Are you struggling with 1 of these 4 common design studio issues?
Whether I talk to designers in one of my free sessions, while we're mapping out client workflows for their Dubsado, creating the best hierarchy for their ClickUp setup or scrolling through Facebook groups, there's a common thread in the challenges so many talented designers face.
Challenges, that if left unaddressed, can have a big impact on the sustainability and profitability of a design studio.
The most common challenges I see:
Not embracing the business side: This is a crucial step that paves the way for your design studio's success. When you focus solely on creative work and neglect the business aspect, it impacts your business potential.
The referral trap: One of the consequences of not working on the business side and building a sustainable business, is falling into the referral trap. While referrals can be fantastic for your business, relying solely on them can make your studio vulnerable. When referrals dry up or no longer bring in ideal clients, it leaves your business exposed.
Letting client projects take over: I get it; your clients are a top priority. But when projects take over all your time, it becomes tough to create formal processes, leading to winging design projects.
Not establishing boundaries: Without formal processes, clients might not know where the boundaries are, and that can lead to challenges and frustrations on both sides.
In the upcoming sections of this blog, we'll further explore these connections and how addressing one challenge can have a domino effect, positively impacting other areas of your design studio.
Why is it that many design studios face these common challenges?
You might wonder why so many design studios face these common challenges. Well, it's all part of the natural progression of your studio's growth. When you start your business, your creativity takes the spotlight, and you pour your heart and soul into client projects.
In the beginning, referrals become your lifeline, bringing in new clients and filling your days with design tasks. Soon, you find yourself buried in client work. Whether this is for 1 client at a time or 6, you let your days fill with design tasks, leaving little room for anything else.
Relying solely on referrals can be both a blessing and a trap. While they bring in business, they can also trap you in a cycle of client overwhelm, with no time left for building a solid structure and formal processes for your design studio.
Without clear processes and boundaries, clients might unknowingly push those limits, leaving you feeling swamped and stressed.
And let's be honest when your days are packed with client work, focusing on the business side doesn't seem like a top priority. After all, you're getting clients, so why bother with other sources of business?
As you can see many of these challenges are interconnected, creating a cycle that impacts your design studio's sustainability and profitability.
Once you understand the underlying causes of these common issues, you can proactively address them. By investing time in both working in (client work) and on the business (business development), embracing the business side, and setting up formal processes you can achieve sustainable growth and long-term success.
Let's look at the common struggles in more depth and how they are interconnected
The referral trap
Referrals are a double-edged sword.
At first, getting referral business feels fantastic, right? It's like a pat on the back for your excellent work, and you keep landing similar projects with similar budgets. Which is great if your business never changes.
But that never happens – over time your business will evolve, and you'll discover the services you truly love to offer and the clients who you love to work with. These can all be small changes over a long period where your referral business changes with you.
But what if, like a lot of my clients, you want to make a big change because your business does not feel sustainable (probably because of one or more of these common challenges)?
Like going from offering deliverables like brand and website design to offering your knowledge and experience in brand strategy-related services?
Or when you offer website and brand design and now only want to offer brand design?
Or when you need to heavily increase your pricing because your design studio is not profitable?
If your design studio relies solely on referrals, suddenly the referrals pouring in are for the type of projects and price points that you don't want to offer.
But because there never seemed to be a need for you to work on other sources of business, you have no other way of attracting new clients.
This leads us to the topic of making time for business development tasks.
If you want to know more about why building your design studio solely on referrals might not be the best long-term strategy, head over to this article
Embracing the business side
When you've built your client base primarily through referrals or word of mouth, your lead generation strategy has been pretty reactive. You deliver fantastic work, and happy clients refer new ones to you.
But here's the thing – you have little control over when new projects come your way.
Now, that might not bother you if you don't have any specific income goals. But let's be real – we're in this to build successful businesses, not just hobbies, right?
I remember when I first heard Ashlyn Carter from Copywriting for Creatives say this, and it hit me hard. I was working tirelessly to grow my business, but her words made me realise I wasn't taking the necessary steps to make it truly profitable.
The key is to transition from that reactive referral strategy -
➝ Even if it's keeping you busy right now and even when you don't think you'll ever make a change, you never want to put all your eggs in one basket. Just look at how many designers who rely on referrals are struggling right now because of the economic downturn.
- to a proactive lead generation strategy.
By actively promoting your services on social media, writing engaging blog posts, and building an email list, you expand your reach.
The best part?
This approach creates a more stable and resilient client base, reducing your reliance on referrals. No more anxiously waiting for referrals to roll in. You're in the driver's seat, steering your business towards success, regardless of changes in the referral flow.
Establishing formal processes so client work does not take over
Let's talk about the beast called "client work taking over all your time." Ever heard of Parkinson's Law?
It says, "Work expands to fill the time available for its completion." Now, in the context of client work, that means if you don't set specific timeframes for your tasks, those projects can quickly consume all of your available time (and then some).
It doesn't matter if you're juggling one client or six – without a solid structure and time allocation, client work can become all-consuming. It's like a never-ending marathon, and you're running on empty.
Without efficient workflows and time management, you risk falling into a cycle where you're constantly rushing to meet deadlines, feeling like you're just winging your projects, and never having enough time to work on the business side.
The antidote to this chaos is to establish formal processes and workflows for your clients. These bring consistency, quality, and efficiency to your projects, as they provide a framework that allows you to complete tasks in a standardised way (I am talking project management tasks here, not your creative tasks), reducing project timelines and improving productivity.
Now, let's talk time blocking – it's the secret weapon against client work taking over. I know, it might sound impossible to block out specific chunks of time for client work, but it works wonders.
However, make sure you don't fall into this pitfall...
When you streamline your client processes and free up some time, the temptation might be to fill that newfound space with more client work. While the intention is to increase productivity, there needs to be a clear goal for how the additional will be spent.
Even though it might seem counterintuitive, as the immediate gratification of accepting more client work can be tempting. But it's a choice based on short-term results.
Instead of going down that route, consider this – dedicating time to work on your business is a strategic investment. It's the foundation for your design studio's growth and long-term success.
By being proactive and investing in your business, you open doors to refine your services, explore new opportunities, hone your skills and build a strong brand presence. You're crafting a solid infrastructure that will support your studio's growth for years to come.
So, let's embrace the power of time-blocking! Allocate specific periods for client work and dedicated blocks for business development tasks. It will help you to ensure that every aspect of your design studio gets the attention it deserves.
If you're feeling hesitant, had a bad experience with time blocking in the past or feel it's too restrictive, be sure to read this article.
Establishing boundaries to protect your processes and time
While having internal processes in place to increase your productivity, they may fall flat when you don't set boundaries for your clients.
Look, I get it – you love to design brands and websites, and you'd probably do it for free if you could! But here's the thing – your business should serve you too. It's not just about designing fabulous brands and websites; it's also about living your life comfortably.
And the best way to do that is by serving your clients well. Not by saying yes to every request because you are afraid to upset your clients, afraid that they won't come back or refer you or, that you're burning a bridge you might need in the future.
But by making sure you have enough time and energy to serve them. And if you can look at it this way, your time and energy are your most precious assets – so it's time to protect them by setting boundaries with your clients.
Here's the good part – when you're not just relying on referrals, setting boundaries becomes so much easier. It's like a domino effect – diversify your source of business, and you'll be amazed at how much easier it becomes to set those boundaries.
I won't lie; setting boundaries might feel like a challenge at first. But you'll most likely find that clients will respect your professional approach, and that creates much smoother projects.
And there you have it…
I hope this helps you to see that if you are struggling with one or maybe all of these common struggles, there is a way out.
The interconnected nature of these challenges creates a domino effect. By addressing one issue, like diversifying where your leads come from or making sure you have time blocks in your week to work on your business, you set off a positive chain reaction that improves other areas of your design studio.
As you move forward, remember that you have the power to shape the future of your design studio.
By embracing time blocking, establishing efficient workflows, having multiple sources of leads and setting clear boundaries with confidence, you'll unlock the full potential of your design studio.
Transform those hurdles into stepping stones, and let's create a design studio where creativity flourishes, clients are delighted, and you experience the fulfilment and joy that come from building a business that truly serves you.
You've got this!
Stephanie
If you thought this post you might also like:
LOOKING FOR ANYTHING?
Popular items in the shop
FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM
FAVOURITE RESOURCES
