actually works (for example - how do you know cold email works for your business if you’re not on the ground floor trying it out?)
  • Understanding the tasks at a deep level will save you a lot of time and money.

Build a Referral Program

Word of mouth is one of the best ways to get the word out about your business and acquire new customers. Especially when you are starting out, it’s important to build a solid referral program to encourage existing customers to help you find new ones.

A great way to do that is by offering a reward (ie. credit on your service or cash) to customers that refer you to their friends and family.

A fantastic referral program will help with clout, credibility, and establishing yourself in the space.

Provide Great Customer Service

Providing exceptional care and creating relationships with clients is a great way to build your reputation and retain customers.

Whether you are an online business or a physical business, it's highly important to communicate with customers and make them feel like they are the priority.

Just remember: customer service represents your brand, values, vision and YOU as a person.

Resources

We put together the best resources on the internet to help you start your graphic design business.

Tools

Books

Web Resources

Videos

Case Studies

meet the author
Pat Walls

I'm Pat Walls and I created Starter Story - a website dedicated to helping people start businesses. We interview entrepreneurs from around the world about how they started and grew their businesses.