Design is a high-demand skill, whether you are a graphic designer, home designer or fashion designer, many people have the ability to come up with brilliant ideas, but they do not have the skill to bring those ideas to life. You can start your own design business from the comfort of your own home.  

Here is a short and simple guide to facilitate the process of setting up a design business from home. For this article, we are going to focus on graphic design and home design businesses:

Create A Portfolio 

If you are a designer, you probably already have a large body of work, however, you need to showcase it in a stylish and appealing way to attract profitable clients. You don’t need a website when you first start out; however, it makes sense to start your business with a professional image. Therefore, create a simple website and link to your portfolio of designs. 

Tools 

Every designer should understand the importance of the right tools. The wrong tools will be detrimental for your business therefore, get the right tools. You will need some robust design software, a high-speed laptop or desktop computer, good quality hard drives and memory cards, a camera and you might need printers such as all in one printers or a high-quality laserjet printer. Some clients might need a printing service too, if you are a home designer, you will need to print design plans to showcase your designs to your customers, especially if you offer in-person services. 

Client Acquisition Plan

Now that you have your website, portfolio and your tools. How do you plan on generating client interest? When you have no clients, you have no business therefore, you need to come up with an effective strategy to pull in clients.

You can start on freelancing platforms however, mostly the work on offer is demanding and the compensation is low. Therefore, start with platforms like LinkedIn, network as much as possible and advertise your services on social media. If you have the capital, create an advertising campaign on Google ads or Facebook ads.

One of the easiest ways of generating interest is to offer a free or low-cost trial. For example, a $20 trial to new clients, they get to choose one of your services for one week for $20. Once the trial is over, they can decide to take it or leave it. When you offer a high-quality service, you will more than likely win the client. 

Outsource

When your client demands grow, outsource the work. Bring on the talent and create a team of skilled designers that can create high-quality designs for your clients.

To conclude, starting a business is never easy; however, with the right attitude, effort and a willingness to learn new strategies and implement them, you can scale your business fast. One of the keys to scaling your business quickly is delegating at the right time. Many small business owners fail to recognize the power of delegation and they continue to try and implement every strategy and every task themselves. This will leave you burned out and fatigued therefore if you really want to build a profitable design business, start small, build up and outsource when the demand grows. 

Andi Perullo de Ledesma

I am Andi Perullo de Ledesma, a Chinese Medicine Doctor and Travel Photojournalist in Charlotte, NC. I am also wife to Lucas and mother to Joaquín. Follow us as we explore life and the world one beautiful adventure at a time.

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