10 ways to make more money in your design business
I always encourage students in my online courses to create businesses that are diverse and multifaceted enough that they can weather any storm and survive the ups and downs that are inevitable in business.
I don’t want people sitting around waiting for clients to come knocking on the door to pay bills.
I want them to be proactive and in control of where there money is coming from and have a steady stream of different revenue sources so that if one aspect of their business is slow one month, they will be covered by what is happening in another part of their business.
So with that in mind, in post I share 10 ideas for how to make more money in your creative business by either thinking about things a bit differently or by creating different sources of revenue.
1. Sell more of what is working
One thing many people new in business forget is that the thing you want to be doing as quickly as possible is getting revenue through the door.
Always be asking yourself:
What is my fastest path to revenue?
Lots of people waste time putting together pretty logos or creating their websites and all of this is obviously important. But top of mind needs to be - where is my money going to be coming from and how can I start making that ASAP?
Many creative people really struggle with this. They don’t like talking about money, they don’t think they are good at ‘selling’ and as a result they under-charge or, worse still, do too much work for free!
I tell my students that they have to shift their thinking. Unless you are selling your products and services and bringing cash in the door you don’t have a business - you have a hobby! It’s as simple as that. So if you want a business you have to make money.
And the best way to start seeing an increase in your revenue is to start selling more of what is working.
So look at your business and ask yourself what is currently generating the most revenue.
✅ Is it a particular type of client?
✅ Is it a particular type of project?
✅ Is it a particular location?
✅ Is it a particular product that you sell?
Whatever it is - make more of this or find more of this type of client before you start going out and trying to invent new products or services to sell.
Even if this isn’t what you ultimately want to be doing or isn’t the ideal client you ultimately want to be serving, do more of the work that is making you money while you establish your business and work out your next steps.
Money will be the life blood of your business and without it your business dies. Also - as you start to make more money you will build confidence in what you are doing.
So start getting money in the door and know which products, services or types of clients are the ones that are doing that for you - and then do more of that before you contemplate some of the ideas I suggest below.
2. Charge more for what you are doing
Another very easy way to bring in some more revenue is to start charging more for the things you are already doing.
So this might be to increase your hourly rate or design fees by 10% or it might be to increase what you sell your products for.
In my experience most creatives are under charging for what they are worth, so the chances are that your price increase will still result in excellent value for your clients.
If you need help working out what to charge then you may find my business short course helpful - the pricing system.
3. Know (and cut?) your expenses
The other easiest way to make more money in a business (besides raising your fees) is to cut expenses.
Do you know exactly how much it costs to keep your business running each month?
Many people new in business have no idea!
They just pay out the bills that come in and hope that they are making money. But I want you to start to look at these more carefully and examine whether you are paying for things that you no longer need or use.
For example; have you signed up for subscriptions to software that you aren’t using? Do you pay for office space when you really could work from home?
Do a review of your bank feed, line by line, going back the last 6-12 months and see exactly what you’re spending and on what.
Cut out any expenses that aren’t essential.
4. Package your in person services as other products or experiences
A difficult thing for many creative professionals - especially those who offer services to clients is that your revenue is going to be capped by how many hours you have in the day.
There is only one of you and once you are booked up with hourly work helping a client that is the end of what you’re going to be able to earn - unless of course you start hiring lots of junior staff in your business, which many people don’t want to do.
If you’re keen to keep your business smaller, perhaps even just as a solo operator, then you will want to be thinking about ways to scale your business beyond just client work - which is essentially trading your time for money.
Are there parts of your creative process that you can teach or share in a group setting? - if so this would make a great seminar or workshop.
Do you find there are things that you tell clients over and over when you meet them?- if so this would make a great e-book or online course.
Think about aspects of your one-to-one business that you could package up and sell as a different kind of product or experience to more than one person at a time.
5. Join like-minded communities and collaborate on projects
Being part of a thriving community of other creative people will inevitably lead to more work for you - if you are active and helpful within that community.
Take my own TLDC community (join the free Facebook group here), for example. I am often seeing students who are interacting with each other in ways that are mutually beneficial to their businesses.
Some examples of collaborations that I have seen are:
an interior designer who was overloaded with client work in her business and gave some of her projects over to another student in our community.
a student from my SketchUp course who started a business creating 3D designs in SketchUp and ended up partnering with a joiner (cabinet maker) in our community who wanted to offer this type of service to his clients.
another interior designer in one of my courses who was looking for an architect to help with a project that was larger than her skill set. She found an architect through our community and they collaborated on the project.
So as you can see if you are part of a community of likeminded people and you stay connected and engaged with that community you will have a good chance of picking up additional work. So look around for communities you can join with people who work in the same area as you or who have a similar client or customer base.
6. Become known for something specific
There’s a saying you’ve probably heard “the riches are in the niches” and you are going to want to work out what your niche area is in order to make sure that you focus your business and marketing efforts towards a particular person in a particular niche.
This niche will become your reputation and point of difference in the marketplace. As you build your brand you want to become known for something specific. The more specific about who you are helping and what you are helping them with the easier it is for people to be able to make a connection with you – as well as share you and your business with other people.
This will then mean you can target all your messaging and marketing directly towards the people you want to be serving in your business and will ultimately result in you becoming known as the ‘go-to’ person for your particular skill set.
So don’t try and serve every client or customer - focus down on exactly who you want to serve and direct all your content and messaging at that exact customer or client.
7. Teach what you know to others
If you enjoy teaching and helping others then start doing this in a paid capacity such as via online webinars, online courses or with other types of paid content. You could do this sort of teaching or coaching in groups to make it a more scaleable option or you could also charge people extra to work with you one on one - such as helping them as a tutor, coach or mentor.
8. Create paid content around your expertise
Think about other types of online products you may be able to create and sell around your area of expertise. Here are a few examples:
ebooks
resources
downloads
digital products
workshops
articles
apps
a membership program
There’s all sorts of options you could create - so be creative and have a think about what your audience would love from you.
9. Monetise your website or social media content
Google Adsense exists for a reason! So if you are starting to get good traffic to your website then consider hosting ads on your website. This is particularly good for people who have large blogs with lots of traffic.
However, a word of caution here - unless you have a huge number of people coming to your site each day (e.g. hundreds of thousands) you are unlikely to get more than a few hundred dollars each month, which clearly isn’t going to be enough to live on!
But this may cover some of your basic expenses so could be worthwhile in your situation.
Make sure you think carefully before putting ads on your website though - will the financial return from that be worth the potentially ‘spammy’ look that it can give your website? Don’t put them on if the ads are going to distract people from purchasing what you are trying to sell yourself.
Another, less spammy advertising option to explore might be to advertise products of suppliers you work with.
Contact suppliers you work with frequently and see if they are interested in partnering on some creative you might put together for them - e.g. sponsored posts on your Instagram account or an advertising placement on your website.
10. Speak at industry events
Finally, becoming known as a speaker within your industry is another great way of not only earning some extra income but also for raising your profile and helping people learn about you and your brand.
In some cases being a public speaker will be something you get paid for e.g. if you speak at industry conferences or events. But even if you don’t get paid, speaking and keynoting at events will really help you will build your reputation and become known by more and more people, which will in turn result in more work.
My main message to you is to diversify your business. That way you will avoid peaks and troughs of client work and will always have a steady stream of income to rely on.
Courses and Templates for Designers and Architects
DO YOU WANT TO….
Improve your professionalism?
Find more clients?
Bring in more revenue?
Create better systems and processes?
Then check out my business courses and templates for designers and architects.
These courses and templates leave you with work done - not just a long list of things you need to do next. We have a really strong focus on taking action and getting things created that improve your business.
Enjoy the rest of your day!
Clare x
