There are two types of people in the advertising/ marketing business

The ones who are in it for the art of design - the creative type of people. And there are the ones who are in it for the money - the business minded people. And this is what business should be all about, right? The money :)

So if you’re that super creative artist who is not really interested in the business side of things then there’s no point of you reading this letter - because this letter is about making more money in the advertising and marketing business.

With that being said let’s get on to some essential definitions.
Have you ever asked yourself what a business actually is and how it generates money?
The answer might surprise you. It certainly surprised me 20 years ago when I was a struggeling web designer.

So here it is:

Businesses make money by delivering valuable results to their clients.

It’s simple but deceptive

Most artists are not very good business people and that’s for a reason. They don’t seem to accept that the more clients you serve as a business the more money you’ll be making. They think that the „doing of creative stuff” is the value itself. But it is not.

The money is not in doing the work but in getting the work done

Doing the work actually costs you money. Delivering the end result is what gets you paid. Not accepting this simple fact will keep you stuck in the worker mindset. Thinking that the „doing” itself is valuable to the client is misleading and not correct from a business perspective.

There’s a fundamental difference between a business and a job:

You can scale a business up to making millions.
You cannot scale a job because there’s a final number of hours in a day.

As a business you could potentially deliver 10+ high quality websites per day. But as a web designer you can’t.

This is not my opinion, it’s fundamental business knowledge

If you don’t agree please don’t read any further.
If you’re stuck in the „job mentality” then there’s not a lot I can do for you. Now please don’t get me wrong here...
I am not saying that being a worker and having a job is something bad.
This is not what I think at all!
I’m just saying that what you’re about to read is only good for people who actually want to make more money in this business.

So why is 2022 so good for making money in print, web and advertising?

Never until now in history, has it been so easy to make money as a business. This is especially true for businesses providing marketing services.
As you know making money as a business is not that much about the doing of stuff, but more about getting the stuff done and delivered. This implies that the work itself should be done by people who work for the business. These people can be regular employees but they don’t have to be. A business can outsource the work to other businesses, or freelance workers. It all makes sense as long as the margins are right and profit is being made. Design work has the advantage over many other services in that it doesn’t need to be done on-site. This means that you can potentially outsource it anywhere in the world, where there is cheap labour. Of course there’s a whole set of challenges that come with that, but I’ll address them later on...

Ok, so now that we’ve got the basics covered
let’s move on to business

I’ve tried to answer the question why web design companies hire freelancers to increase the amount and the quality of work they deliver to their clients.

I’ve compiled a small list of four main reasons.
As you might have guessed they are all related to making more money.

1.

The first reason is a simple one.
It’s a good business strategy to focus on getting clients and outsource the work. Once you hire the right person who will get the job done, all you have to do is make sure the client is happy.

This way, your main focus stays on the money making side of your business. Your client’s won’t even know - and they don’t need to as long as their goals are met.

Outsourcing work to more than one freelancer will mean faster turnover times and being able to serve more clients simultaneously, which again translates to more money for your business.

2.

The second reason for wanting to outsource design work is related to personal preferences and the variety of different styles in design. Every designer will do the same job differently, as everyone has their own style. As a business you’ll be more successful if you can satisfy more clients. Therefore, being able to deliver different styles of artwork gives you the chance to serve more clients. The more options a client has the better for them and for your business.

3.

During the development phase of building a website, you often bump into problems you didn’t anticipate. Often they are just small issues but sometimes the solution is not that simple and you’ll need help from an experienced web developer to get the work done in little time.

Sometimes it’s just not worth of going through all the trouble of looking for solutions on forums and groups, especially when delivering fast is of importance. It’s wiser to move on, outsource the job and focus on the client and the end result that you can get for them.

4.

If you’re under pressure when working to meet a tight deadline and just need more manpower, outsourcing might be the right move. Losing a client because of not meeting deadlines is bad for your business. You’ll be better off just outsourcing to someone you can trust, so you can deliver on time.

Why hire a freelancer when full time employees get paid less per hour?

This is a valid question, but the statement it contains isn’t always true. Up until recently, hiring a professional on a per hour basis was expensive. It’s still the case if you only consider UK-based professionals. However, in today’s world with the internet, you can hire a programmer from India or elsewhere. Or can you really?
Many business people tried to build their business based on this model, but in most cases it doesn’t work out.
Why?
Bad communication that takes hours and hours.
Bad results because of low quality standards and a difference in viewpoints.

To sum up:

As a business owner, you want hire the right people.
They can be freelancers. But...
They should be UK based, so they understand you and have the same viewpoints.
And they should be affordable so you can make more money.

This is where I come in...

My name is Dan and I help companies like yours to make more money.
I am the freelancer who will actually solve your problems!

I’m the affordable all-rounder for print design, web design, front end + WordPress development.

Over the last 11 years, I’ve worked on a variety of projects for different European companies. I recently moved to the UK and am now open to new business relationships.
My clients are advertising agencies, web design companies, car wrapping companies, sign makers and print shops in the UK, mainly in the London area.

How can I help you?

I can help you satisfy your client’s design and marketing needs.
(That’s if we both decide to work together.)

I do graphic design for print, and for the web. When it comes to print, I have 23 years of experience with DTP and pre-press for litho presses as well as digital print. I speak the lingo and feel comfortable using terms like cmyk, raster, eps, registration marks, sRGB calibration, Fogra39, bleed, overprint etc.
When it comes to digital, I do responsive web design using HTML, CSS, JS, PHP, MySQL and WordPress. I have more than 11 years’ experience building websites from scratch and I also hand code CSS files from scratch. I have converted more than 80 websites from layout or PSD to custom WordPress themes.
I’m NOT familiar with Angular, React, Joomla, Drupal...

I can help you with all the conceptual work, delivering ideas, I can suggest which technologies to choose, I can design a logo and a flyer but also a nice brochure or a big product catalogue. I can create a company’s branding strategy from A to Z, from a simple logo to a comprehensive branding guide. I can also build you a static website, responsive and optimised for mobile, but if you need a custom WordPress theme for a demanding client I can help you with that, too.
Or maybe you’re stuck with a problem in WordPress theme development that you don’t know how to solve? Based on my experience I’m pretty sure I can find the right solution.
If you have a client who is not satisfied with the design you’ve done for them... maybe they will like my style more (you never know with clients, right?)

For e-mail campaigns I can help you setting up MailChimp and I can even come up with a whole marketing strategy for your client while considering their business goals, as well as their budget.
In some cases, I’ve participated in meetings with my client’s clients, answering all their questions and handling objections, and if necessary, I can do that for you, too.

How much money can you make?

Any amount of free money is good, right? :)

If we work together you will make money,
- without working more hours
- without investing in new equipment
- without learning new skills
- without any risk
I do all the work, you get all the credit, and we share the profits.
It is simple: You're happy, I'm happy, your clients are happy!

For example prices download the info PDF below.

So what is it like working me?

If we both decide to work together there are two rules that never change:

1.

I will never “steal” your clients. I will never tell your client that it’s me who is doing all the work and that you’re “just the middle man”. I will never arrange a meeting with your client behind your back, nor will I ever call them to make them an offer. Even after a job is completed, and we don’t work together anymore.

I don’t do that for two reasons: First and foremost, it’s unethical and I believe it’s not a good way to live your life. Secondly, I prefer working with professionals who actually know what they are talking about. (You know what I mean... these clients who never know what they really want, use the wrong terminology getting you all confused and then you have to explain every single thing to them over and over again... I’d rather have someone else deal with that ;)

2.

You keep all the rights to everything I create for you.
I sign my work with your company name or whatever name you want me to. Everything I create for you is yours forever. I never publish any of the work I do for you. No exception.
I take orders only from you and I only talk to your clients in your presence unless agreed otherwise.

These two rules are permanently in my book.
All the other stuff works as we agree on.

Your place or mine?

I work from home out of West Ealing, London. I can work at your place if you want me to but I prefer not to waste my productive time on travelling. One of the upsides of being a freelancer is being able to stay in my pyjamas all day (and I take advantage of that quite often)...

I prefer to work late at night and I don’t get up early in the morning, unless we have an appointment. If we set a time to talk I will be up at whatever time we agree upon.

I prefer to work on a Mac but I also own a PC, mainly for testing purposes. If you need me to work on a Windows machine at your place that’s fine.

I used to work with Adobe software but now have switched to Affinity Publisher, Designer and Photo. I currently have discontinued my licence for Adobe, but can upgrade anytime if necessary. The end result from the end clients’ point of view is the same. If you still need the PSD and AI source files, I can provide them.

I’ve also been a Corel Draw user for more than 20 years now. It used to be my go-to vector software and it’s still the industry standard for vector graphics in Poland, where I come from.

When I’m busy working, I don’t pick up the phone and I’m not available 24/7. I believe that when you pay me for my time you’re the one who deserves my undivided attention. This means I’m available for you and I also pick up your phone calls straight away. At the same time, I don’t make any phone calls with other customers of mine. This works for me and it's better for you as my client.

So what’s the next step?

If you’re interested in working with me, all you need to do is fill out the form below. You'll get access to my contact details, my prices (that will shock you) and some work samples. After that you can call me on the phone, just to get to know each other a little bit and to get a feel if we’re on the same wavelength.

If we both decide we’re a good fit, then we can move forward.
If we don’t, that’s fine. If you’re happy, I’m happy.
It’s really that simple.

So with that said, download the Info Pack and we’ll stay in touch.

FAQ

• Can I see any work samples before I hire Dan? Yes of course!
  Just download the info pack, where you can find work samples and example prices.
  
• Dan, what's your phone number? I don't give it out to strangers :)
  If you're interested in working with me please introduce yourself by filling out this form and I'll be happy to give you all my contact details.
  In the info PDF you will also find examples of my work and my rates. Should you still have any questions after reading the info PDF, please give me a call and I'll be glad to answer all your questions.
• Dan, how much do you charge? All my rates are published in the info pack.
  
  People are shocked when they see them!