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  • Home
  • what we do
    • we mentor
    • we research
    • we write
    • we advocate
    • we run workshops
      • How to find higher-fee design work
      • How to manage and lead a creative business
      • How to explain the measurable impact of design
  • Design Business Review
  • Who we are
  • How we can help
    • Costing pricing profit toolkit
    • …build financial knowledge
      • Financial mentoring for designers
      • ebook: Finance in a design studio ebook
      • ebook: Bookkeeping for designers
      • ebook: What’s a fair wage?
      • digital copy: the business of design publication
    • … grow your business
      • Business development mentoring
      • ebook: LinkedIn for designers
      • What’s a fair wage ebook
      • digital copy: the business of design publication
    • … build management and leadership skills
      • How to build a great creative business: good for people and profits
      • What’s the risk? ebook
      • What’s a fair wage ebook
      • digital copy: the business of design publication
    • Free resources
  • Connect
Design Business Council > managing a design studio
What to say when clients say ‘we need to think about it’
08
Feb

Most clients aren’t actually thinking about your proposal when they say we need to think about it. They’re stuck, confused, or politely trying to get away.

Posted in: Business advice for designers , Business coach for designers , Business coaching for designers , Business of design , business strategy , creative business coach , design business , design business coach , Design business coaching , sustainable creative business model ,
Tags: Business of design , design career , Design management , managing a design studio ,
Creative out of office replies
08
Dec

We work all year to prove our creativity, nurture client relationships and project personality so don’t fall at the last hurdle … put some thought into your holiday out-of-office auto reply.

Posted in: Business advice for designers , Business coach for designers , Business coaching for designers , Business of design , business strategy , creative business coach , design business , design business coach , Design business coaching , sustainable creative business model ,
Tags: Business of design , design career , Design management , managing a design studio ,
(New) skills needed to survive
26
Nov

2025 has been a year of disruption for designers and all indicators say 2026 will be as turbulent. We think designers need these (new) to survive.

Posted in: Business advice for designers , Business coach for designers , Business coaching for designers , Business of design , business strategy , creative business coach , design business , design business coach , Design business coaching , sustainable creative business model ,
Tags: Business of design , design career , Design management , managing a design studio ,
Are you accidentally ripping-off freelancers?
10
Nov

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.

Posted in: Business advice for designers , Business coach for designers , Business coaching for designers , Business of design , business strategy , creative business coach , design business , design business coach , Design business coaching , sustainable creative business model ,
Tags: Business of design , design career , Design management , managing a design studio ,
Why your competitors are stealing your clients
27
Oct

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.

Posted in: Business advice for designers , Business coach for designers , Business coaching for designers , Business of design , business strategy , creative business coach , design business , design business coach , Design business coaching , sustainable creative business model ,
Tags: Business of design , design career , Design management , managing a design studio ,
Sprint to the finish line (instead of limping to the end of the year)
15
Sep

There’s not long to go … your choice, you can slide into the end of the year or you can pull up your big girl pants and sprint to the finishing line.

Posted in: Business advice for designers , Business coach for designers , Business coaching for designers , Business of design , creative business coach , design business coach , Design business coaching ,
Tags: Defining design impact , design career , design impact measurement gap , Design management , design value disconnect , impact frameworks , managing a design studio , measuring design impact ,
What’s your knowledge sharing contribution?
02
Sep

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.

Posted in: Business advice for designers , Business coach for designers , Business coaching for designers , Business of design , business strategy , creative business coach , design business , design business coach , Design business coaching , sustainable creative business model ,
Tags: Business of design , design career , Design management , emerging designers , graduate designers , managing a design studio ,
How to reconnect with past clients
11
Aug

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 …

Posted in: Business advice for designers , Business coach for designers , Business coaching for designers , Business of design , business strategy , creative business coach , design business , design business coach , Design business coaching , sustainable creative business model ,
Tags: Business of design , design career , Design management , managing a design studio ,
How to run design experiments
30
Jun

Here’s how to run design experiments to help clients understand design does make a difference. The key is to start with a strong hypothesis and go from there…

Posted in: Business advice for designers , Business coach for designers , Business coaching for designers , Business of design , business strategy , creative business coach , design business , design business coach , Design business coaching , sustainable creative business model ,
Tags: Business of design , design career , Design management , managing a design studio ,
Why most new business managers fail
16
Jun

New business isn’t a skillset common to the creative industry so talent comes from outside, but there’s mismatch between traditional sales approaches and design.

Posted in: Business advice for designers , Business coach for designers , Business coaching for designers , Business of design , business strategy , creative business coach , design business , design business coach , Design business coaching , sustainable creative business model ,
Tags: Business of design , design career , Design management , managing a design studio ,
Our annual research trip: this time London, Amsterdam, Berlin and Munich
09
Jun

We combine travel with work and this year we’re heading to Europe. We work while holidaying, meeting with like-minded designers to investigate what’s happening in design businesses in other parts of the world.

Posted in: Business advice for designers , Business coach for designers , Business coaching for designers , Business of design , business strategy , creative business coach , design business , design business coach , Design business coaching , sustainable creative business model ,
Tags: Business of design , design career , Design management , managing a design studio , risk management for designers , risks for creatives , risks for design studios , risks for designers ,
How designers can influence client behaviour (without being manipulative)
02
Jun

Good designers don’t just create great work. They create the conditions where the work gets approved and implemented. They influence client behaviour ethically.

Posted in: Business advice for designers , Business coach for designers , Business coaching for designers , Business of design , business strategy , creative business coach , design business , design business coach , Design business coaching , sustainable creative business model ,
Tags: Business of design , design career , Design management , managing a design studio , risk management for designers , risks for creatives , risks for design studios , risks for designers ,
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