Is it time to expand your creative business

So guys, your graphic design business is up and running well? Your customers must be increasing by the day and business booming to such proportions you must be planning to expand it. Also, you would be thinking to explore other horizons of graphic design so that you can offer the world a “complete package”.

But hold your horses, folks! Although expanding your design business is a lucrative and favorable step, it can backfire.

Now I’m not implying that graphic designers should never expand their business; I’m just identifying some repercussions that may happen when expanding your graphic design business. The most crucial decision of business expansion is when? You need to be sure of the right time to strike the iron while it is hot.

Bigger the business, more the mistakes

You must have heard of the “The bigger they are, the harder they fall”. Let me explain this saying in light of business expansion. When your business horizon expands to uncharted waters, there are more chances to fail.

For instance, you decide to expand from logo designing to web designing, stationery and business card design. The process becomes more complex and you are more prone to make more errors. So, with a big set-up, be prepared for big blunders.

Divided attention from your design forte

Specialization is an important skill that leads to delivering effective and personalized services. Not all graphic designers are jacks of all trades. For example, some may be masters of logo and identity designing, others ace at web designing.

When you expand you design business scope, your attention is divided among the various services you start offering. This way, you deviate from your design forte and fail to give your best.

Overload makes you a workaholic

Five clients are waiting for a logo design, seven are in line for a web design, three are screaming for a stationery design and all have almost similar deadlines. This is a scenario that a graphic designer may face after expanding without preparation. Unable to face so much of workload will eventually lead you to become a hardcore workaholic. Handling too much of stress and client pressure is not every designers’ bag.

You overlook your existing clients

Expanding a design business is just like adding friends on Facebook…you keep adding new friends, and lose touch with the previously added ones. Likewise, the more you expand your business, the client base swells to such a level that you start to overlook your existing clients. You start taking them for granted and move on to finding new clients.

Fail to give quality client service

When you expand without proper planning and preparation of resources, your client service is most likely to diminish. This is common sense; with every new client from your expanded business, your ability to give quality service goes down.

This is where you need to decided on what is more important to you: quality or money? The quality one-on-one time that you used to give to your clients won’t be the same when you have a bulk of clients to face.

No time for family and friends

This is one shortcoming that needs to be addressed before thinking of expanding your design business. Increased design business demands more time from you. Ultimately, you have to surrender your family time to tackle clients; there will no longer be a fixed time schedule since your client load will increase. Therefore, before you expand your business, have a discussion with your family and find out if they are ready to see less of you.

You won’t be a designer anymore

The last and the scariest situation of all…you won’t be a designer anymore, once you expand your design business. Surprised? Let me explain how. When you develop your business, you hire more and more people who need to be managed. This administration and management of employees makes you more of a manager than a designer. Since most of your client work is facilitated by your employees, you are no longer able to fully satisfy your inner designing needs.

Are you ready for it?

Let me reiterate that I do notintend to discourage graphic designers from expanding their business. I just wish to highlight some issues that need to be tackled before you can be prepared to expand your business. So are you ready to move forward and expand?




Charlie B Johnson is graphic designer and the owner of Graphic Design Blog, a web resource for graphic designers everywhere.