“There’s such a business aspect to design that doesn’t exist in the creative artistic world, and we got to remember that when we are doing design it’s artistic by nature but it’s a lot different than art” — MICHAEL JANDA So you are planning to launch your own creative business or you’ve already launched, and you’re starting to grow. That’s great! But good growth won’t just happen. Just like a junior designer starts with small projects and slowly builds skills, a new business needs time to mature, test new ideas, and prepare itself, too. We are happy to tell you that this episode is packed with tips and strategies that can help you with your business. In EP64 we chat with Michael Janda on the intersection of business and design. We talk about how you set up a design agency so you can actually sell the business at some point and also how you scale the design business and drive sales. That means how you get clients or get better ones and how you can convince them to spend more money with you. We also drive into some of the biggest mistakes designers are doing, and how you can communicate the value of design towards business and marketing in the most powerful way. Mike is running one of our absolute favorite Instagram channels where he inspires and shares his insights on business aspects of design. So we are really honored to have him on the show. With Mike, we jump into; Why systemising the business is key. How to design your business as a system. How to communicate design deliveries when negotiating with clients. Communicating the positive business impact of design. Disadvantages of value-based pricing. How to find new customers and boost sales. How to convince price-sensitive customers to invest into design. Thanks a lot for your time and for learning Mike! ***** The Guest Michael Janda is an award-winning creative director, designer, and agency veteran. In 2002, he founded the creative agency Riser, which provided design and development services for clients that included Disney, Google, Warner Bros., Fox, NBC, ABC, National Geographic and many other high-profile brands. Michael sold his agency in 2015 and now spends his time speaking, developing books, courses, and social media content to help creatives level up. He is the author of “Burn Your Portfolio” and “The Psychology of Graphic Design Pricing”