5 tasks worth 30 minutes of your time

I know, it feels impossible to put aside a day or even half a day to work on your business. Instead, why not build a repertoire of quick business moves you can squeeze between other ‘must do’s’?

Here’s 5 tasks you could do in 30 minutes. Activities guaranteed to move the business dial (it’s pretty amazing what you can get done in half an hour).

Keep the list handy for your next opportunity to seize the moment.

1. A handy site to check your cost-rate

We’ve all got a cost rate we use as a base for estimates. Not your ‘sell price’ or your ‘value-add’ price.
The cost that covers overheads.
The cost of doing business.

When did you last increase it? If it’s been more than a year, there’s a good chance you’re earning less in real terms than you were.

The Reserve Bank of Australia inflation calculator takes about five minutes to use. The results are often sobering — and motivating.

Why: Because a design agency with a base hourly rate of $150 in 2020 needed $184.26 in 2025 just to keep pace with inflation. If you haven’t adjusted your rates annually, you’re going backwards.

(If you have our Costing pricing profit toolkit, do your budget then use the calculator to find your true hourly rate – the results can be surprising*.

2. Research a client’s competitor

Clients want designers to do the work they know they should do but don’t have time for: research. When asked what makes for a good pitch, the answer is a discussion. A discussion with a designer interested in my product/service, my market and my industry segment.

Many designers overthink research. Fact finding does not depend a university degree, infact it is probably far simpler than you probably realise.

So, pick one current client and spend 30 minutes researching their competitive landscape.
What are their competitors doing well?
Where are the gaps?
What trends are emerging in their sector?

Then share the insights with your client.

This does two things simultaneously: it demonstrates you’re thinking about their business beyond the current brief, and it positions you as a strategic partner rather than a production supplier.

Why: Firstly. Because we all struggle for a reason to ‘check in’ with clients.
Secondly. Because clients want and remember proactive designers showing deep industry knowledge.

If you’re unsure how to do this, do not despair. It’s exactly the type of info we share. Let’s talk.

3. Check your win/loss ratio

A healthy win/loss ratio sits around 70/30. Taking the time to assess how many pitches/estimates you win/lose is invaluable.

Win too many pitches and your prices are probably too low.

Lose too many and

you may be pitched against others not offering the same level of service
your offer or positioning may lack clarity
you may be pitching to clients who are interested but have no intention of commissioning — you’re inadvertedly discussing projects on their ‘wishlist’ but not their ‘to-do’ list.

Pull out your last ten estimates/pitches and do the math. The number itself is useful. But the pattern and trends are more useful. Are you losing in a specific client sector, or timeline? Are you losing to less expensive options, or to studios with clearer positioning?

Why: Understanding your win:loss ratio feeds into your new business activities. A pricing problem is the default assumption, but not always correct. You could have a clarity or a positioning problem. Each has a very different solution.

Again, this is not difficult. If you’re unsure how to do it, do not despair. It’s exactly the type of info we share. Let’s talk.

4. Run 4 monthly reports

Utilisation rates.
Job profitability.
Revenue per person.
Win/loss ratio.

Most studio owners know they should be running these reports regularly. Most don’t because there’s always something more urgent.

Thing is, numbers tell you things intuition can’t. Like which clients are actually profitable. Which services are worth your time. Whether you have enough work coming in to sustain your team next month.

Thirty minutes is enough time to run reports and having them available is half the battle.

Why: Because we know burnout is rife in the creative industry and we also know burnout isn’t a people problem, it’s a numbers problem. And that’s actually more hopeful — because numbers are fixable.

Burnout shows up in your utilisation rate, in eroding profits and in the team member who’s suddenly quiet — before you even realise something’s wrong. That’s why understanding the numbers behind your studio is important.

We’ll be writing more about diagnosing your reports — watch this space.

5. Reach out to someone

This one has nothing to do with business development. And everything to do with it.

Think about a colleague or client who seemed a little flat, a little subdued, a little quieter than usual in your last interaction. Send them a message. Suggest a coffee.

Our industry has a burnout problem. Most of us are carrying more than we let on so it’s good to be intentional about maintaining connections

Why: Creatives who build genuine, lasting relationships — with clients and colleagues alike — are the ones that thrive long term. Sometimes the most valuable 30 minutes you spend isn’t on your business at all.

So what?

None of these require a strategy day, a budget, a consultant or a complete business overhaul.

All they require is a focused 30 minutes sometime in your day.

Pick one activity to do this week, you may be surprised what you uncover.

As always, happy to discuss further.

*‘Direct quote from Studio owner after buying our Costing. Pricing, Profit toolkit: For starters, the business costing and pricing calculator is a TOTAL eye-opener and honestly worth the $100 alone (turns out we’ve been chronically undercharging for while 😬). I’ve never quite been savvy enough to work out what our hourly rate should be, so being able to plug in our real overheads and reverse-engineer a rate (with margin!) has been incredibly illuminating.’

Carol Mackay

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