Latest Businessofdesign Podcast Episodes
The Value Of Our Creative Work
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - January 20, 2022 17:34 - 14 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsOne of the things that is often disregarded is the value of creativity, and especially the value of creativity to business. There's the mindset that, “You’re doing what you love to do. It’s creative, it’s fun. You shouldn’t expect to be paid much for it because your payment is in the enjoyment o...
Helping You Navigate A Changing Landscape
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - August 14, 2021 23:20 - 15 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsThe landscape is changing for freelancers. How do we navigate successfully? I share an update about the ABC Test that's in California's AB5 law and it's big brother, the PRO Act which has passed in the House of Representatives and is being considered in the Senate, and how freelancers have been ...
3 Criteria Creatives Use To Solve Business Problems
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - August 09, 2021 21:46 - 20 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsBy way of a true story to illustrate the point, I share a mindset shift for visual creatives who want to elevate their status, pricing, and creative leadership when working with clients. That's by understanding what it is we really do which is far more than making things look good. The true valu...
How To Say No To Problem Clients, Scope Creep, and Bad Ideas
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - July 31, 2021 19:37 - 28 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsIt seems counter intuitive to turn down a project when you need the income. But saying NO is sometimes the best thing to do for the sake of your future. Turning down a client may in fact be the best business decision you make in a day. Here's why, and how to say no to prospective clients, scope ...
4 Time Management Principles To Transform Your Work Week
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - July 24, 2021 23:25 - 26 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsWhether you freelance full-time or part-time, these time management principles will help you win the struggle to juggle the professional and personal aspects of your life.
What We Have Here Is A Failure To Communicate
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - July 17, 2021 19:01 - 16 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsBased on a true account of a miscommunication between me and one of my design students, I discuss the importance of being specific in what we communicate to clients, getting to the point, and diagnosing their needs accurately. It's also important that your client accurately receives what you're ...
The Designer, the Infographic, and the Unhappy Client
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - July 11, 2021 01:06 - 20 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsDon't have conversations on the back end of a project that you should have had on the front end. When things go south with a client because they were expecting one thing and you were expecting another, it can ruin your relationship but also your reputation with future clients. Using a true story...
Mark-ups, Minimums, and Managing Money
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - July 03, 2021 19:05 - 20 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsHow do you create a budget when your freelance income isn't steady? Can you mark up project-related expenses without feeling guilty? In this episode I answere these and other money-related questions submitted by readers and listeners.
How To Craft Your Professional Portfolio
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - June 26, 2021 22:05 - 24 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsYour portfolio isn't just about getting you your next client. It's a springboard into your future. It's a primary means of attracting clients you're best suited to serve. I share specific how-tos for creating a high quality, consistent portfolio that best represents your expertise, and the criti...
Make Your Portfolio A Marketing Tool
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - June 19, 2021 20:10 - 16 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsIf you're a self-employed professional creative, you offer solutions to business and life problems. Your portfolio then, isn't a showcase of art, design, or photography, but a collection of creative solutions. The most effective portfolios demonstrate how you solve clients' problems. I share som...
Master the Client Discovery Call
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - June 12, 2021 22:43 - 24 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsA prospective client discovery session allows you the opportunity to manage expectations before you enter a working relationship. By asking the right kinds of questions you communicate to your client your expertise and empathy, and your ability to solve their business problem with your creative ...
10 Red Flag Warnings Freelancers Shouldn't Ignore
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - June 06, 2021 01:22 - 19 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsIt's no fun being trapped in a bad working relationship with a difficult client. We can put filters in place to screen out prospects who aren't a good fit for us, but what do we do when things begin well but go sour in the middle of a project? It's important to recognize the "red flags" and deal...
Detours Are Not Your Destiny
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - May 29, 2021 20:01 - 24 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsMany freelance creatives deal with having to do things to pay the bills while we're developing our freelance careers. The usual thinking is that these jobs are holding us back from doing our preferred work, stepping into our callings, and reaching our destinies. Rather than being deterrents, det...
How To Write Your Business Plan
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - May 22, 2021 21:57 - 28 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsYou may not need a business plan to start your freelance business, but once you get a few clients under your belt you'll want to create one. A business plan acts as compass to keep you focused on the important things. It helps you control and manage outcomes. It helps you make good business deci...
How To Care For Your Suppliers
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - May 14, 2021 17:56 - 26 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsNo freelancer ever does a project entirely on their own. A reliable support network is crucial to getting the job done. Freelance creatives focus more on attracting and working with clients but often neglect to invest the same level of relational care into their supplier network. In this episode...
Why Strategy Trumps Tactics
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - May 07, 2021 19:06 - 18 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsIndependent creatives are known to seek out quick-win tips and tactics to fix their immediate problems. But if you want to build a sustainable business around your creative work, you need a strategic plan that acts as both a compass and an anchor. While both strategy and tactics are necessary an...
Your Client Is Not Your Enemy
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - April 30, 2021 02:26 - 20 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsEver have a client relationship turn sideways or go south? If you've been freelancing awhile you've likely experienced when a client shifts expectations or makes an odd request. Poor relationships with your clients can affect not just your freelance business, but your creative drive, your househ...
5 Practical Steps To Shift From Artist To Owner
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - April 23, 2021 23:13 - 22 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsThe allure of freelancing... Why do we do it? And then, how do we do it? The freelance economy is growing across all sectors. According to a Gallup–Upwork poll, there are around 57M independent contractors in the US currently. The majority of those is creatives. To freelance successfully means ...
Use Creative Briefs To Build Trust
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - April 16, 2021 02:12 - 22 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsAre you using a creative brief, also know as assignment or design brief, in your project development process? A brief can help you build trust with your clients for a variety of reasons. In this episode I share what a brief is and how your client relationships and freelance business as a whole ...
Cultivating Limitless Success
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - April 10, 2021 21:39 - 31 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsHow you think affects how well you do creatively and business-wise. What you think either hinders or promotes. We all struggle with limiting beliefs and negative thinking, but we don't have to embrace them. In this episode I share for your consideration a mindset shift through the analogy of gar...
How The PRO Act Will Make Life Worse For Freelancers
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - April 02, 2021 18:20 - 30 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsThe PRO Act, which is now included in the massive infrastructure bill, and the Worker Flexibility and Small business Protection Act, will make things very difficult for freelance creatives if it becomes law with the ABC test intact. If freelancing and independent contracting is no longer conside...
Budgeting Smarts For Freelancers
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - March 26, 2021 02:16 - 25 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsMoney is a necessary tool in business and life, and freelancers can embrace the budgeting process creatively. Budgeting is good stewardship, and enables you to maintain momentum when your income fluctuates month to month. A spending plan can help you become more profitable because it gives you m...
Contracts, Spec Work, and the Friends & Family Plan
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - March 20, 2021 21:14 - 24 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsFreelance creatives can often get stuck on smaller problems, odd requests, and indecision. To that end, I offer insights to questions listeners and readers have asked regarding working on spec (speculatively), contracts, legal business structures, and when your clients are family members or frie...
Does Formal Design Education Matter?
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - March 11, 2021 21:58 - 15 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsA young designer asked me if formal education makes a difference in becoming successful. Having earned a degree, and having taught part-time in a design program for 25 years in addition to my design work, I have some bias about this topic. I frame my response with my bias in mind. The designer w...
Why the PRO Act Should Scare You
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - March 05, 2021 01:25 - 33 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsFreelancers of all types should be concerned about pending labor legislation. The ABC test to determine independent contractor vs. employee status in California's independent contractor law is being pushed forward nationally in the forms of the PRO Act and the Worker Flexibility and Small Busine...
Things They Don't Teach You In Design School
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - February 26, 2021 01:34 - 22 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsTalent, passion and a portfolio will get you through school, but you can't build a business on them. There's a gap between school and making a living. The gap exists even if you didn't attend design school. Now more than ever, freelancers need to get serious about business skills if they hope to...
For Better Results Add Pliability To Your Planning
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - February 19, 2021 02:06 - 11 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsThings don't always go the way you planned, especially when it's more than just you involved. Clients and colleagues will surprise you. Responding well whether you're in the middle of favorable or unfavorable happenstances requires anticipating the possibilities. I share my experience preparing ...
Should Freelancers Work With Family and Friends?
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - February 11, 2021 21:21 - 10 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsFriends and family should not be in your "ideal client" description. Why? Because all sorts of unexpected things happen that can suck your time, stress you out, and make you wish you'd never said "yes." In the episode I share what happened with one of my client/friend projects, and how you can...
Better Clients Through Filtering
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - February 04, 2021 20:15 - 16 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsDo you accept every client and project that comes your way? Have you ever worked with a client where things began well but soon went sideways? Every freelancer who's been in it for a few years has at least one story to tell. If you'd prefer not having stories to tell, start filtering out less de...
Aesthetics, Your Clients, and You
Freelance Road Trip Podcast - January 28, 2021 21:11 - 21 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsA book review and discussion of why aesthetics matter in business, commerce, communication, and branding. I describe the difference between aesthetic principles — the form (or visual) language — and the idea of personal or corporate style/aesthetic. And I explain why the work you create for your...
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