Ever wondered how you can work only 15 hours a week while running a 6-figure design agency? I used to work 15 hours a day, but I made a conscious choice to change that and spend more quality time with my kids. Now, with the help of my amazing team, I focus on what I truly enjoy and outsource the rest, including tasks like taxes and even house cleaning. In this episode, I’ll share the practical steps I took to transform my business and life. Plus, I’m excited to announce The Creative CEO Accelerator starting in September, designed to help you consistently attract top clients and maximize your design agency income in just five months. The waitlist is now open at aventiveacademy.com/accelerator.

 

Listen to the episode here:

Spotify  –  Apple Podcasts  –  Amazon Music

 

You will learn:

• How to prioritize and plan your tasks to maximize efficiency.
• The importance of building a reliable team and delegating effectively.
• Strategies for landing high-paying clients and focusing on five-figure projects.
• Tips for outsourcing tasks that don’t bring you joy or add value to your business.
• The mindset shifts necessary to achieve a balanced and fulfilling work-life integration.

Tune in to discover how you can work smarter, not harder, and take control of your business and life.

 

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:

0:00
I cannot even imagine now doing everything by myself, marketing, blogging, social media, editing, designing, posting, talking to clients. It’s too much. Yes, you can be a super successful solo freelance designer, but trust me, your projects and your clients will be better when you collaborate with others, and it’s really not that hard.

0:26
In my design agency, I am now the creative director and I have an amazing brand designer whose designs are honestly better than mine. And I have an amazing web designer. I wouldn’t even be able to design anything like that. I have a web developer. I hate coding, and I have someone who writes blogs for me.

0:44
I even had people that did cold emailing for me when I wanted some client and income boost in my business. I don’t like cold emailing and I’m sure you don’t like it either, but by having a lot of high-paying clients, I can afford to outsource.

1:17
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 6-figure design agency based in Austin, TX, serving clients worldwide.

1:35
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.

1:55
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.

2:18
Today I want to talk about how I am able to work only 15 hours a week while running a six-figure design agency. It might sound impossible and I do remember these thoughts of how it was impossible before I got here, but it’s really doable with the right mindset and structure.

2:42
First off, I chose to work 15 hours a week because I value my time with kids and I am in this phase where I’m spending a lot of time with my kids. Now, if you don’t have kids or if you prefer to do something else and you simply want to have more free time, this is still the episode for you.

3:02
I’m not going to talk about kids and family life and all of that. I will talk about the business side of being a successful designer and choosing how much you want to work. Maybe that is 15 hours, maybe that is 25, maybe that is five hours, but you have to first know what you want to do and how much you want to work.

3:26
You know, I used to be that person who worked 15 hours a day thinking that more hours equaled more success. And also at that time, I didn’t have my website set up. I didn’t know when I would get my next client.

3:42
I didn’t know what marketing strategies were going to work for my business. So I was just doing a lot of different things at once because I simply didn’t know the things that I know now, which is not to do everything at once, but to really focus only on the things that do work.

4:01
Now I realize my success is not just measured by my income, but also by the quality of my life and my time with my family. And I simply outsource absolutely everything that I can.

4:17
And I’m choosing to do only the things I truly, truly love in my business and in life, really. You know, I have a babysitter just enough to get things done. And I’ve structured my work in a way that maximizes those hours. It’s about working smarter and not harder.

4:36
You’ve definitely heard that sentence before. I absolutely love my work, but I also love having the freedom to enjoy my life outside of work. And as mentioned, I’m in this phase where I do not want to work more than 15 hours a week. And I know that two years from now, I will probably go back to working like 30-40 hours per week when my kids are in daycare and school and whatnot because I will have the time.

5:01
And I love working. But as mentioned, I do love spending time with my kids and with my baby who is not going to be a baby forever. So I’m simply choosing to work 15 hours a week. Now I do have to say that as crazy as it sounds, when I was working 30 to 40 hours a week, I still completed the same amount of tasks that I now complete with 15 hours a week.

5:29
The reason for that is that now I don’t have time to scroll on Instagram and look for inspiration forever. Like what am I going to post next? I simply have to post. I have to do things way faster.

5:45
I don’t have enough time to feel productive unless I’m really productive. So what that means is that if I have to or if I want to record a podcast episode, I don’t have time to first listen to five podcast episodes to get a new idea and watch 10 YouTube videos to get the idea and then write my script over the next six hours.

6:10
Now I have to complete absolutely everything within one to two hours. So I have to get the idea for a podcast, write the script, record it, and send it to my podcast editor, all within one or two hours. And it’s possible, it’s doable.

6:27
Now that I’m thinking about how much time I wasted, and this is just a podcast example, you can take that as a logo design example. How much time do you spend scrolling through Pinterest or other designers’ portfolios or Behance to get an idea instead of working on that logo, sketching the logo, really getting things done.

6:55
Also, for all the things that I simply don’t have the time to do, I have built my team that can execute all my ideas. Really one of the biggest shifts that allowed me to cut down my hours was transitioning from being a freelancer to running a small design agency.

7:16
Now, there are six of us, and they handle most of the day-to-day tasks. This team is really incredible and crucial to the agency’s success. When I was freelancing, I had to do everything myself.

7:34
Maybe this is where you are right now, but this was really exhausting and unsustainable. But now with a team, I can delegate tasks and focus on what I do best. Each team member brings their unique skills to the table and together we make a powerful unit.

7:52
So what that means is that I have a brand designer, a web designer, a copywriter, and a web developer. I’m a creative director. When we’re working on a project for a client, we all work together depending on the project, of course.

8:11
For example, one of our last projects, I completed the brand strategy and sent that to my brand designer. Then she worked on the visual identity. She sent that back to me and I spent only 15 to 20 minutes looking into that logo, looking into the fonts she chose, approving colors, making changes to it, or telling her like, hey, I’m not sure about this blue, like whatever.

8:36
And so I didn’t spend much time on it. Then I gave her feedback. She completed the project, sent me the finals. I forwarded that to my client. Sometimes she would send that to me and then I send it to the manager, and then my manager would actually write the email and send it to the client.

8:58
Also, we have a blogger because we get a lot of clients through SEO, which stands for search engine optimization and is how Google finds your website. When people type into Google some search terms where they’re looking for a branding and design agency, they find our blog and then they read our blog.

9:21
Then there’s a call to action button where we send them to our service page. From our service page, we send them to our portfolio. From the portfolio, we finally send them to contact us. So that’s a quick lead funneling process of how we send people from Google to the contact page.

9:42
Long story short, in the past when I was freelancing, I had to do everything by myself and write blog posts by myself. Then I had a blog editor because English is my second language. I needed someone to proofread everything that I wrote.

10:01
We are not writers; we are designers. We need someone to write or edit the script that we wrote. So yeah, in the past, I had to do all of that by myself. Now I have a blogger, so every month my manager would come up with three to four different topics.

10:24
Sometimes I would come up with the topics and give them to her as well. Then she would send that to our blogger. Our blogger would write the blog post, send it back to her, and she would post it on our website. I would get clients like that. So I didn’t basically do anything, and I can sometimes even be at the pool with my kids and randomly think, oh, maybe we should write about this.

10:48
Then I just put that in our notes and my manager would see that and forward it to our blogger. That’s how we get clients, which is amazing because I sometimes don’t spend any time on it, and we get clients.

11:05
Now the key is really to find people you trust and who are good at what they do. It took some time to build this team and it was worth every effort. They manage client communications, project management, design work, and so much more.

11:24
This frees up my time to focus on high-level strategy and business growth. I love going to networking events. I love sales. I am a businessperson more than a designer, and I know that you may not relate to this, which is fine.

11:42
That’s why I started teaching designers the business side of running a design business because I’m a graphic designer, a creative director, and a businessperson. Over time, I realized that I just love running a business, especially a design business.

12:01
Now, I also want to mention that I am hosting an accelerator for designers in September called the Creative CEO. This program is designed to help you consistently attract top clients and maximize your design agency income in just five months.

12:19
The waitlist is now open at aventiveacademy.com/accelerator. This could be a game-changer for those of you looking to scale your business and reduce your working hours just like I did. The link is in the description and I hope to see you there.

12:38
Now let’s talk about landing high-paying clients when I already mentioned them. One crucial aspect of my 15-hour work week is focusing on landing high-paying clients. So not just any clients but really high-paying clients. When I say high-paying clients, I mean $10k plus.

12:57
I prioritize five-figure clients because these projects not only bring in significant revenue but also allow me to outsource more tasks and ultimately work even less. When you work with high-paying clients, you can afford to invest in your team and high-quality freelancers.

13:17
Right now I have a web developer in Pakistan and you may think that I pay him $15 or $20 per hour. No, I pay him $50 per hour. He is like the best in Pakistan.

13:34
He’s amazing. He can do absolutely everything. Everything that my web designer designs, we always ask him, “So what do you think about this?” because we always create something innovative, something new, something creative, something futuristic, right?

13:55
We’re always like, “Do you think you can do this?” And he’s like, “I don’t know, I’ve never done it, but I know I can do it. I’m sure I’ll figure it out.” And he does it. Again, I pay him a lot of money for it, but he’s totally worth it. The projects that we deliver to our clients, nobody else can do.

14:14
We’re so good at what we do. This is just one example: a web developer from Pakistan. You may think, “Oh, she’s outsourcing to India and Pakistan, so of course, it’s cheaper.” No, I do have staff here in Austin as well.

14:30
My manager is here in Austin. So, I pay them really well because I focus on high-paying clients. When you work with high-paying clients, you can afford to invest in your team and high-quality freelancers. This investment means you can delegate more and you can make sure that every aspect of the project is handled by experts.

14:55
It also allows you to maintain a higher standard of work, which in turn attracts more high-paying clients. So how do I land these high-paying clients? Well, here are a few strategies. First is positioning and branding. Your brand should reflect the quality of work you deliver.

15:15
From your website to your social media presence, everything should convey professionalism and expertise. High-paying clients are willing to invest more money when they see that your brand is top-notch.

15:31
Also, positioning. How do you position your business as the best possible option in your client’s eyes for their business? If you don’t know your positioning and if you don’t know why your clients should hire you over all other designers out there, they will not know that either.

15:51
So work on your positioning, networking, and relationships. Building strong relationships with your industry is key. Attending industry events, engaging in online communities. If you’re in a city like I am, like Austin, where we have a lot of networking events, you should probably attend them in person.

16:13
Even if you’re an introvert, you have to figure that out. And if you’re just really not into in-person networking events, just go to LinkedIn and connect with as many people as you can. You can connect with your target audience, but you can also connect with your referral partners.

16:31
Referral partners are people that offer similar services to the same target audience. So if you’re a brand designer, connect with web designers, copywriters, photographers, videographers, things like that. That’s just one piece of advice on how to really build that network.

16:50
That is how you’re going to start getting referrals and you will be able to bump up your pricing. What else do you need to do in order to land high-paying clients? You have to showcase your value. When pitching to high-paying clients or any clients, you have to focus on the value you bring to their business.

17:10
Demonstrate how your services can solve their problems and contribute to their success. It’s really not about talking about logo design and website design and business cards and whatnot, but talk about what that means to their business.

17:30
Is it more customers, more product sales, more clients, more money? How are they going to invest in your business to see some return on investment? Next thing is you really have to be selective about the clients you take on. It’s better to have a few high-paying clients than many low-paying ones.

18:04
If you’re afraid of saying, “Hey, this project is going to be $25,000 and I’m going to deliver brand strategy and visual identity,” because it sounds like a lot of money, just think about how much value that brings to their business and how much value they’re going to get from your brand strategy specifically, but visual identity as well, because they’re going to attract the right target audience and whatnot.

18:33
Really talk about everything you do for your clients from a business perspective, with a business mindset. Again, by focusing on high-paying clients, I can work with fewer clients and fewer hours while still running a successful and profitable design agency because now I have the team.

18:58
It’s all about creating a business model that supports your goals and your lifestyle. If you have a lot of low-paying clients, you simply will not be able to work less. If you’re afraid of losing clients because you’re saying, “It’s $25,000 for this and that,” then even if you lose that client, you will now have more time to connect with people on LinkedIn, go to networking events, build your new website, rebrand, improve your portfolio, and whatnot to really attract the high-paying clients.

19:35
Remember, the Creative CEO Accelerator that I’m hosting in September can help you achieve this. It’s a comprehensive program designed to help you consistently attract top clients and maximize your design agency income in five months. Again, the waitlist is open at aventiveacademy.com/accelerator.

19:55
Now the next thing that I do in order to work less while making more is focusing on doing what I truly enjoy. This is another critical aspect of my 15-hour work week: focusing only on the tasks that I truly enjoy and love.

20:17
For me, that’s creative direction, high-level strategy, and client relationships. Everything else I outsource. I outsource tasks like taxes, bookkeeping, even cleaning my house.

20:33
These are things that don’t bring me joy and take up valuable time that I could spend growing my business or being with my family. Outsourcing these tasks not only frees up my time but also ensures that they’re done by professionals who do them better and faster than I could.

20:52
I mentioned blogging as an example. Outsourcing isn’t just about work tasks; it’s about recognizing that your time is valuable and finding ways to spend it on what matters most to you. If I don’t love cleaning my house, I find cleaners.

21:12
She loves what she does, and I pay her for that. I help her support her family. I’m happy, she’s happy, everyone is happy. That’s just one example. I also have a babysitter for those 15 hours a week.

21:29
I also hire a brand designer, a blogger, someone to develop my website. I outsource all the things that I don’t have time for or don’t want to spend my time on and things like that. It’s really all about outsourcing and then focusing on what I truly enjoy.

A few years ago, when I felt kind of burnt out, I went to the pool and opened my notebook and started writing things that I love doing in my business and things that I hate and things that are so-so.

22:12
From there, I figured out how to outsource all the things that I hated first so that I can focus on the things that are so-so and things that I love. Now I outsource even the so-so things and really do only the things I love, which is client communication.

22:31
That is something that I could also outsource, but I just love doing that. I love sales calls, so I take them on. I communicate with the client. I also love being a creative director. I’ve been in the design industry since I was 15.

22:46
I’m almost 34 now, so that’s many years I’ve designed. I don’t even know how many logos and websites and business cards I’ve done it all. Now that I am, I don’t even know if I’m going to call it the next level.

23:03
But now I love being a creative director and not so much really opening Illustrator and working on it directly. Even though sometimes my brand designer would send me the file and I would still finish it or complete it, or I would get a different idea and just want to make changes and whatnot.

23:22
I still do enjoy that aspect, but I don’t enjoy starting everything from scratch. I love running a design agency and being more like a creative director. Again, the beauty of running your own business is that you get to choose what you want to do in your business, and you really have to focus on doing that.

23:41
Otherwise, you just have a job. You’re still doing all the things that maybe you would if you were to work for someone else. So really create your job the way you want to have it. Now let me give you some practical tips for implementing a 15-hour work week in your design business.

24:04
The first thing is to prioritize and plan. Start by identifying your most critical tasks and planning your week around them. You can use tools like Asana, Trello, or Notion to organize your tasks, keep track of deadlines, and figure out what you want to do and what you don’t want to do.

24:26
Then set boundaries. Be really strict about your work hours. When your 15 hours are up, step away from your work. This helps you stay focused and productive during those hours. However, sometimes if you’re not there yet, you have to practice and figure out what you need to do to get to those 15 hours.

24:48
I’m using 15 just as an example because that’s what I do right now. But if your goal is to go from 40 to 30, then you have to figure out who you are going to hire for those extra 10 hours. Or you might even figure out that you were wasting those 10 hours scrolling on Instagram, going through different podcasts, don’t stop listening to this podcast now, but maybe you were watching a ton of YouTube videos for no reason instead of really working.

25:24
Then again, delegate and outsource. Look at your workload and see what can be delegated to your team and outsourced. Invest in good freelancers. You don’t have to start with full-time employees or even part-time employees.

25:39
Just hire contractors, hire freelancers to help you with tasks here and there and go from there. Then use automation tools to streamline repetitive tasks. Tools like Zapier can automate workflows between different apps, saving you time and effort.

25:56
Look into that and how you can improve your efficiency. This might mean updating software, maybe having fewer sales calls, and figuring out how to land clients without the calls.

26:13
I don’t know, you would have to figure that out. But again, if you’re serious about scaling your business while working fewer hours, consider joining the Creative CEO Accelerator. This program is designed to help you consistently attract top clients and maximize your design agency.

26:29
In just five months. Aventiveacademy.com/accelerator. The last thing I want to talk about is mindset and long-term vision. It’s essential to have the right mindset and a long-term vision for your business in order to work fewer hours.

26:49
Understand that working fewer hours doesn’t mean you’re less committed or less successful. It means you’re smart about how you use your time. Have a clear vision of where you want your business to go and then make decisions that align with that vision.

27:08
It’s about creating a business that supports your lifestyle, not the other way around. I’m going to say this again, it’s about creating a business that supports your lifestyle, not the other way around. Remember, it’s possible to run a successful design agency without burning out, and by prioritizing, delegating, and focusing on what you love and only on what you love, you can achieve a balanced and fulfilling life.

27:37
OK, I think that’s it. I hope that this episode inspires you to rethink your work week and find ways to work smarter, not harder. I really wish you all the best.

27:52
Again, it’s all possible, it’s all doable. Remember I used to work non-stop. I used to charge $65 for a logo design on Craigslist to now booking these $20-$30k projects.

28:09
And you can do that too. Then outsource and delegate and see the money coming in. Again, it’s not really all about the money, but more money gives you more freedom and flexibility. With more money, you also see a bigger impact.

28:25
Everything that you can do for your clients is just, it’s like the next level when you work within a team. That doesn’t have to be a huge team. I have a small boutique design agency and that’s where I want to stay.

28:43
When someone asks me what’s next, I’m like, this is next. I don’t want to grow. Maybe up to 10 employees, but that would be my maximum. I do like managing and I can always hire a manager, but I prefer having a small and impactful team.

29:03
I don’t want to be a freelancer because I think they’re often overworked and cannot provide. Maybe you can relate to this, but a freelancer cannot provide the same level of service that a small team can.

29:19
Also, when having a large design agency, clients are just numbers and everything is all about the numbers. It’s less personal and I don’t know, I just really enjoy having a small boutique design agency.

29:35
That’s where I’m going to stay. I already mentioned this throughout the podcast episode, but the beauty of our business is that we really get to choose what we want to do in our business and not just in our business, but with our business.

29:52
If you want to be a solo freelancer, that’s up to you. That’s on you. I wish you all the best. I want you to be a successful freelance designer on your own, just by you. If you want to run a huge design agency with 500 employees, I wish you all the best.

30:13
I want you to get there. Again, you get to choose and then figure out from there how you’re going to build a business plan and how you’re going to achieve the results you want to see in your business.

30:30
OK, I think that’s it for now. I’ll see you next time. And a small reminder, if you want to join the waitlist for the Creative CEO, the link is down below and you can also visit aventiveacademy.com/accelerator.

30:49
Bye for now, thanks for tuning in to the Profitable Graphic Designer Podcast. But wait, before you go. 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.

31:05
Each month, one lucky reviewer gets to pick a course as a token of our appreciation. 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.

31:31
I invite you to join over 1,000 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.

31:51
Until next time, be sure to connect with us on Instagram at @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.