I learned the hard way that rigid planning in our creative businesses can quickly become suffocating. It can make us feel like quitting and drain the joy out of what we love to do.

In this blog, let's shine a light on the risks lurking behind those meticulously crafted year-long plans and explore how we can strike the perfect balance between structure and flexibility in our planning process.

We're breaking this up into 4 different sections:

• The drawbacks of planning for a full year

• What to do instead of planning for the whole year

• How to implement this approach

• Finding the right balance between structure and flexibility is key to unlocking the true potential of your design studio.

Are you tired of feeling overwhelmed and disorganised in your design business? It's time to optimise your processes and unleash your full potential.

In this blog post, we'll explore the importance of having clearly defined processes that act as a GPS for your business.

Discover the five core processes every designer needs, including internal operations, business planning, marketing + content, lead generation + sales, and client workflow + design process.

By implementing these processes, you'll save time, boost productivity, and enhance the client experience. Let me guide you on how to simplify, structure, and streamline your business for sustainable growth and profitability.

Building your design studio on just referrals and word of mouth is a great way to slowly grow a design studio until it's not. So let's look at a few reasons why I am not an advocate for relying on referrals or word of mouth only and what you can do instead.

You know how important it is to track your revenue. But how do you actually do this? Spreadsheets are a logical choice, but most creatives don’t like working with them. And it's probably not just the spreadsheet, it's looking at numbers in general. As most of my clients are creatives I worked on creating a revenue overview that did not involve spreadsheets. Enter ClickUp.

Do you have a revenue number in mind that you need to make this year in your design studio? If you do, what’s this based on? A ‘random’ number or is it based on your enough? Because only you know this, you can put a plan in place to get you there. Not sure how to get to that enough number? Then you're in the right place because in this blog we'll get into how to create a revenue budget for your design studio.

When you want to create a sustainable business you need to know the numbers at which your design studio is sustainable. So let's look at what this actually means for you + 4 key pieces of your finance routine you need to get comfortable with so that you can determine what a sustainable design studio looks like for you.

What is a task in your business that is outside of your comfort zone, that you tell yourself you don't have enough time for? Because as long as you are only working in your business on what you feel comfortable with (aka the creative side) there’s work that isn’t being done. The strategic work, that will lead your business forward, so that it can support the way you want to live your life.

Have you been so busy delivering the best possible brands and websites to your clients that over the years, the client work has taken over your whole business? And are you waiting till you feel ready to work fewer hours? Then this post is for you

So what if instead of setting ‘random’ or vanity goals like growing newsletter subscribers to 2000 we would set our business goals based on our business and life vision? Isn't that the key to transforming your business to be more aligned? For it to be less draining and overwhelming? In this blog, I walk you through the 4 steps to turn your vision for your business into actionable goals.

Setting goals, breaking them down into actionable steps & then following up. Let's look at a slightly different approach you can take so it's manageable

Working together with a business mentor to set your business up for success is a big step. It is not only very exciting but probably also a bit scary because of the monetary investment. So, today I wanted to share more about the mentor program that I offer and how we create your custom mentoring program

Pricing your services is one of the toughest things you need to do. Because your pricing is not just a number, there are often a lot of emotions connected to your pricing. But these emotions are not serving you when it comes to building a profitable business. So that's why this blog dives into a 6-step plan to price your services based on data, not on feelings. So that you can transform your business to be more sustainable and profitable.

We all feel there is never enough time to do everything we want to do. In this blog, we’re sharing how theme days & time blocking can structure your week.

You’re working evenings and weekends (and have been for a long time) to finish this client work. You're stuck in a loop. To establish solid processes and boundaries, preventing timelines and scopes from spiralling out of control: You've got to streamline your processes, trimming down hours spent on client onboarding and admin. 3-hour custom proposals are really not needed… To streamline effectively, you need more time away from client projects. This blog dives into the 2 steps to create more time to work on your business

In this blog, we are using your ideal week to see what kind of product suite, using an ascension business model, will help you make your vision come through. And how to create a phased approach (a strategic plan) to get there.

In this blog, we are using your big-picture goal to define your ideal week by breaking it down and being proactive to align your life with your business.

As a designer responsible for every aspect of your business, you're no stranger to the juggling act that comes with it. You're not just the creative mind; you're the accountant, the project manager, and the marketing guru. The weight of running a design studio can sometimes feel overwhelming, but taking a moment each month to reflect can make a world of difference. This process can be your secret weapon in achieving financial stability and sustainability.

I could offer tips on spotting these red flags during calls, which might save you a few headaches. But that won't address the issue of attracting these "bad fit clients." Let's explore how, after identifying your ideal client, you can ensure that the potential clients who book a consultation call truly align with your ideal client profile. In essence, we'll discuss how to qualify your leads effectively.

Step 1 of the Brand Foundation Series is about your vision. Your vision is how you would like things to be in the future. You can see this as your big dream for your business. What success will look like for you? What do you aspire your business to be?

Think about your typical day for a moment. What does it look like? Do you start up your computer and just start with whatever you feel like doing at that time? Do you have 10 post-its in front of you with all the things you need to do? Or do you have a paper planner or calendar? Today I want to walk you through how I use Asana. And how you can use it to become a productive business owner.