Set up processes for your design business
Thursday’s Management Tip for Graphic Designers
Another part of automating your business is setting up processes.
Processes allow you to quickly get rid of tedious tasks by knowing what to do when certain situations arise.
The processes you need to set up is for everything from the first client meeting, preparing the quote, accepting the job, creating a creative brief, invoicing your client and then dealing with proofs and approvals.
What can you create processes for:
- Customer service: Make it clear how long prospects and clients has to wait to hear back from you.
- Emails and phones: Who handles your emails and calls and how many times a day do you do it?
- Quotes: How are you going to determine how to price a job?
- Approvals: What documents do you need to send out with your layouts? How do you keep track of proofs and approvals in your work.
- Invoicing: When you bill a client, do you have everything necessary to do so quickly.
- First time meetings: What questions do you need answered before accepting a job?
- Creative briefs: Keep a reference of all the questions you need to ask before starting any designs and creating any designs.
- Proposals: Have samples handy so that all you have to do is fill it out.
- Set up your client folders: With everything you need for the job and a list of specs (like color, typefaces, etc…)
- Marketing planner: Do you know what you have to do to promote your business on a day-to-day basis?
C O N C L U S I O N :
Setting up these processes, allows you to do what you do best, design. By setting up processes, it negates having you reinvent the wheel with your client every time.
AND, it also helps you have everything you need at your fingertips so that you can quickly get those things out of the way.
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