Every designer starts out with no money and no clients.
What separates a broke designer from a wealthy designer isn’t talent or taste, it’s how they think, structure and lead their clients.
Here’s the contrast, side by side...
1: Pricing mindset
The broke designer undercharges and overworks. They price based on what feels “fair” or “what the client can afford”. They never calculate the hours it takes to deliver design work, so they never know if they are making money or not.
The wealthy designer treats pricing like strategy. They know their numbers e.g. how many projects they can handle per month, what revenue they want to make each year, what expenses they carry. Based on this they build their fees around outcomes and value provided, not time.
2: Client type
The broke designer says yes to everyone. Renovations, rentals, friends/family and “budget conscious” clients. Every project looks different and every client wants a good deal.
The wealthy designer builds a business around a specific client type. They know exactly who they serve and who they don’t. They don’t try to be accessible to everyone, they try to be excellent for one type of (high quality) client. Their clients come to them because they want their unique process and style not just any old designer.
3: Business model
The broke designer runs a business built on chaos with no processes, no systems, no templates. Every project feels like the first one they’ve ever done.
The wealthy designer runs a business where every step is mapped, priced and communicated. They use templates, project management tools and clear processes to stay on top of everything.
4: Use of time
The broke designer spends hours creating concepts for clients who haven’t paid. They redo work because they didn’t set boundaries and their week is a blur of admin, reactive chasing and apologising for delays.
The wealthy designer guards their time like an asset. They bill for every hour and they don’t chase work. They only focus on high leverage work like designing, leading and selling. The rest is outsourced to free up their time and headspace.
5: Client experience
The broke designer delivers a service that feels transactional. Emails are slow to be responded to, deadlines get missed and clients are always thinking “what happens next in this process?”
The wealthy designer delivers a five-star client experience. Communication is consistent and regular. They anticipate their clients' needs. Their onboarding, updates and handovers are professional and proactive and their clients feel looked after at every step of their project. Their clients are never left wondering what happens next.
6: Relationship with money
The broke designer feels guilty talking about fees or collecting payments. They often are left unpaid or with clients that haggle over every line item on an invoice.
The wealthy designer knows their margins, revenue per project and how much each client is worth. They make financial decisions based on data and build profit into every project.
7: How they sell
The broke designer sells design as a luxury that clients need to be convinced of. They talk about “style” and “vision” and they offer discounts to try and close deals.
The wealthy designer sells certainty. They show clients how a professional design process saves time, reduces risk and increases property value.
8: Client leadership
The broke designer tries to please everyone. They let clients dictate timelines and scope and apologise for enforcing their own process.
The wealthy designer leads every interaction. They set boundaries, know how to handle clients with confidence and understand that strong leadership builds trust (which means clients leave them alone to get on with their work).
9: Approach to growth
The broke designer spends too much time tweaking their logo, rebranding constantly and spending time on Instagram hoping for a viral moment. Clients come out of lucky, not from systems.
The wealthy designer focuses on repeatable outreach systems that drive consistent leads and referrals. They proactively do the work to find new leads every day and are constantly refining, documenting and improving the lead generation process.
10: Mindset
The broke designer thinks like an employee, not an owner. They finish work by 5pm, take weekends off and put in the same amount of time into their work as they would if they were an employee for someone else.
The wealthy designer works on their business constantly. They are always thinking about brand positioning and how to build long term value in the market. They know that to get 1% results from their business they have to put in the work that 99% of other designers aren't willing to put in.
The takeaway
Both designers might have exactly the same skills, taste and education but only one treats their business like a business.
PS: If you want to be more like the wealthy designer, I teach you how in Bootcamp
