2023 Q1 Recap
When I was first navigating the waters of freelance life back in 2015, all of my favorite designers were dead ends. No one I reached out to responded to my questions and if they did they would basically tell me to “Google it.” I vowed that if I ever figured out what I was doing – if I ever found my footing –I would be an open book. 8 years later, I have learned a lot of hard lessons. I have made a lot of mistakes. I have mentored a lot of new designers. And I truly want to help you however I can.
One of the primary things I remember pondering, as I went to work each day in my nonprofit job, was … okay so how much money are these people ACTUALLY charging for client work? At the time I had fought tooth and nail to get my salary to $50,000 and I knew I couldn’t quit until I had lined up that much money in reliable client work (thank you, retainers!). But even to this day, I think it’s the one thing everyone wants to know but will never ask. I will sometimes even get inquiries from other designers who I know are just looking to receive my pricing. It always makes me laugh because honestly – I will just tell you! No complicated faux backstory required!
Something important to note is that for the past 18 months I have been running my business as lean as possible. I did not renew my commercial office lease, I no longer hire contractors (instead, I refer clients to them directly, a win-win for all parties), and my goal has been to operate my business in a very simple way. I have two young children and to be honest… I just don’t want to be responsible for anyone else! I want to be able to say “I’m taking July off” and just book no work and not have people’s salaries to worry about. Some might say – well if you built an agency you could take the month off… and still make money! And while that is definitely true, I have done that and quite frankly, I just didn’t enjoy it. I don’t love the creative director role. I love making things. Being in the trenches. Doing the work. No shade to creative directors, they are brilliant. It’s just not the job for me! In my current business structure I take home over 75% of the revenue I generate for my studio. I am doing the absolute most with the least and it. feels. amazing! With those additional funds I am able to invest in hiring small businesses that make my life easier and our family’s life better (think childcare, housekeeping, speech therapy, health coach, etc.) – rather than pursuing a business structure that makes me more stressed, overwhelmed, and frenetic.
So here are some numbers from a one-woman studio operating for about 26-30 hours per week.
Q1 NUMBERS at a glance:
Projects Completed: 15
New Clients: Zero! Thus far in 2023 I have been 100% booked with returning client work and have not been able to take on any new clients. This is THE DREAM for me, but I am looking forward to bringing a few new brands into the fold beginning this spring.
Highest Q1 Billed Project: Visual Branding • $8,500
A Few Other Pricing Examples: Food Packaging ($1,500, one box) • Brand Mark ($6,000) • Food Packaging ($750, one label) • Food Packaging ($5,500, one bag)
Lowest Q1 Billed Project: $150 (Do NOT sleep on small jobs, guys! All those $150–500 invoices add up!)
Highest Quoted Project: $35,000 – For a larger commercial haircare brand – Didn’t book this one!
The good and the bad
Lows:
• I have a client whose project timeline has expanded to nearly a year and I have spent significantly more hours on the project than I originally budgeted for. The structure I use for visual branding is initial design round and two rounds of revisions, which we have stuck to, but the months between edits has just made everything feel a little disjointed.
• Failed to relaunch my course, Design Retainer Bootcamp, in March as I had planned. I felt particularly terrible about this because I had promised many people who were waiting to enroll that it would reopen in March. (It will now reopen on May 3).
• Sick children. Is it spring yet???
Highs:
• Not really related to client work, but I signed contracts for three new books, including the sequel to my children’s book! Good Night, World – I Love You So will arrive in 2025! (You’re the first to know!)
• Simplifying my work structure has really paid off. Things just feel very manageable lately. Especially working with only returning clients – it is THE best. I have an established relationship with them, there’s no onboarding, the work flow is efficient and effective. It makes my days peaceful and fulfilling. Truly a dream come true.
• Started working one on one with a health coach. I can hardly believe it but I am at the one year postpartum mark. I am physically recovered from my c-section but I was excited to do something to kick start my return to training (for golf) and just overall health and well-being. I am loving it so far!
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I hope you found this peeling back of the curtain helpful. Feel free to drop any questions you have below!