Graphic Design Business

27 Tips For Starting A Successful Graphic Design Business (2024)

Pat Walls

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Updated: January 19th, 2023

Want to start your own graphic design business? Here are some tips you should know:

Learn more about starting a graphic design business:

Where to start?

-> How much does it cost to start a graphic design business?
-> Pros and cons of a graphic design business

Need inspiration?

-> Other graphic design business success stories
-> Marketing ideas for a graphic design business
-> Graphic design business slogans
-> Graphic design business names
-> Graphic design business Instagram bios

Other resources

-> Profitability of a graphic design business
-> Blog post ideas for a graphic design business
-> Graphic design business quotes

We've interviewed thousands of successful founders at Starter Story and asked what advice they would give to entrepreneurs who are just getting started.

Here's the best advice we discovered for starting a graphic design business:

#1: Mimi Council, founder of Above 8000 Creative:

We chatted with with Mimi, founder of Above 8000 Creative ($10K/month). In our interview, Mimi says:

Set a goal for yourself to email potential clients, start with once a week, then go to a few times a week, then even a few times a day. The more you communicate, the more people find out about you.

Read the full interview ➜

#2: Scott Tarcy, founder of caddesignhelp.com:

We chatted with with Scott, founder of caddesignhelp.com ($8K/month). In our interview, Scott says:

I worked this as a side hustle for about 6 months before quitting my full-time job and doing this full time. That was probably the hardest I ever worked in my life.

Additionally:

One thing I learned in some of the entrepreneurship books and podcasts I read was that you should try to create multiple streams of income.

Read the full interview ➜

#3: Lewis Jenkins, founder of Percept:

We chatted with with Lewis, founder of Percept ($110K/month). In our interview, Lewis says:

If you are prepared to do whatever it takes and have the passion to follow it through, you will be rewarded in the long run.

Read the full interview ➜

#4: Junaid Ansari, founder of Draftss:

We chatted with with Junaid, founder of Draftss ($15K/month). In our interview, Junaid says:

Having to do day-to-day operations is a serious hazard to your company's innovation.

Read the full interview ➜

#5: Junaid Ansari, founder of Draftss:

We chatted with with Junaid, founder of Draftss ($15K/month). In our interview, Junaid says:

The most effective method we tried for our validation was initiating a conversation with every person who visited our website to understand more about what they were looking for and what would make Draftss an ideal provider for their needs.

Additionally:

Productized services usually have high churn rates. Depending on the type of service you provide. Consider offering an exclusive annual subscription to clients with huge discounts for better lifetime value.

Read the full interview ➜

#6: Marilyn Wo, founder of MeetAnders:

We chatted with with Marilyn, founder of MeetAnders ($7.32K/month). In our interview, Marilyn says:

Once you’ve handed off more than 50% of your daily tasks and got the hang of one marketing channel, start learning the works of another channel, not to rely or beat the algorithm, but to understand the audience in the new channel.

Additionally:

I believe that anything can be a business and can grow, you just have to try different angles to promote or market it until it is profitable.

Read the full interview ➜

#7: Peter Kozodoy, founder of Quantum Digital Assets:

We chatted with with Peter, founder of Quantum Digital Assets ($160K/month). In our interview, Peter says:

Entrepreneurship is 10% about business, 100% about people, and 1,000% about the self.

Additionally:

My #1 tip to entrepreneurs is: get a mentor. It helps to have someone who’s been there and done that be able to tell you.

Read the full interview ➜

#8: Lewis Jenkins, founder of Percept:

We chatted with with Lewis, founder of Percept ($110K/month). In our interview, Lewis says:

Life and business are full of ups and downs. Enjoy the good times, and try not to stress too much when things aren’t the best.

Additionally:

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Keep working towards better and you can guarantee you will be going in the right direction.

Read the full interview ➜

#9: Lewis Jenkins, founder of Percept:

We chatted with with Lewis, founder of Percept ($110K/month). In our interview, Lewis says:

In a service-based industry, your people are the key. Their skills, capabilities, attitudes, and personalities will make or break your business.

Additionally:

I hated the idea of cold-calling and I didn’t want to pound the pavement. The thought of attending events for networking purposes also made me cringe.

Read the full interview ➜

#10: Tony Hardy, founder of Canny Creative:

We chatted with with Tony, founder of Canny Creative ($50K/month). In our interview, Tony says:

If you love what you do, and can’t stop thinking about it, then you’re going to be able to build something awesome. So do it.

Read the full interview ➜

#11: SumanJung, founder of DesignPac:

We chatted with with SumanJung, founder of DesignPac ($4.2K/month). In our interview, SumanJung says:

I grew up in a non-English speaking country, yet today the majority of my clients are English speaking. I had to practice to get to this point. Sometimes you will stumble, sometimes you will fail, but the important part to remember is to keep getting back up.

Additionally:

Most people fail not because their dream was unachievable or unneeded, but because they fail to detail how they will get there. Be prepared for the unforeseen disasters and be prepared to take them one at a time.

Read the full interview ➜

#12: Marilyn Wo, founder of MeetAnders:

We chatted with with Marilyn, founder of MeetAnders ($7.32K/month). In our interview, Marilyn says:

Our customer acquisition relied solely on referrals. We had enough referrals coming to keep us busy. But because I was drowning in a sea of day-to-day tasks, that didn’t leave me time to set up a proper lead generation system.

Additionally:

I must say we could have done better to grow faster in the early days, but on the flip side, our slow growth has helped us find a way to bake in fast and quality work into the process.

Further:

Focusing on competition is a waste of time. It’s best to channel your energy and time into knowing your potential customers better and creating your own uniqueness to differentiate yourself from others.

Read the full interview ➜

#13: Christiaan Huynen, founder of DesignBro:

We chatted with with Christiaan, founder of DesignBro ($/month). In our interview, Christiaan says:

Get a coherent ‘go to market’ strategy, it won’t work if you just create a shop, and expect that people will just magically find you.

Read the full interview ➜

#14: Mimi Council, founder of Above 8000 Creative:

We chatted with with Mimi, founder of Above 8000 Creative ($10K/month). In our interview, Mimi says:

We are not hiring, and I don’t plan to ever hire. I had employees for many years when we owned our bake shop, and they are so much work! While it may be some people’s goal to have a staff, it’s a goal of mine to not have one.

Additionally:

This year, we have learned how to say no. It’s kinda crazy because when you start a business you want to say yes to everything! Plus, when you say yes, you make money. But, as you start to value your time and your worth, you have to learn how to say no sometimes.

Read the full interview ➜

#15: Dan Frist, founder of Sttark:

We chatted with with Dan, founder of Sttark ($1M/month). In our interview, Dan says:

As a business owner, I’ve learned the importance of mindful meditation and taking time to think. This is a personal habit that is good for all business owners to have.