36 min
Creating A Contingency Plan For Your Design Business Resourceful Designer: Strategies for running a graphic design business
-
- Design
Have you thought of your contingency plans? [sc name="smartpress" ]So you're running a graphic design business. You're plugging away day after day, week after week, engaging with clients and designing amazing things for them. Life is great, and you’re living the dream. But what if the unexpected happened? Are you prepared?
What would you do in the event of a national disaster that destroys your home? What would you do if all of a sudden, without any warning, you lose all your office equipment?
What would you do if something happened to a loved one and you had to drop everything for who knows how long to be by their side?
What if you were hit by a car on the way home from the grocery store and end up in the hospital for several weeks. What would you do?
Any of these events could happen and prevent your business from functioning. That’s where a contingency plan comes into play.
What is a Contingency Plan? The easiest way to define a contingency plan is to refer to it as a “plan B” for your business in the event of a setback. A contingency plan creates a clear path, a course of action to get your business through a hardship.
All of the scenarios I described above are pretty harsh, but a contingency plan doesn’t have to be. It just needs a bit of time and foresight to prepare. Here are some steps to help you with yours.
Identify triggers that could affect your design business. Imagine different scenarios that could affect your business. I’ve shared a few with you already, but there could be many more. Each situation will require it’s own contingency plan.
What will you do if you lose your office or all your equipment? What will you do if a loved one requires you and you can’t work? What will you do if you are incapacitated and cannot work? What will you do if a trusted contractor suddenly disappears? What will you do if your electricity goes out or the internet goes down? What will you do if, for one reason or another, your business has a setback? You need to identify these triggers before you can figure out a plan to cope with them. Discuss this with family and friends; they may think of something you haven’t.
Create a contingency plan for each trigger. Once you identify the various triggers that could impact your design business, the next step is to figure out what actions you will need to take to get over the hurdles.
No one’s contingency plans are identical, but there are a few things you should consider including in yours.
Your plan to notify clients of your situation. Your plan to deal with approaching deadlines you can no longer meet. Your plan to reach out to fellow designers if you need someone to take over a project for you. Your plan to acquire new equipment for your office if it needs replacing. Set a timeline to help you carry out your plans. What steps will you need to take in the hours, days and possibly weeks after your contingency plan is triggered?
Who to involve. If you have business partners, they should be involved in the creation of your contingency plan since your absence affects them. Make sure they have all the information they need to handle your side of the business until you are back.
In the event of an emergency, you should have someone you can trust to contact your clients on your behalf and inform them of the situation. The last thing you want to be doing during an emergency is talking to clients.
Protecting yourself before anything happens. There's already enough to worry about with whatever scenario you’re dealing with, and the last thing you need is more hardship that could affect your business. Protect yourself as best you can by setting the following in place beforehand.
Protect yourself in your contract. You should have a clause in your contract that states any natural disasters, acts of god or family emergency that affects your ability to fulfil your end of the agreement automatically negates the contract. You can also offer a full refund to
Have you thought of your contingency plans? [sc name="smartpress" ]So you're running a graphic design business. You're plugging away day after day, week after week, engaging with clients and designing amazing things for them. Life is great, and you’re living the dream. But what if the unexpected happened? Are you prepared?
What would you do in the event of a national disaster that destroys your home? What would you do if all of a sudden, without any warning, you lose all your office equipment?
What would you do if something happened to a loved one and you had to drop everything for who knows how long to be by their side?
What if you were hit by a car on the way home from the grocery store and end up in the hospital for several weeks. What would you do?
Any of these events could happen and prevent your business from functioning. That’s where a contingency plan comes into play.
What is a Contingency Plan? The easiest way to define a contingency plan is to refer to it as a “plan B” for your business in the event of a setback. A contingency plan creates a clear path, a course of action to get your business through a hardship.
All of the scenarios I described above are pretty harsh, but a contingency plan doesn’t have to be. It just needs a bit of time and foresight to prepare. Here are some steps to help you with yours.
Identify triggers that could affect your design business. Imagine different scenarios that could affect your business. I’ve shared a few with you already, but there could be many more. Each situation will require it’s own contingency plan.
What will you do if you lose your office or all your equipment? What will you do if a loved one requires you and you can’t work? What will you do if you are incapacitated and cannot work? What will you do if a trusted contractor suddenly disappears? What will you do if your electricity goes out or the internet goes down? What will you do if, for one reason or another, your business has a setback? You need to identify these triggers before you can figure out a plan to cope with them. Discuss this with family and friends; they may think of something you haven’t.
Create a contingency plan for each trigger. Once you identify the various triggers that could impact your design business, the next step is to figure out what actions you will need to take to get over the hurdles.
No one’s contingency plans are identical, but there are a few things you should consider including in yours.
Your plan to notify clients of your situation. Your plan to deal with approaching deadlines you can no longer meet. Your plan to reach out to fellow designers if you need someone to take over a project for you. Your plan to acquire new equipment for your office if it needs replacing. Set a timeline to help you carry out your plans. What steps will you need to take in the hours, days and possibly weeks after your contingency plan is triggered?
Who to involve. If you have business partners, they should be involved in the creation of your contingency plan since your absence affects them. Make sure they have all the information they need to handle your side of the business until you are back.
In the event of an emergency, you should have someone you can trust to contact your clients on your behalf and inform them of the situation. The last thing you want to be doing during an emergency is talking to clients.
Protecting yourself before anything happens. There's already enough to worry about with whatever scenario you’re dealing with, and the last thing you need is more hardship that could affect your business. Protect yourself as best you can by setting the following in place beforehand.
Protect yourself in your contract. You should have a clause in your contract that states any natural disasters, acts of god or family emergency that affects your ability to fulfil your end of the agreement automatically negates the contract. You can also offer a full refund to
36 min