Running your own design business and being your own boss should be fun. And it is! It's great to have full creative control over your designs (well except for those pesky clients with their opinions, lol).

Yep, it's great living like a boss, not to mention if you want to go home early... you can! Geez it's so much fun, what on earth could go wrong?

Well... unfortunately all this fun and freedom has a cost. And the cost is: responsibility. And your biggest (and most painful) responsibility is the money, right? 

OK, the first thing is: DON'T PANIC!! The second thing is... are you ready? Print design isn’t what it used to be.

But then, you probably know that already. You can see it in the closed print businesses around town, and you can see it when your phone doesn't ring like it used to, right?

I’ve already talked about why print design is dying, so today I want to talk to you about how you can escape the slow decline and move into web design.

Hey, are you hyperventilating?? I said ‘don’t panic’ remember? Breathe deeply and go with me here!

Do you care if your clients make a return on their website? You should, because your business depends on it.

These days clients expect more. They want websites that go well beyond the pretty brochure sites of yesteryear, now they want (and deserve) lead-generating and profit-making machines.

Let's look at some of the ways you can design high-performance websites. You don't need to be be able to code, you just need some common sense, some basic marketing knowledge and a framework that ensures you never miss a trick. 

If you’re anything like me, you’re always trying to figure out how to supercharge your design business and take it to that elusive next level.

Do you know what one of best ways you can improve yourself as a designer and the work you produce? Basically it’s by asking your biggest critics... your very own clients.

And I know... that is a really scary prospect. When the job is done and the money has passed hands, clients can become BRUTALLY honest.

Here’s a million dollar question. How do you prove to a potential client that you’re awesome?

You could tell them you’re a web design rockstar, and they might believe you. But, more likely, they’ll just think you’re up yourself (no one wants to hire an arrogant designer). Instead, you could show them your portfolio and hope it speaks for itself, but that’s usually not enough. So, what’s a designer to do?

As an entrepreneur and as a designer, nothing gives me a bigger kick than when I successfully deliver something to a client and they love it. What can I say? I love praise! It’s why I decided to take the plunge into running my own business.

In fact, I’d go as far as to say that pursuing that gratitude is what drives me when it comes to becoming an entrepreneur. I just love helping people. Now.. that all sounds ‘nice’, but unfortunately, there is a flipside to this professional ‘love in’.