“Unless the CEO is unusually unpretentious and personable, his or her appearance in an ad may look like a grab for the customer’s money.”

“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half."

Instead of your project being a neat and tidy two-week turnaround, it extends into a third, fourth, and fifth week.

Tough questions aren’t fun to slog through while you’re in the dreaming phase—but they’ll save you hundreds of wasted hours and wasted dollars.

A shrewd business person might wonder why I don’t ask for their rates first, so I can get the best deal. “What if you overpay?” they wonder

As creative people, we see our client’s content and we imagine all the ways it could be better or more innovative. So we pitch these big ideas, full of possibility and risk, then wonder why these clients don’t hire us.

“Selling a diagnostic logically increases your odds of success” Enns says. “It’s easier for the client to commit to the briefer, less expensive diagnostic than it is to fully commit to the longer, more expensive project.”

What if dreaming about getting rich is the very thing keeping you from getting rich?

Instead of waiting for your client to pay on a net-30 timeline, you can apply and get paid out in minutes. They’ll only take a 3% fee for doing so…

It’s easy to be envious in this business. As creatives, our work is so visible, our clients are status symbols, and our lifestyles are showcased to prove we’re legit.

For decades, if you wanted someone to distribute your content to their audience, you had to pay them to do it. Not anymore.

Sales don’t just happen. They are an alchemy of need, trust, value, clarity, visibility, and a call-to-action. 

A “productized service” is a bit of a buzzword these days, in large part due to a viral YouTube video about a graphic designer with a business called DesignJoy. But are they legit?

This pipeline of brand to agency to production company to freelancer carries a set of issues. Namely, if someone changes their mind, who pays for it?

I struggle telling people what I want to accomplish, asking for favors, and talking about unfinished projects.

There’s a bellcurve of efficiency in creative projects. Working too slow creates waste. Working too fast creates waste, as well.

When you run your own business, it’s difficult to decipher which tasks you should be doing, and which tasks you should be outsourcing.

It’s interesting to consider underlying incentives. Everyone says they’ll work quickly while prioritizing good work. Eventually, they lean toward one or the other. 

If your business becomes famous tomorrow, and clients are kicking in your door to work with you, what is the most amount of money you could make with your current model?

When I started my career, I was obsessed with the idea of setting up multiple income streams. Looking back, I can describe what was going on with two words: fear and distraction.