Ever wondered how to land high-paying clients, boost your rates, and run a successful design agency?

This episode of The Profitable Graphic Designer Podcast is a bit different because I’m answering questions from you, our listeners. I’ve been in the design industry since I was 15, and now at 33, I’ve experienced it all—from charging $65 for a logo to handling $29,000 branding projects. I’ve worked 9-5, freelanced, and now own a thriving branding and design agency in Austin, Texas.

 

Listen to the episode here:

Spotify  –  Apple Podcasts  –  Amazon Music

 

You will learn:

• Tips on attracting high-paying clients.
• Strategies for finding and maintaining quality when outsourcing design work.
• Methods for staying motivated and avoiding burnout.
• Effective time management between multiple projects.
• How to market design services cost-effectively.
• Insights into building a strong portfolio that attracts clients.

Here are the 37 questions I will be answering to:

1. Where did you find designers to join your team?
2. How can the quality of service be maintained if you’re outsourcing design work?
3. Can you break down the profit when you outsource everything versus when you were a solo designer?
   1. For a $20k project, my profit is around $13k.
4. How do I find clients quickly and easily?
5. How did you juggle freelancing work and having a baby? Did you take time off?
6. How do I get high-paying clients on Instagram?
7. Inside The Profitable Designer program, do we get all the lessons at once or do we get them weekly?
8. Why are some designers able to charge over $10,000 while their portfolio isn’t that great?
9. How do you handle difficult clients who constantly want revisions?
10. What strategies do you use to stay motivated and avoid burnout?
11. How do you manage your time effectively between multiple projects?
12. What are the best ways to market my design services without spending a lot of money?
13. What are the essential tools and software every designer should invest in?
    1. I’ll give you 3:
14. How can I transition from working with small clients to landing bigger projects?
15. What’s the best way to handle client feedback and criticism?
    1. Use a client portal.
16. Can you share tips on building a strong portfolio that attracts clients?
    1. Include case studies and descriptions.
17. How do you network and build relationships to get referrals?
18. What should I include in my contracts to protect myself and my work?
    1. Main things: deliverables, timeline, pricing, ownership, revisions.
19. How do you approach rebranding a client’s existing brand?
20. How do you balance creative freedom with client expectations?
21. How do you increase your design rates?
22. How do you get clients on LinkedIn?
23. What’s your process for onboarding new clients?
24. How do you set yourself apart from other agencies in a crowded market?
25. How do you balance your role as a creative director with the administrative responsibilities of a CEO?
26. What’s your secret sauce for landing clients who pay premium rates?
27. What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned from running a design agency?
28. What’s the most effective marketing strategy you’ve used to grow your client base?
29. How do you negotiate higher rates without scaring off potential clients?
30. What’s the biggest mistake designers make when trying to close a sale?
31. How do you set and achieve financial goals for your agency?
32. What’s the best way to pitch your services to high-profile clients?
33. What’s the most impactful investment you’ve made in your business?
34. How do you keep your pipeline full with a steady stream of new clients?
35. What’s your go-to method for closing deals quickly?
36. What’s the most effective way to follow up with potential clients without being pushy?
37. What’s your biggest piece of advice for designers looking to boost their income?

 

Aventive Academy’s Resources:

Free Client Portal for Designers: https://aventiveacademy.com/client-portal/

$12k Client Attraction Masterclass: https://aventiveacademy.com/attract-clients-workshop/

The Wealthy Client Blueprint: ⁠https://aventiveacademy.com/wealthy-client/

12-Week Business Program for Designers: https://aventiveacademy.com/profit

The Creative CEO Accelerator: https://aventiveacademy.com/accelerator

 

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TRANSCRIPT:

0:17

Welcome to the Profitable Graphic Designer podcast brought to you by Aventive Academy. I’m your host, Kady Sandel. I’m a brand strategist, designer, creative director, and the CEO of a successful six-figure design agency based in Austin, TX, serving clients worldwide.

0:35

After mastering the art of building a profitable and sustainable design business, I decided to help you achieve the same success. I teach brand, graphic, and web design business owners how to attract more clients, increase their pricing, and develop design businesses that provide the financial freedom and time flexibility you’ve always dreamt of.

0:56

We offer online programs, courses, and templates that you can use along with our coaching accelerator and mastermind high-touch experiences for creatives. You can learn more about starting and growing your design business at aventiveacademy.com, but for now, grab a cup of coffee and join me in today’s podcast episode.

1:18

This episode is a little bit different because I am answering a lot of questions that came from you, our listeners. First, I’m going to read all the questions I got and then I will respond to them. But before I even read them aloud, I want to just quickly tell you a few things about me.

1:38

I’ve been a designer since I was 15. I am 33 now, so that is 18 years. It’s the only thing I’ve ever done in my life. I worked for others, I had a nine-to-five design job, I was freelancing, and now I own a branding and design agency in Austin, TX.

1:56

I used to charge $65 for a logo design. My last branding project was $29,000. So I know a thing or two about getting design clients, setting up rates, building a design agency, and so you know that I am qualified to respond to these questions.

2:17

OK, here are the questions again. I will read them out loud first and then respond to them.

First question, where did you find designers to join your team?

Second, how can the quality of service be maintained if you’re outsourcing design work?

2:36

Can you break down the profit when you outsource everything versus when you were a solo designer? How do I find clients quickly and easily? How did you juggle freelancing, work and having a baby? Did you take time off? How do I get high-paying clients on Instagram inside the Profitable Designer program to get all the lessons at once or do we get them weekly?

3:00

Why are some designers able to charge over $10,000? Well, their portfolio isn’t that great. I’ll have that one. How do you handle difficult clients who consistently want revisions? What strategies do you use to stay motivated and avoid burnout?

3:18

How do you manage your time effectively between multiple projects? What are the best ways to market your design services without spending a lot of money? This one is great too. What are the essential tools and software every designer should invest in?

3:35

How can I transition from working with small clients to landing bigger projects? What’s the best way to handle client feedback and criticism? Can you share tips on building a strong portfolio that attracts clients? How do you network and build relationships to get referrals?

3:53

What should I include in my contracts to protect myself and my work? How do I approach rebranding a client’s existing brand? How do you balance creative freedom with client expectations? How do you increase your design rates?

4:09

How do you get clients on LinkedIn? What’s your process for onboarding new clients? How do you set yourself apart from other agencies in a crowded market? How do you balance your role as a creative director with the administrative responsibilities of a CEO?

4:26

What’s your secret sauce for landing clients who pay premium rates? What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned from running a design agency? What’s the most effective marketing strategy you’ve used to grow your client base? I think we already mentioned this one. How do you negotiate higher rates without scaring off potential clients?

4:48

What’s the biggest mistake designers make when trying to close the sale? This is good. How do you set and achieve financial goals for your agency? What’s the best way to pitch your services to high-profile clients? What’s the most impactful investment you’ve made in your business?

5:05

OK, four more. How do you keep your pipeline full with a steady stream of new clients? What’s your go-to method for closing deals quickly? What’s the most effective way to follow up with potential clients without being pushy?

5:21

What’s your biggest piece of advice for designers looking to boost their income? OK, let’s start with the first one again. I just read all the questions that I will go through. There are 37 questions. So this episode, we’ll see how long it’s going to be.

5:39

Most of my solo episodes are like 20 to 30 minutes. I feel like this one is going to be a bit longer.

OK, first question, how did you find designers to join your team?

Well, I found them all over the place.

5:57

One of the brand designers that joined my team in 2019 or maybe 2020, I found her through a Facebook group. It was a random group for designers and someone was looking for a designer.

6:14

She made a comment that she can help them and she left a URL to her website and I clicked on it. I loved her portfolio and so I decided to contact her.

Another brand designer I found on Behance. I just googled, I don’t remember exactly what it was, Googled.

6:34

Oh, or searched on Behance. Something like skincare branding ’cause I know that the project I needed a new designer for was in the skincare industry. So that’s something that I was looking for.

And then I found my web developer on Upwork. I found my web designer. She actually found me. She called, emailed me, she sent me an email like, hey, I’m a web designer. This is what I do. This is my portfolio. And I loved everything she does. My manager, I found her through Indeed as I posted a job offer like job posting and you know, I got a few or like actually a lot of responses, but I liked her the most.

7:21

So yeah, I found my team like all over the place. It really depends on who you’re looking for and what you need and if you’re looking for that person right now or you’re just looking to have someone around the corner for the time when you need them.

7:43

Second question, how can the quality of service be maintained if you’re outsourcing design work? I love this question because I always hire people who are better than I am. And it’s funny because this is exactly what Steve Jobs said at some point.

8:02

Like there was an interview and he said he always hires people who are better than he is. And this is so true. I now deliver better results to my clients than when I was a solo designer because now I have a brand strategist, brand designer, packaging designer, graphic designer, web designer, web developer, copywriter, and we all work together on this one project versus when I was doing it all.

8:32

So yeah, it’s not about maintaining the quality of service when I’m outsourcing. It’s actually, I’m now delivering better design work than when I was a solo designer.

Can you break down the profit when you outsource everything versus when you were a solo designer?

8:51

Yes. So when I was a solo designer, let’s say I was charging about $10,000 for visual identity, maybe packaging design and the website. And again, you know, I was a solo designer so everything would stay, so all $10,000.

9:12

So, you know, profit was 100%. However, it would take me weeks if not months to complete this project. So, you know, I was making $3,000 to $5,000 a month. When you look at that, it’s not that big. You know, like when you see on Instagram people are like making $10,000 per project, OK, but then the project is over 12 weeks. Well, that’s not that great.

Now I’ll just give you an example for one of my $20K projects. So we charged $20,000 for that project and after I paid my team and absolutely everything, my profit, my design agency’s profit was around $13,000.

9:56

So $7,000 was in kind of team expenses and everything that we needed for that project like fonts, stock images and whatnot. And $13,000 was what was left. But if you’re asking me to kind of break it down, it really depends on the project. It depends on who will be on my team, who exactly is going to do the website design development, who is going to work on packaging, how many labels or boxes we have, how big the scope of work is.

10:16

But you know, it’s really like this example that I just gave you for $20,000 where my profit was $13,000 can kind of give you, you know, a better sense of what the profit is.

How do I find clients quickly and easily?

OK so this question was like how I find but how can you find clients quickly and easily?

10:56

The best piece of advice is to specialize. Find a niche like you do branding for coffee shops. Change everything on your website in the next week or so. Go to LinkedIn type coffee shops. Find business owners and start connecting with them. That’s the quickest and easiest way to get clients.

How do you juggle freelancing, work and having a baby? Did you take time off? Love that question because I actually was planning on taking time off but never took it.

11:32

I was so bored because babies actually sleep a lot with things they don’t, but they sleep a lot. So every time when my baby was sleeping, I would just secretly kind of work. I would be like, well, let me respond to this email, let me create this, let me post this, let me write this, let’s talk to my team. And I just never took time off because I love working, but I also love spending time with my babies.

So, you know, the team that I have right now helps with everything. And I don’t work more than 15 hours a week, so it’s not like I’m working full time and it’s not like I’m not working.

12:15

So there was really no need for me to take time off. But the way I am juggling it, or you know, if that’s how you want to call it, is that again, I have a team, so they help with everything. And it’s not like I have to work.

12:32

But when you’re a solo designer, when you’re a freelancer, then you have to figure things out. With my first child, it was just me. And I did have, I actually did have my manager already. I did have a couple of brand designers. I did have a designer, and I did have a web developer.

However, it was mostly still on me, talking to clients, getting clients, going to networking events and whatnot. And so with my first, I started waking up at 5:00 AM. So I would wake up at 5:00, actually before 5:00 so that I can start working at five. I would work 5 till 7:00 AM and then the baby would wake up. She goes back, you know, for a nap at 9:00 AM. And so 9 till 10, I would work again and then afternoon for another nap.

13:24

And then she would go to bed around like eight or nine. And then I would work until midnight. So you know it was, it’s really like you just have to figure it out, but try to outsource and hire as soon as you can.

How do I get high-paying clients on Instagram?

I don’t know because I don’t get clients on Instagram. In fact, we don’t even use Instagram for my branding and design agency. The way we get clients is through referrals because I used to go to a lot of networking events.

14:00

We get clients through blogging, so SEO and website and also through LinkedIn. So I don’t know much about Instagram. I always wanted to create a business where clients would be attracted to me without me spending a lot of time on that.

14:21

So I quickly realized that that’s, you know, in person connecting with people in person here in Austin. And I used to live in Denver and prior to that I was in Las Vegas and you know, I was just constantly connecting with people, going to networking events, getting clients and then referrals and SEO.

14:40

Blogging is something I just simply love. We now have a blogger. I don’t write my posts and my manager would post for us, but you know, people are finding us through blogging.

And then LinkedIn. I connect with referral partners, which are people who offer different services to the same target audience.

15:00

So that’s how you’re creating referral partners. And so, yeah, I don’t know. I was just never into Instagram.

When it comes to getting design clients inside the Profitable Designer program, do we get all the lessons at once or do we get them weekly?

15:20

Well, for everyone who doesn’t know what the Profitable Designer program is, let me just quickly tell you it’s a program that helps you grow your design business to five-figure months using my proven 12-week system. You can check it out on aventiveacademy.com/profit.

15:38

But yes, it’s over 12 weeks. You get one module with lessons every single week. You don’t get all the lessons at once, but it’s weekly. If you really, really want them all at once, you could, but I believe that the best is if you go through the program over 12 weeks versus just skimming through all the lessons and modules and trying to finish it as soon as possible.

16:08

And so, yeah, it’s play and pause. You get weekly lessons and modules and you can play and pause them whenever you feel like.

Why are some designers able to charge over $10,000?

16:24

Well, their portfolio isn’t that great. Well, why do you care how much others charge? Also, how do you know that their portfolio isn’t that great? But to answer your question, that is because they’re very good at the business of design.

16:45

So they’re very good at running a design business, connecting with people, doing marketing, maybe social media, whatnot. Because it’s really not about the portfolio. Yes, your portfolio needs to look great, needs to look professional. People need to be attracted to it. That’s all great.

17:01

But it’s really not about your portfolio. It’s about how you’re going to attract people to your portfolio. It’s about marketing. Focus on marketing and then the rest will come.

How do you handle difficult clients who constantly want revisions?

17:20

Luckily, we don’t have bad clients anymore. We do have like amazing, amazing clients. Like dream clients, literally. And that’s because when you charge more money for your design services, you’re attracting people who want to spend money and not their time.

17:41

So they don’t want revisions, they don’t want any changes. They just want to move on. They’re going to give you $20,000 and be like, you are the professional. I don’t have time for this. I want you to do it and just give me the logo or just give me that label or give me that website.

18:00

I don’t have time for this. I don’t want to micromanage. And so, you know, that’s who we work with right now. In the past, when I was working with cheaper clients, when I was charging $200, $500, even $3,000, we were going through a lot of revisions. I didn’t know how to set boundaries and it was bad.

So, you know, it just depends on how good of a client is. But the best piece of advice that I have is just have contracts in place where you do say, hey, I provide two rounds of revisions or three or whatever it is and just set to that and that’s it. Like there’s no way that they’ll constantly want revisions if they know that they have two or three.

18:41

What strategies do you use to stay motivated and avoid burnout?

It’s funny, one of the lessons inside the Profitable Designer program is talking all about this, like literally every single thing. You can check it out on aventiveacademy.com/profit, but to answer your question, I just was always into flexibility and freedom, time, flexibility and financial freedom to be clear.

19:31

So that’s always, you know, when you have those goals set, you always find motivation even when things are not going as well as planned or expected. I always go back to my why, so if I were you, I would probably set my why and then put it somewhere behind my screen or something so that you know I can see it every single day and just focus on your why.

19:49

How do you manage your time effectively between multiple projects?

Well, I work only 15 hours a week, so I simply have to be so efficient and effective. And again, I have a team, so they help.

20:05

I have a manager, I have a content writer, I have a graphic designer, brand designer, developer. And you know, just like my team basically helps with everything. They don’t even need me more than 15 hours a week. And in those 15 hours, I also managed to run my second business, which is Aventive Academy.

20:25

We are helping brand, graphic and web design business owners start and grow their design agencies like just like I did, you know, so you know, I feel like I don’t work more than like 5 to maybe let’s say 7-8 hours a week on like in my branding and design agency at the moment.

20:48

So the way I effectively manage is hiring people.

What are the best ways to market my design services without spending a lot of money?

The best way is knowing who your target audience is and where they hang out, and that will give you an answer.

21:05

So if you know exactly that your target audience are fitness entrepreneurs, you will have to figure out what social media platform, if any, they’re using and then focus on that one thing that will be the best way to market your design services.

21:23

What are the essential tools and software every designer should invest in?

Oh, I love this. I’ll give you three and some are free. So the first one would be a project management software that could be like Asana or Trello or Notion.

21:45

I would actually suggest Notion. I use Notion for every single thing, for my goals, for tracking what I’m doing every single day, you know, like Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Like I literally have daily goals. Then I have weekly goals, monthly goals.

22:04

That’s where we also have our client portal. And if you want that client portal, you can get it for free. By the way, you can go to aventiveacademy.com/client-portal and I’m going to leave the link here below in the description.

22:19

You can literally get it for free. So yeah, Notion, definitely your own website. Many designers try to DIY it, which means doing it yourself. And that’s what I did as well.

22:36

But ever since I invested in my design business, in my website, I started getting more inquiries. And it’s actually, you know, you see it maybe as an expense, but it’s an investment. So if you’re a brand or graphic designer and you’re not a web designer, I highly, highly suggest you find a website designer who’s going to help you grow your business because you’re investing, you’re not spending.

23:04

And then also spend money on going to paid networking events. That’s going to really help you grow your business. You’re going to weed out like the cheap free events and people and it’s going to be amazing. So that’s kind of like, I know that that’s not really a tool or software and I can just throw in like Adobe and stock images, things like that.

23:28

So yeah, I mean there are many different things you can really invest in.

How can I transition from working with small clients to landing bigger projects?

It all starts with positioning. You need to position yourself as the best possible option for your bigger projects, for your bigger clients.

23:47

So how are you going to position yourself as the best possible option for them is either niching down or being an expert, showcasing that you’re an expert either through social media portfolio, your website, networking events and knowing the right people.

24:04

Connecting with people on LinkedIn. Like you really have to know who you want to work with, where they hang out, and how you’re going to like truly be the expert in their eyes. So it’s all about positioning.

24:19

Learn more about positioning. And it is in our Profitable Designer program. So again, you can go to aventiveacademy.com/profit if you want to learn more about positioning yourself with higher paying projects and clients.

24:36

What’s the best way to handle client feedback?

So we use a client portal. A client portal that we use is professionally built by me. It’s a Notion template and we use it with every single client.

24:53

We love it. Our clients love it. It’s really our five-star client portal. And as I already mentioned, you can download it for free and you can customize it to fit your project. What’s inside the client portal is dedicated space for all the contracts, invoices, client assets, scope of work, project timeline, clients’ To-Do List and project overview, dedicated space for the final design deliverables, and you know, things like that.

25:23

But it really has only the things you and your clients truly need. And now like how do we handle client feedback is they can literally comment on every single thing that we provide. So in the scope of work, when you download this client portal, you’re going to see that in scope of work, we have like brand strategy, visual identity, like logo design, stationary labels, packaging, website design.

25:51

And they can leave comments next to every single thing we’re working on. And as we are working or designing, they’re leaving comments and we are just going back and fixing it’s, it’s actually like really easy and feedback is most of the time pretty good. And that’s because we do brand strategy.

So there are no surprises and they know exactly what they can expect from us. So yeah, client portal is where we got client feedback and the way we handle it is just by addressing the, you know, what they’re requesting.

26:30

Like if they’re simply asking for a change just to change it, if it’s something like personal opinion, for example, if they say, hey, I really don’t like that blue or I want to change that label because my sister said this and that, or I don’t like that font or whatever.

26:51

We asked them, OK, but why? Let’s look into where ideal client is, your brand attributes, who you know is going to buy from you and things like that. Like we really go back to brand strategy and then ask them to think about it objectively.

27:08

And then most of the time they’ll be like, Oh yeah, you’re right. I was thinking from my perspective, and I’m not building my business for myself, but for my target audience. And so, yeah, we just always point or explain why we designed certain things.

27:25

Can you share tips on building a strong portfolio that attracts clients?

Yes, I’ll give you two. One is that you need to have case studies instead of a portfolio. So portfolio is showcasing your design work.

27:45

Case studies is when you walk people through the journey of designing something. So instead of presenting, let’s say you worked on supplements, so you worked in supplements, you designed a logo for that supplement company.

28:04

You designed packaging labels and the website. So instead of just presenting that, you would also add description. So that would be a case study. You would explain who the client was, what they were looking for, how long the project took.

28:20

You don’t have to talk about money, which you know, it would be really weird if you were to say like this is how much my client paid me. But so you would, you would explain timeline, you would explain how you got to that solution from sketching to talking about brand strategy, like really walk the visitor from start to end.

28:42

So that’s, you know, that’s really the best tip that I have for you on how to build a strong portfolio that attracts clients.

How do you network and build relationships to get referrals?

I don’t go to random networking events. I go to events very intentionally where I meet with people who are either my target audience or people who work with my target audience.

29:21

And so I simply connect with them and I look into them like, hey, I’m making friends and I truly am making friends, and who’s going to send you more referrals than your friends and family, right?

So when I go to networking event, I never pitch, never tried to sell anything. I just meet people and stay in touch with them on LinkedIn. And sometimes we would go, you know, for a coffee or we’ll have a Zoom or even happy hour.

29:38

Like it really depends. But yeah, I really try to stay in touch with them.

What should I include in my contracts to protect myself and my work?

Main things are deliverables like what exactly you’re going to deliver, timeline, pricing, ownership, and revisions.

29:58

How do you approach rebranding a client’s existing brand?

While I focus on their goals, if they’re looking to increase sales or get more customers or get more clients, which most of the time is the case.

30:15

Then we go back to the brand strategy and we figure out like their why, their mission, vision, core values, their target audience, what they’re trying to do. And then we work on rebranding based on the new brand strategy, not just based on the visuals that they previously had.

30:35

So maybe we are going to point and think about like, oh, so they use the red, let’s see how we can use the red, but maybe maybe like introduce blue as well or whatever the case might be. However, we go back to the brand strategy.

Before we continue with this podcast episode, I just want to quickly remind you that if you’re a design business owner whose dream is to have a successful and profitable career so you can enjoy the freedom and flexibility that comes with it, then I have something for you.

31:09

The Profitable Designer Program is my signature 12-week system that will help you improve your business, sign amazing high-paying clients, and truly achieve your financial and lifestyle goals. Visit aventiveacademy.com/profit to check if you can join us now or if we are currently not accepting more designers into the program.

31:32

In that case, you will be able to join the waitlist and be the first to know when we open the doors again. Now we’ll go back to the episode in a second, but I just want to add that designers who completed the program were able to sign five-figure design clients, 10 times their pricing, reach six figures and beyond, make $20,000 per month while working only a few hours a week and more.

31:58

Here is what Julia said. It really has everything you could ever ask for to build a six-figure business that will allow you to have financial freedom. And that’s why I personally did it, like I wanted that flexibility. So if you want to be my next success story and achieve results like these, visit aventiveacademy.com/profit.

32:19

Now let’s go back to the episode.

How do you balance creative freedom with client expectations?

I love this question because I finished the Academy of Arts for, you know, visuals and graphic design and whatnot, and I thought that I will have all the creative freedom in the world when working with clients and being a designer one day, which turns out that was not the case, especially when I was on Craigslist and charging $65 for a logo design.

32:56

However, you can’t get there. So let me give you an example. Our last two projects, one was $29,000 and the one before that was $15,000, we had full, full, full creative freedom because these are the type of clients that don’t want to spend their time. They already spend their money, so they don’t want to be the creative directors. They want us to lead the project and to do absolutely everything.

33:19

So literally both of them were just like, hey, you know, we are looking for logo design. One was product-based business, one was service-based business, but both of them needed brand strategy, visual identity. And then one of them was looking for labels, packaging, and the website design and that was the $15,000 project. And then the other one was looking for brand strategy, visual identity, and then no labels and packaging ’cause they’re service-based business and you know it.

34:03

It’s funny actually, because the $15,000 project had more deliverables and the scope of work was bigger than the $29,000 project. But that’s because we do value-based pricing, which means that we charge based on the value that we provide to that client. But yeah, the bigger and better clients you have, the more creative freedom you’re going to have as well. So try focusing on getting better clients. If you need help, go to aventiveacademy.com/wealthy-client.

34:39

I’m going to leave the link below in the show notes, but this is basically the wealthy client blueprint that’s going to help you attract high-paying design clients with my sustainable four-step process. I know you’re going to love it. We have, I don’t even know, like probably over 1000 people that got the wealthy client blueprint and people love it.

35:03

So I know you’re going to love it too. It’s going to help you get better clients and you’re going to have all the freedom you want.

Next question, how do you increase your design rates?

Well, I do branding and website design, packaging design, label design, things like that that simply do not require having clients on any kind of retainer basis. So I increase my price with future clients. So let’s say I charge $10,000 for visual identity and let’s say brand strategy and visual identity. And now if I want to charge $12,000, fifteen, $20,000, that’s just how much I’m going to charge my next client.

35:54

So there is no this like, how do I say to my current clients that my price is now increasing? However, my advice to you is if you do graphic design, let’s say you do social media designs for a client and you want to increase, you simply, you know, send them an email. That’s the best if you ask me, because you have it in writing and you can explain without, you know, stumbling upon your words and thinking how you’re going to explain that and what not.

36:29

And you can take your time to tell them like, hey, I’m increasing my prices for, you know, 20% or 50% or whatever it is because that and then you, you have to give them some reason. You can’t just like say, hey, I’m increasing my rates and that’s it.

36:45

No, I believe in the value that I provide or with everything else increasing in the world, it’s time to increase my prices. If you decide to stay with me, I appreciate that. If you decide to move on, I wish you all the best and appreciate everything we’ve done so far and things like that.

37:06

So basically you just inform them.

How do you get clients on LinkedIn?

OK, so this is a good question and I love it, but it’s and honestly, it’s way more easy than you may think.

37:25

It’s very simple. It’s actually not easy. It’s simple. So the strategy is not about posting. So it’s not like Instagram, Pinterest, or, you know, social media where you have to create and post. No, LinkedIn strategy is more about connecting with the right people.

37:43

And it’s not even just connecting with the right target audience, but with referral partners. Referral partners are people who have the same target audience but offer different services. So if you’re a brand designer, you can connect with web designers. If you’re a web designer, you can connect with copywriters.

38:02

If you are a copywriter, you can connect with, I don’t know, book designers, cover designers and things like that. You all have the same target audience but offer different services. So these people are not your competitors. They are your referral partners, meaning that every time they have a client, they can send them to you.

38:23

They can refer their clients or when you have a client, you can send them to them. It’s a win-win situation. You’re helping your clients not just with your services, but also with resources and knowledge, and they will appreciate that.

38:39

So it’s just amazing, you know, connecting with referral partners on LinkedIn. You can also connect with your target audience. You can send them connections, you can chat with them. I never go there to sell directly, so it’s not cold pitching or anything like that.

39:00

It’s just connecting. It’s like making friends. It’s like a networking event, but online. I just love it. It’s the easiest and like the best platform to get clients to get high-paying clients.

39:15

As a brand and web designer, trust me.

What’s your process for onboarding new clients?

So when someone reaches out to us, we send them an email like hey, Kady, the CEO and founder or whatever we say like the CEO and creative director or brand strategist will reach out to you directly so she can learn more about this project.

39:39

Then we then I personally send them an email with my Calendly. They schedule a call. When we are done with that call, if I believe it is the right fit, I create the proposal, send the proposal.

39:54

When they approve, I give them access to the client portal, which is something that I simply love. And if you want to download the free client portal that I created for my branding and design agency that we use with every single client, you can do that in the description below or visit aventiveacademy.com/client-portal.

40:18

I know you’re going to love it, but basically I put clients in that client portal and this is basically where they will find all the information about the project and from there I give them, you know, timeline, scope of work, what their next tasks are like, what they need to do like either that is that they need to send me some copy or previous designs that they had or whatever it is.

40:44

I give them their To-Do List and I think that that’s it. It’s pretty easy. It’s all about really that client portal. But those are kind of the steps.

How do you set yourself apart from other agencies in a crowded market?

41:01

So one thing that I do really good is I don’t pay attention to other agencies. But now to give you some practical advice is I have my niche, so I specialize in this one thing.

41:16

And I always talk about this one thing and I know where to meet my people and how to make them trust me. So I go to networking events where my target audience hangs out. I know how to talk to them, how to explain the value behind everything that I do, behind packaging design, behind brand strategy, behind website design, behind logo design, colors, typography, whatever I provide.

41:47

I know how to explain the value. And so I don’t even have to work on setting myself apart. And every time when I talk to a potential client, I don’t mention others and I don’t compete with them.

42:03

I don’t try to lower my pricing. I don’t try to justify my pricing. I do explain it, but I don’t try to justify it. I just say this is what we do. I believe in what we do. I know we are good. I know we are the best.

42:19

And I know you’re going to benefit from, you know, when working with us. So I’m just like very confident that we are the best if I believe that this client is the right fit. So, you know, and of course you do want to set yourself apart.

42:35

Like if someone opens my website and it says branding and website design and they open another website, it says branding and website design, I am going to figure out how to make my website stand out. And that’s usually through messaging and visuals.

42:52

It’s not just about visuals, it’s not just about messaging, but they both have to work. So I think it comes down to knowing who your target audience is and who you want to work with and then think about what is that they would love to see.

43:09

So don’t create your website or social media or really anything in your business from your perspective like you’re doing it for yourself, but always think about your ideal client and what they would like to see and really focus on them.

43:25

Many designers still focus on themselves. And I do remember, and I said this already in one of my episodes on the podcast, and that is that in the past I had my website that was really all about me.

43:41

It was I finished this school, I finished this Academy of Arts. And while credibility is important and you can say things like that, it’s really like they’re not on your website because of you. Your potential clients are on your website because of them.

43:57

They’re looking to sell more products. They’re looking to grow their business. They’re looking to make more money by investing in your services. They’re looking to get more website visitors. They’re looking to get more clients or customers to the door and things like that.

44:12

So focus on that. That is how you’re going to stand out.

How do you balance your role as a creative director with the administrative responsibilities of a CEO?

It’s honestly very easy because I am a very organized person.

44:30

So for example, Mondays are for all the admin and CEO work. This is when I will ask myself like am I going in the right direction or do I still love what I do? How can I help others do what they love? I am also going to look into the numbers, how many leads we got this month, how many clients, how much money we made, things like that.

44:54

So that’s like really admin. I will also talk to my team. I actually talk to my team like every day. We don’t have like scheduled calls. I do have only with my manager and that’s every other Thursday. But besides that, I communicate with my team daily when I need them or when they need me.

45:14

So basically Mondays are for admin work for, you know, me being a CEO and then everything else is me being a creative director. So maybe on Tuesday my brand designer will be like, hey, this is a brand book or these are brand guidelines or these are the colors.

45:32

What do you think? We would go back and forth and then maybe on Wednesday a web designer would reach out or on Thursday a content creator, or maybe they’ll all reach out on Tuesday like, hey, this is what I was working on or this is what we’ve been working on.

45:48

What do you think? And so, you know, there’s really no, I don’t have to like balance or juggle anything. It just feels right where they all know that Mondays are my days. And sometimes they will still reach out, but if they don’t hear back from me, they know why.

46:07

So Mondays are my CEO and admin days and then everything else is more like creative director. And also I do run Aventive Academy, which is a business education platform for brand, graphic and web design business owners where I help designers get high-paying clients and build their creative agencies.

46:29

And so I do have other tasks on my plate that’s not just for my branding and design agency. And that is, you know, things like this, recording a podcast, writing newsletters, posting on social media, and I love all of that.

46:46

So that just comes in depending on like how much time I have. So if we have a lot of clients in a week, then our, you know, social media is going to be a little bit slower. And when I say our, I mean Aventive Academy.

47:01

So the educational platform, not the branding and web design agency ’cause we are not getting clients through social media. Our focus is simply not on social media to get clients. But to answer your question, I think that it really comes down to being very well organized.

47:19

And I use Notion and I have my tasks structured with like this is what I need to do on Mondays. This is what’s on for Tuesdays. This is for Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays. And then I get things done as I go.

47:35

Sometimes I would move tasks from one week to another week or sometimes I would like literally get everything done by Wednesday. And so, you know, it’s really just how you organize and plan and you really have to write everything down.

47:54

Sometimes I have these ideas of things that I want to improve, like I want to make changes on our website or I want to go to this networking event or I want to add this to our contact form or whatever, whatever comes to my mind.

48:12

And instead of just putting it on my To-Do List when I’m already busy, that will just make me feel overwhelmed. I put it in this list that’s called short term. So kind of like short-term goals or short-term to-do tasks.

48:29

And then I also have a long term. And so every time something comes to my mind, I just put it there. But it really goes back to being able to organize and write everything down.

What’s your secret sauce for landing clients who pay premium rates?

48:48

Two things. Having a niche, being a specialized designer. So instead of saying I’m a graphic designer working with everyone and anyone, now I have this specialization. I work with one type of client only. And that is what makes me special. And I can charge premium for that.

The second thing is my confidence. I do have a lot of confidence so that I can say this project is going to be $35,000. If that’s not for you, if you can’t afford that, we can figure out how to exclude some of the deliverables so that they can get down to $20,000.

49:28

And that’s how I communicate with my clients. So I would say really like having my niche, knowing who I want to work with, and having the confidence to charge that much.

What are the biggest lessons that you’ve learned from running a design agency?

49:44

That I’m capable of doing whatever I want. Like literally whatever comes to my mind. I can do that not just in business, but in life as well. But I’m going to give you examples in business.

50:01

So for example, when I wanted to work with a skincare line, I really wanted to work on labels and packaging. I did everything I can to land a skincare client. And after that, I landed many, many skincare clients. But really one of the lessons is that I can and I just need to put effort into getting to that. But I can and I will do it.

What’s the most effective marketing strategy you’ve used to grow your client base?

50:40

It’s blogging, definitely blogging. I think that that’s it. Like blogging, networking events, yes, LinkedIn as well. But I would say blogging is where we get most of our clients. Let’s say that 60% and then 20% networking and LinkedIn.

But yeah, blogging definitely. That’s the most effective marketing strategy. It’s, you know, SEO and Google, It’s how people find us. It’s how people reach out to us. That’s definitely like the best marketing strategy for us.

But I do want to tell you that every single marketing strategy works. You just have to figure out which one is going to work for you.

You have to think about if you’re an introvert or you’re an extrovert or you’re in between what you personally enjoy, but also where your target audience is and things like that. So many different things to consider.

51:32

So what works for me and what’s, you know, my most effective marketing strategy, that doesn’t mean that’s going to work for you too. So if I was to tell you I love networking events and that is a marketing strategy that I swear by.

You’ll be like, maybe you will be like, oh, I would hate talking to people. So you know that’s not going to work for you.

So you have to figure out what marketing strategy is going to work for you. And if you want my help, I do have a free quiz that you can go through to figure that out. So if you go to aventiveacademy.com and then find where it says free and then under that you’re going to see marketing quiz, it’s going to really help you with the best marketing strategy might be for you.

52:20

How do you negotiate higher rates without scaring off potential clients?

So this is one thing that I always go by and that is that I don’t negotiate. Maybe, you know, you can even say that I do, but I really don’t. I start with explaining what we do.

52:40

Like this is what we do, brand strategy, visual identity, website design. Our goal is helping you sell more products or get more customers or whatever it is. This is usually turnaround like 10 weeks, 12 weeks. We typically charge $35,000 for this type of project and can go lower to $15,000 depending on what exactly we need to deliver. Does that fit your budget?

That’s it. If they say no, that’s too expensive, I’m just like, OK, yeah, I’m sorry, then we’re not the right fit. Or if they say yes, closer to $20,000 is what our budget is, then we talk about, OK, well, let’s see what we can exclude.

53:23

Maybe you don’t need a custom website. Maybe you don’t need that many pages. Maybe brand strategy can be a little bit, I don’t know, simplified or something like that. So kind of like what is that that I can deliver for $20,000?

So I don’t really negotiate. We just need to figure out how much money they have to invest in my branding and design agency. And then I have to figure out what is that that me and my team can deliver for that much money.

What’s the biggest mistake designers make when trying to close the sale?

53:57

They try to explain what they’re going to deliver. They talk about, oh, and we provide three revisions. We will send you these logos. You’re going to get this many. And they focus more on quantity and deliverables versus quality and what exactly the client is looking for.

54:19

Because as mentioned earlier in this episode, clients are not looking for a logo design for label design, for packaging, for website. They’re looking for more product sales. They’re looking for more customers, more clients. They’re looking to get more money into their business.

So that is something that designers need to focus on versus what exactly they’re going to send as a file.

54:53

I just come up with a number and then I break it down into how much money we need to make per month. And then I break it down into how many clients we need to have every single month in order to achieve that financial goal.

And then I break it down into how many leads we need to get in order to get that many clients. And then I look into what marketing strategies or what activities we need to do in order to get that many leads. So very easy.

What’s the best way to pitch your services to high-profile clients?

55:30

Just talking about the results. Again, like really just talking about the results that they’re going to attract more customers to their brand once they rebrand or when you design whatever it is. So really just focusing on the end results.

What’s the most impactful investment you’ve made in your business?

55:48

Hiring a business coach and a marketing agency that helped me specialize and helped me figure out who my ideal client is. And even though this is something that now I help designers figure out with their agency and it’s inside the Profitable Designer Program, I still needed someone who’s going to look into my business from the outside perspective.

56:12

It’s very helpful when you have someone to brainstorm with. And so for example, right now I do have a business coach who I work with for the past year or two and we talk every other week, every other Tuesday and also on Voxer. I can call her at any time.

56:29

It’s kind of like a synchronized coaching where I send her a voice message. She will respond when she gets a chance, then I will respond, she will respond, things like that. And it’s super, super helpful. It’s hands down like the best investment and the most impactful investment in my business.

How do you keep your pipeline full with a steady stream of new clients?

56:49

We are very consistent in blogging. I’m consistent in going to networking events and connecting with people on LinkedIn. So I would say consistency in what’s working.

What’s your go-to method for closing deals quickly?

57:04

Well, I don’t know if we close deals quickly, I guess we do, but it’s just having a conversation with clients. I never even try to sell.

57:21

Yes, it is sales and it is a sales call, but it’s basically just explaining what we do and how we can help them grow. And so you know if they are looking to grow their business, I know we can help them. So my focus is always on talking about the end results for them.

57:40

And I think that that is my go-to method. When clients and potential clients talk to a designer, a random designer they find online, and that designer is focused on deliverables or timeline or things like that, clients don’t care about that, as mentioned just a few minutes ago.

And then if they talk to me and I’m focused on the end results, they’re going to, you know, hire me and that’s going to happen immediately because they’re going to see a huge difference.

So I guess that’s how I close deals quickly.

What’s the most effective way to follow up with potential clients without being pushy?

58:17

Oh, I love this question because I just had someone who I had to follow up with for like a few times. And the reason is because I’m so passionate about this project. I would love to work with her. I know that she’s not ready yet, but I didn’t want her to forget about me.

58:33

So this is a skincare client, but it’s a little bit different. I can’t talk much about it. Let’s say it’s different ingredients or different target audience or whatever. Something is very different about this skincare line.

I’ve never heard of anything like that and I am literally really passionate about it. I would buy her products. And so I talked to her, she doesn’t have the budget. I gave her a proposal for I think $15,000 for brand strategy, visual identity, and labels and boxes for three products only.

59:13

She doesn’t have that money, however, like she’s going to figure out where to get that money from. And so she basically said like, hey, I am still trying to figure that out. I’m talking to manufacturers. I’m doing this and that and whatever, I’ll get back to you a few weeks later.

59:29

I’m like, wow, I don’t want her to forget about me. I don’t want her to hire someone else. What can I do? That’s not like, hey, I just want to follow up, which is kind of like, hey, I just want to poke you while you’re already busy with other things.

So the way I followed up is I found her competitors and it took me like 10 minutes. So I found her competitors and this one brand does exactly like the exact same thing what she wants to do.

59:48

And so I told her like, hey, how are you? Hope everything is doing, everything’s well. I hope you’re doing well. Here is your future competitor. I just looked into their website and what I love about their product. And then I focused on the product. I wasn’t talking about like branding and designs and trying to be pushy. And sales, they kind of like in that direction.

1:00:05

I was just talking about the benefits and the way they highlight the benefits of the product. And I just said like I am sure this is one of the ways that you should, you know, be utilizing and whatever. And then I also mentioned something about UGC creators or you know, like people who are going to share on social media.

1:00:39

Then I also mentioned something else. So that was my one follow-up. She responded with like, Oh my God, thank you so much. I was not able to find any competitors, but wow. I thought I would be the only one. And I’m like, oh, well, you’re not, but we can definitely help you figure out like how to position your business so that it sounds like you’re the only one.

1:01:00

And she really liked that after that. So, and then, you know, it’s been like a couple of months after that, I wanted to follow up again and I said like, Hey, I was just in Sephora and they don’t have anything not even similar to what you’re trying to do.

1:01:17

And I think that in this section of Sephora, you know, like stores like your brand and your future products would be, you know, perfect fit and things like that. And so that’s how I followed up with like useful information with like really genuine information.

And yes, at the end of the day, my end goal is to work with this client, but not even for the money anymore. It’s not about those $15,000. It’s more about really working on this brand that I believe in, in her, like on her products, right?

So the best way to follow up is really just provide value.

And the last question is, what’s your biggest piece of advice for designers looking to boost their income?

1:02:09

OK, here are the steps.

First step, specialize. Find your niche. Know your target audience.

Second step, improve your portfolio. Have your target audience in mind with every single case study that you design for your portfolio. Have 6 to 8 case studies on your website.

1:02:28

And then third step, connect with as many people as you can on LinkedIn, reach out to potential clients, but also connect with referral partners.

So those are the three things you can do to boost your income. I know that’s going to work. We have so many people that went through the Profitable Designer Program, which is my 12-week signature program and business program for designers.

And I know that that works, and I know it’s going to work for you because I have helped many, many designers go through these three steps and they were able to land more clients, get better clients, and like, really boost their income.

1:03:10

So I know you’re going to get there as well. So yeah, I hope you enjoyed this very long podcast episode. It is kind of unusual on the Profitable Graphic Designer podcast to have an hour-long solo podcast episode, but here we are after 37 Q&As.

1:03:37

So yeah, thank you so much for being here. And if you have any additional questions, feel free to reach out on Instagram @aventiveacademy and I’ll see you next time.

Thanks for tuning in to the Profitable Graphic Designer Podcast, but wait before you go.

1:03:53

If you enjoyed this podcast episode and want a chance to access one of our online courses for free, simply leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Each month one lucky reviewer gets to pick a course as a token of our appreciation.

1:04:09

And here’s a reminder, we are here to help you build the design business of your dreams. Whether it’s creating compelling proposals, attracting $10K clients, pricing your design services, improving your portfolio, reaching six figures and beyond, or helping you stand out, we’ve got you covered.

1:04:28

I invite you to join over 1000 designers in my signature 12-week program, The Profitable Designer. Visit aventiveacademy.com/profit and also don’t forget to hit that subscribe button. That way you’ll be the first to know when each new episode drops so you never miss out on future content.

1:04:48

Until next time, be sure to connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy, where we share valuable business tips, stories, and resources for brand, graphic and web design business owners.

Bye for now, your host Kady Sandel.