Stock Photos & Graphics
Owning your own design business is liberating, believe me, I know. You get to set your own schedule, and you get to work on fulfilling projects. You decide how to do business, and your business operates as efficiently as you do. If you work efficiently, your business is efficient and you are productive and you make a great living. This is attributed to using the right tools to save you time and money, as well as knowing your limits.
The Right Tools Will Make or Break You
Working efficiently has several benefits. You don’t waste valuable time completing menial tasks. you also don’t run yourself ragged trying to be an all-star 24/7. You can only do that for so long before it catches up to you, and you experience burn out and your work suffers.
Examples of Great Tools
Social Media
Imagine having to log in and out of multiple social media accounts, posting different messages and promoting your work. You have to log into Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and you might even have multiple accounts in each of these outlets. This alone could eat up hours of your time. Creating and scheduling multiple social media posts at once, all from one interface will save you hours. That’s where services like Hootsuite come in. You pay $8-$10 per month, and you save hours of work each day. That’s well worth it.
Web Design
Creating responsive websites from scratch can take a great deal of time. A lot of designers use templates, which I really don’t do (even though I create free templates for you often). However, you can also save tons of time by using a great framework that you understand. It has to make sense to you, and by using a framework such as Bootstrap 3 or Foundation 5, you can concentrate on making an awesome website instead of trying to figure out every little detail on your own.
Stock Photos
Stock Photos are extremely important in any design business. I run my business solo. That means that everything that I do is on my own. I run Creative Beacon, Web Design Blog, and G Squared Studios (My Local Design Business) all by myself. I have no other designers, editors, developers, and I have no overhead. There are several reasons why I use stock photos in my designs.
I am a Terrible Photographer
There, I said it. I can take a still life photo, but if that subject is alive, you can bet your bottom dollar that I’ll take their photo the very second that they blink. I am getting better, but I just don’t have the time to devote to being a better photographer. Plus, I can admit that I just don’t have the talent. you either have it or you don’t. I am definitely not a diamond in the rough.
It Keeps My Business Lean
The less overhead that I have, the better. I don’t have to hire a photographer, and I also don’t have to hire models and stage the work myself. I don’t have to rent photography equipment, and I don’t have to worry about cranking every dollar out of my clients to try to make up the profit that would get eaten up from all of the expenses. If I had a major client with a major budget, then I might consider it, but most of my clients are local small businesses.
It Keeps Clients Cost Low
When I save money, I pass it on the the client, or the consumer. If I didn’t have to spend $1000 shooting a scene, then I don’t have to work that into the client’s budget. If I can find stock photos that look great and send the right message for my client, then my work is just as effective, and the client ends up saving big time on the costs.
It Saves Me Time
If I can log on to a stock photo site, type in a few keywords and find excellent images or graphics, that is a huge time saver over the alternative. Stock photo sites are usually cheaper than hiring a photographer. The great thing is that the photographer still gets paid for their work, but it is spread out across a wider audience. When you find a great deal on stock images and graphics, it is an excellent opportunity to save money on a service that you’ll definitely get use out of.
An Awesome Deal on Photos and Graphics
One great deal going on right now is found on Graphic Stock, where you get a week of free downloads. Yes, you head me correctly that is a full week of free downloads of graphics and stock photos that you can use in your projects. Even if you paid $50 per month for their graphics and images, you’d save money in the long run, via all the ways that I mentioned above. Your client’s print or website design will look great, and you’ll have a portfolio-worthy project that you’ll be proud to show off.
If you want to take part in an awesome deal on stock images and graphics, click the image below and sign up. You’ll have unlimited access to free graphics and images for flyers, brochures, postcards, business cards, books, publications, and websites. You”ll be so glad that you did!
