Starting a graphic design business on your own is a tough task. Take a look at the things you have to know and the steps you have to take.

Starting a Graphic Design Business: How-to Guide

If you’re passionate about drawing and creating artistically pleasing visual materials, it might be the best decision ever to start a graphic design business. People in this industry work with images and color in order to produce aesthetically beautiful items like ads, magazines, and even web design. According to the information provided by Entrepreneur, if you’re about to run a graphic design business, you should be ready to invest the sum of $2,000-$10,000.
This is a career that can turn into a pretty exciting and exhilarating adventure where you’re just making some extra bucks on a freelancing basis or working full-time. Learning how to start a graphic design business is a tough task, but impossible is nothing. So if you’re ready to build and successfully run your own business in the field of graphic design, let’s start with some simple recommendations that you’ll put into work.

Graphic Design Business Description

Graphic designs work with various elements of style and colors in order to produce pieces that will be used in the field of business advertising and communication. They use special computer software, as well as illustrate and draw. Professional graphic designers create items like brochures, business websites, business cards, communications docs, and magazine advertising.

Step 1. Know Your Motivation

When it comes to starting your own graphic design business, commitment and motivation are two crucial elements. So you have to ask yourself, “Am I motivated enough? Am I 100% committed?” If you are, you have already coped with one of the toughest tasks on your way to success in the industry. A lot of people tend to fail because they don’t have the commitment needed to make their business a success, as well as they don’t exert all of their energy in the process. In other words, if you’d like to run a graphic design business on your own just because recently you have landed some new clients, it’s a bad idea. The point is that starting up a graphic design business is challenging. You’re going to struggle and with zero motivation, you will get tempted to give up every time things are getting tough. There will be times when your clients choose your competitors or you don’t make loads of money. However, if you have a strong desire and motivation to succeed, you’ll keep going. And if you lack the commitment and self-motivation, the doubts will quickly creep in.

Step 2. Make a Plan

Before you start up your graphic design business, make sure you know some basic issues associated with it:

• What’s the name of your business?
• What kind of services are you going to render?
•  What are the prices of your services?
• Who is your target clientele?
• Are you going to recruit employees or work on your own?
• How are you going to hook clients?
• Are you going to get some funding (if yes, from whom?)?
• What is the key mission of your business?

Take this step as a cornerstone of your graphic design business. It’s important to take your time in order to ponder over all the issues that make your company solid. It’s no doubt that you’re a talented and dedicated graphic designer, but starting up and running your own business is a completely different experience.
From now on, you’re not just a graphic designer. At the same time, you have to learn to be a business owner, a professional accountant, an attentive marketer, and a customer care expert. But don’t let this information ruin your dream to become a graphic design business owner! Almost 630,000 businesses tend to open every year, which means you can do it as well! In other words, planning and preparing are two integral parts of the process.

Step 3. Know Your Skills

When it comes to graphic design, the field is pretty broad and diverse. You have an opportunity to explore a bunch of avenues. But before you start up your own business, make sure you know your own set of skills. Besides, it is important to find out what your target clients expect to get from a graphic design company. Perhaps, you’re not aware of the whole range of services that clients tend to look for.
As reported by some of the leading companies in the field of graphic design, clients usually order the following services:

• Web design
• Brand strategy
• Poster and brochure design
• Social media design
• Animation and infographics
• Typography and logo design

So in addition to your pure passion for graphic design, you also have to check the current trends and market size. Make sure to assess your professional skills and see if you can boost your profitability by using and enhancing those skills.

Step 4. Enhance Your Skills in Different Fields

Are you a real pro in web design and infographics but know almost nothing about logo or brochure design? If that’s the case, make sure to spend some time investigating the market.
Today, brochure and logo design are in demand. Graphic design agencies receive more and more orders as compared to previous years. So you have to develop your skills for various services in order to expand your horizon. Your key goal here is to become the all-included solution for all the things that your potential clients may look for, as well as have one key area of specialization, such as infographics or web design.

Step 5. Know Your Mission and Vision

By this time, you already know what services your company is going to render. You understand the industry from the inside. But you cannot start up your business from anywhere. Since you’re involved in a highly competitive field, you have to work on the mission of your company at first, as well as your vision and long-term goals. When you know what your key mission is, it will be easier for you to work out a strong business strategy. What is it that you want to achieve in the industry? How exactly are you going to achieve it? Are you hoping to hook at least fifteen clients within the first month? If yes, you will have to figure out how many people your company will have to reach out to.
The reality is that your first attempt to start up a graphic design may fail, which means that together with your Plan A, you will also have to develop Plan B, Plan C, and so on. Once you establish long and short-term goals, you will find it easier to assess your success and progress in the industry later. It is important to check and estimate your company’s progress on a regular basis, as well as check how far you have come and how far you are from where you want your business to be.

Step 6. File as a Graphic Design Business Entity

Without a doubt, you can easily run a business under your own name, but this may cause a lot of troubles when a client or business takes legal action against your company. However, if you file as a business entity, your personal assets will be defined as separated from your company. It means what you have will be protected from all kinds of legal consequences.
As a rule, when you file as a business entity, you will be required to file a form with the company that deals with business filings where you live. Depending on the state that you live in, you may have to deal with your secretary of the state. You will be required to file with your state and pay a fee. Then you’ll receive a certificate that proves you’re operating an official company.

Step 7. Determine Your Target Clients

Identifying your potential market is one of the crucial steps that you have to take when starting up your business. You will have to take into account loads of different segments and categories. Are you going to render your services to small local companies or medium and large businesses? Or, perhaps, your target clients will be young men trying to set up their businesses in the field of landscape design? Determine your target segment of the current market. Then think whether you have the right set of skills to comply with the clients’ demands.

Step 8. Write up Comprehensive Contracts

Now that you are an official entity, it’s time to protect your business from clients who may take advantage of it. Before you let your client into your business, ensure that you have a comprehensive and detailed contract written up. This document will involve all the details on the conditions of your cooperation with your clients. Two sides have to agree upon these terms, as well as sign the contract before any work starts. If you’re not good at business writing, look for professional help from the so-called “write my essay service” like Advancedwriters.com. Online experts will help you write professional contracts, as well as explain the basic rules of composing these documents. And remember that if you fail to take these simple steps, any misunderstanding will cause loads of problems in the future.

Step 9. Work on Your Rates

As you are getting more into the graphic design business, it is important to make certain that you analyze the industry in order to see what the standard pricing is. Collect detailed information on how different services are being rated by other graphic design companies. When you’re done with it, choose the most suitable pricing for the services that you render. Perhaps, at first, you will have to set slightly lower rates in order to attract more clients and boost your reputation within the market.
Since you’re just starting up your graphic design business, you have to plan on how you’re going to hook clients. Provide them with the best deals; however, make sure you do not go in too cheap. It is important that you prove to your potential clients that you provide the best product at a moderate price.
Always keep in mind that a lot of clients agree to pay a lot of money for a supreme quality service. That is why it is recommended to divide your services into different categories and subcategories to ensure your clients get exactly what they have paid for.

Step 10. Design Your Logo

Logos are a must for a successful graphic design business. As a rule, it’s your logo that comes to mind when your clients think about you or your company. As a professional graphic designer, you can create a catchy logo or approach a skillful graphic designer who specializes in logos exclusively. Not only will you have a hooking and professionally crafted logo, but you will also see for yourself how the process of work is organized in graphic design companies.

Step 11. Recruit the Right Experts to Expand Your Business

It’s no doubt, you want your graphic design business to grow, but you can do that on your own. At some point, you have to start looking for professional help. Instead of trying to juggle three or four clients at the same time, you have a chance to deal with ten clients at a time. So ensure to think about employing some professionals.
It is important to form your own crew in order to render the best services in your industry.
Moreover, if you’re going to expand your range of services, you’ll also need more experts in your team. For instance, you might be a real pro when it comes to infographics and logo but you have found out there is a great market for web design. Consider recruiting someone who has vast experience in the area of web design.

Step 12. Get a User-Friendly Website

One of the most important things that your graphic design business should have is launching your official website. Your business will benefit from it in two different ways. First of all, you will have a reliable platform to get in touch with your clients. Second, your official web page will also serve as a portfolio of your previous projects. Use your website to display your best graphic design works, as this will help you boost your reputation in the industry.
By browsing your website, your clients will have a clear idea of your services and skills. So ensure to take some time and create a professionally designed website for your company. Find a competent SEO company for online promotion.

Step 13. Regularly Communicate with Your Customers

Starting a graphic design business means communicating with loads of people. You have to contact your clients as a graphic designer, as well as communicate with others as a marketing manager, accountant, or bookkeeper. Regular and effective communication is a must when you’re at the beginning of your professional path. The owners of a graphic design business that succeed the fastest are the ones that keep in touch with their customers on a regular basis.
Without a doubt, you’re going to deal with clients that will cause intense headaches at some point.
However, the majority of them are usually fairly easy to deal with if you’re good at…communication. Part of learning how to start your business in a graphic design niche and succeed is managing both – your everyday tasks and communication with your clients to keep them 100% satisfied.

Step 14. Deliver on Your Promises in Time

Even if you’re a dedicated graphic design professional and you communicate with your clients effectively, failing to deliver high-quality projects within the deadline may kill your business before you know it. A lot of creatives starting their graphic design companies mistakenly believe that finding clients is the toughest part of the process. However, it is even harder to manage loads of projects at the same time and deliver products right on time.
Using online tools like Cushion or Trello will help you deal with your graphic design projects, keeping you on-track and guaranteeing your customers will have the best experience possible with your company. This is an absolute must in the early days of your business because even a couple of negative reviews could do some serious harm to your business and spread bad word-of-mouth within the market.

Step 15. Don’t Accept Every Other Project

Many graphic designers tend to be so desperate that they try to work on every other project that comes their way. They are busy chasing all sorts of jobs no matter how small those are and whether they enjoy them or not. As a result, they miss larger opportunities and find themselves getting their hands on projects that don’t fit with what they actually set out to do.
While you definitely want to stay engaged in many projects in the early days of running your graphic design business, make sure to keep your eye on your future. In other words, you have to make decisions that will benefit your company eventuallyStep 16. Don’t Hope to Become Successful Tomorrow

All of the business owners expect to see their company rock the graphic design field in the early years. But the reality is that there will be months when no revenue seems to come. So make sure to have a plan B and C for these tough moments to be able to survive in the world of business. If your graphic design company can make it for three or five years, it means you have something really special.
Always keep in mind that planning and execution is a must if you want your business to become successful in the field of graphic design. At the same time, every business owner needs to put 100% commitment into the niche.

Knowing the basic trends of the market and having a clear understanding of your competitors is important to grow in the industry. Together with that, having a strong online presence and promoting your website will help you take your place in the world of digital marketing. Be open to novelty. Be consistent, confident, and patient as you’re expanding your business. Hire professionals in your field and with time, you’re going to see your graphic design business making a huge impact in the industry.