5 Tips to Consider When Pricing Your Design Services

If you plan to move from being a hobbyist designer to being the creative CEO of a design business, then you definitely need to understand how to price those services appropriately. Charging for interior design services is one of the most challenging hurdles for designers. Did you know that 77% of businesses fail because they…

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A Little Financial Knowledge Goes a Long Way

One of the biggest financial issues preoccupying many creatives is determining the value of what they’re worth. Curiously, far fewer creatives concern themselves with knowing what their business is worth. That’s a shame, because they could be earning a lot more if they had just a little bit of financial knowledge. In control or driving…

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Making Friends with Your Financials

In case you read the title, shuddered and were about to move on – wait!  Instead, write down what brings you joy or, “what makes your heart sing”, and then think about how money would benefit that.  A variety of sources identify the two core motivators that drive our decisions as love and fear.  Ensuring…

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Planning for Profit

It’s called the bottom line, but for a business owner it should be top-of-mind.  I’m talking about net profit, the money that you get to keep after all the bills, salaries, taxes, insurance, and other expenditures have been paid.  If you’re not reaping a healthy profit for your labors, you’re probably underpaid and you could…

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How to Develop Financial Confidence

Fear of numbers.  It sounds silly, doesn’t it?  Yet that’s what designers often say to me is why they don’t pay more attention to their business’s financial statements.  They find the numbers intimidating or confusing.  They don’t understand what all those columns and accounting terms mean.  They’d rather let a bookkeeper or CPA keep watch…

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What Does Financial Freedom Mean to You?

For some people, financial freedom means being debt-free.  For others, it means having enough money to pay the bills and a little bit extra to cover emergencies.  Still others seek long-term financial security and have built up reserves of cash and investments to hedge against unforeseen future expenses.  And then there are those for whom…

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Planning for Profitability in 2021

Does your bottom line show that your business is profitable? Not the gross revenue but your net profit – what you take home after all your costs have been covered. If your answer was “no” – then you are not alone. Amex stats show that only 40% of businesses are considered profitable – and even…

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Cash Flow is the Lifeblood of Your Business – Keep it Healthy

When I ask creative business owners what they think they need to run a successful business, they almost always say more clients or better projects. Rarely do they mention help managing their finances. Yet, eight out of ten small businesses run into trouble or fail because of poor cash flow management. That’s right; it’s not…

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Stick to Guidelines to Qualify for Loan Forgiveness

Chances are if you’ve recently applied for a Payroll Protection Program (PPP) small business loan, you’ve yet to get a decision on your application or you’ve been told it’s on hold because the lender has run out of funds. Congress is now very close to approving additional funding to revive the program, this time with…

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How to Apply for Federal Small Business Assistance

There’s been some confusion as to what, how and when designers can apply for assistance offered through the recently enacted CARES federal COVID economic relief bill. Here is some basic information to help you get started. Also, download a copy of The Small Business Owner’s Guide to the CARES Act, which contains more detailed information…

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