Articles

How to Start Your Own Video Production Company

by Christina Hamlett, Demand Media

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If you are a creative storyteller and know your way around camcorders and filmmaking software, starting your own video production company is a way to not only call your own shots but make a modest income, too. In addition to flexible working hours and diversity of clients and assignments, video production is a business you can launch with a relatively small amount of capital as well as promote easily via the Internet and customer referrals. Prior coursework in screenwriting and filmmaking is highly recommended along with an internship, apprenticeship or assisting at a local access studio to gain hands-on production experience.

Step 1

Identify what type of video projects you want to produce and how you want to structure your business. Sarah Caldwell, author of "Jumpstart Your Awesome Film Production Company," explains that you can go solo, form a partnership, become a full-service company or work on a project-specific basis. If, for example, your videography focus is on weddings and special events, you could probably get by with being a one-person operation. In contrast, project-specific contracts such as documentaries or PR campaigns may require you to recruit different talents for short-term assignments. Partnerships are generally practical as a way to pool resources and expand the scope of services you can provide your target demographic.

Step 2

Draft a business plan that addresses your short- and long-term goals for the company, projected expenses for a soundproof studio workspace, equipment, utilities, software, telecommunications, transportation, insurance, payroll and marketing. The more detailed and realistic your business plan, the greater likelihood of receiving grant money, commercial loans and startup capital from investors to put your dreams into action, says Gunnar Erickson, author of "The Independent Film Producer's Survival Guide: A Business and Legal Sourcebook." Discuss with your attorney the advantages of being a limited liability company vs. a sole proprietorship to protect your personal assets.

Step 3

Choose a name for your video production company and register it with your state's registrar agency. You'll also need to acquire a business license by paying the applicable fees, posting a doing-business-as ad in the local paper and opening a business bank account. Design a professional website that describes your services, lists your rates and fees and provides sample clips of your work. In addition to shooting live footage for your clients, you may also want to include copying DVD's, creating digital photo albums and assisting in scriptwriting. Use online print companies, such as VistaPrint, to create your business cards, postcards and brochure mailers.

Step 4

Promote your video production business by writing articles and blogs, distributing your cards and brochures to local companies, nonprofits, schools and print shops, placing ads in local newspapers, and utilizing social networking channels. Join your city's chamber of commerce and get on the speakers' roster for neighborhood clubs to chat about what you do. Trade banners with vendors in related industries.

Things Needed

• Camera equipment
• Film editing software
• Computer
• Lights
• Microphones
• Tripod
• Soundproof studio space
• Website
• Business cards

How to Start a Web Design Business From Home

There has never been a better time to start a web design business. Although the western world’s economy is stagnant and demand flat the opportunities for entrepreneurs are enormous. If you have a passion and love for the internet, you can do it.
You don’t need a lot (in fact you just need a laptop, phone, electrical supply and decent internet connection) but here’s what I’ve learned in the last few years.

Business

In order to have a successful web design business you need to attract good clients. Trust me, the attitude of “any client is a good client” will not get you very far. By all means, give the same great service to all clients both big and small, but you will need regular and quality work and you are more likely to get this from quality clients. And “quality clients” are usually – but not always – from quality companies.
Either way, you need to look, talk and act professionally at all times. You will never get anywhere by being “cheap and cheerful”.

• Open your own business bank account with your business’s name. If you set yourself up as a freelance, you’ll earn a freelance wage. The bigger and more professional your company looks, the better it will be for you.
• Design your own logo. I’ve found designing my own logo to be one of the hardest jobs ever but it has to be done. Put this logo everywhere: on your invoices; your contracts; in your email signature.
• Purchase a domain and use it for your website and email address. If you want to be taken seriously you must purchase you own domain (from GoDaddy or NameCheap, for example) and then have an email address which is you@yourdomain.com.
• Build your own website advertising your services. You will need to spend a lot of time on this. I would advocate using WordPress for your business website and use a blog to attract business.

The paint is never dry on a designer’s logo or website. You should be continually looking for ways to improve your website as it is the hub of your brand. If you haven’t started blogging then start now. Write about what you do – it’s a fantastic way to get clients from long tail keyword searches.

How to get clients

Getting clients and establishing a steady work flow is the hardest and most important challenge your web design business will face. Your best clients are your current clients as you will find people will come back to you after you’ve done a good job for them. But, how do you start the ball rolling?

• Attract clients through your website. This is the best way to do it. Work hard on SEO and building links to your website with “web designer” in the anchor text. Make sure all your online activity points back to your website. Nurture your relationships with other designers as well as with potential clients online.
• Get work through social media. To be honest, I have never got much work from Twitter or LinkedIn, however I have found developing relationships on social media with designers and other professionals indispensable in terms of what it’s taught me.
• Meet potential clients offline by joining professional groups. As much as I’ve had great success getting clients online, you can never beat face-to-face interaction. It may take you a while to find out which where your potential clients will be hanging out but the Meetup website can help.
• 3rd party sites. I’ve never been a big fan of these sites and I certainly don’t use them myself but other people do so I will mention a few here. Try PeoplePerHour, oDesk and Elance.

The best network is your network. Most business comes from contacts you already have. But constantly strive to attract potential clients by performing well in the search engines for certain keywords.
You may like to read my survey on how designers work, how they find clients and how they get paid.

Skills

I can’t tell you here how to design a website. You do need technical and creative skills. But, surprisingly, these are NOT the most important skills you need.

• Listening to and understanding clients. The most important skill is your ability to master client relationships. You need to put yourself in the client’s shoes and deliver exactly want the client wants and no more and no less. Lots of designers suffer as they think they know what’s best for the client. The first rule of graphic design is to listen. Don’t ever get carried away with your talent and think that you know everything.
• Understanding the web and UI. The reason you are doing this job is because you have a love of the internet. Make sure you harness that love correctly. Always think of the users as well as the client when you are designing.
• Creativity. You shouldn’t only be creative in your designs to develop your style. You should be creative in your relationships, your marketing and every possible area of your business life. Don’t get stale and always look for fresh challenges.
• Ability to write well for the web. Another skill that is not often mentioned is the ability to touch type and write well for the web. Your clients will thank you if you re-write areas of their website so that they work better and you need to always write good English with correct spelling and grammar in your emails.
• Technical skills. At the very least you will need to master HTML and CSS as well as a graphics program such as Photoshop or Fireworks. HTML shouldn’t take you long to master. CSS will take a little longer. Use Firebug in Firefox and Developer Tools in Chrome and Internet Explorer to give you a start. You may like to progress onto JavaScript, PHP, or whatever you are interested in. Try W3Schools for tutorials. The trick is to keep learning. And not just about website design – it’s about designing email, mobile sites and apps for iPhone, Android and iPad.

Tools

I did a survey recently and discovered some interesting facts about the hardware, software and backup graphic designers use. Certainly everyone’s different. Don’t worry, you don’t have to use Macs but unfortunately most of them use Creative Suite.

• Hardware – The type of computer you get is largely up to you. I’ve been very happy using iMacs for the last few years. I also need a PC for testing. I would urge you to max out your RAM, disc space and broadband connection, but … we all have our budgets!
• Software – Although it is perfectly possible to run a design business with no software at all I wouldn’t recommend it. Most of us use some sort of text editor (Dreamweaver, TextMate), some sort of graphics program (Photoshop) and some sort of FTP client (Filezilla).
• Backup – Not strictly necessary, but incredibly handy. I would advise backing up onsite with an external drive and offsite with something like Dropbox.

Self motivation

Personally, I couldn’t think of anything better than working for yourself at home so I’ve never found motivation a problem.
However, for some people it is and you can learn how to work from home successfully by exercising and organising your time properly.

Collaboration

Since you are working in splendid isolation it’s always great to meet up with other web designers. You can moan about Microsoft together (very therapeutic), exchange jobs and help each other out with bugs and other problems. I have this relationship with Derek Kirk who lives near me in north London. Derek runs a couple of great sites called creative web design and web designers London.
It’s also good to form partnerships with all sorts of professionals and experts. These are great as a sounding board for ideas and to exchange advice and work. Try to network on behalf of your clients as well as on behalf of your other contacts.

Payment

Don’t forget at the end of the day you are running a web design business to get money. Whether you are charging fixed-rate fees or hourly/daily/weekly rates you should be charging at least twice as much as you would earn in a normal job to complete the same task. You will never be able to do web design for 8 hours a day so the charging structure should reflect this.
Make sure the price as well as the nature and extent of a web design job is properly recorded in emails or in a contract. You may like to insist on half the fee upfront with new clients.

Finding and developing your niche

As with most design work you may want to specialise into a certain type of client or a certain type of web work. This may come as a result of your passions or you may be moved in a certain direction by the tide of work that comes your way. Whilst it’s good to specialise you should always be alert to the new developments and opportunities within the industry.

Diversify and outsource

There are many ways to diversify your design business. You can offer your clients hosting, social media packages, email marketing, website maintenance, SEO services, copy writing, etc. you can branch out into a host of different directions. If you are asked to do something by a client it is usually a good idea to say “yes”. This way you can get paid to learn a new skill. Sometimes it may be possible to outsource new services.

You can do it!

I’ve wanted to write this article for ages and I’m very glad I’ve written it. I would really love to see you, the person who is reading this, try to earn money this way because it certainly beats working for somebody else.
You can start anywhere, anytime, anyhow. You just need a website. Even if you have a fulltime job at the moment or if not, you can start this work in your spare time (as I did) and take it from there. Download my e-book that will tell you everything about Running a Web Design Business.
I don’t want to make out that it’s easy. Of course, you have to work hard. But I have been getting paid to do something I really love so it would be great to see other people benefitting from this unique opportunity of our times.
If you have any experiences or you would like some help in this area, please leave a comment down below.
And don’t forget to click one of those nice sharing buttons too!

Web Design Businesses - Start with a Business Plan

By Jennifer Kyrnin, About.com Guide

See More About:

• going pro
• freelancing
• working as a web developer
• business plans

Start with a Plan

So, you've decided you want to earn some extra money as a Web designer. You have the skills and the talent, but how do you start a business? It's amazing to me how many designers decide that the best way to get their business off the ground is by determining their prices. They write to me saying "how much should I charge in Seattle or Saskatchewan?" But pricing is often the least of your worries. Creating a business plan will turn your idea of making money with your Web design into a real business.
You may think that a business plan requires that you have an MBA and an interest in finance and financial accounting, but really all it is is a plan for your business.

If you treat your business seriously, so will your clients.

This is often easy to forget as you design pages for your friends and neighbors. But if you take what you're doing seriously, your friends and neighbors will be more willing to commit money to your burgeoning business.

What is a Business Plan

While your plan can be as detailed or specific as you like, there are two primary things you should include:

1. A description of your business
   Be as descriptive as you can be. Include who your customers are, what niche (if any) you'll be targeting, who your competition is, and how your business will compete. Include:
• Clients, both specific and general (ie. Sue's Flower shop and local businesses in my home town)
• Competition, again, specific and general (ie. Wow'em Web Design and other local designers)
• Competitive advantage (ie. I have built four local business Web designs and have an in with the chamber of commerce.)
2. Your business finances
   This includes all the costs of your business as well as both how much you need to make to break even and how much you believe you can make. Include:
• Your target salary
• Taxes (30-40%, but consult your tax attorney)
• Business expenses (like rent, utilities, computers and furniture)
• Billable hours (will you work 40 hours a week, part-time, only on weekends, etc.)

If you divide your total expenses (first three bullets) by your billable hours, you have a baseline hourly rate you should charge. More on setting your rate.

Why You Need a Business Plan

Aside from the issue of people taking your business more seriously, business plans can also help you obtain financing and get additional customers. The plan helps you solidify exactly what you're reaching for with your business and should help show the weak spots and where you'll need help.
If you're using the business plan to obtain funding, you'll need to do a lot of research on your financials. Banks and venture capitalists don't fund "best guesses". But if you're going to start your business out of your living room, then you can be less rigorous. But the more research you spend in determining the financials the more likely your business will be a success.

Sit Down and Do It Now

If you really want to have a business in Web design, then writing a business plan won't hurt you. And it might focus your thoughts on the matter. I had one friend who had been desiging Web pages for three years when he wrote up a business plan. He realized from that plan that the reason he wasn't doing as well has he had hoped was because he couldn't charge enough to cover all his expenses as a full-time designer. So, he scaled back his freelance hours to part-time and got a part-time maintenance designer job. He was able to raise his rates because he didn't need the work as badly and was able to go back to full-time freelancing at the new higher rate in only a few months. If he hadn't written out his business plan, he would have just continued to under bid and barely make ends meet. It can work for you too.

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Tips for Starting your Own Web Development Business

July 10th, 2009 by Holly Lamarche Tweet

Are you ready to start your own business, but are not sure where to start or how to accomplish your goal? I was in your shoes awhile ago, when I decided I could have more free time and earn more money if I started my own business. I worked as a developer for a large company for almost six years, and I grew tired of receiving only a fraction of the payment and no credit for a website, when I did all of the work! So, two of my friends, a graphic designer, a straight programmer, and myself, got together to start our little multi-media agency. In the process of starting a small freelance web development business with my two friends, I learned plenty about the dos and don’ts of starting a business. We are all web developers and not businessmen, so we stepped into this endeavor somewhat blind; however, we learned a lot along the way, and in the end we have been fairly successful. Small businesses are hard to launch, and even harder to succeed; so, in no way do I guarantee success, but these tips should give you some guidance. Here is some advice we learned in the process, and I hope you find it useful if you are in the process of starting your own web development business. Feel free to comment and leave your own tips! Enjoy!

Get a Mentor and Research

Before we started our business, we immediately sought out people who had started a web development business, like us, and we asked as many questions as possible. We did as much research as possible and asked as many questions as possible, in order to be as well prepared as possible. Even then, we encountered new and surprising problems along the way, but at least we were not completely blind. Moreover, we kept a mentor throughout the launching process, and we still have him to ask questions even today. He has been so helpful in guiding us, so I recommend finding someone who can assist you with the initiation of your business, as well as answer questions for years to come.

Start your Business Part-time

If you work for a business that allows for you to have work on the side, if you do not have a non-compete clause in your contract, or if the company you work for does not do web development; then try starting your web development business on the side. My associates and I were lucky to be able to do this, since the company we worked for only did work in another country; therefore, we were able to start our small business on the side, advertising to clients in our own country. This allowed us to start small, do things slowly, and build up a clientele. Then, after we had a few clients, we each decided to launch our business for real!

Know When to Start your Business

It is important to start your business at the ideal time, because you will need to be able to put 100% of your time and energy into your business when you are just getting if off the ground. Even if you are starting the business on the side, your mind has to be in the right place in order to succeed. We learned this advice the hard way, because we decided to launch our business in the middle of one of us planning a wedding and another applying to graduate school. We were unable to put all of our time and energy into a successful launch, and it harmed us in the short run. Eventually we were able to devote ourselves completely to the business and that is when we started to succeed. So, in order to give yourself the greatest possibility for success, try to launch your business at the perfect time, in order to be 100% ready!

Have a Business Plan

This tip is crucial for a successful business. The small investment upfront on a business plan could save you time, money, and energy later. It is important to be well planned and organized, so you know the basic structure of your business; everything from how to start it, what you will name your business, which person is in charge of what area, how you will raise money, how you will advertise, how you will split profits, etc.

Start Small

Do not get in over your head by investing your life’s saving in your business. Try to start small and build from there. This reminds me of a friend of mine who wanted to start a small business. He invested over $3000 dollars in the website alone, not to mention the loads of money he spent on the merchandise, employees, and the office. Unfortunately, the business failed, and he lost a lot of money. His problem was not the business, it was that jumped into the business with gun loaded, and was not smart about building up the business. Rather, I suggest starting undersized, and add your office, employees, and essential supplies in due time and as needed. Do not hire a secretary if you are always in the office. Try to keep the business as small as possible initially, and you will greater your likelihood of being successful.

Pick your Partners Wisely

If you are going to go into business as a team, make sure you pick compatible partners. When I say compatible, I do not only mean personality wise; I mean to work with people with different strengths and weaknesses as well. It is very important to get along with your partners and to have similar mindsets on all of the elements of a small business. Furthermore, it is essential that not all of the partners share the same strengths. For example, do not select three designers with the same style, or two programmers that know the same programming languages. Try to diversify and it will be more profitable, because you will be able to accept more types of projects and expand your clientele, for the most possible profits.

Incorporate

There are advantages and disadvantages to incorporating your small business, and for us, it was not necessary initially to incorporate, because our business was not large enough. We started as a sole proprietorship, but as we grew, we wanted to protect ourselves and our assets from personal liability, so we decided to incorporate our business. You need to decide what is best for your business, but you can change the legal organization of your business as it grows, so you do not have to incorporate immediately. A common scenario is for small businesses to start out as sole proprietorships or partnerships and later become incorporated when the business has gotten larger. The important advantages to incorporating are: personal protection from liability, increased income, and tax benefits. The disadvantages include: more paperwork, more complicated taxes, and the expense to incorporate.

Watch Expenses

This tip goes without explanation, and it also goes hand in hand with the “start small” tip. Try to keep your expenses low, and decide what you need and what is essential. If it is not essential to run your business, try to get rid of that expense in order to increase your profits. Moreover, use expense sheets in order to have a truly accurate depiction of your operating costs. It is important to understand what costs are necessary to run the business, and those that do not fall in that category, should be greatly limited, at least in the initial stages of starting your business. Moreover, when you first start out, beg and borrow as much as you can, and try to keep the overhead as low as possible. For example, for the first six months we were working as a team, we had no office and worked entirely remotely in order to keep cost low. We would borrow offices from other companies to meet clients, and it proved very successful in helping us get our business off the ground!

Be Smart with Prices

When we first started our business, this area gave us the most difficulty. Since we had not done freelance prior to beginning our business, we were all unsure as to suitable prices to charge. It is truly complicated to establish appropriate prices when you first start your business. We did not want to overcharge and push away clients, but we did not want to undercharge and not get compensated for our work and expertise. What we decided was that we needed to be smart with prices, so that we could increase our profits as greatly as possible, and to make sure we increased our clientele. So, we made a plan where we set prices for certain types of websites and applications, and we are very clear with potential clients, and this has been very successful for us. We learned that you have to meet a happy medium with prices, so that everyone is happy. For more specifics on pricing, I will be writing a post in the future, so stay tuned!

Successfully Interact with Clients

No matter what profession you are in, you must regularly interact with clients. In order to make a web development business successful, you need people who want to pay you for your work, and it is most important to keep those paying people happy, so they keep coming back! Please see my post, “10+ Tips to Improve Interaction with Clients.” to see some great tips on dealing with clients, and these tips should greatly improve the success of your small business!

Make a Contract between Partners

I never do any business without a contract, and I always suggest constructing a clear contract with your partners that clearly manifests all the components of the business, such as the payment, time frame, deadlines, expectations, job requirements, roles, and any other essential elements you can think of, so each partner knows their position and job in the business. (Extra Tip: Try to be a equal on payment as possible, as to keep everyone happy.) So, no matter who you are starting your business with, make sure you make a contract between your associates. Making a contract can avoid a myriad of problems.

Network with People in your Field

Networking is extremely important when you want to have a successful start to your business. With sites like Facebook and Twitter, it is easy to network socially, but these sites can also be used to advance your business. Try to meet with as many people in your field, so that you can have projects referred to you from associates who may not have the same expertise as you, or even network in order to team up on projects. Use social networking sites to your advantage in order to be well known in the field!

Advertise Wisely

As web developers, we are lucky when it comes to advertising, because our work advertises itself. However, we have to show potential clients how to get to that work! That is the key to advertising your web development business. Advertising could be the biggest expense you will incur, but it is also one of the most important, if not THE most important. You should invest in your company’s presentation, as well as a logo, business cards, leaflets, signs, and other types of promotional materials in order to get the word out about your business. Do this wisely though. Do your research to investigate where the best places to advertise are, in order to increase the return on your investment!

Start Your Own Web Design Business and Be Making Money in Weeks

by Ben Hunt

Do you dream of getting out of the nine-to-five, maybe working from home at times that suit you, being your own boss, and making real money?
Businesses around the world are desperate for good, trustworthy web professionals.
Believe it or not, most web designers do not understand how to make websites that succeed! I see it every day.
I’m training a new generation of web designers. That clients just love to work with. Who earn a nice living by doing a great job, making the world a better place.
If you have the motivation, I believe you can be a true web professional – and I’m offering to help.
In fact, I want to help set you up in business.
Here’s the deal. I’m offering to give you all my 18 years’ experience as a pro web designer.
And I’ll personally guarantee that you make a profit!
Where’s the catch? Actually, there isn’t one. Let me explain…

A Vision of a Better Web

Since I started in 1994, I have made websites for all kinds of clients – from sole traders to government.
I have earned a good living doing something I really enjoy. And it has paid well.
But something was always missing.
What I really wanted to do was to make the web better. And it was clear I could not do that one website at a time . With 50 million new websites each year, what difference could I make as one designer?
So, eighteen months ago, I decided to put everything into training the next generation of web designers.
I spent the next six months recording all the most important insights I had ever learned about making websites that work, frequently working into the early hours of the morning.

38 Hours of the Best Coaching Money Can Buy

The result is my Pro Web Design Course. This is not a course in how to design great websites. It is a complete step-by-step guide to setting up your own business.
It comprises over 38 hours of videos, plus a heap of additional resources.
In this course, I’ll give you every tip, trick, and technique I know that can help make the difference between success and failure.
The Pro Web Design Course really does contain everything you need to be a great web designer.
Seriously! You can ask any of the students who have taken the course (find some of them here, or read on).
I would say that, after you have taken just half this course, you will know more about truly effective web design than the average “professional” designer out there!

What You’ll Get

I believe this is the most comprehensive, practical, and profitable course on web marketing and design that money can buy!

Graphic Design

While not every web page has to look beautiful, it should look right for the job it is doing. Obviously, any pro web designer needs high-end graphic design skills.
In the graphic design section of the course, I’ll give you a complete grounding in graphic design for the web using Photoshop. (Other graphics programs are available, but my examples all use Photoshop.)

Production

In this section, I cover the building blocks of all websites: HTML and CSS, including the latest versions. Later in the course, we’ll dive into WordPress – the incredible publishing platform that turned the content management market on its head.

Business

Knowing how to design and build websites is only part of what you need to be a fully rounded web pro.
The Business section trains you in all the critical areas like sales, client management, branding,

SEO

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is one of the most critical areas in making effective websites. SEO can make the difference between success and failure.
The Pro Web Design Course features my very best and latest training in proven SEO techniques – “SEO from Scratch”. SEO moves quickly, so this content is updated regularly.

Copywriting

No skill has a greater impact on the success of a website than its written content. I’ll show you how to craft powerful content that gets results!

Conversion Optimisation

Conversion Optimisation is quite a new area in web design – and an extremely important one. It is the discipline of getting as many visitors as possible to take the action you want.
I wrote a whole book on the subject last year (which gets great reviews like this one). I’ll share all the knowledge from Convert! with you, and apply it with numerous case studies.

Start a Desktop Publishing or Graphic Design Business

From Jacci Howard Bear,

Learn step by step how to start a desktop publishing or graphic design business. Get advice on naming your graphic design business and the structure it should take, overview of types of design and publishing businesses, developing a business plan, pricing your desktop publishing services, and other other start-up essentials.

The lessons listed in this section are part of a free Start a Desktop Publishing Business course available by email.

Personalized Letters as a Desktop Publishing Business

Whether desktop publishing is a major part of your business or simply a hobby, this series of articles, tips, and links can help you produce the best possible personalized letters, including Letters from Santa.

How to Start a Freelance Desktop Publishing Business

Learn step by step how to start a desktop publishing or graphic design business.

1 - Is Freelance Design Right For You?

Successful freelancing requires more than just artistic talent or proficiency with software. Explore four myths about working for yourself before taking the plunge into freelance graphic design or starting a desktop publishing business.

2 - Skills Assessment

In addition to the business side of freelance desktop publishing, there's the design side of the equation. It's not unreasonable to believe that a person thinking of starting a desktop publishing business is doing so because they already do some kind of design work (either as part of their job or for personal projects) and want to make money...

3 - Find Your Niche

What kind of work comes to mind when you think of a desktop publishing or graphic design business? Brochures? Business cards? Newsletters? There are dozens more types of design projects that can be created in whole or in part with your computer and desktop publishing and graphics software. I've put those projects into 16 categories or groupings.

4 - Business Plan Basics

Build your graphic design business by writing a business plan. It's not as difficult if you start with the two essential elements. This tutorials helps you start the process painlessly.

5 - Develop Your USP

Identify what is unique about your desktop publishing business and how it benefits the customer. Here's how to come up with a USP or unique selling point and use it to promote your desktop publishing graphic design business.

6 - Qualify Yourself to Your Customers

What makes your business unique? How do you convince your prospects that you are better qualified than your competitors to type their theses, layout their resumes, or design their corporate logos?

7 - Your Designer Portfolio

Potential employers or clients use examples of your work to help determine whether they want to hire you. The samples you choose to display and how you present them can affect whether or not you get the job. Your graphic design portfolio should be more than just a few samples thrown into a folder.

8 - Eight Ways to Find Clients

Finding clients can be one of the more daunting aspects of starting a new desktop publishing graphic design business. Here are eight tried and true ways for freelance designers to get those first clients. Try the advertising, marketing, and promotional methods that work best for you and your design business.

9 - Give Away Business to Build Business

Giving away your time and expertise can sometimes be better than charging for your services if what you get in return is more valuable than the fee you give up. Think of your freebies as simply an alternate method of doing business. Gain publicity, training, and valuable experience — and possibly paid work somewhere down the line.

10 - Customer Profiles

Customer profiles are simple, yet powerful, marketing tools. The more you know about your customers and potential customers, the more you can tailor your marketing to their wants and needs. Profiles also provide information you can use to give your customers personalized attention.

11 - Choose Your Business Structure

Doing freelance design involves more than just saying you're open for business and getting a few clients. You need to choose a business structure. Explore the basic pros and cons of three primary types of business structures your desktop publishing business might take.

12 - Choose a Name for Your Design Business

Choosing a business name can be fun and frustrating. To do it right you need to pick a name that you can live with for a long time, reflects the nature of your business, and isn't already being used by the business down the street. There are many types of names such as made-up names, suggestive names, and names that have no relationship to the...

13 - Tools of the Trade

The equipment you need to start and run a desktop publishing business is both varied and subjective. As a minimum you're going to need hardware (computer and printer) and software. Whether or not what you currently have is sufficient or whether you need to upgrade depends on the type of work you plan to do.

14 - Taxes and Desktop Publishing

Explore tax matters including income tax, social security, self-employment, state taxes, and sales taxes for desktop publishing businesses.

15 - Pricing Your Desktop Publishing Services

Learn how to set the right price for design and production services by calculating an hourly rate and then creating flat fees and per project pricing.

16 - Craft a Freelance Contract

Deal with every contingency with a written contract. Learn what goes into a contract and what the different clauses do.

17 - Back to Business Planning

A desktop publishing business plan and the process of developing a business plan establishes you as a real freelance design business and saves time and money by focusing your start up efforts in the right direction.

1.NAMNA YA KUKUZA NA KUENDELEZA BIASHARA

Na Staphord Kwanama BIASHARA yoyote si majaribio, hakikisha umeibuni vizuri ili iwe endelevu na yenye kukuletea faida. Kutambua  vizuri soko la bidhaa au huduma yako Unaweza kujua nani ni wateja wako (soko) kwa kuangalia; Uhitaji -  angalia uhitaji walionao watu katika eneo fulani kisha tafuta biashara ambayo itaweza kuondoa au kupunguza uhitaji huo. Mfano, Watu waliona huduma ya Babu wa loliondo inachukua muda mrefu hali watu wanahitaji chakula na kulala, hivyo biashara ya chakula na malazi ikaanzishwa. Mapenzi ya kuwa na kitu Fulani – Watu hutokea wakapenda kitu fulani kwa sababu mbalimbali. Mfano kutokana na foleni za Dar es salaam watu wengi wamekuwa wakitumia gharama kubwa kwa mafuta ya gari. Hivyo watu wengi wanapenda kutumia magari madogo kwa kuwa yanatumia mafuta kidogo, na biashara ya magari hayo ina fursa ya kuongezeka na kukua zaidi. Uwezo wa kununua – hakikisha watu unaotaka kuwauzia wana uwezo wa kununua kwa maana ya kwamba utarudisha gharama zako na faida.Mapungufu ya bidhaa zingine – Hakikisha unauza bidhaa zenye ubora zaidi kuliko washindani wako ili ujijengee uhalali kwenye soko na wateja watakuamini na utawapata wengi. Jinsi ya kudumu na wateja Uza kile anakithamini mteja na si chochote kilichopo - hakikisha unauza bidhaa waipendayo wateja na si chochote tu. Jitahidi kuwa na suppliers kutoka sehemu mbalimbali. Hii itasaidia kama leo hana bidhaa fulani basi unaweza kuipata kwa mwingine na si kuwaletea wateja chochote kwa kisingizio kuwa ndio kilichopo tu. Mbinu zingine ni pamoja na kuchagua kundi la wateja watakaonunua kwa faida na uwe karibu nao, jitahidi kufanya utafiti wa soko, kuwa msikivu kwa maoni ya wateja wako na siku zote weka hazina ya uaminifu. Jinsi ya kujijengea jina kibiashara Biashara yako itakuwa endelevu iwapo jina lake ni imara. Zifuatazo ni kanuni za kujijengea jina kibiashara; kutoa huduma bora na si bora huduma, kutoa ahadi timilifu na za kweli kwa wateja, chagua aina fulani tu ya wateja ambao unajua utawahudumia vema kwa kuwa si rahisi kuhudumia kila mtu vema, toa huduma zako kwa ufanisi mkubwa, acha na blah…. blah…, fanya biashara ambayo si rahisi mtu mwingine kuiga kirahisi, ambatana na mteja na achana na wasio walengwa, jitangaze. Njia za kutangaza biashara kwa gharama nafuu Kutangaza biashara ni muhimu sana vinginezo itakuozea, kutangaza biashara ni gharama sana ila kuna baadhi ya njia za kutangaza kwa gharama nafuu nazo ni kama ifuatavyo; Kutoa motisha kwa wateja na kuwabembeleza wakuletee wateja wapya, weka matangazo kwenye nguzo, majumba au mbao ambapo watu wengine wameweka, onyesha kwa vitendo jinsi ya kutumia bidhaa unayouza, zungumza kuhusu bidhaa zako katika mkusanyiko wa watu,fadhili timu katika eneo la karibu na biashara, fadhili mashindano mbalimbali, andika makala katika magazeti juu ya biashara yako. Mbinu nyingine ni kama utumiaji wa simu kwa kuwaandikia ujumbe mfupi wateja wako kuhusu bidhaa mpya,tumia barua pepe (e-mail) tovuti, blogu, facebook,twita. Mchanganuo wa biashara Ili biashara iwe endelevu ni lazima iwe na dira, mipango na mikakati inayotekelezeka ambayo huwekwa katika mchangunuo wa biashara. Mchanganuo huu utakuonesha namna biashara yako ilipotoka, ilipo na inapokwenda kwa kipindi ulichojipangia mfano miaka 3 hadi 5. Aidha, mchanganuo utakuwezesha kupanga mikakati na mbinu za kuendeleza biashara. Na hatimaye itakuwezesha kuongeza mtaji kwa kupata mkopo kutoka benki au taasisi ya fedha. Kuandaa mchanganuo unaotekelezeka ni vyema kuwaona watalaamu wanaotoa huduma hizo mathalani unaweza kuwapata kwenye mtandano mfano google (wataalam wa business plan Tanzania) na vitabu mfano National Business Directory. Mbinu nyingine zinazoweza kukusaidia kukuza biashara yako ni pamoja na; -Hakikisha unafanya ukaguzi wa mahesabu yako walau mara moja kila mwaka (external audit) -Hakikisha unakuwa na mtandao wa watalaam mbalimbali mfano, mambo ya biashara, wanasheria, watalaam wa kodi, wahasibu,bima na wengine wengi kulingana na aina ya biashara yako -Daima timiza matakwa ya kisheria, mfano, kulipa kodi kwa wakati, kama unawafanyakazi peleka michango yao ya penseni kwa wakati na kuhakikisha vibali na leseni ya biashara iko ndani ya muda wake. -Jenga utamaduni wa kujifunza mambo mapya yahusuyo biashara yako kwa kuhudhuria kozi fupi, mikutano, semina, n.k. -jitahidi kujifunza kompyuta, namna ya kutumia huduma kwenye simu yako ya mkononi. - Jitahidi kuhudhuria maonesha mbalimbali ya biashara. -Pata taarifa mbalimbali, “taarifa ni nguvu/mamlaka” (information is power). Taarifa zitakuwezesha kujua hali halisi ya soko na mambo mengi yanayokuzunguka. Na pia utakuwa na uwezo mzuri wa kufanya maamuzi sahihi. -Wakati wote kopa kwa malengo maalum, na hakikisha mkopo wote umekwenda kwenye shughuli uliokusudia na si kuhamisha matumizi. Kwanama ni Mkurugenzi Mtendaji Plus Finance na Mtaalam Mshauri wa mchanganuo wa biashara