I’m going to assume that you’re like me.
When I started the market was so saturated with information, some helpful (mostly not) but I waded through it to get the nuggets and that’s what I want to share with you today.
If you’re a self taught designer, you probably have a very clear goal of starting up your own agency and either getting steady freelance work or (and) developing long term relationships with new clients, developers and other designers.
Just Offer 1 Thing
In the beginning, when you’re marketing your new company, just offer one thing and try to show as many different and unique examples of that one thing, whether it’s kindle book covers, logo design, social media graphics etc.
It’s really just a simple matter of overextending yourself in the beginning, if you look at your core strengths that’s what you must offer to your new prospective clients and that way you can develop more skills and examples as well as becoming an authority on that on type of design.
Go to the Hat Store
You’ll be everything and everyone in the beginning.
It’ll be frustrating and hard (trust me) but you’ll get used to it. It’s important to stay organized. I use a white board above my desk and write everything I have to do that day and I make sure it’s done before I call it a day.
On the positive side, after a little while you’ll have a real understanding of what it’s like to be that person and when you start hiring, who is the right person to fill that role.
Find a Mentor
One of the smartest moves I made in the beginning, (and there weren’t many) was to get a mentor. Not only was she a great sounding board and thoroughly supportive, it was really helpful to get advice from someone who has already been through where I was in my design journey at the time.
I was overwhelmed at first and I didn’t want to ask for any help or support but when I did, I found the advice helped me cope with the agency stresses early on.
These are just a few nuggets to get you started, but before you go, I want you to remember, failure is only a learning experience.
Every time you make a mistake, screw something up or get a “NO”, don’t freak out, just learn from it, analyze it and see where it went off the rails and don’t let the same mistake happen again.
Just look at the bigger picture.
