The website states; "This is the start of a journey. One where you will be challenged to take your self-doubt, bundle it up and chuck it overboard. You have just downloaded insights from 13 of the most creative and resourceful entrepreneurs on the planet."
Here is just some of the insightful and resourceful information I gathered:
Your best idea might be the one people laugh at
- Kathryn Schultz
Lessons for designers to embrace (Nubby Twiglet)
1) If a client immediately loves everything that you've done, there's still room for improvement.
It does occasionally happen and it’s the best feeling in the world when you receive positive affirmations based on something that you created. Though it is a huge ego boost, you’re not perfect. Get feedback from a few peers and then take it a step further.
2) Don't take negative feedback too personally
If a client isn’t excited about what you’re presenting, ask for some honest, constructive feedback and build off of it. Clear up any misunderstandings, but don’t get defensive. After all, if they’re paying you, they’re entitled to an opinion. Stand your ground if you think that something’s not right but also listen. Take some time to process the information and then present a revision. If you’ve given it your best shot and are confident with the output but they still don’t like it, at least you have some peace of mind knowing that you did your personal best.
3) Clean and simple does not equal boring
When I was first starting out, I felt that I needed to prove that I could design. This meant adding in extra flourishes, brushes and layers of things that, looking back, were totally unnecessary. As you get more comfortable with your style and receive more training through school, internships and jobs you’ll realize that there’s no need to shout from the mountaintops, “Look what I did!” The work will speak for itself.
4) Accept the fact not everyone will love your work
Design is subjective and so are people’s opinions. I’ve had times where on the very same day, one viewer of my portfolio offered me work on the spot while another had a laundry list of changes that I should make. As long as you’re content with your output, that’s all that matters at the end of the day. Remember that if you’re making everyone happy, then you’re doing something wrong.
5) Everything should have a purpose
More, more, more isn’t always better. Don’t add more elements just because. By adding, ask yourself what you’re you taking away.
Communicating your essence
The foundations of communicating your essence are what you say and what you do to make people feel that they matter. Things like:
- Being different
- Doing something you love
- Working with people you care about
- Looking for niches and edges
- Spending time listening to customers
- Showing not telling
- Being generous and sharing your insights
- Not worrying about the competition
- Fulfilling the unexpressed desires of your clients
- Building relationships
- Delivering value
- Doing something unexpected
- Speaking human
- Creating surprise
- Generating delight
- Connecting people to each other
- Compelling clients to say, "I love this!"
- Compelling clients customers to say "I love this, where did you get it?"
- Being yourself
Is your product a good idea? (Chris Gullebeau)
1) Desperate need
People need (or think they need) your product or service
2) High value
You deliver high value. You're proud of what you sell
3) High margins
You make real money form it.
If you have all three, you're probably onto something
What do you sell?
Selling design is very—different from selling tall skinny lattés, boxes of cereal, or tubes of toothpaste, unless you own a logo warehouse that is. Great design is not a mere commodity and this is what makes differentiating your product a challenge at times. As a creative would you want it any other way?
Does your story really define what you do?
- What makes your design stand out?
- What makes your work blend in?
- How is your product different?
- How is your service special?
- Are you delivering on your promise, original, unique, timeless, flexible, enduring?
- Can you create a new market and do something that hasn't been done before
- Can you reinvent something that's already been done and do it better?
- What is selling right now?
- What's not selling today that could sell if it was marketing in new ways tomorrow?
- Could you produce something thats scalable?
- Is it possible to create scarcity?
- What makes your product remarkable?
- Does your design start conversations?
- If not, how could you make that happen?
Understand your target market
- What drives them?
- How do they choose?
- What communication channels do they use?
- How can you nurture professional relationships?
- How can you package your product to meet the worldview of the audience you are trying to reach?
- What are the tool you will need to create a presence in your chosen market?
- Are you designing for everyone or perhaps creating things that some might dislike?
- Are you asking people to switch to you or are you creating a whole new market
- Why would I buy from you and not the designer who rans in the top ten in Google?
THINK BIG ACT SMALL
Go for it (Mark Bloom)
Create something people want to talk about
Focus on doing great work. Design things that people love and can’t help sharing. Allow your work to speak for itself. People like you who give form to ideas have the opportunity to be unique. That’s an edge in itself.
Make it easy for people to spread word about you
Consider how people interact with each other. Work out new ways to make it easy for them to spread your work, ideas and designs. Although there is no map, here’s a short list of potential routes to think about.
It's not how good you are. It's how good you want to be
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