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How To Build An Unfair Design Business Advantage In 2023

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How to turn strangers into design revenue.

Comment "FUNNEL" and I`ll send DM you the training and the Figma File so you have your own copy.

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How to turn strangers into design revenue.

Comment "FUNNEL" and I'll send DM you the training and the Figma File so you have your own copy.

There’s always an answer to any problem, it just might take a little digging to find it!!

1 - Not expanding my audience: If the amount of people finding our about my business isn’t growing daily, there will always be inconsistency.

2 - Not making enough offers: People don’t just want to beat the door down and work with me, I need to give them a reason to ACT NOW. Is it a discount on one the project phases? A price increase? Or a beta offer with limited spots?

3 - Not following up will people who didn’t close: Our students send 4 follow-ups (after the proposal is sent) on average before a prospect closes. No follow process equals 80% less revenue.

4 - Trying to sell on the sales call instead of understand and diagnose. This will generally happen when you need the next call to close for the money, focus on understanding the clients situation better than they do.

5 - Not producing content: Every piece of content a prospect consumes gets them closer to taking action. No content being produced can mean no progress into turning into a buyer.

6 - Prioritising existing work over future work. An easy one to do when you love what you do… But… The business owners who prioritise future work ALWAYS have work in the future.

7 - Personal & business goals aren’t big enough: This is a real thing, if I’m not scared and excited by the goals I have written down, then there won’t be the optimal amount of drive being applied to my efforts

Ready to learn how to build and grow your business? Watch the free 45 minute video we’ve linked in the bio!

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There’s always an answer to any problem, it just might take a little digging to find it!!

1 - Not expanding my audience: If the amount of people finding our about my business isn’t growing daily, there will always be inconsistency.

2 - Not making enough offers: People don’t just want to beat the door down and work with me, I need to give them a reason to ACT NOW. Is it a discount on one the project phases? A price increase? Or a beta offer with limited spots?

3 - Not following up will people who didn’t close: Our students send 4 follow-ups (after the proposal is sent) on average before a prospect closes. No follow process equals 80% less revenue.

4 - Trying to sell on the sales call instead of understand and diagnose. This will generally happen when you need the next call to close for the money, focus on understanding the clients situation better than they do.

5 - Not producing content: Every piece of content a prospect consumes gets them closer to taking action. No content being produced can mean no progress into turning into a buyer.

6 - Prioritising existing work over future work. An easy one to do when you love what you do… But… The business owners who prioritise future work ALWAYS have work in the future.

7 - Personal & business goals aren’t big enough: This is a real thing, if I’m not scared and excited by the goals I have written down, then there won’t be the optimal amount of drive being applied to my efforts

Ready to learn how to build and grow your business? Watch the free 45 minute video we’ve linked in the bio!

Don’t build a design business brand.

Follow me @profitabledesigner for more design business content.

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If you have a design business making between $5k and $50k per month...

And you`re continually buried in work...

You can`t really stop what you`re doing because everything relies on you...

And you`re probably doing really well...

You`ve experienced some success in your business, built some momentum, you`ve got happy clients...

But you`re just not moving towards the financial freedom and the luxury of being able to do things on your own terms.

And if this sounds like you, then it means that you`re lacking one thing.

That thing is leverage. And the most important form of leverage in a design business is moving towards:

Fewer clients and bigger, more profitable projects.

Stalling income, feeling overwhelmed, a poor work life balance, and feeling like you`ve always got a thousand things on your to do list...

Is a by product of trying to make more by doing far more.

Instead of just simply figuring out how to make more by doing less.

I`m Patrick O`Connell, the founder of ProfitableDesigner.com.

We`ve spent the last five years helping over 500 individual design business owners master the art of business, sales, and most importantly, entrepreneurial thinking so that they can work with fewer clients and bigger projects.

If you`re operating between $5k and $50k per month, and you`re experiencing yo-yo revenue and inconsistency and a lack of control...

And you spend most of your time "IN" the business instead of working "ON" the business...

Then go check out my Instagram profile because every single day we`re uploading content on where we`re finding the biggest leverage points in building a more successful design business that allows us to do more with less.

I`ll see you there.

@profitabledesigner

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More below ↓

5. Copying someone’s strategy who is successful isn’t going to get you to where you want to go, you need a plan based on where YOU are now.
6. Once you have a game-plan. You need to say no to basically every distraction that comes into view for at least 12 months.
7. If you don’t have a clear picture of “who” you want to become, the tough days will be too tough. There will be many hard days and motivation won’t get you through them, “who” you are becoming will.
8. Balance isn’t found, it’s created.
9. It’ll take longer than you want but it’ll happen, but it will happen.
10. Choose simple things over complicated ones. The best number in business is 1. 1 target market, 1 offer suite, 1 message, 1 platform, 1 sales process, 1 delivery production line.

→ Want to know more about the ins and outs of scaling a business? I’m talking frameworks, things to avoid, what to focus on, lessons I’ve learned, and more — drop the word “UPLEVEL” in the comments and I’ll DM you a link to Uplevel Mastermind, my 12-week live program designed to help you build and scale a business that you don’t need a break from.

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More below ↓

5. Copying someone’s strategy who is successful isn’t going to get you to where you want to go, you need a plan based on where YOU are now.
6. Once you have a game-plan. You need to say no to basically every distraction that comes into view for at least 12 months.
7. If you don’t have a clear picture of “who” you want to become, the tough days will be too tough. There will be many hard days and motivation won’t get you through them, “who” you are becoming will.
8. Balance isn’t found, it’s created.
9. It’ll take longer than you want but it’ll happen, but it will happen.
10. Choose simple things over complicated ones. The best number in business is 1. 1 target market, 1 offer suite, 1 message, 1 platform, 1 sales process, 1 delivery production line.

→ Want to know more about the ins and outs of scaling a business? I’m talking frameworks, things to avoid, what to focus on, lessons I’ve learned, and more — drop the word “UPLEVEL” in the comments and I’ll DM you a link to Uplevel Mastermind, my 12-week live program designed to help you build and scale a business that you don’t need a break from.

The 5 keys to killer design proposals

Comment "PROPOSAL" and I`ll send you video walking you through the ugly template our students used to generate over $40M in revenue last year

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The 5 keys to killer design proposals

Comment "PROPOSAL" and I'll send you video walking you through the ugly template our students used to generate over $40M in revenue last year

This is the most effective way I have found to leverage AI to get a great understanding how to improve both your content and your offers.

Prompt 1: In a minute I’m going to ask you to write some copy for my business. This will include blog content, Instagram posts, and sales emails. Before I begin, I want you to fully understand my customers (most importantly) before we start this. Ask me at least 20 questions about my avatar, customers, audience, and anything else you need in order to complete the tasks to the best of your ability. *(Answer with only your best client type)*
This is how you Chat GPT to understand “who” you want to target. Answer the questions in a word doc, then plug them back in.

Prompt 2: Can you please condense the above information into a valid customer avatar complete with name, age, job title, etc.
This allows us to create an avatar that we can now refer to in all future prompts.

Prompt 3: Can you list 10 overall problems this avatar thinks about trying to (achieve outcome)?
This creates the overall structure of how we can help in the journey for both our offers and content.

Prompt 4: Can you name 10 common problems that avatar often think about within just the idea of “Generated problem number one”?
This drills down into what we can talk about from a content perspective. 10 overall problems x 10 common specific problems equals 100 content ideas.

Do you have any questions about how to use this?
For more tips for starting, growing, or scaling a profitable design business, follow me @profitabledesigner

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Anybody can learn a shiny new strategy.

For more tips for starting, growing or scaling a profitable design business, follow me @profitabledesigner

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Anybody can learn a shiny new strategy.

For more tips for starting, growing or scaling a profitable design business, follow me @profitabledesigner

That’s right!

Don’t do anything today.

Put it off until tomorrow.

Just focus on putting out the same fires.

Complaining about the same kind of clients.

Doing the same thing over and over.

Prioritise the tasks that got you here…

Not the tasks you DEEP DOWN know you need to be acting on.

BECAUSE.

The perfect time will come.

Where you have the mental freedom.

Where the kids won’t be on hollidays.

Where you have some free time.

…………

I’m obviously being sarcastic.

The only reason people aren’t at their goals is because they’re not prioritising the tasks that will get them there.

They’re getting stuck doing the things that prevent them from making progress.

For more tips for starting, growing or scaling a profitable design business, follow me @profitabledesigner

154 3

That’s right!

Don’t do anything today.

Put it off until tomorrow.

Just focus on putting out the same fires.

Complaining about the same kind of clients.

Doing the same thing over and over.

Prioritise the tasks that got you here…

Not the tasks you DEEP DOWN know you need to be acting on.

BECAUSE.

The perfect time will come.

Where you have the mental freedom.

Where the kids won’t be on hollidays.

Where you have some free time.

…………

I’m obviously being sarcastic.

The only reason people aren’t at their goals is because they’re not prioritising the tasks that will get them there.

They’re getting stuck doing the things that prevent them from making progress.

For more tips for starting, growing or scaling a profitable design business, follow me @profitabledesigner

Why you need to fuck around more.

For more tips for starting, growing or scaling a profitable design business, follow me @profitabledesigner

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Why you need to fuck around more.

For more tips for starting, growing or scaling a profitable design business, follow me @profitabledesigner

After spending over $250k in masterminds over the last 8 years...

And having the pleasure of starting to run my very own all over the world...

What I`ve learnt is this...

The information on what to do is absolutely everywhere; you can find a solution to anything youtube!

What is missing is the mindset and the attitude you need to implement that information CONSISTENTLY.

The easiest way to get in this mental zone is to surround yourself with:

1. People going through the same journey as you right now (so you know your not alone).

2. People who have walked that path already (so you know it`s possible).

If you`ve been consuming Youtube videos and reading books for years and haven`t seen and change or you haven`t stuck to the plan for long enough...

The problem isn`t with the plan.

The problem is with the environment that you`re implementing the plan in.

Focus on the environment.

Focus on hanging out with people moving towards and doing what you want to be doing.

40 1

After spending over $250k in masterminds over the last 8 years...

And having the pleasure of starting to run my very own all over the world...

What I've learnt is this...

The information on what to do is absolutely everywhere; you can find a solution to anything youtube!

What is missing is the mindset and the attitude you need to implement that information CONSISTENTLY.

The easiest way to get in this mental zone is to surround yourself with:

1. People going through the same journey as you right now (so you know your not alone).

2. People who have walked that path already (so you know it's possible).

If you've been consuming Youtube videos and reading books for years and haven't seen and change or you haven't stuck to the plan for long enough...

The problem isn't with the plan.

The problem is with the environment that you're implementing the plan in.

Focus on the environment.

Focus on hanging out with people moving towards and doing what you want to be doing.

Don`t follow your passion if you want to win at biz.

For more tips for starting, growing or scaling a profitable design business, follow me @profitabledesigner

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Don't follow your passion if you want to win at biz.

For more tips for starting, growing or scaling a profitable design business, follow me @profitabledesigner

The key to becoming truely valuable to clients is about taking responsibility.

Take more on, get paid more.

Design is generally just one of the steps in the process…

Not the whole journey the client wants to go on.

You might ask “But I don’t know anything outside of delivering great design?”…

And that might be true…

But it’s only true right this moment.

The key to real design profits is knowing things that other people don’t know.

Specialised knowledge.

Wether it’s learning Google Ads…

Overseas manufacturing…

How to get seed A funding…

Or a million different things…

The person who

- Just starts to acquire more knowledge
- That knowledge can massively help their best clients
- Is prepared to make mistakes
- Is prepared to feel overwhelmed
- Enjoys the process

And most importantly…

- Does so because they care about their clients getting real results…

…will learn how to do something new in little to no time at all.

Was this helpful?

Let me know below

130 7

The key to becoming truely valuable to clients is about taking responsibility.

Take more on, get paid more.

Design is generally just one of the steps in the process…

Not the whole journey the client wants to go on.

You might ask “But I don’t know anything outside of delivering great design?”…

And that might be true…

But it’s only true right this moment.

The key to real design profits is knowing things that other people don’t know.

Specialised knowledge.

Wether it’s learning Google Ads…

Overseas manufacturing…

How to get seed A funding…

Or a million different things…

The person who

- Just starts to acquire more knowledge
- That knowledge can massively help their best clients
- Is prepared to make mistakes
- Is prepared to feel overwhelmed
- Enjoys the process

And most importantly…

- Does so because they care about their clients getting real results…

…will learn how to do something new in little to no time at all.

Was this helpful?

Let me know below

You`re not a special design biz snowflake.

Comment "OUTLIER" and I`ll send you video walking you through why design space OUTLIERS make more money than those who conform to status quo.

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You're not a special design biz snowflake.

Comment "OUTLIER" and I'll send you video walking you through why design space OUTLIERS make more money than those who conform to status quo.

Businesses are either built by design or default.

It’s the questions you ask yourself daily that compound into the direction of your business/life.

Most people spend too long asking the wrong questions.

What has really helped me personally is asking these questions daily:

1. How do we become more valuable on our next offer?

The bigger your project values, the easier it is to hit your revenue goals, the less clients you need, the less complexity you need. Forget about value in terms of just design, start thinking about the ideal customer experience.

2. How do we remove time/energy/cost to deliver the same result?

The greater the gap between marginal cost (the cost to deliver the work) and what you can charge, the more likely you will win long term. Constantly be looking for ways to charge more but decreasing your marginal costs.

3. How do I automate/ delegate activities that are below my target hourly rate?

The business owners bank balance will be an average of where they invest their own time. 7-figure designers don’t spend time doing $20/hour tasks a VA can do blindfolded. Figure out your target hourly rate (what you want to make a year divided by 2000 hours) and delegate/automate of delete anything below that number.

4. How do I build the machine that attracts demand for our expertise?

The long term goal is not for you to be marketing all the time. The long term goal is that the marketing GETS DONE BY SOMEONE. Without profits you cannot allocate energy here.

5. How do I build the machine that delivers our clients value?

The long term goal is not for you to be designing all the time. The long term goal is that the delivery GETS DONE BY SOMEONE with your creative direction. Again without profits you cannot allocate energy here.

6. Where do we allocate attention and capital to move towards the overall vision?

Hugely underrated area. It’s what you do with your cash surplus that determines who wins long term. If you invest profits carefully, the capital growth from the investment will out shadow the initial capital by 5x to 100x, no-one is talking about this.

Was this helpfulll?

Let me know below

74 4

Businesses are either built by design or default.

It’s the questions you ask yourself daily that compound into the direction of your business/life.

Most people spend too long asking the wrong questions.

What has really helped me personally is asking these questions daily:

1. How do we become more valuable on our next offer?

The bigger your project values, the easier it is to hit your revenue goals, the less clients you need, the less complexity you need. Forget about value in terms of just design, start thinking about the ideal customer experience.

2. How do we remove time/energy/cost to deliver the same result?

The greater the gap between marginal cost (the cost to deliver the work) and what you can charge, the more likely you will win long term. Constantly be looking for ways to charge more but decreasing your marginal costs.

3. How do I automate/ delegate activities that are below my target hourly rate?

The business owners bank balance will be an average of where they invest their own time. 7-figure designers don’t spend time doing $20/hour tasks a VA can do blindfolded. Figure out your target hourly rate (what you want to make a year divided by 2000 hours) and delegate/automate of delete anything below that number.

4. How do I build the machine that attracts demand for our expertise?

The long term goal is not for you to be marketing all the time. The long term goal is that the marketing GETS DONE BY SOMEONE. Without profits you cannot allocate energy here.

5. How do I build the machine that delivers our clients value?

The long term goal is not for you to be designing all the time. The long term goal is that the delivery GETS DONE BY SOMEONE with your creative direction. Again without profits you cannot allocate energy here.

6. Where do we allocate attention and capital to move towards the overall vision?

Hugely underrated area. It’s what you do with your cash surplus that determines who wins long term. If you invest profits carefully, the capital growth from the investment will out shadow the initial capital by 5x to 100x, no-one is talking about this.

Was this helpfulll?

Let me know below

Less clients and bigger projects.

For more tips for starting, growing or scaling a profitable design business, follow me @profitabledesigner

161 5

Less clients and bigger projects.

For more tips for starting, growing or scaling a profitable design business, follow me @profitabledesigner

The reality is, most people overcomplicate their niche and get lost.

If you’re not hitting your income goals or you want to increase your project value you need to focus on these 7 points.

1. Read the mind: Are you explaining who your business is for in a way that makes your niche say “holy sh&$, it’s like you read my mind!”. Saying “Branding for accountants” says nothing. Saying “Helping finance consultants attract bigger retainer clients online” is far more powerful. Enter the conversation happening in your prospects mind - Dan Kennedy.

2. Competition level: How many other people are in that specific space? The answer should be “nobody else”, if it’s not… then you’re competing against too many people. The more niche you go with point 1, the easier you create a “monopoly”.

3. Purchasing power: Easy concept to understand, no point positioning your business around people that cannot afford the fees that your business will need to no only survive but thrive. It has to make economical sense from the start.

4. Painful problem: You need to to solve a problem that has to be solved right now, not later. Most designers cannot close at the rate that they want because the prospect has nearly zero perceived consequence for delaying decision. The biggest project fees happen when the prospects are metaphorically “bleeding to death”.

5. Expanding market: Very important, you need to focus on helping a space where the population of your market is growing. This not only means more targets for you, but that there is money been made in the space (PURCHASING POWER).

6. Personal interest: You cannot win longterm if you’re not passionate about who you help, you won’t stick it out long enough to find the real problems, then monetise those real problems (with great offers) if you have no emotional attachment to the market.

7. Easy to chat to online: If your’e going to position yourself around a market segment that doesn’t use social media and isn’t likely to chat online, you close yourself of to leveraging technology to 100x your reach/impact.

Was this reel helpful? Let me know in the comments!

77 1

The reality is, most people overcomplicate their niche and get lost.

If you’re not hitting your income goals or you want to increase your project value you need to focus on these 7 points.

1. Read the mind: Are you explaining who your business is for in a way that makes your niche say “holy sh&$, it’s like you read my mind!”. Saying “Branding for accountants” says nothing. Saying “Helping finance consultants attract bigger retainer clients online” is far more powerful. Enter the conversation happening in your prospects mind - Dan Kennedy.

2. Competition level: How many other people are in that specific space? The answer should be “nobody else”, if it’s not… then you’re competing against too many people. The more niche you go with point 1, the easier you create a “monopoly”.

3. Purchasing power: Easy concept to understand, no point positioning your business around people that cannot afford the fees that your business will need to no only survive but thrive. It has to make economical sense from the start.

4. Painful problem: You need to to solve a problem that has to be solved right now, not later. Most designers cannot close at the rate that they want because the prospect has nearly zero perceived consequence for delaying decision. The biggest project fees happen when the prospects are metaphorically “bleeding to death”.

5. Expanding market: Very important, you need to focus on helping a space where the population of your market is growing. This not only means more targets for you, but that there is money been made in the space (PURCHASING POWER).

6. Personal interest: You cannot win longterm if you’re not passionate about who you help, you won’t stick it out long enough to find the real problems, then monetise those real problems (with great offers) if you have no emotional attachment to the market.

7. Easy to chat to online: If your’e going to position yourself around a market segment that doesn’t use social media and isn’t likely to chat online, you close yourself of to leveraging technology to 100x your reach/impact.

Was this reel helpful? Let me know in the comments!

There`s no value IN design.

For more tips for starting, growing or scaling a profitable design business, follow me @profitabledesigner

189 1

There's no value IN design.

For more tips for starting, growing or scaling a profitable design business, follow me @profitabledesigner

Sharing your work is a terrible strategy for higher valued clients.

Your better clients want to see how you can help them with their challenges, not see what your stuff looks like.

Imagine a mechanic showing you their work (photos of the engine they fixed), you don`t know what you`re looking at right?

Here`s what our students use to book calls:

Monday - Transformational post. Talk about the shift you help your clients make so they associate YOU TO THAT SHIFT.

Tuesday - Value post. Give actionable value to help them make this shift. This builds LIKABILITY.

Wednesday - Belief shifting post. What is something they believe that is wrong and getting in the way of your prospects winning? Share it and justify why they need to change their thought. This creates AUTHORITY.

Thursday - Value post again. More LIKABILITY.

Friday - Client result post. Share a result or transformation you have helped a recent client with. This builds TRUST.

Saturday - Action post. "Hey I`ve create a 5 minute training on how to X without Y, who wants a copy". Get people to TAKE ACTION (we send these people the asset/link and can start a convo).

Sunday - Rest day.

If you do this:

- People will know what you are about (what transformation you help with)
- People will like you
- People will see you as an authority
- People will trust you

And most importantly, they have a reason to act now (Action post), so you have a great excuse to reach and start a conversation around the asset you created.

Rinse and repeat every week.

Connect to more people.

Provide more value.

Show more leadership.

Talk about your expertise (not your skills).

Get more engagement.

Have more conversations.

Book more calls.

OR.......

Keep posting your portfolio and getting likes from your designer friends.

Which is going to get you to your goals quicker?

Do you agree or disagree?

For more tips for starting, growing or scaling a profitable design business, follow me @profitabledesigner

559 9

Sharing your work is a terrible strategy for higher valued clients.

Your better clients want to see how you can help them with their challenges, not see what your stuff looks like.

Imagine a mechanic showing you their work (photos of the engine they fixed), you don't know what you're looking at right?

Here's what our students use to book calls:

Monday - Transformational post. Talk about the shift you help your clients make so they associate YOU TO THAT SHIFT.

Tuesday - Value post. Give actionable value to help them make this shift. This builds LIKABILITY.

Wednesday - Belief shifting post. What is something they believe that is wrong and getting in the way of your prospects winning? Share it and justify why they need to change their thought. This creates AUTHORITY.

Thursday - Value post again. More LIKABILITY.

Friday - Client result post. Share a result or transformation you have helped a recent client with. This builds TRUST.

Saturday - Action post. "Hey I've create a 5 minute training on how to X without Y, who wants a copy". Get people to TAKE ACTION (we send these people the asset/link and can start a convo).

Sunday - Rest day.

If you do this:

- People will know what you are about (what transformation you help with)
- People will like you
- People will see you as an authority
- People will trust you

And most importantly, they have a reason to act now (Action post), so you have a great excuse to reach and start a conversation around the asset you created.

Rinse and repeat every week.

Connect to more people.

Provide more value.

Show more leadership.

Talk about your expertise (not your skills).

Get more engagement.

Have more conversations.

Book more calls.

OR.......

Keep posting your portfolio and getting likes from your designer friends.

Which is going to get you to your goals quicker?

Do you agree or disagree?

For more tips for starting, growing or scaling a profitable design business, follow me @profitabledesigner

Why even designers can have weak branding.

Comment "4D" and I`ll send you video walking you through how to use your own story/quirks to create a 4D brand that people magnetise to.

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Can you guess what I’m going to explain here first?

There’s not a one size fits all strategy here. Each business is so different and should approach pricing based on its goals, experience, offer, etc.

Pricing is really an art and a science. Both strategy and intuition need to be at play.

Here’s how I think about it.

1 - Define the overall transformation the client wants to make.

Where is the client now? What’s it costing them to stay still?

And where do they want to go? What do they really want to experience? (Their celebration moment)

This can only really be uncovered if you have a leadership based sales process.

2 - Determine the value of them getting to that celebration moment.

What will it be worth to them to have everything come true and achieve their goals?

3 - Determine how challenging them making this transformation is going to be without your help.

What are their realistic chances of winning without you?

4 - Determine how much responsibility you’re taking on to get them to their celebration moment.

We are not talking about just the design steps here, we’re talking about everything they need to win.

Most designers struggle with “value based pricing” because they define the overall value of the client getting towards their goals but FAIL to take on any additional responsibility.

What can you add to your offer to take on responsibility before your clients need design and after you have handed them the deliverable, to move closer to what they want?

5 - Your pricing should be a reflection of these four above things.

For example, client wants a new website so they can go from selling $10k/month of products to $100k/month of products.

$90k/month gap.

Designer A who just designs the website, take on no additional responsibility might be able to charge $5-10k for the site.

Designer B who helps optimise the product descriptions, website, build out their new monthly promo email campaigns and introduces them to a Instagram ads specialist can probably charge $10k-$30k for the project.

It all comes down to the value gap x responsibility.

For more tips for starting, growing or scaling a profitable design business, follow me @profitabledesigner

276 4

Can you guess what I’m going to explain here first?

There’s not a one size fits all strategy here. Each business is so different and should approach pricing based on its goals, experience, offer, etc.

Pricing is really an art and a science. Both strategy and intuition need to be at play.

Here’s how I think about it.

1 - Define the overall transformation the client wants to make.

Where is the client now? What’s it costing them to stay still?

And where do they want to go? What do they really want to experience? (Their celebration moment)

This can only really be uncovered if you have a leadership based sales process.

2 - Determine the value of them getting to that celebration moment.

What will it be worth to them to have everything come true and achieve their goals?

3 - Determine how challenging them making this transformation is going to be without your help.

What are their realistic chances of winning without you?

4 - Determine how much responsibility you’re taking on to get them to their celebration moment.

We are not talking about just the design steps here, we’re talking about everything they need to win.

Most designers struggle with “value based pricing” because they define the overall value of the client getting towards their goals but FAIL to take on any additional responsibility.

What can you add to your offer to take on responsibility before your clients need design and after you have handed them the deliverable, to move closer to what they want?

5 - Your pricing should be a reflection of these four above things.

For example, client wants a new website so they can go from selling $10k/month of products to $100k/month of products.

$90k/month gap.

Designer A who just designs the website, take on no additional responsibility might be able to charge $5-10k for the site.

Designer B who helps optimise the product descriptions, website, build out their new monthly promo email campaigns and introduces them to a Instagram ads specialist can probably charge $10k-$30k for the project.

It all comes down to the value gap x responsibility.

For more tips for starting, growing or scaling a profitable design business, follow me @profitabledesigner

Sell your expertise at near 100% profit margin...

Comment "100%" and I`ll send you my new training that shows you how to productise your expertise and sell it to your existing lead flow.

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Sell your expertise at near 100% profit margin...

Comment "100%" and I'll send you my new training that shows you how to productise your expertise and sell it to your existing lead flow.

If I had to start & rebuild my design business from scratch, here’s what I’d do…

1. Listen to where big fees are occurring.

Out of my design peers, who is closing the biggest projects? And who is investing that much in design? Better to start here than anywhere. A design business with an average project value of $20k is 50X easier to grow than one at $2k/project.

2. Identify why the big fees are happening.

What are these clients trying to achieve beyond design that makes the big investments so worthwhile? People don’t buy design in a vacuum, they want to buy the outcome beyond it.

3. Figure out how to go above and beyond most designers.

What can I offer (outside of “design”) that is going to dramatically increase the likelihood they get to their overall outcome THAT NO OTHER DESIGNER IS PREPARED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR? Then add that. Now I have hyper competitive differentiation.

4. Reach out to this market talking about the transformation.

This is what they want to chat about (transformation), not design (one step in the journey).

5. Offer to help them at a discount in exchange for a testimonial.

I’d care less about making money initially and getting evidence that you are a direct result maker a.k.a return on investment.

6. Do everything to get them a real result.

EVERYTHING! Ain’t no mountain wide, ain’t no river low baby :-). Get screenshots, shoot testimonial. Marketing content check.

7. Reach out to others talking about what you did.

“Hey saw that your like my client (X) who I helped with (Problem you have) to get (Tangible real world result that no one else is offering), would you like to chat? (Best message in the world)

8. Charge a premium for your offer.

You’ve proven you can get the result. You’re confident because you’ve seen how valuable you are. Charge based on the result.

9. Invest a 1/3 of the profits into ramping up outreach volume.

This is how businesses scale, investing project profits back into building the marketing engine that pays for the next project. The game is won in the economics.

For more tips for starting, growing or scaling a profitable design business, follow me @profitabledesigner

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If I had to start & rebuild my design business from scratch, here’s what I’d do…

1. Listen to where big fees are occurring.

Out of my design peers, who is closing the biggest projects? And who is investing that much in design? Better to start here than anywhere. A design business with an average project value of $20k is 50X easier to grow than one at $2k/project.

2. Identify why the big fees are happening.

What are these clients trying to achieve beyond design that makes the big investments so worthwhile? People don’t buy design in a vacuum, they want to buy the outcome beyond it.

3. Figure out how to go above and beyond most designers.

What can I offer (outside of “design”) that is going to dramatically increase the likelihood they get to their overall outcome THAT NO OTHER DESIGNER IS PREPARED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR? Then add that. Now I have hyper competitive differentiation.

4. Reach out to this market talking about the transformation.

This is what they want to chat about (transformation), not design (one step in the journey).

5. Offer to help them at a discount in exchange for a testimonial.

I’d care less about making money initially and getting evidence that you are a direct result maker a.k.a return on investment.

6. Do everything to get them a real result.

EVERYTHING! Ain’t no mountain wide, ain’t no river low baby :-). Get screenshots, shoot testimonial. Marketing content check.

7. Reach out to others talking about what you did.

“Hey saw that your like my client (X) who I helped with (Problem you have) to get (Tangible real world result that no one else is offering), would you like to chat? (Best message in the world)

8. Charge a premium for your offer.

You’ve proven you can get the result. You’re confident because you’ve seen how valuable you are. Charge based on the result.

9. Invest a 1/3 of the profits into ramping up outreach volume.

This is how businesses scale, investing project profits back into building the marketing engine that pays for the next project. The game is won in the economics.

For more tips for starting, growing or scaling a profitable design business, follow me @profitabledesigner

The perfect time to make change isn`t coming.

For more tips for starting, growing or scaling a profitable design business, follow me @profitabledesigner

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The perfect time to make change isn't coming.

For more tips for starting, growing or scaling a profitable design business, follow me @profitabledesigner

To be upfront…

This isn’t the full extent of the list because there is a lot that goes into making more whilst doing less, but here are the 5 most important levers.

1 - Time Audit: One of the most significant steps was regularly auditing my time. For an entire week, I set an alarm every 30 minutes, when the alarm goes off, I track what I was doing. Then, I reviewed each task, ranking them by importance. Tasks directly related to generating sales for my design business took top priority. Now, every day starts with these income-producing activities, and other tasks are tackled if time allows.

2 - Hiring Help: Bringing in the right support was a game-changer. My first hire saved me 2-3 hours per week, equating to 8-9 hours a month. The second hire cut down another 2-3 hours weekly, saving me additional time. In total, just with two employees, I gained back 16-18 hours each month.

3 - Automations & Systems: Embracing automation and efficient systems has been invaluable. Many tasks that were once done daily or weekly can now be automated or sped up using systems. During your time audit, consider which tasks can be automated. Examples include follow-up emails, feedback collection, and even DM responses. Spend 10 minutes every day (near the end of the day) listing all of the dumb stuff you get stuck on and ask yourself how could you delegate it, automate it or completely delete it.

4 - Focus on increasing average project value: I ask myself, "How can I be just 25% more valuable to this prospect?” This mindset shift helped me concentrate on enhancing my existing business offerings instead of constantly seeking more work to make more money.

5 - Marketing Superpower: Finding what drives the most traffic to my design business booking page and honing in on that one thing instead of trying to do it all has been crucial. Identifying and focusing on my marketing strengths has allowed me to reach the right audience effectively.

If you`re interested in learning more about how to think about investing your time, I’ve created a 5 minute training with worksheets on how to audit your time, drop “AUDIT” in the comments and I’ll get you a copy.

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To be upfront…

This isn’t the full extent of the list because there is a lot that goes into making more whilst doing less, but here are the 5 most important levers.

1 - Time Audit: One of the most significant steps was regularly auditing my time. For an entire week, I set an alarm every 30 minutes, when the alarm goes off, I track what I was doing. Then, I reviewed each task, ranking them by importance. Tasks directly related to generating sales for my design business took top priority. Now, every day starts with these income-producing activities, and other tasks are tackled if time allows.

2 - Hiring Help: Bringing in the right support was a game-changer. My first hire saved me 2-3 hours per week, equating to 8-9 hours a month. The second hire cut down another 2-3 hours weekly, saving me additional time. In total, just with two employees, I gained back 16-18 hours each month.

3 - Automations & Systems: Embracing automation and efficient systems has been invaluable. Many tasks that were once done daily or weekly can now be automated or sped up using systems. During your time audit, consider which tasks can be automated. Examples include follow-up emails, feedback collection, and even DM responses. Spend 10 minutes every day (near the end of the day) listing all of the dumb stuff you get stuck on and ask yourself how could you delegate it, automate it or completely delete it.

4 - Focus on increasing average project value: I ask myself, "How can I be just 25% more valuable to this prospect?” This mindset shift helped me concentrate on enhancing my existing business offerings instead of constantly seeking more work to make more money.

5 - Marketing Superpower: Finding what drives the most traffic to my design business booking page and honing in on that one thing instead of trying to do it all has been crucial. Identifying and focusing on my marketing strengths has allowed me to reach the right audience effectively.

If you're interested in learning more about how to think about investing your time, I’ve created a 5 minute training with worksheets on how to audit your time, drop “AUDIT” in the comments and I’ll get you a copy.

Great clients are sitting right in front of you...

Comment "BIG" and I`ll send you my 5-minute training that shows you the big important question you need to answer in order for your marketing to kill.

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Great clients are sitting right in front of you...

Comment "BIG" and I'll send you my 5-minute training that shows you the big important question you need to answer in order for your marketing to kill.

The fundamental questions that your design business website needs to effectively address:

1. Who are you really for? - Understanding your target audience is key to any business success.

2. What transformation do you really help with? - Identifying how you change your customers` lives for the better.

3. What are you doing differently from others? - Emphasizing what makes your offerings unique.

4. Why is that difference more valuable to your clients? - Detailing why your unique selling proposition (USP) adds value.

5. Who have you gotten results for? - Sharing success stories to build trust and authenticity.

For more tips for starting, growing or scaling a profitable design business, follow me @profitabledesigner

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The fundamental questions that your design business website needs to effectively address:

1. Who are you really for? - Understanding your target audience is key to any business success.

2. What transformation do you really help with? - Identifying how you change your customers' lives for the better.

3. What are you doing differently from others? - Emphasizing what makes your offerings unique.

4. Why is that difference more valuable to your clients? - Detailing why your unique selling proposition (USP) adds value.

5. Who have you gotten results for? - Sharing success stories to build trust and authenticity.

For more tips for starting, growing or scaling a profitable design business, follow me @profitabledesigner

Where designers go wrong with offers.

Comment "Offer" and I`ll send you my
4-minute training that shows you the most important question you need to answer when building a "golden hippo" offer.

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Where designers go wrong with offers.

Comment "Offer" and I'll send you my
4-minute training that shows you the most important question you need to answer when building a "golden hippo" offer.

"Brand isn`t actually a thing.

It`s an association we make between things that we know and things that people don`t know, which is usually our company.

And so if you think about a brand, like a bouquet of flowers, right?

A bouquet of flowers isn`t actually a thing.

It`s many things put together and then we put it in our heads as an idea, as one, but it doesn`t, it`s not actually anything.

Cause if you spilled on the floor, it`s not a bouquet anymore, right?

And so when we brand, think of a brand as a bouquet of flowers, but it`s your bouquet of flowers.

And what you`re putting inside of that bouquet are the individual intangible ideas that you wanna associate together with the thing that people don`t know about, which is usually your company."

- Alex Hormozi

For more tips for starting, growing or scaling a profitable design business, follow me @profitabledesigner

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All failing design businesses are the same.

DM me "Outlier" and I`ll send you one of my 4-minute training that shows you how it`s the outliers who make all the money in the design space.

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All failing design businesses are the same.

DM me "Outlier" and I'll send you one of my 4-minute training that shows you how it's the outliers who make all the money in the design space.

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