Establishing your online graphic design business is the beginning of a great world of financial and personal fulfillment for you. But to ensure your continual success, you must remain up-to-date on current practices, technologies, and processes in the industry.

Graphic designers are expected to remain on the cutting edge of design technology. You can maintain your expertise through networking, forums, professional organizations, relevant websites, and other resources.

Don't neglect or discount the value of staying current. Your clients expect it and you will produce the best designs possible when you have the tools and technology available to you. And stay current with the burgeoning growth of the Internet to stay on top of tools and strategies to engage customers

Some proven ways to maintain cutting edge knowledge include:

1. Reading and subscribing to industry specific publications

2. Maintaining membership in industry associations such as AIGA

3. Networking with other graphic design professionals

4. Evaluating updated software releases

5. Soliciting customer feedback

6. Participating in relevant forums and newsgroups

7. Actively reviewing press releases on relevant subject matter

BEWARE OF DERAILING YOUR FOCUS!

As you proceed with growing your business, you will certainly encounter obstacles and challenges along the way. Many of these challenges are easily managed while others may be a little more difficult. The following tips will help you in the process.

Follow your instincts.

When working with potential clients, you may feel that something is not exactly right. The communications with an individual may make you feel uncomfortable or nervous for some reason. You may feel that they are making unreasonable demands of you.

Trust your instincts when this happens. If your instincts tell you to steer clear of this particular client or project, then follow them! Not every project is meant for you and you should make decisions based on your best judgment. Politely decline the project and explain that your current business load does not allow you to adequately respond to their needs and deadlines.

Always be polite. It doesn't pay to burn bridges – they may come back later with a more reasonable request.

Beware of con artists.

Unfortunately, there are people who are experts at getting something for nothing. They have no qualms about conning you. They may solicit your services for ‘non-profit' organizations, unpaid help, or as a donation for a specific cause.

Be careful and investigate these types of things carefully before responding. Ask questions to gain clarification. If their reaction shows anxiety, anger, or any type of unprofessionalism, then that's a great clue that something is awry. Walk away from this potential customer quickly.

Avoid clashing personalities.

In the world of business, there are sometimes personalities that just don't mix. Unfortunately, that means that your personality may not suit your client's personality well. Maybe they're overly obsessive about a particular type of design, or they are heavy-handed in their input to the project – not allowing you to use creativity and quality processes in your work.

If this happens to you, don't dismay. It happens to every designer at some point in their career. If you have honestly done everything possible to please your client, but you don't see a reasonable resolution to the issues, then it's time to make a decision about the future of working with the client.

The best way to handle this is to assist the client in securing the services of another high quality designer who more closely matches their personality and their design needs. This may mean a referral to a competitor and losing a large client. But it may be worth the sacrifice to you and your business. Don't allow over-burdening clients to derail you and your business objectives.

And don't be surprised if this challenging client refers new customers to you in the future. They will be impressed with your professionalism and recognition of their design needs.

Beware of non-paying customers

Unfortunately in the world of cyberspace, some people are more brazen about not paying for services delivered than they would be in a face-to-face situation. That's why you should consider down payments or partial payments upon execution of a project. You can send multiple invoices, add past due and finance charges, and pursue payment. But expect that you will have some percentage of customers who will not pay you for services. Learn from this and be sure not to give them another chance until all past due invoices are paid.

Manage unrealistic expectations

One final caution is related to customers who have unrealistic expectations. They either perceive that their work is more important than anyone else, or they just don't care. They may set unrealistic demands on your time to complete their work in a short timeframe. They never give you enough lead to time to do a high quality job.

Don't allow yourself to get pressured into this type of situation. It will not only jeopardize your ability to produce high quality design in the unrealistic timeframe for that particular customer, but you may lose other customers who get pushed aside to meet this demand. Use good common sense and walk away from this type of client.

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