A business plan for your graphic design business — you don’t need it!
Vol. 084
A business plan for your graphic design business — you don’t need it!
Don’t let the stories you build in your head convince you that you’re doing this business-thing wrong — you got this!
A quick bite:
Unless you’re part of the fortunate few, if you’re a graphic designer or creative individual, you’re unlikely to have a strong business background. I sure don’t have one. I used to feel that the more experienced designers in front of me had it all figured out.
Continue reading below…
Don’t let the story of another convince you that you need to have everything figured out. Most people are just winging it too.
Last week marked 7 years since I officially started Vicarel Studios as a business — woah!
If you’ve been following along for a bit, you might know that the process of starting as a freelance graphic designer and then opening Vicarel Studios certainly wasn’t easy or smooth.
I distinctly remember wanting to grow my graphic design business, looking at other designers that were 5-10+ years further down, and thinking: “Dang, they’ve got it all figured out. One day when I have ‘everything figured out’, things will all fall into place for me too.”
I’ve since talked to or befriended many of these people. Essentially all of them have said “I had no idea what I was doing then, and I have little to no idea what I’m doing now. It’s kinda just working.”
Similarly, on many days, I still oftentimes feel like I have no idea what I’m doing.
Will “this” work? I dunno — let’s try.
How does SEO work? No clue — let’s read some articles.
How much should we charge for this packaging or branding project? Unsure — let’s track our time for every project, talk to other designers/agencies and see what number makes sense.
What happens when someone owes me $10,000 but goes bankrupt? Unsure — flyin’ by the seat of my pants!
Speaking for myself, there was a very false sense of a plan, strategy or process when I looked at designers further along in their careers.
The reality is, most freelance graphic designers are just that — graphic designers. Not individuals with strong business backgrounds. I’m sure there’s value in having a formalized business plan, and it’s definitely helpful to know what you want out of your career…but I’m here to tell ya that you definitely don’t need to have things figured out in order to find sucess.
When I re-branded, repositioned and relaunched my business about two years ago, I didn’t really have a plan.
I didn’t have a succinct services list.
I didn’t exactly know who my target audience was.
I didn’t know what I wanted to display in my portfolio.
I didn’t have a plan.
I DID, however, have a strong drive to work hard, meet a lot of people, and share my passion for the work that I create. And guess what — it’s goin’ great!
So, what the hell is this article today for?
To remind you not let TikTok videos, Instagram posts, and speakers convince you that you have to have your shit all figured out before you do it. I’ve never had a business plan for my graphic design business, most people don’t, and you don’t need one either.
As you continue down a path — whether its the right or wrong path — you’ll become more clear in what you should or could be doing as you make decisions, right or wrong. If you’re trying to build your dream career, there aren’t really shortcuts. It simply takes time.
It is only through doing that you can refine that doing.
Don’t get caught up in the weeds — work hard, have some general, loose semblance of direction, and just start sprinting. The sooner you get started, the sooner you’ll recognize whether you’re sprinting in the right direction or not.
Cheers,
Adam
