So you want to spend some time working on your design business, not just in it. But you can’t find the time.
You spend all your time looking for clients or designing for clients, and by the time the evening comes, you’re shattered and just want to watch Netflix.
How do you find time to work on your design biz without giving up your client work (which brings in the money), and your free time, which helps you stay sane?
One of the most popular questions I get is, ‘how can I find and book more design clients?’
It’s the most important aspect of being a freelance designer: finding clients so you can:
Most designers get the majority of clients through referrals. They don’t actively market themselves - they just hope that friends, clients and designer friends will send work their way.
But what happens when they DON’T?
So you wish your clients would give you clear, organized feedback on their designs. But all you’re getting is one-word or one-sentence answers and unclear feedback like, “could you make the design pop more?” or “it doesn’t quite feel right”.
Sometimes, getting high-quality feedback on your designs is like searching for a unicorn.
Today, I’m going to break down how you can get top quality client feedback.
I have a question for you: what is the worst or most unhelpful feedback you’ve received?
Someone asked this question in my Facebook group, The Designer Collective, and the unhelpful feedback designers were receiving was:
“I totally trust your design eye, but…”
“I don’t know what I want, but I’ll know when I see it.”
“I want something quirkier.”
Feedback like this isn’t helpful because it doesn’t help us as designers understand what the client truly wants, it’s too vague.
Vague client feedback either leads you to complete revision after revision and still not get the design right, or leads you to ask question after question to squeeze clearer feedback from them, which can take days.
Why do some clients provide vague feedback like this?
At the start of the year, Erin's husband lost his job, she found out she was pregnant and her sister was hospitalized. On top of that, her business was SO unorganized that balancing everything completely burned her out.
But everything changed when she enrolled in Organize & Automate.
Streamlining her design process helped Erin get fully booked, NOT stress about it like she would have before, and double her income.
Listen to Erin's story below!
As freelance web and graphic designers, it’s our job to listen to client feedback and complete revisions, ‘aka, design changes so the client is happier.
But sometimes, clients can take advantage of that. It can be on purpose, but often not.
What happens is clients request more revisions and they ask for one tiny favour then another. Before you know it, your project is weeks over deadline and you’ve put in HOURS more than you thought. Hours you haven’t been paid for.
Watch the video below or read on to learn the five key ways you can control scope creep and cut down on revisions.
