Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Okay....so many of you have been in my position, I`m sure....it`s after midnight...the kid(s) are in bed.....business that used to be steady is taking a dry spell.  You`re afraid to go out in market because you don`t want too many new clients for fear of your usual steady clients beginning to request more work, but you need a little extra something.

So that`s me right now!  And I`m hoping someone out there has a been there done that advice to help me with a little nudge :)

I was lucky enough to be one of those startups that had my previous 9-5 employer become a client.  I work from home and have a 2 year old....my husband is the major bread winner....although our budget requires me to bring a certain amount home each month. 

I`m a graphic designer and enjoy a decent workload  maybe around 20-30 hours billable a week...but also make raising my daughter priority.  I`m fearful of a large marketing campaign, as I do not want to get more work than I can handle.

For a couple years, I`ve been in the position that I was too busy to market and really didn`t need to...yes, I know this is bad...I believe reading on startupnation that you shouldn`t wait until the slow times to market...but the reality is, I`m there!  I have a few other small steady clients....and no one has needed work for a month or so and it`s been a wake-up call.

I guess I was just giving a shout out to see if anyone understands my situation.  And has some suggestions for marketing ideas.  I honestly have not had to go out to get work...I`ve gotten nice "aside from my large client" jobs by word of mouth.....so marketing/networking is new.  I was thinking of maybe joining my local Chamber of Commerce and attend networkin gmeetings as a start.

Thanks all for listening!


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Chistine Rosas
Sasor Graphics, Inc.

www.sasorgraphics.com

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Christine - it`s OK to turn down clients. You can turn them down outright if they are not ideal clients, or just tell them "not now, can I get to you later?"

This was an interesting lesson for me to learn, that I didn`t have to take everything that walked in the door. Like you, I am a work-a-home mom too, so I need to balance family with clients, and balance workload out with other employees. It`s all about choices.

Good luck and drop me a note if you need a little support.

Boy is THIS a major problem for entrepreneurs and single-owner businesses! People say that most startups will go out of business in a year. But right behind that are the number of 1-client companies who go belly-up when that client changes.

Diversify! That`s the answer, as far as I`ve been able to find out. Never let yourself become dependent upon one source of income. And it`s so easy to do! The money`s great, it`s right there, it`s steady, and you get fat and happy. Until the client or source fades away.

The odds are, even in graphic design, that if you get too much work you`ll be able to hire or contract someone to help. Lots more people want to work for someone than to start their own business. As Nikole said, you can always turn down work. But it`s not so easy to get work that doesn`t exist.

Market your services but only accept as much new business as you can handle.  Or, perhaps this is the time to think about allowing your business to grow if you experience an overwhelming response from your marketing.

Too much business is much better than not enough.  You have options, and now is a great time to consider them- before you are faced with having to make an immediate decision.

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Rosanna Tussey
Owner
New Mexico Candle Co.
http://www.nmcandleco.com

I too run a graphic design business from the home. My wife and I do it together, she is the designer, I run the business side of things. We have definitely experienced the ebb and flow of being extremely busy at one point and dead another. DIVERSIFY is key!! You want to build a solid client base, then market to that client base to get new work.

Our motto has always been to not be afraid to grow the business. Market and bring in the clients, then figure out how you are going to service them. Bring on someone part time, or outsource work to other freelance designers, or just work your tail off to make everyone happy. We have always said YES, and because of it we have built a solid client base of over 200 clients. They don`t all need work at the same time, but once you have a solid client base of clients that come back when they need something, the down times become less and less. We also continue to market both to our current clients and to local and national businesses. We have a good mixture of new and old client, and local and national clients. I am pleased to be so diverse, it creates structure and stability.

Oh, and yes, we have children, 13, 4 and 4 months. There is nothing more challenging than running a business and raising a family AT THE SAME TIME.  But, we wanted to raise our kids ourselves and know that the business does have to take a back seat sometimes and maybe isnt growing as fast as it could. But we are setting the ground work for it to take off once the little one is in school.

On a side note, we are looking to outsource some work, maybe we should talk. We could potentially become another solid client for you.

Best of luck!

Perhaps get some "bread and butter" work, like being a contractor for some print shops who offer artistically designed business cards? That`s part of the Diversification Plan (which goes along with the business plan, distribution plan, exit strategy, life plan, etc.).

I wanted to thank everyone for their feedback and confidence boost that I can handle making the next step!  I`m glad to hear I`m not alone in my fears and concerns as a home-based business owner and a parent....oh and a wife :)

I really do appreciate you taking the time to respond!


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Chistine Rosas
Sasor Graphics, Inc.

www.sasorgraphics.com

Hi, Christine.

Just thought I`d pop in here and say that I really understand where you`re coming from here. I don`t market at all, and I end up living in constant fear that either my clients will stop buying or I`ll get a surge of new business; either one would really hurt. I loved BoldPrint`s response to not be afraid to grow the business. How I wish I could do that!

A lot of people mentioned you could diversify. Could you create graphics to resell in web graphic packages or CDs? I know a graphic designer who specialized in creating graphics for candy wrapper companies, and ended up making the majority of her income reselling those graphics over and over. Just a thought.

Good luck!