So far I've been writing about the technical aspects of Web design and where to start as a beginner. I'll get back to that in my next post, but today, I want to take a look at the future and where being a Web designer may take you in the longer term. There will be people reading this who have no interest in running their own business and that's perfectly OK. You may still get some points out of this so, please, read on. For those of you who are interested in running your own business... well, these are some of the things that have hindered me as a small business owner. I want to state, right off the bat that this is advice based on my own experience and deals more with the psychology of running your own business than it does practical business advice. Still, you need to check the legality of anything printed here as pertaining to business practices in your own region. I would also like to make it clear at this point that I am an unashamed fan of SitePoint, but am in no way other than that associated with them. I have a number of their books/kits and will refer to them throughout this blog. While I do endorse these publications, they are by no means the only voice out there on the subject, so feel free to research further for differing views. Anyway, let's get started.
I was contemplating one night just why my business was not getting off the ground. As I sat there staring at my whiteboard, I started to have some thoughts come to me and so I put them down in point form. I ended up with 10 points (eight of which I will cover here) but more importantly, split the board in to two sections and also came up with 10 solutions. Like I said, I'm only covering eight of those points as two of them are somewhat personal and wouldn't be of a wide range of use. So, what was it that I felt was holding me back as a business owner?
- Lack of capital to use as start up. (Money is needed for advertising and marketing.)
- Don't feel that I'm experienced enough to run the business. (Lack of confidence.)
- Such a daunting task, I don't really know where to start. (Lack of experience/orientation.)
- I don't have many contacts. (Graphic artists, programmers, designers, marketers, copywriters etc.)
- Lack of discipline. (This ties in with point 2 to some degree. I need to stay on top of invoicing and other administrative tasks.)
- Fear, whether that is of failure or success. (Also ties in to point 2 to some extent.)
- Self sabotage. (Every time I begin to move forward, I do something -or nothing- to break that momentum.)
- I want to design, not work in sales and/or marketing. (The "Web Designers Business Kit" by Sitepoint pushes the latter, rather than the former, but my interest lies in building Websites.)
As I sat there looking at my board, I remember thinking to myself that these were some pretty scary looking issues. Indeed, they were potential business killers! So what could I do to overcome them? Let's go through the list point by point. I will put the problem in bold, the solution in normal font and any comments in italics.
Lack of capital to use as start up. Use the "Web Design Business Kit" and implement some of the $0-low cost marketing examples. Get one or two clients by using this method and it will start to generate cash flow, some of which can be put towards "more effective" marketing -by which I mean heavier saturation etc. Do something! To use an old cliché, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step!"
Don't feel that I'm experienced enough to run the business. There are multitudes of books and Websites out there that can help with this. Whatever you come up against, there will be someone who has faced and beaten it. Using the examples and resources such as the aforementioned "Business Kit" and others such as Forums, you can surround yourself with all the experience you need. Most importantly though, don't be afraid to make mistakes. This is where your most valuable lessons will be learned. Making and subsequently fixing mistakes will help you to develop more confidence in your ability and expertise.
Such a daunting task, I don't really know where to start. This isn't a bad place to start. Break the issues down into bite (or byte) sized chunks. This sort of exercise helps to provide clarity and empowerment for a course of action. Breaking the task down can make it more manageable and make solutions to problems easier to find. Use the experience of others. Find a mentor if needs be.
I don't have many contacts. Make them! Forums and other design firms are a great place to start. Do some research on people you find. Call their clients to try to gauge their work and when you find quality people, don't be afraid to use their abilities as part of your strategies for growing your business.
Lack of discipline. This can be a tough one. Get help from others -wife/husband/partner, relative, friend etc- to remove you from tasks that "challenge" your concentration span. For me, general administrative tasks fall into this category. So I have my wife look after things like invoicing and entering financial data and the like. Lack of motivation/discipline seems to be well seeded in boredom, so if you can put those tasks in to the hands of people who find them interesting or have an aptitude for them, the battle is 90% won.
Fear, whether that is of failure or success. This is another tough one. Start with talking with others who have started a business or have been otherwise successful (sports coach, founder of a charity and things of that ilk). Forums such as SitePoint are a great source of information in dealing with issues such as this one. Ask how these people have faced and conquered their fears in starting a business.
Self sabotage. Surround yourself with people who can keep an eye on you. Mentors are good for this. These people don't need to be around you 24/7, they just need to give you a call every so often to touch base with you. Another tactic is to talk with a close friend or family member about your business. If they know where it is heading, or more importantly, the steps you need to take to move forward, they can spot if you're off track pretty quickly.
I want to design, not work in sales and/or marketing. This one is actually easier than it looks. Build the business up to a point where you don't have time to do both the marketing and design work (or just under this point preferably) and then bring someone on to take over the marketing of the business. You could look at someone on a commission basis to begin with and then enter in to a partnership later on. As the business continues to grow, you can begin to add staff with other skills with the aim of eventually doing most jobs entirely in house.
This is by no means a definitive list of either problems or solutions. But as I looked over it the other night, I could not help but think that any one of these was a potential business killer if left unchecked. I also don't want to give the impression that any of these suggestions are easy. They will carry varying degrees of complexity, depending on who puts them in to practice and of course, each situation will be unique. But I am certain of one thing though. A little bit of action immeasurably outweighs doing nothing and when it comes right down to it, building a profitable business is about gaining momentum. As I said earlier in the post, the journey of a thousand miles - or 1600 Km evidently :-) - begins with a single step. Here are eight steps that I hope will guide someone on towards success.
