Episodes
#151 Learn how to leverage the About page on your website so that you stand out and increase your chances of getting new clients. Find out tips for what to include and how to write a good About page even if you find it hard to talk about yourself.
Published 05/17/23
#150 Having a client who makes up a large portion of your income is a blessing and a curse. They keep you busy, but you lose focus on your freelance business. Find out if you have any gorilla clients, or high client concentration, and what to do about it.
Published 04/26/23
#149 Are you looking to have the accessibility conversation with clients or coworkers but not sure where to start? Have you tried but gotten resistance? Find out 10 common objections to accessibility and how to overcome them to get others on board.
Published 04/12/23
As a graphic designer, you may run into a situation where the client wants more than one of your designs. Should you provide the design free? Should you charge for the additional design? Find out what to think about and how to figure out how to price it.
Published 03/29/23
#147 Many freelance designers struggle with creating and enforcing boundaries with clients, taking on and putting up with bad clients. But setting boundaries means you're in charge, work with good clients and have a more profitable creative business.
Published 03/15/23
Graphic designer Adrienne Johnston shares how she went from being stressed out and overworked in a $60k-a-year creative business to working less and without stress making more than $200k a year by focusing on presentation design in PowerPoint.
Published 03/01/23
Improve the accessibility and usability of the websites you design by adding a skip navigation link for keyboard users. Find out why skip links are important, who they help, how to check for a skip link and how to add one to an existing website.
Published 02/15/23
#144 Raising your prices as a freelance graphic designer is vital for a viable, profitable creative business. Find out when you should raise your rates, how to raise them, how much to raise them and what to do if clients react negatively when you do.
Published 02/01/23
#143 Google reviews are a free tool designers can leverage to make the marketing and sales process easier. They help you get new clients. Hear how Google reviews have helped John Falke's design business and how to get Google reviews from clients.
Published 01/18/23
#142 Want to make $100,000 a year as a full-time freelancer? Find out what I did and what you can do to make 6 figures as a self-employed freelance designer, even in your first year of freelancing full time. Also find out what to do before you do it.
Published 01/04/23
#141 As a graphic designer, document designer or web designer, understanding the WCAG color and contrast accessibility guidelines will help make your designs more inclusive and accessible to sighted individuals with or without a visual disability.
Published 12/21/22
#140 Medical insurance for self-employed freelance designers can be cost prohibitive. Find out some affordable health insurance alternatives that will save you money along with what to consider before going with one of these options.
Published 12/07/22
#139 Pantone color books are being phased out of Adobe Creative Cloud, greatly impacting many graphic designers. Access to all Pantone libraries will require a paid Pantone Connect subscription. Find out what you need to know and what options you have.
Published 11/23/22
#138 Getting content from clients is definitely high on the list of complaints from graphic designers. Find out 12 ways to motivate your clients to get you content, so that you get projects done on time and profitably.
Published 11/09/22
#137 Many graphic designers give away their advice, expertise and ideas in the sales process for free. Learn what to stop doing on consultation calls and how to get paid for discovery calls, so you get more respect and are more valued as an expert.
Published 10/26/22
#136 Just because graphic designers put up a portfolio website doesn't mean potential clients will find it or contact you. Learn strategic steps to get people to your site, keep them on your site and taking action, so you build a profitable creative business.
Published 10/12/22
#135 Find out what books are on my list of top creative business books for freelance graphic designers to help you with starting your own business, sales and marketing, getting clients, positioning, pricing and profit, confidence, mindset and more.
Published 09/28/22
#134 Sarah Masci of Day Rate Mastery joins me to talk about how graphic designers can increase their profitability by charging day rates instead of hourly rates or value-based pricing and how she went from charging $50 per hour to $10k months working less.
Published 09/14/22
#133 Find out important reasons why freelance graphic designers should use contracts for design work in their creative business, including some surprising things you may have thought of.
Published 09/07/22
#132 Renowned artist/illustrator Don Bolognese joins me to talk about how it's the designer’s talent—not the tool—that’s vital for a successful creative career. He shares interesting stories and insights from his 67-year career and how it evolved over time with changes in technology.
Published 08/25/22
#131 When you take on work that isn’t a good fit with your skills and expertise, it can result in a bad testimonial, no referrals and the work not being profitable. Find out when graphic designers should turn down work from a prospect or existing client.
Published 08/10/22
#130 Many web designers and developers think using an accessibility-ready WordPress theme means a website will be accessible. But many themes have accessibility issues, and there is more to building an accessible website than using an accessible theme.
Published 07/27/22
#129 Hear how Kelly Irvine went from being an in-house graphic designer to a freelance textile designer, creating exclusive prints for the fashion industry, and how she makes passive income with her designs in online stores at Spoonflower and Society6.
Published 07/13/22
#128 Graphic designers often get ridiculous or demanding requests from clients. We can laugh at some, but others are cringe worthy. Find out 11 ridiculous client requests and how to respond to them, so that you leave your dignity and respect intact.
Published 06/29/22
#127 By screening prospects and asking strategic questions, designers change the conversation from design to problem solving, get more respect and increase the perceived value of their work. Find out what questions a graphic designer should ask clients.
Published 06/15/22