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How to Actually Find Design Clients (and wtf to do next)
138 Plays1 year ago
Cass & Amanda discuss all the different methods they’ve tried to find brand and web design clients, how to confront your fears around starting a business and marketing, how to make a marketing plan, and what to do once you find prospective clients who are ready to book!
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
- Get 30% off your first year of HoneyBook
- Shop our HoneyBook templates
- Free Guide - Launch Your Design Business in 6 Weeks
Find all of our resources for Designers at FoxtrotBranding.com/education
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Intro
06:01 How we found our first clients
10:20 The vulnerability of starting a business
15:11 How to make a marketing plan
23:43 What to do when you find potential clients
27:06 What is a CRM and why you need it
35:15 Listener question
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Goals
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to Spill the Tea. We are Cass and Amanda. We are the co-founders of the Creative Studio Foxtrot branding. And in these episodes, we share about navigating our lives as designers and business owners and the challenges and rewards that come up along the way. So in today's episode, we're going to be discussing how to find design clients and then what the heck do you do once you found someone who's interested in your services. I think it's going to be a great topic because that's like the number one question we get. um But before we dive in, please leave us a rating and review on Spotify or Apple podcasts. um Or if you're watching on YouTube, give this video a like because we are trying to grow our podcast and reach more designers and that will help us out a lot.
Podcasting Challenges and Audience Engagement
00:00:39
Speaker
I don't know if you can tell we're still like newbies to this whole podcast thing because this is the first time we've even asked or mentioned following or liking or reviewing or anything. We're very new to this. So we're trying to figure it out.
00:00:50
Speaker
But yeah, that would be super helpful. I looked on Apple Podcasts and we had like five ratings and I was like, oh my gosh, two of those are definite. And then she said two of us. Two of those are definitely me and Amanda because you have to rate your own podcast. We did rate our own podcast. Yeah. You should always be your own biggest supporter as a business owner, I think.
00:01:06
Speaker
Right, exactly. Okay, so what's the TF Foxtrot
Business Updates and Seasonal Preparations
00:01:09
Speaker
Amanda? Let's do a little check in before we dive into our topic. Yeah, so Foxtrot has been busy and the last month or so has been like way more hectic than I think both of us thought it would be, especially considering we actually didn't have a ton of client work.
00:01:23
Speaker
um not like big projects, we ended up booking a lot of like client maintenance work, um just like small things here and there. And that all kind of added up to be way more than we thought it would be on top of like other internal business work we're trying to achieve. yeah So it just got a little crazy and chaotic. So that was kind of rough. But the good side is we actually did get fully booked through the end of the year with client work already started booking for January and February of next year. And that just feels so good to have that like income and just like having those clients booked and established, just knowing we have that security. So I'm really excited about that. The other thing is we are working on getting our Black Friday sale ready. We always do a really good Black Friday sale on all of our education resources for designers. So keep a lookout for that. We'll be posting about that like closer to time, but that's going to be really, really good. Yeah. I feel like things are slowing down a little bit client wise because i've yeah I've been like now web web design, like backto back to back to back.
00:02:19
Speaker
So I'm working my way through these web design timelines and ah we're always just working towards our next break, honestly. like yeah And that's kind of how we set up our like flow of projects throughout the year. So working towards that Christmas break, but I am excited for the Black Friday sale.
00:02:35
Speaker
um Yeah. And just having the space to like work on some new things, put out some new freebies and I don't know, it's just always nice to work towards the end of the year and and have that fresh start. Yeah.
Starting a Design Business: Expectations and Patience
00:02:46
Speaker
Okay. So let's dive in and start talking about how do you even find design clients? So maybe this is like your first clients ever, or maybe you're just in like a slow period of your business and you're like kind of needing to try some new avenues of finding them. We're going to break down all the ways that we've tried and it's been like,
00:03:02
Speaker
We've tried everything, I think. yeah And so we're gonna dive into it. We've tried everything you can do for free, basically. Yeah, yeah, for sure. So we'll break all of that down, go into detail, kind of tell some stories and hopefully you'll find some helpful or like maybe new interesting ways of finding clients you haven't thought about or haven't tried before. um And we'll just kind of give you some encouragement and tips on like how to make it happen. Because I know that putting yourself out there is really scary. And it's not easy. So hopefully we can help guide you through that.
00:03:32
Speaker
so When it comes to finding clients, especially your first ones, I think you really need to start with like setting proper expectations for yourself about like how starting your business is going to go and how um whether you're starting a business or you're just kind of thinking, I'm going to just offer some freelance services, but you need to be realistic about like how quickly you're going to start finding clients and what the process is going to look like. because this is like the number one question we get on social media comments like how do you find clients how do i find clients and you know truly there's not gonna be like an answer of just do this and you'll find clients it's gonna be like you need to set up all these things in your business and then do it consistently for
00:04:15
Speaker
a long time and then you're going to start growing. like We kind of use a metaphor like a snowball. like You're going to have a tiny snowball and then it's going to get bigger and bigger as like people start hearing about you and you start getting referrals and like things will pick up. But it is a slow process at the beginning, which is like not a sexy thing to like say. and I don't think you know people talk about it enough when it when you see like resources about starting a design business because like no one wants to hear that. That is going to take a lot of time and effort, but it is. you know and I think you need to have expectations for that, but also know like it's it's possible. like you You can totally find
Early Business Experiences and Networking Strategies
00:04:52
Speaker
clients. um You just need to know that's going to take time and consistency. and I think also like the the type of clients you're finding or the price point you're booking and that, that's always going to change too. and so Especially if you are a brand new designer, like it may not be realistic that you're going to start booking. 10K projects for your first project, right? like I think sometimes it's like, okay, i'm you know somebody is new and starting out and they're like, I got my website up, I got my Instagram up. Okay, I'm just going to wait for clients to reach out now. And that is just not at all how finding clients it works you know realistically. For most designers when you're starting, the first clients you work with are going to be someone you know or you have a connection to.
00:05:34
Speaker
That is usually how it's going to go because it's kind of a thing you transition yourself into when you start offering services and you need to kind of test it out and you need to practice your skills, even if you um have gone to school for design or you've like taken courses and yourself taught. When it comes to actually working with clients, you need to practice and build your way up to charging a lot of money to people you don't know. Usually, you're not just going to step into doing that. You're going to kind of gradually work your way there. Yeah. so I think when we first started our business, this was like back in 2018, I was still in college. Cass had graduated already. um so It was like my final year. and so
00:06:12
Speaker
We were trying to get this business idea up and running while doing you know our other jobs and everything and going to school. Really hectic. But we had we knew we had to like make time and like be really diligent about finding clients. So we did everything we could think of. And we found some really creative ways to actually like get ourselves out there. So Cass had the great idea to first get involved in our local entrepreneurship center. And I think that was like probably the best thing we really did, getting started. because It helped us get into a place where we could be surrounded by other business owners who were you know far above us in their journeys.
00:06:46
Speaker
and could provide like just you know either mentorship or advice or just like or even potential clients like because we built that like trust with them like just by working with them in the same building every day. They became our first clients. A place where we could meet people. you know and like Because there are always people coming in and out. Be connected to our local community. and like I think basically right after we started our business, we ah as soon as like a couple weeks after we joined the local entrepreneur center, but I remember like immediately starting to reach out to any connection I had that had some kind of business or like brand that maybe we could do some kind of project for it with like very um low expectations about like how much we would like charge for it or what it would even look like. Just being like, hey, we I started this business, Fox Shop branding. This is what we offer. you know Let me know if you need anything, which I think is was a great idea. And I'm glad we didn't like hold off and be like, no, no, no, we need to make sure our website is perfect. or like
00:07:42
Speaker
All these things are set up. When you're a brand new designer, it's never going to be perfect. And it'll never be perfect ever in your journey. But especially when you're brand new, you don't know what the heck you're doing if you've just started a business for the first time. You shouldn't let your perfectionism keep you from starting and reaching out.
00:08:00
Speaker
and Not to say like you shouldn't focus on your website and getting all these things to a great level in your business, you should, but you need to be putting a lot of your energy at the same time into like starting to make these connections because it's just such a long-term process of getting your name out there that you need to start as soon as you can. so I'm really glad we did that.
00:08:21
Speaker
Yeah, we also did like unique stuff like we would we made little postcards and we put some kind of like, you know, just information about who we are and what we do and like there was like a discount code or like $200 off or something like that. And we just like went and like either mail that out or went to local businesses like around the area where that entrepreneurship center was. And we just went door to door and like talk to people and gave them those cards and let them know that we existed and I think people often overlook the importance of like little moments even like that because we've had so many moments like that where we've met someone once or twice but just based on that one interaction even if they don't do not need our services or never work with us they will still refer us or and did to other people that they knew
00:09:03
Speaker
just like that quick interaction was enough for them to build enough trust, like, refer us to someone that they knew. So, yeah, that is worth so much. And I think people nowadays, especially younger people, and like, we were talking about this earlier today, like, we don't want to sound like crotchety old people, like giving like, you know, stuffy business advice, old millennials, Gen Z listening. We're kind of like in between millennial and Gen Z. And so like, we get it. And we're both introverts. We don't love doing all that stuff. We don't love having to go out. But like,
00:09:32
Speaker
you kind of do like if you're gonna be a business owner you kind of do have to like do the hard thing do the cringy thing put yourself out there talk to people it's gonna be embarrassing you're gonna say the wrong thing you're gonna fumble on your words all the freaking time i still do that i did that at a conference yesterday i was like i'm so many years into my business i have all this confidence and yet i still like feel like i can't like talk to strangers at a business conference. Like that's still scary. It never gets like that much easier. Like I guess that's kind of the honest truth. I feel like so many people are like, I don't know. They kind of paint this picture of entrepreneurship. Like everything's going to be like, you know, rainbows and roses and unicorns and everything once you're an expert. And like, I just don't think that's always how it feels. Like even if your business is doing really well, you're still just a person and like marketing is still hard. Networking is hard. Like,
00:10:20
Speaker
Yeah, you're putting yourself
Adaptability in Design Business
00:10:21
Speaker
out there. You're opening yourself up to like judgment and rejection, and that is scary. and that's That's anybody starting anything. like Whether you're a musician putting your music out there or you're a designer putting your services out there, it's a scary thing. so I think like it's okay to acknowledge that, but you also need to know that that is just part of starting a business and starting to offer services. and I think entrepreneurship is such a ah cool thing with so much freedom and flexibility and like really Anybody can become a designer thanks to all of the like awesome resources where you can learn online and like teach yourself. But the caveat is that it does come with like a high level of investment in your time and in your like
00:11:03
Speaker
courage and confidence in the beginning to get it started. That's just part of it. Like if you're going to be your own business owner. Right. I think it's a big difference in being a designer working for someone else and being a designer working for yourself. Yeah. Two totally different skill sets. I think that so many people, I don't know, especially just the comments we'll get on our TikToks and stuff, they're like, I'm not finding clients and Alaska, what have you tried?
00:11:28
Speaker
They haven't tried everything. you know and I'm like, well, you need to put yourself out there more. like You can't expect to get clients if you're not actually putting in all the effort and like trying all these different
Client Acquisition Strategies
00:11:38
Speaker
things. I think so much of entrepreneurship and why we've been successful.
00:11:41
Speaker
is that we have been so adaptable. like We were like, okay, well that didn't work, that failed, try something new. like If you're like letting something fail and then letting it, like or not letting something fail, if something fails and you're letting that like make you feel like you were then a failure and then now you need to quit your business and now you're never gonna get clients, I know it's easy to get thought like caught in those like anxious thought loops, but like if you allow yourself to let that like actually prevent you from moving forward and like making changes in your business and like you're not going to have a successful business. like I think that's just kind of like the the tough love, the hard truth is like you have to just like push through that stuff if you actually want to have a business of your own. Some of the different things we tried, of course, was being in the Entrepreneurship Center, attending those events,
00:12:27
Speaker
attending like networking events. um But I think another one that people forget about is kind of like a more fun and like easy going one is just like going to like non related like, like not work events, where your ideal client might be hanging out. Because I think that's like where a lot of people get tripped up is they're like, I have to be doing all the marketing and all the platforms and go to all the events. But they don't actually think about who their ideal client really is and where they're going. And so I think that's kind of like you need to take a step back and think, okay, well, if my client is someone who like,
00:12:54
Speaker
maybe say your client is like a therapist or like yoga teachers or whatever. I don't know. Think about it. Where are they hanging out? Like a yoga teacher, like they're probably like going to the farmer's market. They're probably like doing outdoors things. Like, I don't know. I'm just trying to think like, where, where are they hanging out? Go and join groups that do that and like join groups that have those people in that and then just like hang out and like make genuine connections and maybe, yeah. And like maybe you'll end up being like a good business partnership for them. You know, like a,
00:13:24
Speaker
If they are your ideal client, you can like pitch your services and I think that could be great. And if they're not, they might know somebody who is a good client for you and you've built that trust and built that connection. So I think like every little like genuine human interaction you have can be beneficial to you in your life. And even if it isn't, at least you had a nice interaction, right? Like that's what life is about too.
00:13:45
Speaker
I think so many people find themselves in this scenario of like, okay, I think it'd be really cool to shift to starting my own design business. So I'm going to um make an Instagram for myself. I'm going to put up a website. And then they're like, I post on Instagram every day for a month and like, nothing's come of it. And it's like,
00:14:02
Speaker
Yeah, that makes sense because ah you've been trying one marketing endeavor of posting on Instagram, but like what is your marketing plan? Your marketing plan cannot be making Instagram and a website and and posting every day. That is not an effective marketing plan for starting a business. You need to make a full plan of like all these things you're going to try and um see see what works and then you know pivot from what is not working. so Amanda, you made a really good TikTok recently about like all these different ways, practical ways you can try to
00:14:35
Speaker
Find clients so I think we could like kind of go through these this list of marketing endeavors that um you can try definitely like you're not going to be able to do all of them I think a solid marketing plan is picking a realistic number of things you can do to consistently and then like being very consistent with them for more than one month. you know Expect to be consistent for probably like a year in your business before you're getting consistent inquiries and booking consistent projects. like It is going to take a lot of time to build this up.
00:15:10
Speaker
Okay, so we'll give you some quick tips on like if you want to create your own marketing plan, what you can be doing consistently, um give you some ideas of things that we've done. so Again, like I said, set a realistic like list of things you can do and also make sure you're aware of like who your ideal client is and like where they are online. like Don't be putting a lot of marketing efforts on TikTok if your client is like probably not on TikTok. Just like have some awareness about who they are, where they are,
00:15:36
Speaker
and then and start by like reaching out to all of your business connections that you have, any like friends and family who may need something small. like Our first client ever was like a friend of Cassidy's who needed a website and a brand for her blog, and we charged $200. That was great. That was a great way for us to test work together and like test our project process. and like The rest of the things on this list, like they'll kind of be like, you know take it or leave it or you know find the things that you can do consistently, but I do think reaching out to your existing connections is something that everyone should do when they're first starting a business. Yeah. And don't be afraid of like annoying people. like I feel like some people are like, oh, I don't want to like reach out to like my friends or family or even like acquaintances. like But I think you should. Again, like you have to like embrace the cringe a little bit if you're going to start a business and start posting online. Especially if you're coming from an offensive place. It's not cringe. I know it feels it.
00:16:25
Speaker
I mean, if it can feel that way. But if you're coming from a place of like, I'm doing something I'm really passionate about, I feel like I can really help other businesses. this These are my creative strong suits, like that will that will show to people like we know we were talking about going into actual businesses, we're not being some like,
00:16:43
Speaker
sleazy, dropshipping, marketing, I don't know, like, you know, kind of salesy person in that way. You're being an authentic like service provider who wants to help other businesses and people will see that and they won't be like cringed out or like annoyed by it if you come at it from that angle.
00:16:58
Speaker
Yeah. And I know it can feel hard to like feel like you have that presence, like especially if you are younger or newer and you may not feel like, oh, I'm an expert who can even like, how do I even know I can help them? But I think that's like what we try to remind designers of all the time is that like even if you are a newer or younger designer, like if people are coming to you for your services, that still means that your services have value to them. like You're still doing something helpful that they can't do themselves or don't want to do.
00:17:24
Speaker
don't have the time to do for whatever reason. So don't like doubt yourself. I think it's so easy to doubt yourself as a new designer. But yeah, like going to in-person networking events or even like unrelated events where your ideal client may be hanging out and just making genuine connections. You can also join online business groups. So this may be like a Facebook group, maybe it's on circle, maybe it's on Discord. um And it could be like other designers who are asking for like white label work or referral partnerships, or it could be other business owners um who are your ideal clients.
Marketing and Sales Techniques
00:17:55
Speaker
And I don't recommend going into like a Facebook group and like,
00:17:58
Speaker
you know posting yourself usually there's rules that like you cannot promote your own services but they will allow you to link your own website if someone is asking for a designer so that is actually how we got a ton of clients when we first started especially because like i feel like at the time even for newer designers i think we had a pretty good website at the time for where we were at and really good like clear messaging, clear services. And so we would post on like every Facebook post we saw where people were asking for designers and we got a lot of those clients. And I think because we put in that effort and made sure that our like messaging and branding was really good and really clear, we stood out amongst a lot of the other designers. I mean, there would be like 30 to 50 people commenting and we would win that client. And so I think if you're setting yourself up, so you can be like ahead of others, then you will be more likely to to get those clients.
00:18:45
Speaker
and It's the same philosophy as talking to people locally or in person as online. like You're making those connections and maybe the person that commented looking for a designer isn't going to work with you, but somebody else in the group saw your website and decided to take a look. or Yeah, I've heard that too. it's just It's just about another way to put yourself out there, another way to meet other business owners, and that's going to be an investment in the long-term marketing for your business. Yeah.
00:19:10
Speaker
So especially with long-term marketing, of course, like posting consistently on social platforms where it makes sense for you and your business and your clients. and Maybe choose like one, two, or three different places to go. um But even like one is enough. like One is difficult enough to maintain. So just like do what you can do. This also depends like if you have some other job that you're currently working while you're trying to build your business. you know like do Do what feels like realistic for you right now.
00:19:34
Speaker
and what's going to pay off the most. I think sometimes a lot of us revert to being like, well, I'm going to post on Instagram or post on TikTok, and that's going to be an important part of my marketing plan. But like maybe that's actually not going to be what's bringing you the most clients. like I think you really need to ah think about your reach, you know, what's going to help you reach the most people, what's going to bring in the right people, like Amanda said. So some some of these things you'll try. And if you're not seeing traction from it, or it's not feeling worth your time, you might want to focus on other areas because there's not one right way to organically market your design business. It's not all on social media, there might be
00:20:10
Speaker
other places you want to invest your time and and resources. Yeah, it's going to be adaptable. Another way we really like doing is, and we did this more so when we first started, we don't do it as much now, but just um finding like your ideal clients online. So whether it's you know Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, wherever, but just like follow them, start engaging with their content, just posting like genuine um comments or compliments, questions, whatever, just engaging with them.
00:20:37
Speaker
And after a while, once you feel like it's maybe been like a couple days or a couple weeks, whoever feels right for you, and you think that like, okay, they've definitely acknowledged like they see that you exist, you've like built somewhat of an online connection, then that is when you can then go to sending like a warm email. And now we call this a warm email, not a cold email, because we are not a fan of like cold emailing or cold DMing people where you have like, no foundational connection, nothing at all, no relationship established, they have no idea who you are. And you're just out there like,
00:21:06
Speaker
Please hire me, though. Yeah, I think we've all gotten those messages. like you know Sometimes we'll get messages like, hey, girly, love what you're doing. like I feel like we have a really strong connection about this. knowm like I've never seen you before. Never heard of you. Your message feels like way over the top, feels really on inauthentic. You copy and paste it to everyone. like Nobody wants to get a message like that.
00:21:27
Speaker
Yeah, so what we like to do is like build those genuine connections first, following them. And like even if they never become a client, you still follow them and engage. like If it's someone you genuinely like, or like like their business, like their product, services, whatever, like cool. You know you should be engaged with them and create that like connection. um But I think it's really great to send that warm email. And in the warm email, you know where we know that we've had like somewhat of a connection established, that they're aware of who we are. But we'll just like introduce ourselves again.
00:21:55
Speaker
Maybe we'll share our services and then like share one or two ways that we think we could actually like help them, like a specific thing. And we'll also to try to complement something we think they're doing really great and then also share something we can do to help them. Hey, I see you like sell this type of product. like That's something I personally love or feel you know really connected to. fine And that's why it's important to find like the right leads because basically what this is is Finding leads and pursuing leads for yourself like when you're researching businesses online or on social media turn like out to you in human way and like a nice way not yeah i'm copying and pasting this message and i sound like a bot kind of way.
00:22:32
Speaker
Right. Because it's hard because yes, like you have to be you have to use some sales techniques of finding leads and reaching out to leads. You cannot be passive. You have to be active in finding people to work with. But at the same time, you know we're so saturated with like gross salesy stuff of people who obviously feels like they're only talking to you because they want to work with you. I don't think it's necessarily that. like It's not just like talking to you because they want to work with you. It's like talking to you because they want your money. like That kind of feel. like i feel like you can feel that from some people online. And I think that's where like we really want to take the stance of like we do want to work with you. We do want you to like hire us for our services, but because like we genuinely
00:23:13
Speaker
feel and know that we can like help your business and that helps their life and that helps our life. like Again, just bring it back to that human connection. like We all just want to like live good lives and do what we're passionate about and like that's what I want to help our clients achieve. um I think that's like kind of the attitude you should have about sales. It doesn't need to be icky. If you're actually doing what you're saying you're saying you're doing, like it's icky to do marketing and sales if you're trying to sell something just to get money and you're not You know, bring any return for them, right? That's a good clarification. So that list of like making connections, posting on social, all those different marketing things you can do. You want to build yourself a marketing plan from that list. Do that very consistently. Expect that it's going to take many months of being consistent to start building that like snowball of, of clients who want to work with you. But if you do it consistently, like you are going to start getting inquiries. Um, so.
00:24:06
Speaker
that is half of you know working with clients and building your business. You're going to have those inquiries, but then you need to make sure you have like processes and things in place to be able to book those clients and like not lose those leads because those leads are so valuable. You worked so freaking hard for those leads.
00:24:24
Speaker
Make sure you have stuff set up in place. So this is the like what the fuck to do next part of the topic So we want to make sure we touch on some of the most like important parts of our process that have helped us um Actually book and convert about 80% of the leads that we bring in. Mm-hmm Yeah, I think like when we first started our business, we were pretty much running everything through emails. And that got really cluttered and messy. Like we did not have a like sales call, scripts or anything. So like our calls were kind of messy. I don't even know, like sometimes we didn't even do calls at first. It was just like emails and just trying For like inquiries, we were using a Squarespace form, which is like, you you could do that.
Client Management with HoneyBook
00:25:05
Speaker
But I think we were like literally getting the Squarespace form submissions and then replying and the subject of the reply would be like new form submission, um you know, whatever their name was. And so it just, it didn't look very professional. I just got messy in emails, you know, like, yeah, it was organized. It was a mess. Not very professional, like, which definitely makes like, I think like, when you
00:25:28
Speaker
start working with clients, you start building your business and then you start like actually going and you see like, Oh, I have these like kind of holes in my process. And like, it makes you feel insecure because like it isn't up to par maybe with like where you want to be. It's not as professional as you would like. And so I think like once we made the investment to like, you you know, build some tools, like I think once we like invested in a CRM, like our confidence skyrocketed, right? Because they were like, okay, great. Like now we have like this like super streamlined platform to use.
00:25:55
Speaker
we can have inquiries come through in a professional way, we can set up email templates, we can have all these templates for like our proposals and voices contracts, all these things in one place. And that place, which we you love, we're huge fans of is HoneyBook. So we've been using HoneyBook for like years. And it's honestly been so helpful. And again, where we got that stat too, is like we can actually look at our real numbers and see Where are our inquiries coming from? How many of them are we booking? like What's our conversion and booking rate? We've been able to see that our booking rate is now 80%. It was certainly far lower than that when we were just like using our email inbox to like try to book clients. and
00:26:35
Speaker
Onward clients and run projects. Like that was such a mess. And I think it really did reflect poorly on us a little bit. And I don't want to like shame anyone if that's the process you're using right now. Like we're all starting somewhere, right? But I think if you have, like, if you do have some startup budget or even like, I mean, honestly, HoneyBook is not that expensive and we do have a little discount code. For all the tools it has, I don't think it is. For everything it has, like relatively for what it has and for like the annual subscription, it's very affordable for a business and we do have a discount code.
00:27:01
Speaker
And so you can find that in the the notes for this podcast episode. Yeah. but So i a CRM is client relationship management software. Basically for us, a CRM is going to take care of all of our leads. So anyone who inquires and then getting us to the point of officially booking that client and sending them a welcome guide, like everything that goes into that process. And there's a lot of different things. so The newest thing HoneyBook has rolled out is their template marketplace. So they have like these things called smart files where you can make proposals out of them, invoices, welcome guides,
00:27:34
Speaker
everything you would need for a client management and what makes it smart too is just like it has like the fill in the blank things like it brings in your like client content and information from their inquiry and it just like makes everything so much easier. Yeah, it links to all the information. It's just it makes things very automated and saves you a lot of time. um and They used to have like kind of their own just little simple library of templates, but now they have partnered with some creators to make like really elevated and and beautiful templates. and We're actually one of the HoneyBook template partners. so We have turned our templates that we use into templates on the marketplace that
00:28:11
Speaker
you can now purchase um when you have a HoneyBook subscription. So we'll talk about a few of these and we'll also have links to all of them, but that is something that's been super cool that we can now share these because we've wanted to share these for so long since they're such an important part of our process. I guess just like bird's eye view, like what do we have? What do we use HoneyBook for? There's inquiry form. and There's email templates that we can plug in. So we'll have like auto responses for if a client inquiry is a good fit, if they're not a good fit, if we need more information.
00:28:38
Speaker
I also really like like the project pipeline. So you can set up and see like, okay, we have like two people in the inquiry box, we've got one person who needs to be followed up with again, we have one person who has reviewed the contract, but not paid, like, you can set up and personalize your pipeline. So it just makes it so so much easier, easier to keep track of everything. Because once your business does grow a little bit, and you have like more than one client at a time,
00:29:00
Speaker
you really do need to be able to see like where people are at so you don't lose people and lose inquiries. um Because we've also noticed too, like your inquiry booking rate is much higher if you respond within like 24 hours, if you get them to book within like a week, like that definitely has increased our booking rate for sure.
00:29:17
Speaker
and Honestly, like if you don't have these things in place, you're risking losing this lead that you have that you know might be willing to book like a multi-thousand-dollar project with you.
00:29:29
Speaker
um and if you're sending them you know kind of a an email with typos or that just doesn't say everything it needs to, or you're having to go back and forth and find a time to schedule a call for a million times, or you don't have you're sending like ah a Google Doc proposal that is just not very compelling or not listing all the things or yeah it needs to have. like You're risking losing this client. so A CRM is really, I think, something that like you need to invest in as soon as you can. Yeah, because it honestly helps validate your pricing. It does. If your project systems and your platforms look professional and feel professional and easy for the client, that's going to help validate and make them trust you. because like Why would someone want to pay you $5,000 to $10,000 for a project if you're running the project through emails and things are getting lost through the cracks? like I would not trust my someone with my money if that's how they're running things. and like
00:30:19
Speaker
Again, like I said, if that's like your first clients and you're doing that for like projects where you're maybe charging a few hundred dollars, I get it. We were there too. But if you can get to a point where you can afford a CRM, like, like you said, do it as soon as you possibly can, because that really is going to impact your confidence in raising your pricing and also your potential clients confidence in you. So they actually will like feel comfortable booking.
00:30:43
Speaker
Yeah, and have like ah a great perception of you. Perception and feeling is a huge thing when you're trying to choose someone to work with. So like we have um our inquiry form from HoneyBook that we can embed onto our website and ask all the questions um that we need on there. And then we use the HoneyBook scheduler to set up an intro call and have our sales call with them. And HoneyBook actually has like a little AI note taker now that will join in on your calls and take notes for you on your sales call, which is really neat.
00:31:12
Speaker
um And then from there probably the most important honey book template we use is our proposal um smart file and then the proposal includes obviously like the services we're proposing but we also include a beautiful like cover page information about us our project goals client testimonials and then also the project invoice and contract like all-in-one which I think truly helps the perception of the quality of our services so much when people are like you know for example reaching out from tick-tock they find us on tick-tock and they're like I need a designer let me just see what you know these people are all about but I can I can sense like from when we have when when we first start sending these emails and we we set up the call and then we send the proposal like I can sense that clients are
00:32:01
Speaker
impressed and like feel comfortable and confident with us because we have these really professional documents and systems set up that makes a huge difference. and Even past just like feeling that, you can see it because we'll have clients who are ready to book like the day after we set a proposal or the same day of. and That didn't used to happen. When we first started business, people were a lot more hesitant. and I think it's because we were hesitant. We were not confident. We were we did not have an organized system. we It was hard to trust us, I think. you know and so now we have this and it's just so much easier for people. And it's also like physically easier for them because now they don't have to say, yes, I'm ready to book. And then we're like, great, now let me also then put together your invoice and contract after so then it's like your booking time is not a week or longer, you know, it's like because you're taking so much time. And then if you don't have all these templates already built in, then you're going to spend more time even building them per client.
00:32:55
Speaker
you're wasting so much of your business time. And like, as a business owner and entrepreneur, like time is so important. Whatever you can do to reduce your work time on things that are really not that important for you to be spending all your time on the better, because you need that time to like do your big picture thinking for your business and do your creative work for your clients. So you need to automate and streamline everything else. There's really no reason why you should be spending a ton of time on like proposals, contracts and invoices and all of that.
00:33:22
Speaker
especially when you have a CRM because it'll do it all for you with minimal effort and make your life a lot easier. So after we send the proposal and the client officially books, we also send them a welcome guide, which I think definitely affirms the investment they've just made. And that's a huge part, I think, of having a just an overall great client experience. Because at that at that point, you have booked the client, but then it's on you to really give them the best experience and like validate that investment and then make them feel good about it. So like overall, Birds Eye View.
00:33:53
Speaker
The things you need once you have that client inquiry to book them would be inquiry form for someone to fill out when they're reaching out to you. You want to make sure you have good email templates and like communication. um You need a scheduler to schedule an intro call. I would love to do an episode all about sales calls and intro calls. I think that would be really fun, so um but don't have time to dive into all of that. But um once you have the intro call, then you need to have a great proposal template and a welcome guide. I think those are the essentials. Yeah, I think so too.
00:34:23
Speaker
So you could absolutely you know make these templates on your own. You could be doing this through other platforms. You don't have to do HoneyBook. You can be starting with ah emails. But I think if you're ready to really like level up and like be able to start charging more for your work, I definitely encourage you to check out HoneyBook and check out these templates, especially the HoneyBook template marketplace, which is so exciting.
00:34:43
Speaker
I think having like pre-made templates made by experts who've already like been there, already like gone through all the trial and error. We've already learned all the hard lessons and we've already like put it all in these templates for you to save you the trouble. um I think that'll like save so much time and effort and money and just heartache on your side in the business. So if that's something you're interested in, definitely be sure to check out all of our templates on the HoneyBook Marketplace. We'll be sure to like drop the link in the show notes. um And you can also get our 30% off coupon code for HoneyBook for your yearly subscription as well.
Transitioning from 9-to-5 to Design Business
00:35:15
Speaker
Okay. So before we wrap things up for this episode, we're going to do a listener question. We had a question from um Anna or Anna on TikTok and they said, how many clients do you have in a month? I'm trying to calculate if I'll be able to replace my nine to five income, which I think is like a
00:35:31
Speaker
super common scenario. um Me and Amanda personally started our business not while working at 9 to 5. We were working some like other smaller jobs, but we had like a lot of just dedicated time to put into our business. so This isn't something we've been through personally, but we have worked through this with a lot of other designers and like seen a lot of other designers go through this. so I think it it is going to be a lot of work to like build up your clientele while working a full-time job. So just give yourself patience and like grace and know that it's probably going to take a while to start building up that clientele. I think the advice that I would have too, especially like if you're currently trying to pivot from like a nine to five job to, I don't know if you have the opportunity to go part-time within that job or if it would need to be a hard break. That's something that you'll have to like figure out for yourself too because I don't know your full situation. um But definitely like baseline like things
00:36:23
Speaker
I think is financial security, so do whatever you can to really build up a good um just like emergency savings for yourself. and so Usually, my dad's a financial advisor and he has always advised me to do like three months to six months of living expenses, having that saved up for you know any emergency, but also especially the situation.
00:36:45
Speaker
of like leaving a full-time job you know you need to have a really good cushion and that cushion amount is really up to you this depends on your life expenses um your potential like business expenses and tax rates all of that you need to like do all these calculations um and it also depends on your risk level like your personal risk limit like how much cushion do you need to feel safe Basically, so that's going to be a very personal question for yourself and something that you can explore. So you kind of need to like explore that emotionally, but then also do some real math to find like an actual number for yourself. um And that'll help you determine like, okay, well, how many clients do I need then? At what price point to equal my nine to five income?
00:37:30
Speaker
And so you can be like starting to build that up. If you're able to start booking clients out, maybe you can book them in advance. That would start getting you some payments in now to help bet back up that um savings account. And then you'll know you'll have clients in the future. So maybe that'll make it easier for you to schedule. like When am I going to put in my two weeks notice or whatever? What else Cass? Are there any other good like tips for just like giving yourself that cushion like before you start making that transition?
00:37:55
Speaker
Yeah, I think the question was, like how many clients do you have in a month? you know How many clients and am I going to need to have in a month? I don't think that's going to be one-to-one for designers because you're going to be like having different services, charging charging differently. Your timelines are going to be different. Yeah, I think like the number of clients we have really should not impact the number of clients that you have right because we have very different services. I don't know if you're a web designer, a brand designer. I don't know how much time you have. I don't know what price point you may be at. so how much how many clients we work with is kind of like irrelevant to how many clients you might want to work with. So again, it just comes down to like doing that calculation of like how much does my life cost, how much does my business cost, what are my tax rates, and how much do I need to like live on in order to like start replacing.
00:38:38
Speaker
my income and make that shift or quit my job and then transition or whatever. And so if you want help making this calculation, we have a really great freebie that you can download. um This is our launcher brand and web design business in six weeks free guides. You can find us on our website. Again, we'll put this in the show notes, but in that it has a really great just like checklist on everything you need to do to get your new business up and running, but also includes a calculation that you can follow to calculate what is your base project price. The base project price is not the price you should be charging. This is like the minimum of what you need to cover your life and your business expenses. You should be charging more than that, realistically. But that'll be give you a really good like foundational so like start point because so many people don't even know
00:39:23
Speaker
how much they should be charging or they don't even think about how high like taxes are as a business owner.
Wrap-up and Audience Engagement
00:39:29
Speaker
So you really need to be like doing all that math and that calculation will really help you with that. Okay, we'll wrap it up there. and Be sure to check out the show notes for the link to our HoneyBook templates and to get 30% off your first year of HoneyBook if you want to try it out. And also don't forget to leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and also give this video a like on YouTube. Thank you guys so much for joining us. We look forward to our episode next month. And if you have a question you want us to answer on the podcast, you can leave a comment on this video, leave a comment on the Spotify episode.
00:39:59
Speaker
at this word I love when words just come out totally wrong. You should leave this in. We got to show the people the real stuff, you know? Right. You can leave us ah and a comment on the Spotify episode or you can send us a DM on Instagram. We're at Foxtrot Branding and we will see you guys next time. Bye. Should we do a cheers? teach you Cheers. Cheers.