Better Layout

This new site incorporates ratios from the Fibonacci’s Golden Section – otherwise known as the Golden Ratio. Along with the redesign I have new goals for my blog and my website as a whole. I am planning on not just running a blog that was solely focused on graphic design, as I was doing before, but also writing art related articles as well.

The Nerdy Stuff – This was created mostly to test out HTML5 and CSS3, the new industry standards. Staying up to date is an important part to being relevant.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my site. Feel free to let me know what you think about the new layout in the comments area below.

1. Stay focused on the bigger picture

Create a modern business plan and stick to it.

2. Tell your friends and family about your choice

You never know what kind of connections they might have. The people close to you want you to succeed and may be able to help you get off your feet and hit the ground running.

3. Don’t stress about pricing

You are going to lose potential clients because of your pricing. People determine how valuable you are based on your past work and the price of that work

4. Learn from your mistakes

Everyone makes them. Learn from your mistakes, and move on.

5. When you’re wrong, honestly admit to your fault

Sometimes your mistakes might affect other people. People want to know that you care about them. Be sure to be empathetic in your apology and try to not make the same mistakes again.

6. Continue learning

To get to the top and stay there you can’t stop learning about your field. You can become more knowledgeable by getting mentors, reading new design books, subscribing to inspirational blogs, or by taking design courses.

7. Write a blog

The readers you bring to your blog with become an invaluable source of knowledge and help. It serves to not only grow a community but it could also help you meet people that might become partners or potentially clients.

8. Learn as much as you can about your clients

Engage them with topics about their industry. This not only helps to generate design ideas but it also helps you connect with them on a personal level.

9. You will occasionally work with people you don’t like

It is a fact of business life. This is especially more common at the beginning of your career. Try to make the best of the situation and learn as much as you can from the project. You will not only be financially better off than when you started, you will have more knowledge and that is priceless. Some of that knowledge may just be learning how to spot potentially problematic clients.

10. Stay positive and be enjoyable to talk to

As a self employed designer you are the entire face of your business. If people don’t enjoy talking to you they may decide to stop working with you entirely. It is up to you to make them happy.

11. Work hard and consistently

If you make your clients happy they might refer you to their business parters and eventually you don’t have to worry about finding new work. The harder you work the quicker and better you end up becoming.

12. Develop other revenue streams

There may be some points in your career where the income stream dries up. Your main clients might not need work for a month or worse, you get too sick to work. The best way to work around this is create a passive income during your down times.

If you’re a web designer you might consider selling some website templates. If you are a graphic designer you could do things like sell custom type faces, work with stock photography, or you could even sell illustrated blog icons.

13. Keep the wheels in motion

There is nothing quite like working for yourself. You get to set your own hours and eventually you get to choose the clients you end up working with. Just keep working hard at it.

Starting Fresh

I haven’t been satisfied with how my blogging pattern had been going in the past. I decided I wanted to change this after I saw how often Teresa Cardwell has been posting on her photography portfolio that I designed for her.

I decided to completely scrap what I had been doing before, it wasn’t working and I needed to do something about.

Better Layout

This new site incorporates ratios from the Fibonacci’s Golden Section – otherwise known as the Golden Ratio. Along with the redesign I have new goals for my blog and my website as a whole. I am planning on not just running a blog that was solely focused on graphic design, as I was doing before, but also writing art related articles as well.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my site. Please feel free to let me know what you think about the new layout.