{"id":18880,"date":"2018-12-23T03:10:47","date_gmt":"2018-12-22T19:10:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/?p=18880"},"modified":"2022-10-09T22:42:42","modified_gmt":"2022-10-09T14:42:42","slug":"quit-amateur-designer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/quit-amateur-designer\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Quit Acting Like an Amateur Designer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Everyone has at least one designer friend who just gives off an air of unprofessionalism. Perhaps it\u2019s even you, or maybe you can\u2019t seem to maintain a consistent front to every client. Even if you get paid for the work you do, it can still seem as though you\u2019re less of a \"professional\" designer, and more of a rank amateur. Why is that? What secrets do other designers have that makes them seem more \"pro\"?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today, we\u2019re going to examine what makes a designer look professional and desirable, rather than like one of the amateurish masses that clients dread. Spoiler alert: it\u2019s probably not what you\u2019re thinking.<\/p>\n

Recommended Reading: <\/strong>15 Project Types You Will Face In Freelancing<\/a><\/p>\n

Invest In Your Business<\/h2>\n
\"invest<\/figure>\n

You have to spend money to make money. Once your freelance design business begins to turn a profit, investing in things like proper equipment and professional-looking<\/a> marketing materials just makes more sense than struggling to make do with supplies that are inferior. The goal is to improve the efficiency with which you are able to find and complete work<\/strong> \u2013 working smarter, as they say, not harder.<\/p>\n

If your software or hardware is outdated, and it\u2019s slowing you down<\/a>, say by 30%, you\u2019re actually making 30% less money per hour than you could be. In fact, you\u2019re probably cheating yourself out of even more than that<\/strong>, if you\u2019re a fast worker and have a decent number of clients.<\/p>\n

Outsource Nonessential Tasks<\/h2>\n
\"outsource<\/figure>\n

No successful business owner does everything themselves. It\u2019s just not physically possible. You have to outsource tasks at some point if you want to grow<\/strong>, even if you plan to remain the sole designer. It\u2019s easy to find people to do repetitive things<\/a>, like paperwork or bookkeeping, that have to be done, but that simply eat up too much of your valuable time as a designer.<\/p>\n

Read Also: <\/strong>How To Keep Your Blog Going Without Burning Out<\/a><\/p>\n

You can use online resources like oDesk<\/a> and elance to begin delegating the daily work that goes into making your freelance business successful. However, it can be tricky finding just the right fit, and you\u2019ll most likely have to go through the hiring process several times<\/strong> before you master it. Here\u2019s a post on what to look out for when hiring freelance contractors<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It can be daunting to begin outsourcing tasks, but, again, it\u2019s necessary to take you from tiny, struggling freelancer to fully professional outfit.<\/p>\n

Work Like You Mean It<\/h2>\n
\"work<\/figure>\n

This is perhaps the most important component in making the transition from amateur to professional. In his book, The War of Art<\/strong><\/a> by Steven Pressfield<\/strong> outlines what distinguishes an amateur from a professional, in any creative field.<\/p>\n

He argues that amateurs are dilettantes, people who don\u2019t give their work 100%<\/a> of their effort.<\/strong> Amateurs don\u2019t show up every day to do the difficult work that will propel them forward.<\/p>\n

Pros, on the other hand, work like they mean it. They work even when they don\u2019t feel like it<\/strong>. They work when they\u2019d rather be doing just about anything else. It\u2019s difficult to adopt the mindset of someone who takes their work completely seriously, but it\u2019s important to gain and keep the advantage over our own inertia and overwhelm.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Be A Flake<\/h2>\n
\"stop<\/figure>\n

Having been a design client myself, I\u2019ve worked with designers who simply dropped the ball when it came to communicating with me regularly. Sometimes this resulted in blown deadlines, budgets, or opportunities <\/strong>when I didn\u2019t hear from them for days or even weeks. It\u2019s extremely frustrating when a designer blows you off<\/a>, and I\u2019d like to say it\u2019s a rarity, but unfortunately it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n

The reality is, flakiness is one of the key marks of an amateur.<\/strong> It signals to a client that you don\u2019t value them enough to<\/strong> make an effort to keep them in the loop.<\/strong> Don\u2019t just give endless excuses<\/a> for your radio silence (I\u2019ve heard it all, but \"I didn\u2019t want to bother you\" is especially common). Your client needs to receive regular updates on your progress so that they can plan accordingly should something go wrong.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do Top Quality Work<\/h2>\n
\"quality<\/figure>\n

Finally, you should make it a priority<\/a> to always do the best job you can with your design work. It seems obvious, but so many designers get bogged down with tight deadlines and jobs they feel lackluster about<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

However, if you\u2019re trying to grow your freelance business and draw in higher paying clients<\/a>, you\u2019ll need to make every project a potential showpiece for which a client will be eager to hire you. So, don\u2019t take shortcuts or do anything halfway. It will come back to haunt you<\/strong>, trust me.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Everyone has at least one designer friend who just gives off an air of unprofessionalism. Perhaps it\u2019s even you, or maybe you can\u2019t seem to maintain a consistent front to every client. Even if you get paid for the work you do, it can still seem as though you\u2019re less of a “professional” designer, and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":129,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3405],"tags":[510],"topic":[4522],"class_list":["entry-content","is-maxi"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDesigners: How To Act Like A Professional<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Everyone has at least one designer friend who just gives off an air of unprofessionalism. 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