In this video and article, you’re going to learn why I went from loving web design to hating it (for a while), the story behind why I almost quit, and what you can do if you’re resenting your web or graphic design business and maybe even thinking of looking for a day job.
Watch the video below or continue reading!
Comment if you can relate to this...
You started your freelance web or graphic design business because you love being creative, working alone, and working from the comfort of your own bed. I mean, workspace. *Cough cough*
There’s just one problem.
Working for yourself is stressful.
Your clients are late providing you with EVERYTHING, from the files you need so you can start their design to the feedback you need to complete their revisions.
When you eventually receive your client’s feedback, it’s one vague sentence that doesn’t help you at all.
Your projects finish but your clients are still emailing you with millions of questions.
And getting clients to pay you on time is like tearing yourself away from a 6-hour binge session of This Is Us: not going to happen. *That show is awesome.*
Do you sometimes wonder if it would be easier to get a day job? Work in a studio? Leave all the payment-chasing and following-up to someone else and just collect your pay slip at the end of each month?
I bet you're now thinking… "woah, how did she just read my mind?!
Well, I’m no Jedi mindreader. But I understand exactly how you feel because I’ve been there.
I am a very organized business owner now but I wasn’t always.
In fact, I reached a stage in my business where I was so unorganized that even handling one client felt overwhelming and exhausting.
I’d feel anxious just seeing a client’s email land in my inbox.
I ended up slaving for my business - spending all day, evening and weekend on it. And I didn’t make lots of income for my efforts - I barely made enough to pay my bills.
I wanted to give up. In fact, I remember looking for jobs online.
But instead, I did three things to save my business and regain my sanity:
01. I organized the heck out of my business
I used tools and apps to simplify my design process so that I wasn’t forgetting any steps of my process, my client and I weren’t confused anymore, and it was easy to communicate with them.
My favourite project management tool is Asana. It’s the tool that transformed my business!
It allows you and your client to manage the entire project from one secure place online. You can create to do lists, set client reminders, set due dates, track your project progress… it’s the perfect way to keep your projects from spinning out of control.
02. I set boundaries
I’d had enough of clients emailing me on evenings and weekends and expecting an instant reply.
I’d had enough of clients demanding endless revisions.
I established boundaries upfront with my clients and I repeated them throughout the entire process. Boundaries like work hours, how long it would take for me to reply, how we would communicate, etc.
You can keep repeating these boundaries on your website, in your consultation with the client, your project management app, and contract. (If you don’t have a contract, I highly recommend buying one from The Contract Shop!*)
03. I raised my rates
If you have enough skill and experience and you’ve revamped your client process so it’s now gorgeous and professional, raise your rates. Higher pricing attract clients who value your services and skill and are willing to invest. Low pricing attracts penny pinchers who don’t value your service enough to pay good money, hence they’ll be horrible to you. When they don’t value you, they won’t respect you.
I’m so, so thankful I didn’t quit my business then because my life would be completely different now.
I have ultimate freedom because I still run my own business.
I’ve been free to travel the world. I’ve taken a last minute trip to Bali just because I can. I’ve lived in Asia for 6 months. I’ve even been able to give jobs to my family and work three days a week instead of five.
I have more freedom than anyone I know. If i had quit, I wouldn’t have this beautiful life!
So I want to leave you with this: if you’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed with your web or graphic design business, your first step to less stress is organizing your business.
I have a free masterclass that will teach you my 10-step framework to organize your entire business! Sign up below.
