Running a Design Business: Starting Small

Course details

Learn how to transition your freelance design career into a full-fledged business, one step at a time, in this installment of Running a Design Business. Petrula Vrontikis, founder of her own design firm, explains how to parse the legal options, business licenses, and tax ramifications that come with starting a small business; hire subcontractors and employees; get work; and maintain good business relationships. The course also points to important trends in the industry that your office might want to embrace, such as virtual partnerships that allow you to nimbly collaborate, and common small business challenges that you want to make sure to avoid.

Learning objectives
Naming and structuring your business
Keeping records
Cultivating business relationships
Hiring employees and subcontractors
Creating schedules and managing deadlines
Understanding industry trends
Avoiding the pitfalls of spec work
Promoting your business through social media

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Welcome
02 - Disclaimer
03 - About this course
04 - Exercise files

1. A Solid Foundation

05 - Starting for all the right reasons
06 - Balancing accountability and creativity
07 - Defining realities and roles
08 - Nine steps to developing a business plan

2. Structure and Form

09 - Understanding your options for legal structure
10 - Creating partnerships
11 - Naming your design office
12 - Project management and workflow
13 - Record keeping
14 - An overview of business licenses

3. Getting Work

15 - Business development methods
16 - Self-promotion - Overview
17 - Website considerations
18 - Using social media

4. Developing Contracts

19 - Estimating basics
20 - An outline of contract structure
21 - Terms and conditions basics
22 - Tracking and billing revisions
23 - The pitfalls of spec work

5. Keeping It Running

24 - Getting a great start
25 - Effective correspondence methods
26 - Learning to say no
27 - Getting paid
28 - Strategies for nonpayment situations
29 - Hiring employees

6. The Trends

30 - New business models
31 - The new designer-entrepreneur
32 - Cross-disciplinary work
33 - A commitment to social and environmental causes

7. Looking Ahead

34 - Career sustainability
35 - Setting creative goals

Conclusion

36 - Next steps