We help designers build confidence around pricing, positioning and proving the impact of their work.
We do that with no formula, no system, no program because every designer and every business differs.
What we do have is a ton of practical experience running a design studio and the curiosity to research better ways to do it.
That’s what we offer.
Our first meeting is about you and what you want from your business.
From there, we’ll write a program to deliver that.
Practical solutions for design business problems
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Being flat out doesn't mean you're making money — it often means the opposite. Busy is an activity metric; profit is a pricing metric, and a full diary hides the gap between them.
Where we'd start: check your profit margin and your billable productivity before you touch anything else. Most studios are sitting near 10% when they should be at 20%, and at 4% inflation that's going backwards..
Then: our Costing, Pricing, Profit toolkit if you want to DIY or tell us your numbers and we’ll tell you what we see.
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Most designers price based on what they think clients will accept, not what the work actually costs to deliver. That's not a pricing strategy, it's a guess with a deadline on it — and it's the single most common cause of shrinking margins.
Search our archive of articles in the Design Business Review and our Costing, Pricing and Profit toolkit.
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You don't need a gimmick or a rebrand — you need to know what you're genuinely better at than anyone else. That's a findable thing.
We help designers find their positioning, search our archive of Design Business Review articles to start your research.
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The value of anything is a perception - it’s in the eyes of the beholder. Add to that, the value conversation is often intrinsically linked to the money conversation, and that’s a race to the bottom. We prefer to talk about the impact design can have.
Search our Design Business Review articles using the key word impact for more info.
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Only if you're selling the part AI can do. There's a version of your value it can't touch — and it's worth knowing what that is.
Search our Design Business Review articles using keywords like AI, value and onlyness to start your research.
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Research shows clients need to trust a designer before commissioning large projects and face to face is the fastest way to build that trust.
You can build trust online, it’s just a bit slower. LinkedIn is the best place, because that’s where clients hang out.
We’ve written an ebook about how designers can use LinkedIn to find clients. We know it works.
We’re not just consultants
we’re design practitioners
We know what it's like to balance creativity with productivity; client needs with profit, and flexibility with deadlines.
We know the Australian design industry. We've founded a successful design studio, employed others and managed clients.
Our advice is relevant and it's practical.
We write about managing a design studio.
We research and write about practical and relevant industry research and insights to help creative professionals manage their business better. We share nuggets of information we learn from our design business mentoring and coaching services and workshops..
You can access the archive here or better still, subscribe to get an article delivered directly to your inbox weekly.
