The uncomfortable truth: while you’re perfecting your portfolio, other designers are building relationships through content. Every week you stay quiet is another week potential clients discover someone else.
While you focus on craft and visual quality, competitors are talking strategy, outcomes, and business value. They’re speaking the language clients want to hear.
The uncomfortable truth: while you’re perfecting your portfolio, other designers are building relationships through content. Every week you stay quiet is another week potential clients discover someone else.
We had the good fortune to have worked through the 1987 market crash, the dot.com boom and crash and the global financial crisis. I say good fortune because it taught us how to pivot.
When we face changes like we are now seeing we can’t do business as usual.
Ability to simplify the complex is an attribute many designers spruik but in reality have we done the opposite and complicated our industry to the point of confusing clients?
Business strategists suggest we ignore competitors and only worry about what we can control. We would argue the opposite – the more we know, the better.
The industry we have is the one we’ve collectively built. But here’s the thing: when it comes to knowledge sharing in Australian design, we’re walking past a lot of low standards.
The work you do now is likely different from what you did a few years ago and that’s a problem because your past clients might not know. You need to reconnect …
Is persuasion a fundamental skills to be good at new business? No, it’s actually really hard to change behaviour and using just persuasion isn’t the answer…
Four expat designers in Berlin chose challenge over comfort. Their stories reveal how changing environment, not skills, can transform creative careers.
Most creative business owners chase new clients before analysing how many they need or whether their current ones are profitable. Start with numbers you know.
Designers fear specialisation will limit their skills. Amsterdam’s canal museum proves the opposite — true specialisation expands capabilities.