Working from home sounds like a dream come true but unless you take the time to organize things properly, the whole experience can turn into a nightmare. Here are eight things you will need to pay attention to if you choose to work from home. Home Office One of the first priorities will be to...

So you’re ready to freelance huh? You’ve got your web site up. You’ve got some school projects in your portfolio. You’re ready to start calling clients and pitching your services. So what’s stopping you? If you’re like a lot of designers I talk to regularly, you don’t know how much to charge for your first...

Did you read my earlier post about how I set my first 10 design business goals? It’s been less than a year since I first wrote them, and already I have reached some of them (and set new ones)! (PS: Preston also posted a video blog about the importance of setting annual goals.) Okay, okay,...

I get questions all the time about running a design business and usually, I can kindly point readers to a past post on Graphic Design Blender, but I absolutely LOVE it when a reader stumps me with a question. Why do I love it? Because now I get to ask you and learn from you!...

One of the beautiful things about being a freelance designer is the freedom to live where you want, be it within walking distance of the ocean, near family, or three floors above the most awesome coffee shop downtown. But does location matter? Are freelancers elsewhere enjoying more business success due to their location? Would your...

We’ve been talking a lot lately about designing and creating your own web portfolio. We showcased 50 stunning design portfolios you should see before designing your own and discussed the one critical site mistake that could be costing you clients. Today, I want to talk about what I think is the most important part of your...

A note from Preston: Hey GDB! Today, we’ve partnered up with 1800Postcards.com to offer a cool sticker giveaway. More and more designers are either using stickers to promote their own business (an interesting alternative to a business card or calling card) or being asked by their clients to design promotional stickers for them. So we...

Feeling like your (online) portfolio needs a face lift but in need of some inspiration? I’ve compiled a list of 50 awesome portfolio designs and a short blurb on why I’ve chosen them, categorized alphabetically by awesome design element, to spark creativity for designing or redesigning yours. Take a look and let me know which...

It starts out innocently enough. You sit down at your computer, check your email, check your social media outlets, comment on some LinkedIn discussions, explore some inspirational design sites, read an interesting post on increasing blog traffic, and geez… …is it already 11am? This, GDB readers, is what I’ve dubbed “business surfing.” It’s like personal...

Lately, I’ve been reviewing and critiquing a lot of design business and portfolio web sites (get yours critiqued here). There’s one critical mistake that A LOT of designers are making – and it’s losing them clients! It’s not a hard thing to fix, and it’s not even time consuming. It can be fixed within a...

Designers often work so diligently for clients, we often forget to work for ourselves. Our own logos, collateral such as business cards and websites, and marketing campaigns suffer a bit of (okay, a fair amount of) neglect as we delegate all of our creative energies to our clients’ projects. What finally got me off my...

Every once and a while I hang out in freelancing forums and read what other freelancers are struggling with. Yesterday, I read a really interesting question that went something like this: “Should I charge old clients for re-sending old files?” I thought it was an excellent question! (Let me know your answer by leaving a...

If you’ve ever wondered how some freelancers get hired on by big accounts, or if you’ve ever been tired of all the extra busy-work that comes with managing lots of small clients, this post is for you. Now is the time to land your first big design client. Sure, you’ve designed a business card for...

“Who’s your target audience?” Lately, I’ve been asking a lot of designers that question because I’ve been offering 5 business critiques per month lately and that means digging deep into how designers build and market their businesses. But I’m worried. Because the most common answer I get is something like: “Anyone who needs logo design,...

One of the most important, overlooked aspects of owning your own design business is preparation for the inevitable rainy day. What would you do if something happened and you needed to take some time off? If you can’t pay your upcoming mortgage? If you realize you aren’t able to survive solely as a freelance designer...