I hope your New Year is off to a good start! I want to share with you a simple activity that has helped to save me a lot of time and energy. It helps to focus my attention on productive activities that grow my small business while eliminating ones that don’t achieve good results. While my process requires setting aside some time to think and reflect, the benefits accrue throughout the year.

When each year draws to a close, I take some time to review every graphic design and brand identity project I worked on and evaluate my remote design business. This is a very important process for me as I set my goals for the New Year and work to improve my design services and create systems that support my work-life balance.

How was your year in business?

What are your goals for the New Year?

During the pandemic, I focused my efforts on shifting my design business from servicing predominantly local business owners to a growing online design business serving diverse clients worldwide (while still taking care of my local clients). All the brand identity and graphic design projects were completed remotely in 2023.

In this post, I want to share with you some of the lessons I’ve learned as I built my remote design business. If you’re starting your own small business, especially an online business, I think you will find them helpful.  

1. Building trust is vital for an online business. 

I believe that running a successful online business requires trust. I have found that people will only invest money in products or services they trust and have confidence in. The more expensive the product, the more trust needs to be developed. So, how do you establish trust? 

• A professional online presence (website, promotional materials, social media platforms)

• Testimonials from clients

• Consistency of brand promise (Specifically, the basics: meet deadlines on time, deliver what they requested, etc.)

For example, I deliver simple designs and high-quality results no matter whether the project is small or large; I devote the same level of effort and care to both. 

I have found that the most important factors to establish trust are consistency and a continued focus on meeting or exceeding expectations on business basics: meet your deadlines, bring value to the table, and solve their problems. No matter how small or big the project is, deliver consistent quality and value. Always make sure your clients are satisfied.

2. A narrow focus is better than expanding into too many areas all at once.

At the beginning of 2023, I put a lot of energy toward Instagram content creation, but I didn’t get the results that I was hoping for, and it just left me feeling burnt out. I decided to put it on hold and focus on other projects that needed attention.

Over the summer, I switched to Squarespace's new version 7.1. I decided to put more work into my website and the creation of SEO-friendly blog posts. I am still in the process of improving the posts, but my efforts have already started to pay off. As of December 11, 2023, my site reached 11,000 clicks from Google searches in 28 days. I received significantly more design inquiries and business opportunities in 2023 compared to 2022.

I found that when people have a problem they want to solve, they tend to use search engines with specific keywords rather than using social media platforms. In 2024, I will refine my marketing strategy and create content that provides solutions for specific audiences. 

3. Other people’s strategies may not be right for your small business—Do what works best for you. 

Marketing is very important for small businesses, and there are various ways to increase business visibility. Do you have to do social media marketing and post a few times a day?  Do you have to do sales calls every day? Do you have to do a live video on social media platforms? I don’t think there is a specific formula or rule to increase sales online. I advise people to try different marketing strategies to see what works for them. Other small business owners may tell you what worked for them, but you don’t have to continue with everything they suggested. Eventually, you can pick a few or even just one form of marketing that works best for you. 

For example, speaking in front of an audience is not a strong suit for me, but I am good at speaking in small groups and one-on-one conversations. When I do a discovery video call over Zoom with a prospective client, I tend to listen more than I talk, which helps me to get a deeper understanding of the person I am speaking with. Using live videos, in contrast, doesn’t allow me to connect with my audience on a deeper level, so it is not an effective strategy for me. I continue to prefer discovery video calls despite the challenge it poses for me since English is not my first language. In 2024, I intend to expand my focus on having more one-on-one conversations.

4. You can say “No.”

I used to say yes to nearly all projects because I found it much easier to say yes rather than no. These days, I say no to projects that don’t align with the services I offer or if the client has special requests or timelines that I can’t meet. I’ve found that the more I say no, the clearer my values become, which helps me to differentiate my business from other competitors. If you don’t know what your business stands for or what makes you different, start saying no to projects that don’t align with your values.

5. Rest and prioritize self-care.

Working remotely can make it difficult to set boundaries between work and life. For example, I occasionally have heavy deadlines to meet. One time when I was juggling multiple projects, I ended up working from 9 am to 3 am—that’s not a joke! I try to avoid working with multiple projects but project delay can happen due to various reasons.

It’s easy for small business owners to get burnt out. Work demands don’t always fit neatly into a 9 to 5 time frame. I recommend taking time to rest and do some self-care to help recover. If you feel stressed or burnt out, take a break and treat yourself to a short rest with a cup of tea, go for a walk, play with your pets, or burn a candle before going to bed. It helps you refresh your mind and be more productive than working without stopping.

Conclusion:

In the New Year, one of my goals is to simplify my remote design business to achieve a better work-life balance. Since 2023, I have been using an online platform called Dubsado for managing my client booking schedules, contact forms, projects, etc. There’s been a learning curve for this program, but I am going to use it more to further automate my systems.

I hope you found this post helpful. Wishing you a wonderful and prosperous 2024!

* This post may contain an affiliate link, which means I may receive a tiny commission at no cost to you if you purchase through a link.

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