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

Chapter 11. Marketing Yourself and Finding Good Clients

One of my biggest worries in business is where the next client will come from. It was a worry when I started, and it’s a worry seven years later (albeit to a much lesser degree).

When one approach doesn’t work, you need to learn from it and move on to the next idea. For instance, my cold calling door-to-door with nothing but a stack of flyers and a positive attitude was woeful. It soon became obvious it wasn’t working. So I stopped.

One approach that did work, however, was to scan through local newspapers and trade magazines, looking for the adverts with the worst design (there were plenty, and you’ll probably find the same). I’d cut out the ad and send it to the company who placed it along ...