Hey Mike, great video! I've been a web designer for 12 years now and I can definitely relate to this video. It's not easy to make a living designing websites anymore. There are too many free tools and cheap services out there that allow people to create a professional looking website. I've been learning digital marketing myself because I feel this is the future of the business we're in. People already have websites, but still need to market their business, drive traffic to their website and rank well on Google. This is where things are right now for us. We designers have to evolve with the times. Unfortunately, it's not all about aesthetics and design anymore. Thanks for the video. Looking forward to more!
Spot on. To be honest, you can still do the website building, but like you said, the customer needs more. They will pay you to bring in customers. Designers must evolve a little into marketing in order to be successful at running a solo business successfully. ;)
You know people used to say to me "Oh yeah just start your own business" or "yeah just go freelance". This vid reaffirmed to myself why I never wanted to just do that, without a full-time/part-time job; especially when you mentioned the discipline and marketing aspect of things.
Thanks a lot, Mike! Everytime I am having a creative burnout and lost my motivation as a designer, I will just watch your videos all over again. It's already 2019 and you don't have any new videos. We need you!
I wish I found this video sooner...I graduated college in early 2017 and went straight to be a web design freelancer. I was preconditioned by my parents (since they are entrepreneurs themselves) that entrepreneurship is the go-to path. You don't have to work 9-5 they said.. (FYI I'm living in an Asian household) Boy, I was wrong. I was skipping steps. I should've listened to my guts.. Years down the line, I was working on projects that are not scalable, I couldn't spend enough time with my significant other and yet I don't get to live a balanced life. Now she's working a full-time job and I don't have a stable source of income. I can say that this had put a strain on our relationship. At July 2021, I decided to cut my losses, quit my business and started to find a full-time career as a Product Designer. I'm already in my late 20's. This was the biggest slap on my face. However, you're never too late to make a change. Please follow Mike's advice and don't end up like me. (sorry for my grammar, I'm not a native English speaker)
I have done the entrepreneur thing for YEARS. It sucks for your career if you don’t make a lot of money which I don’t. I want a fulltime job as a UX/UI Design for several reasons: 1. I want to have a freaking retirement fund, which entrepreneurship doesn’t do well with (sooo much risk!). 2. I want to buy a home and my entrepreneurial pursuits will not help. 3. I want to have regular predictable income, where any money I make via my business or freelancing (I also do graphic design and social media management infrequently) will be put to grow the business. It’s hard to grow a biz when you have to pay bills too. A regular job will help me handle regular financial obligations while biz income can directly support my biz. Let’s say I want to go hard and do a paid ad campaign, I don’t need to feel regret or bad about using funds from my biz for my biz. 4. I want to be VP or hold an other executive level position, that’s important to me. When I left the fashion industry to have children years back, I was on track to be Design Director, VP of Design or Creative Director. I want that still, and I intend to have it. 5. It feels good to have a job. Moving up the career ladder, taking on responsibility is good for the psyche. I’ve dove the biz owner thing and one thing I’ve learned is that there are ways to reap the benefits without the grunt work. I’m very excited for this new opportunity in my life, and I feel like I’ve always been on this path, but now it has a name: UX/UI Designer. Question: as a small business owner I’ve designed my own sites (I have a can do attitude about most things) is this a transferable skill to add to my resume/cover letter/interview? I wasn’t coding, just using Wordpress, Wix, etc. But I did create simple mockups (on paper or with illustrator, etc) which makes me feel like this is my destiny. Thank you!
I’m a digital marketer who wants to do marketing specifically for designers and creatives who don’t have the business knowledge to succeed. I’m planning to get some design background myself to better under the industry, as well as get a better user experience for my services
I've been an in house developer for a few years and have been trying to do freelance on the side as supplementary income. If it really takes off then I would consider freelance full time
Mike, You just gave everyone a complete business plan, a complete blueprint for a business. We have to think of a job as just one aspect (one revenue stream) of our business. It is there while we are building other aspects of our business (i.e. digital marketing, product design, consulting, etc.). Digital Marketing includes UI/UX and Product design. Great Video, a lot of long-term value in this one. Thank you!
I can’t believe how accurately everything you said describes my current situation. I actually knew that digital marketing is the solution to my lack of clients. But wasn’t sure about it. Now I’m. Thank you so much
Great video and topic Mike, will you be doing more videos on this digital marketing topic like suggested online courses you can recommend on learning this stuff, and other practical steps we can take like how to price and package these kind of services etc etc. I do hope so because I and a lot of others I’m sure would find that extremely valuable.
Thanks for the advice. I'm freelance but I design blueprints. I was thinking of acquiring clients at trade shows. I've been itemizing my fees. Typically the designs I do are small commercial that take about 6hrs at the most. I'm looking into jecoming a training provider with the state as I am qualified and offering consulting. Any feedback will be appreciated.
1. Not approaching freelance as a business -- missing the sales & marketing component. 2. Not providing proper amount of services to scale their business.
Hey Mike, I'm studying UX Design at the moment and am unsure of which sector I want to pursue (e.g. fashion, finance, travel). Any way you could do a video explaining what they involve?
Lost me when you said get a full time job and started saying 50, 60, 80, 100K and I laughed. I worked as a full-time graphic designer for 20 years and never made more that $36,600 a year. If I had a job paying anything like you said why would I need a freelance job?
I was unable to stay with the sales aspect, since I had to work Temp jobs and responsibilities of taking care of my mother. Also, I ran into a lot of people that wanted a website for dirt cheap. So, I decided to focus on bartending, and I'm onto another business that I've been curious about for a while.
I have a client that wants a water mark. Correct me if I’m wrong, a watermark is essentially logo work. He does not want to pay for the work, instead he sent me a bunch of “free logos” from the internet and I honestly don’t have an answer as to why he shouldn’t use those instead? Did I miss something?
Hey thanks for the info. I just had a question, would you recommend everyone starts with website design? Are there any other areas of graphic design you'd recommend designers start marketing with?
I did the whole get a real job, and it ruin me in customer service to the point I have server depression. No one will hire me due to not begin in LA or not having the right bloodlines
There are many, but truly, I say start by learning how paid advertising work. Start small. Don't try to learn everything. For example, if you learn how Facebook advertising works (i.e. setting up ads, learning how pay-per-click works, how to lead potential buyers back to a landing page, etc.) that would be a great service to offer in addition to designing websites. You can then learn how to price your FB Ads management services. I will touch on this more and share resources where you can learn. But that's how I would start. Start small (one area like FB advertising), then expand from there like learning YT advertising, etc.
hey mike i have a question, right now i know very little about website design but let say i wanted to learn it, and make 1 million in 5 years, what is your best advice on what kindof job i should try and get
Hey Mike, great video!
I've been a web designer for 12 years now and I can definitely relate to this video. It's not easy to make a living designing websites anymore. There are too many free tools and cheap services out there that allow people to create a professional looking website. I've been learning digital marketing myself because I feel this is the future of the business we're in. People already have websites, but still need to market their business, drive traffic to their website and rank well on Google. This is where things are right now for us. We designers have to evolve with the times. Unfortunately, it's not all about aesthetics and design anymore. Thanks for the video. Looking forward to more!
Spot on. To be honest, you can still do the website building, but like you said, the customer needs more. They will pay you to bring in customers. Designers must evolve a little into marketing in order to be successful at running a solo business successfully. ;)
So true. I’ve noticed the same thing.
I agree because digital marketing is powerful than designers nowadays
You know people used to say to me "Oh yeah just start your own business" or "yeah just go freelance". This vid reaffirmed to myself why I never wanted to just do that, without a full-time/part-time job; especially when you mentioned the discipline and marketing aspect of things.
Thanks a lot, Mike! Everytime I am having a creative burnout and lost my motivation as a designer, I will just watch your videos all over again. It's already 2019 and you don't have any new videos. We need you!
I wish I found this video sooner...I graduated college in early 2017 and went straight to be a web design freelancer. I was preconditioned by my parents (since they are entrepreneurs themselves) that entrepreneurship is the go-to path. You don't have to work 9-5 they said.. (FYI I'm living in an Asian household)
Boy, I was wrong. I was skipping steps. I should've listened to my guts.. Years down the line, I was working on projects that are not scalable, I couldn't spend enough time with my significant other and yet I don't get to live a balanced life. Now she's working a full-time job and I don't have a stable source of income. I can say that this had put a strain on our relationship.
At July 2021, I decided to cut my losses, quit my business and started to find a full-time career as a Product Designer. I'm already in my late 20's. This was the biggest slap on my face.
However, you're never too late to make a change. Please follow Mike's advice and don't end up like me.
(sorry for my grammar, I'm not a native English speaker)
I have done the entrepreneur thing for YEARS. It sucks for your career if you don’t make a lot of money which I don’t. I want a fulltime job as a UX/UI Design for several reasons: 1. I want to have a freaking retirement fund, which entrepreneurship doesn’t do well with (sooo much risk!). 2. I want to buy a home and my entrepreneurial pursuits will not help. 3. I want to have regular predictable income, where any money I make via my business or freelancing (I also do graphic design and social media management infrequently) will be put to grow the business. It’s hard to grow a biz when you have to pay bills too. A regular job will help me handle regular financial obligations while biz income can directly support my biz. Let’s say I want to go hard and do a paid ad campaign, I don’t need to feel regret or bad about using funds from my biz for my biz.
4. I want to be VP or hold an other executive level position, that’s important to me. When I left the fashion industry to have children years back, I was on track to be Design Director, VP of Design or Creative Director. I want that still, and I intend to have it. 5. It feels good to have a job. Moving up the career ladder, taking on responsibility is good for the psyche. I’ve dove the biz owner thing and one thing I’ve learned is that there are ways to reap the benefits without the grunt work. I’m very excited for this new opportunity in my life, and I feel like I’ve always been on this path, but now it has a name: UX/UI Designer.
Question: as a small business owner I’ve designed my own sites (I have a can do attitude about most things) is this a transferable skill to add to my resume/cover letter/interview? I wasn’t coding, just using Wordpress, Wix, etc. But I did create simple mockups (on paper or with illustrator, etc) which makes me feel like this is my destiny. Thank you!
The value in this is unmeasurable. Thank you.
I’m a digital marketer who wants to do marketing specifically for designers and creatives who don’t have the business knowledge to succeed. I’m planning to get some design background myself to better under the industry, as well as get a better user experience for my services
yo man u still intrested?
You stopped showing up in my suggested videos. I was like where is Mike?
Hope all is well, looking forward to future talks.
I've been an in house developer for a few years and have been trying to do freelance on the side as supplementary income. If it really takes off then I would consider freelance full time
Mike, You just gave everyone a complete business plan, a complete blueprint for a business. We have to think of a job as just one aspect (one revenue stream) of our business. It is there while we are building other aspects of our business (i.e. digital marketing, product design, consulting, etc.). Digital Marketing includes UI/UX and Product design. Great Video, a lot of long-term value in this one. Thank you!
I can’t believe how accurately everything you said describes my current situation. I actually knew that digital marketing is the solution to my lack of clients. But wasn’t sure about it. Now I’m. Thank you so much
Thank you Mike, was having a dilemma in which path to take, thank you for the tips
I'm definitelty reviewing my strategy right now after 1 year in freelancing. Thank you Mike!
Great video Mike!
This one in particular was very helpful!
Fantastic video. Very real and helpful advice, well explained, thanks for sharing.
Great video and topic Mike, will you be doing more videos on this digital marketing topic like suggested online courses you can recommend on learning this stuff, and other practical steps we can take like how to price and package these kind of services etc etc. I do hope so because I and a lot of others I’m sure would find that extremely valuable.
This was super helpful, honest and insightful. Thanks for providing value to this industry, it is appreciated!
Thanks for the advice. I'm freelance but I design blueprints. I was thinking of acquiring clients at trade shows. I've been itemizing my fees. Typically the designs I do are small commercial that take about 6hrs at the most.
I'm looking into jecoming a training provider with the state as I am qualified and offering consulting. Any feedback will be appreciated.
Great advice, thanks a lot
This is great advice. Thanks Mike
Real talk. Thanks Mike!
1. Not approaching freelance as a business -- missing the sales & marketing component.
2. Not providing proper amount of services to scale their business.
I miss your videos, Mike.
I really appreciate this video and your advice, specially when you said that you need to get a job before freelancing. Thanks for this video!
I absolutely agree with this as well! Are you a freelancer too? :)
Just found you and i like your content man
Thank you for the video! Very useful tips. Do you have any recommendations on books, videos or anything regarding to sales & marketing ?
hi Alex! I listen to some podcasts when it comes to marketing! I would be happy to recommend some if you're still searching!
Really useful information thank you 😁👍
very useful thank you !
Hey Mike, I'm studying UX Design at the moment and am unsure of which sector I want to pursue (e.g. fashion, finance, travel). Any way you could do a video explaining what they involve?
why you don't make playlist for videos
That spot on your screen had me trying to wipe my phone screen off. 😄
Where do you suggest I go to learn digital marketing?
thank you for these helpful tips on digital marketing!
Is there a video u made on starting Digital Marketing?
Lost me when you said get a full time job and started saying 50, 60, 80, 100K and I laughed. I worked as a full-time graphic designer for 20 years and never made more that $36,600 a year. If I had a job paying anything like you said why would I need a freelance job?
I love this no-bullshit explanation
Great video. Us designers are very delusional when it comes to working for ourselves. Get all the books by russel Branson (traffic secrets etc)
I was unable to stay with the sales aspect, since I had to work Temp jobs and responsibilities of taking care of my mother. Also, I ran into a lot of people that wanted a website for dirt cheap. So, I decided to focus on bartending, and I'm onto another business that I've been curious about for a while.
Rick Ford same. Sales can be hard. I enjoy marketing but sales I struggle with.
Best of luck pal, go for it!
I have a client that wants a water mark. Correct me if I’m wrong, a watermark is essentially logo work. He does not want to pay for the work, instead he sent me a bunch of “free logos” from the internet and I honestly don’t have an answer as to why he shouldn’t use those instead? Did I miss something?
Hey thanks for the info. I just had a question, would you recommend everyone starts with website design? Are there any other areas of graphic design you'd recommend designers start marketing with?
I like this guy! Bell clicked!
thank you mike...
Hey Mike, you're the best!
Hey Mike, What happen?
As a follower I'm eagerly waiting for your videos. Kindly update.
Wishes you a
Merry Christmas and Advance Happy New year.
his tips are definitely great! I'm a freelance graphic designer so I thought this video was great. are you a freelancer as well?
Great information
great video!
Is Mike still making videos? :'-(
I did the whole get a real job, and it ruin me in customer service to the point I have server depression.
No one will hire me due to not begin in LA or not having the right bloodlines
Great video
THX Mike.
Thanks man , u the real MVP .
YES
Hi Mike. Thanks for the video! What are some resources you like to recommend for people to learn digital marketing?
There are many, but truly, I say start by learning how paid advertising work. Start small. Don't try to learn everything. For example, if you learn how Facebook advertising works (i.e. setting up ads, learning how pay-per-click works, how to lead potential buyers back to a landing page, etc.) that would be a great service to offer in addition to designing websites. You can then learn how to price your FB Ads management services. I will touch on this more and share resources where you can learn. But that's how I would start. Start small (one area like FB advertising), then expand from there like learning YT advertising, etc.
@@MikeLocke thank you very much for the advice :)
Digitalmarketinginstitute.com
Also there are numerous marketing and digital marketing courses on Udemy.com for an affordable price. I wish you much success.
Hey Mike,
I sent an email to you two weeks ago that I didn't receive an answer.
Is that normal?
Where are you man!?
I stay in india and iam still studying i wanna get your course... But i cant affort $149 Is there any coupon Mike that helps me out?
Hey Mike, are you alive? If yes, give a smilie face :) No videos recently.
hey mike i have a question, right now i know very little about website design but let say i wanted to learn it, and make 1 million in 5 years, what is your best advice on what kindof job i should try and get
.