Work for Money, Design for Love: Answers to the Most Frequently Asked Questions About Starting and Running a Successful Design Business

Table of contents

1. Title Page
2. Copyright Page
3. Dedication Page
4. Contents
5. Introduction
6. Section I. Where Do You Start?
   1. Chapter 1. Essential Traits
      1. Be curious
      2. Show empathy
      3. Have confidence
      4. You’re the manager
      5. Motivate yourself
      6. Professionalism
      7. Balance
      8. Don’t blindly trust your experience
      9. Don’t forget to...
   2. Chapter 2. Never Stop Learning
      1. The never-ending lesson
      2. What design school didn’t teach you
      3. Other ways to keep learning
   3. Chapter 3. Find Your Niche
      1. What’s a niche?
      2. Why specialize?
      3. Spread the risk
   4. Chapter 4. Pros and Cons of Self-Employment
      1. PRO: You set your own hours
      2. CON: People expect you to work 24/7
      3. PRO: You set your own rates
      4. CON: How do you know what to charge?
      5. PRO: You’re doing the job you love
      6. CON: Some people think that because you love your job, you’ll happily work for free
      7. PRO: You make the rules
      8. CON: No one explains the rules
      9. PRO: If you want a holiday, you take a holiday
      10. CON: You don’t get paid for time off
      11. PRO: You get to wear a lot of different hats
      12. CON: Sometimes you just want to wear your favorite hat
      13. PRO: Your clients come from all walks of life, all around the world
      14. CON: You probably can’t meet every client in person
      15. PRO: The 10-meter commute from bedroom to home studio
      16. CON: The inability to leave your work “at the office”
      17. PRO: Taking your laptop outdoors
      18. CON: The weather doesn’t always cooperate
7. Section II. Who Do You Need to Be?
   1. Chapter 5. Work Direct or Be a Subcontractor?
      1. Dealing directly with clients
      2. Subcontracting with agencies
   2. Chapter 6. Planning for Success
      1. Truth
      2. Assertions
      3. Money
      4. Alternatives
      5. People
   3. Chapter 7. Brand Naming
      1. Everything begins with a name
   4. Chapter 8. Designing Your Brand Identity
      1. Your graphic identity
      2. Other parts of your identity
   5. Chapter 9. Working from Home versus Renting Space
      1. Working from home
      2. Renting studio space
      3. Fit to work
   6. Chapter 10. Launching Your Online Presence
      1. Your basic launch needs
      2. Hard-won lessons
      3. Treat your competitors as allies
   7. Chapter 11. Marketing Yourself and Finding Good Clients
      1. Go pro bono
      2. Love the ones you’re with
      3. Market for free online
      4. A little research, a lot of return
      5. It’s who you know
      6. Reach out to other design agencies
      7. Zig when others zag
      8. Offer a real gift
      9. Think fast
      10. Do business where you shop
      11. When things go wrong...
   8. Chapter 12. Why Bigger Business Isn’t Always Better
      1. The personal touch
      2. You are what clients want
   9. Chapter 13. Legalities, Integrity, and Morality
      1. Legalities
      2. Integrity
      3. Morality
8. Section III. How Do You Manage Projects?
   1. Chapter 14. Choose Clients Wisely
      1. Red flags
   2. Chapter 15. Handling the Client Approach
      1. The client questionnaire
      2. Avoid wasting time
      3. Start on the right foot
   3. Chapter 16. Pricing Your Work
      1. Deciding your rate
      2. Breaking down the proposal
      3. It’s not always about the money
      4. Enter Mr. Procurement
      5. How to negotiate up
      6. Raising rates with existing clients
      7. “You should be charging more”
   4. Chapter 17. Terms and Conditions
      1. What to include
      2. It’s not unusual
   5. Chapter 18. How to Best Present Your Work
9. Section IV. Before We Depart
   1. Chapter 19. The Mentors Speak
   2. Chapter 20. A Future Without Clients
      1. Online advertising
      2. Become an affiliate
      3. Ship your product
      4. Write a book
      5. Income as energy
   3. Chapter 21. Keep the Fire Burning
      1. Chase the opportunity, not the money
      2. Prove yourself
      3. First with who, then what
      4. Create what others can’t imagine
      5. Focus on the right projects for you
      6. Take control
      7. Use the bad to appreciate the good
      8. Rise above it
      9. Jump in with both feet
      10. Pay your dues
      11. Make something beautiful
      12. Be deeply satisfied
      13. Be part of the community
      14. Have pride
      15. Step away from the specifics
      16. Let others motivate you
      17. Give and take
      18. Work on side projects
      19. Love what you do
   4. Chapter 22. Resources
      1. Books
      2. Blogs
      3. Publishers
      4. Self-publishing
      5. Ad providers
      6. Project help
      7. Don’t forget
10. Contributors
11. Index
12. Add Page