How graphic designers can use “practice” to bolster business profitability
Vol. 076
How graphic designers can use “practice” to bolster business profitability.
Practicing your art form is beneficial for more reasons than just getting better at your craft. Use practice in this way to grow your creative business.
A quick bite:
Practice will develop process. Process develops professionalism. Professionalism enables profitability. When the 4 P’s come in that order, you’re on the path towards building a stable creative career.
Continue reading below…
I’m hung up. I’m not as far along as I’d like to be. I’m not making as much money as I want to be making.
Do any of these sound like you?
For YEARS, I felt “behind.” I was constantly looking at other graphic designers, brand designers, muralists, and creative entrepreneurs wondering “how did they get there?” Many of us experience the belittling feelings of Instagram, an app that makes us feel like everyone has everything figured out, aside from us. We feel behind.
I found myself feeling like I needed to take a course or workshop or class and pay a bunch of money to figure out how to build a more profitable creative career.
The reality is, despite what the internet leads us to believe, there aren’t a ton of short cuts when it comes to finding yourself with a successful self employed creative career. Sometimes you just need to practice.
Finding success comes with practice. Practicing will help develop your creative process. A more established creative process will highlight professionalism, and professionalism ultimately leads to more profitability.
The essence of success is rooted in practice. Whether it’s paid, free, or for fun, practicing creating, illustrating, presenting, pitching, selling — everything — practicing is a form of risk-taking, which keeps you moving forward.
How does this work?
Practice: Practice makes perfect, we’ve all heard it. I started practicing hand drawn branding for fun. Ultimately, this practice “for fun” gave me the confidence to sell this service to clients. Through the practice, I had established a process.
Process: When it comes to design, process is huge. Going through a creative process allows you to approach problems creatively, and succinctly. Despite being in a creative industry, processes are crucial to finding success. We must first build a box before we can think outside of one.
Professionalism: To be professional doesn’t mean to lose your personality. I can assure you that I’m still a quirky and strange individual, even when in the most “professional” of situations. But you must be a professional about your work, regardless of how fun and playful it might be. Professionalism comes in the form of doing what you said you’d do, being on time, delivering quality product, meeting expectations, and being able to speak to the rationale behind your work.
Profitability: When your clients, prospects or audience deems your work or actions as professional, they are less likely to push back on the rates you charge. It is worth acknowledging that negotiation is simply a part of business, so going back n forth on price doesn’t inherently mean that you’re not being/perceived as professional.
Your professionalism — through your email correspondence, your website, and how you present you and your brand — all proceed you. If you present yourself as someone who is an expert in their field, you’re presenting yourself as someone who deserves a premium rate.
Practice develops process. Process develops professionalism. Professionalism enables profitability.
The 4 P’s, yall. It’s good stuff. And, don’t fret — if you don’t have client work to “practice” with, focus on creating the work you want to get hired to do. Keep in mind, just because you don’t have any client work doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t work.
Cheers!
Adam
