26 min
Dangers of a Home Based Graphic Design Business Resourceful Designer: Strategies for running a graphic design business
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- Design
Running a home based graphic design business isn't all fun and games. There are some dangers involved. There have been many times when I've told someone what I do for a living, and they've replied that they could never do what I do. I'm not talking about being a graphic designer, although for some people that would be an acceptable reply. What they mean is they could never work from home like I do. Now being the person that I am, I have a hard time imagining how anyone wouldn't want to be their own boss, work their own hours and create their own rules. But the fact is, there are many people who just can't handle the dangers of running a home based graphic design business.
Dangers you ask? Well perhaps "dangers" is a bit too harsh a word. But there are certain aspects of running a home based graphic design business that are too frightening for some.
In this episode of Resourceful Designer, my graphic design podcast to help you run your own business, I cover five "dangers" that anyone thinking of running a home based graphic design business should consider before taking the plunge. Listen to the podcast for the full discussion.
Mental State One of the biggest dangers faced by home based graphic designers is isolation. We live a life of solitude. Designers working at an agency or in a design department at some company have the benefit of social interaction with the people around them. Home based graphic designers on the other hand spend most of their time alone. You need a strong mental state to combat the stress of isolation, of boredom and possibly fight off the laziness that can manifest itself due to the lack of accountability and supervision.
Home based graphic designers require a willpower to persevere in the absence of social companionship and the ability to self motivate in the absence of others. Not everyone is capable of doing this.
By the way, if you do experience boredom while waiting for more work to come in, you may want to give my FREE Four Week Marketing Boost a try. Use it to create the best first impression you can and attract more design clients.
Environmental Dangers In this case dangers is synonymous with distractions. When running a home based graphic design business you are surrounded by distractions that agency designers don't face. I'm talking about your TV, Your video game console, your fridge and pantry, even unfinished chores from around your home. All these "dangers" can taunt you and lure you away from your work. With nobody watching over you, it would be so easy to turn on Netflix and finish that show you started binge watching on the weekend or go mow the lawn so you wont have to do it on Saturday. Everything that pulls you away from work are environmental dangers.
Once again willpower comes into play. Home based graphic designers must learn how to ignore these distractions or they can lead to the demise of your business.
Work Strategies One of the benefits of running a home based graphic design business is we get to decide how and when we work. If we don't feel like starting until noon we have that option. As long as we're aware of what we're doing it's ok. The dangers however is that without the supervision that agency designers have we can sometimes find ourselves overtaxing ourselves which could lead to burnout. It's not unheard of for a home based graphic designer to get into a "creative zone" and loose track of time. Concentrating so much on the work at hand that he forgets to take breaks, forgets to eat and drink and even forgets to stop at the end of the day.
On the flip side, another danger involving work strategies is the use of social media. Sites like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube are great for social interaction but if not used correctly during working hours they can turn into huge time drains that suck the productivity right out of you. Youtube is especially bad for this. You may have a legitimate reason for watching a video during working hours. Perhaps
Running a home based graphic design business isn't all fun and games. There are some dangers involved. There have been many times when I've told someone what I do for a living, and they've replied that they could never do what I do. I'm not talking about being a graphic designer, although for some people that would be an acceptable reply. What they mean is they could never work from home like I do. Now being the person that I am, I have a hard time imagining how anyone wouldn't want to be their own boss, work their own hours and create their own rules. But the fact is, there are many people who just can't handle the dangers of running a home based graphic design business.
Dangers you ask? Well perhaps "dangers" is a bit too harsh a word. But there are certain aspects of running a home based graphic design business that are too frightening for some.
In this episode of Resourceful Designer, my graphic design podcast to help you run your own business, I cover five "dangers" that anyone thinking of running a home based graphic design business should consider before taking the plunge. Listen to the podcast for the full discussion.
Mental State One of the biggest dangers faced by home based graphic designers is isolation. We live a life of solitude. Designers working at an agency or in a design department at some company have the benefit of social interaction with the people around them. Home based graphic designers on the other hand spend most of their time alone. You need a strong mental state to combat the stress of isolation, of boredom and possibly fight off the laziness that can manifest itself due to the lack of accountability and supervision.
Home based graphic designers require a willpower to persevere in the absence of social companionship and the ability to self motivate in the absence of others. Not everyone is capable of doing this.
By the way, if you do experience boredom while waiting for more work to come in, you may want to give my FREE Four Week Marketing Boost a try. Use it to create the best first impression you can and attract more design clients.
Environmental Dangers In this case dangers is synonymous with distractions. When running a home based graphic design business you are surrounded by distractions that agency designers don't face. I'm talking about your TV, Your video game console, your fridge and pantry, even unfinished chores from around your home. All these "dangers" can taunt you and lure you away from your work. With nobody watching over you, it would be so easy to turn on Netflix and finish that show you started binge watching on the weekend or go mow the lawn so you wont have to do it on Saturday. Everything that pulls you away from work are environmental dangers.
Once again willpower comes into play. Home based graphic designers must learn how to ignore these distractions or they can lead to the demise of your business.
Work Strategies One of the benefits of running a home based graphic design business is we get to decide how and when we work. If we don't feel like starting until noon we have that option. As long as we're aware of what we're doing it's ok. The dangers however is that without the supervision that agency designers have we can sometimes find ourselves overtaxing ourselves which could lead to burnout. It's not unheard of for a home based graphic designer to get into a "creative zone" and loose track of time. Concentrating so much on the work at hand that he forgets to take breaks, forgets to eat and drink and even forgets to stop at the end of the day.
On the flip side, another danger involving work strategies is the use of social media. Sites like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube are great for social interaction but if not used correctly during working hours they can turn into huge time drains that suck the productivity right out of you. Youtube is especially bad for this. You may have a legitimate reason for watching a video during working hours. Perhaps
26 min