Graphic design involves creating visual elements, such as logos, websites, and brochures. It’s a key factor in any company’s success. Graphic design, after all, is at the heart of brand identity and experience. In this comprehensive guide you’ll learn how to start a graphic design business or company.
That said, the graphic design industry provides excellent opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs. If you’re the creative type who wants to earn from your great ideas, this post is for you. Here’s how to start a graphic design business that will help you earn those bucks:
1. Develop Your Skills
Graphic design is a broad term encompassing various skills and processes. It requires an understanding of the psychology and marketing behind visual communication. Understanding all the technical aspects of creation and distribution is also necessary.
You need technical skills, too. These include designing logos and branding materials, creating infographics and data visualizations, software skills, and more.
So, do you want to start a graphic design business? Develop your skills first. Remember, if you’re running a business, you need to have something valuable to offer clients. You also need to show you have the edge over others in the business to get those clients in the first place.
We live in a world where data is readily available, and developing your skills doesn’t have to be difficult. You can enroll in graphic design programs or online courses if you’re just starting. Read books on the subject as well. Then, when you can, hone your talents by gaining some experience with a design firm or agency.
You can also understand how to start a graphic design business if you apply for internships or part-time employment to interact with actual clients. You may also want to join graphic design groups, communities, and newsletters. That is an excellent approach to remaining current with industry trends.
Finally, you should also master business skills such as marketing, constructing and maintaining an effective business website, and expanding your presence on social media platforms.
2. Build Your Portfolio
A portfolio is a compilation of your greatest work that shows potential employers (or clients) how competent you are at developing graphics. A solid portfolio will inform potential clients about the type of work you perform, where you’ve worked, and how long you’ve been doing it. You usually publish your portfolio on your website. It’s also a good idea to post some of your work on social media. This is a great way to get some Instagram likes, Facebook comments, and retweets.
Your portfolio should include a list of all the clients you’ve worked with and a summary of each project, including scope, goals, and deliverables. Of course, you must include images or screenshots of the project(s). For example, have examples of your previous logos, brochures, app designs, video ads, and website templates.
It is a good idea to include some personal work showing your creativity and talent. Aries Moross, for instance, has created a stunning graphic design portfolio website that reflects his enthusiasm and talent.
Also, ensure you include examples of your graphics from different industries when you’re starting out. You want to make it clear that you have had experience in multiple fields.
But once you’ve defined your target market (we’ll talk more about this later), you’re going to have to curate your portfolio. It should contain your previous work in an industry you’d like to land a job in.
3. Define Your Target Market
Your target market consists of your ideal clients and what they expect from you as a designer. To define your target market, think about your skills as a designer first. What are the things you’re good at? It’s best to zero in on what you do well since this means you can provide your future clients real value. Plus, the chances of edging out the competition are higher, too.
So, let’s say you decide to niche down on logo-making as a designer. Now it’s time to narrow down your target market. So, will you cater to small and medium businesses only? Will you cater to big corporations? Will you zero in on financial advisory companies or nonprofit organizations?
Your answers to those questions shouldn’t just depend on your personal preferences. They should also depend on your study of the existing market. Let’s say you find the logo design market for small and medium companies has been saturated. You’lll want to avoid that niche and go somewhere else instead.
Once you’ve determined your target market, define your ideal customer profile. The customer profile is what we call the “Who” in marketing. It is significant because it helps you determine how you’ll run your marketing campaigns for your business. The more precise your targeting, the better.
As time goes on, you’ll need to upgrade your understanding of your target market. Your audience could shift, or new participants might join in.
4. Create a Business Plan
A business plan is your success map. It describes your company’s mission, goods and services, competitors, employee structure, financial predictions, and more.
A strong business plan can help you organize your efforts. It also helps you in considering the dangers of starting your graphic design firm and planning for them.
So, before writing a business plan, you must determine your goal as a designer. These could include growing your client base or reaching profitability within a specific timeframe. Make sure your goal is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound.
Break down your goal into a series of objectives. For the goal “to grow the client base in three months,” for instance, your smaller objectives could be to create an email list of X subscribers, create social media presence on Facebook, etc.
Then specify your courses of action to achieve those objectives. Decide, too, how much time and money you will need to put into achieving each objective.
But you have to make sure these specified courses of action are achievable. So, do your research. Ask other graphic designers who managed to put up their own businesses, for example. Check credible sources online so you can properly specify a timeframe for each task.
It helps to plan for the future as well. You can give hypothetical scenarios and specify what you’ll do in such a scenario. For instance, if the business doesn’t take off as planned, what’s your next option?
5. Choose a Business Structure: Start Graphic Design Company
A business structure is a legal entity formed to conduct a company, profession, or other activity. It encompasses its owners’ and members’ assets, obligations, and legal relationships. It demonstrates how you want to manage your firm and how your team members will collaborate.
Additionally, it affects the amount of tax you pay, the liability insurance businesses require, and the documentation required. In other words, you need to choose a business structure for your graphic design business.
The four primary types of business structures are as follows:
- Sole Proprietorship: A sole proprietorship is a one-person business. The owner and the business are not legally separate. Therefore, your income tax return is taxed together with sole proprietorships.
- Partnership: A partnership is a group of two or more individuals who have decided to split ownership and profits of a company. The partnership agreement specifies who owns what percentage of the firm, how profits are split, and when partners can sell their shares.
- Corporation: A corporation is a separate legal body held by shareholders who purchase shares in the firm in return for money or other assets donated to it (or at least one of them).
The corporation has legal rights and obligations, including limited liability for its owners (shareholders).
Corporations must pay federal income taxes on their net earnings, whether distributing them to shareholders as dividends or keeping them as retained earnings to support future development prospects.
- A limited liability company (LLC): An LLC shields its members’ assets from claims related to their business. An LLC, however, may also be taxed similarly to a corporation, which entails paying income taxes and perhaps being subject to the corporate tax rate.
Each choice has benefits and drawbacks
The sole proprietorship, for example, provides less legal protection than other types but is easier to set up and run. An LLC, on the other hand, offers more legal protection. However, because it is regulated differently in different states, it will be more difficult to run and follow. Here is a brief comparison to give you some clarity.
Also, all four business structures have (or don’t have) various fees and criteria attached to them. For example, there is no expense to the owner when forming a sole proprietorship. But, creating an LLC costs between $35 and $500:
So, take your time and carefully consider each option.
6. Set Your Rates: How To Start a Graphic Design Business
Your business’s pricing strategy is its cornerstone. Pricing impacts the clients you’ll work with and the projects you accept. It’s also among the first things prospective customers will consider when determining whether or not to hire you.
How, then, do you determine your prices?
You should estimate how long it will take to accomplish a job. These are your billable hours.
For example, if it takes 8 hours to complete a logo design project, you can bill your client for 8 hours at $100 per hour. Multiply those numbers together and you get $800 — your total price for the project.
Consider the project’s complexity, too. If clients want something super simple and quick, don’t charge them an insane figure. If they want something complicated like a complete website redesign with custom coding and multiple pages, then you may be able to charge more than $1,000 for such a project.
You also want to look at what other businesses in similar industries are charging and then price yourself competitively at a rate that makes sense for your situation.
Moreover, you can contact key personnel in graphic design agencies to get this information. You could message them on platforms like LinkedIn. Alternatively, use email finder tools to get their contact details and send them a message via this channel.
Some companies also publish their rates on their websites. Here’s a Crowdspring example. It offers various price plans dependent on the size of the customer and the service it will offer.
This should help you figure out how much to charge clients. Just bear in mind that you shouldn’t undervalue yourself because you’re new or just starting.
7. Register Your Business: How To Start a Graphic Design Company
Registering your firm provides you with legal protection and access to business resources such as tax breaks and small-business financing.
To register your business, you must first understand the regulations and procedures of your state.
So, start by checking if your state requires you to seek a license. The rules vary. For example, businesses in New Jersey don’t need a general business license but may need an occupational license. As a general rule, in California, you need a general business license.
Call the state office, and they’ll tell you what forms are required and how much they cost. For example, you must file a limited partnership certificate to form a limited partnership. Here is an example of the form.
Once you’ve registered your graphic design business in your state, you’ll want to get an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) for tax purposes. You may apply for free using the SS-4 form via the IRS’s online portal, mail, or fax, or have an attorney fill out the documents for you.
EIN will also allow you to pay taxes on behalf of your business instead of paying them yourself as an individual taxpayer (which would be very expensive).
8. Market Your Business
The graphic design business is a competitive field. You must know how to market it to succeed. Now, there are different ways to go about this. But first, create a blog or website. This is very important because your website will be the anchor for all other marketing campaigns.
Use your website to blog about relevant topics within your niche. This helps establish your authority and win customer trust. You’ll also need to work with an SEO agency to ensure maximum visibility for your website.
Here are some additional tips on marketing your graphic design business:
- Network with other designers and artists.
- Join professional associations and groups.
- Be active and share your work on social media sites like Twitter, Flickr, and Facebook.
- Offer freebies like fonts and templates to build goodwill and generate leads
Before starting any marketing campaign, it’s worth doing a competitor analysis and researching what works and what doesn’t. This will help you determine what strategies to double down on and which ones to shun.
In Closing
Many people ask how to start a graphic design business. In summary, if you have the right tools and knowledge, it’s just a matter of putting your effort into the right areas before you start seeing success.
Follow the steps in our guide:
- Develop your skills
- Build your portfolio
- Define your target market
- Create A Business Plan
- Choose A Business Structure
- Set Your Rates
- Register Your Business
- Market Your Business
Once you’ve done this, all that’s left for you is to create beautiful designs showcasing your clients’ vision. Do this consistently, and your delighted clients will help you land even more clients. Good luck.