How Much Do Professional Graphic Designers Make
Freelance graphic designers can make anywhere from $20 per hour to $250 per hour – and beyond! With that range in mind, how does your 9-to-5 wage compare? If you aren't freelancing already, could you move from working for someone else's profit to having your own freelance business?
If you are asking "Do freelance graphic designers make good money?" we're going to answer all of your questions and set you on a path that could change your career and your life!
We're going to let you in on the most important freelancing tips and secrets we know. Will you promise us that, after you see our secrets work in your career over the next year, you'll tell everyone what you learned?!
Let's start by answering your main question: how can you start freelancing and earning more money than your 9-to-5? What do you need to do when you're starting a freelance graphic design business?
What Freelancing Means for Your Career
If you are working in a 9-to-5 job right now, you might be producing your best design work and "selling" it for a song. Are you making less than $25 per hour?
If you are, your talents are underpriced. There are lots of reasons why you might be at this point in your career. And, you might really like your employer and your colleagues!
A career decision to make more money will be guided by four factors:
- Your desire for career growth (including a fatter paycheck!)
- Your ability to value what you produce
- Your determination
- Your willingness for an element of adventure ("risk")
If you want your career to grow, if you want to value what you produce for others, if you are determined, and if you are willing to endure some risk…you can make the leap to freelancing. You're ready.
Let the others, the ones who don't care about their career direction, don't think they are good at what they do, are lazy, and aren't willing to step out and accept the challenge…let them stay and keep the chairs in the office warm 😊
When you work for yourself, you set your freelancing rates (and your income level).
Come to think of it, hasn't the pandemic sort of created a "freelancer" out of you already? Do you work remotely? Do you provide your own desk and computer space? Do you set your own schedule, to some extent? Do you figure out how to get the Zoom meetings working?
Well, you are essentially "freelancing" from your remote office already! The leap to freelancing, from here, is just a change in your paycheck. Instead of asking someone else to sign it, you will issue your own as a freelancer!
It's that simple…but there is a world of positive mindset, determination, and effort that stands between you and that simple paycheck change.
We want to help you learn how to make the leap with as much confidence as possible.
Your Graphic Design Experience
At Aventive Academy, we've been there and done that. We were employed in the 9-to-5 world and making $10 per hour. We couldn't pay the bills. And we dreamed of freelancing.
We took the leap…and, years after that, we leapt again….going from solo freelancer to running a top-notch design studio where the entry pricing for clients starts at $10K! That's right, we went from $10 per hour to $10,000 per client. And we created Aventive Academy to show you how to do it too!
There are 3 things that will affect how much you can make as a freelancer:
- Your graphic design career experience
- Your ability to get your ideal clients
- How you run your business
You've already poured a lot of time, energy, and money into learning how to become a graphic designer. Whether you're a junior graphic designer or a team leader, you have experience that others need.
You know this is true — you can see all the jobs on LinkedIn for graphic design professionals! Your investment in your career is now poised to begin paying out! Let's go.
You're likely still asking….but, how!? Maybe you don't know who your ideal client is. You might not know how to talk to them. You might not know how much to charge them, never mind how to issue them an invoice! And, of course, it's highly likely you've never run a business on your own before.
Take another look at the 3 points we listed. You provide #1 (career experience) and we can help you with #2 and #3. From there, you can make as much as $500K/year as a sought-after freelance designer with experience…or, at least $50K as a junior starting out.
You can be your own boss and set your own schedule. You can work in the creative industry and enjoy the process of building something that you own!
There is one hurdle you have to jump right away to be a freelance graphic designer. You need a compelling portfolio.
The better your portfolio is, the more you'll be able to charge — because people will think that your services cost more!
If you present something amazing in your portfolio, that means you're able to do something similar for your clients…and your target audience will intuitively understand this from seeing your portfolio.
Your portfolio quality matters. It's what your clients will see first, and it's what will help push them to work with you.
How many design pieces do you want to put in your portfolio? What kind of projects would you like to include (this depends on who you want to work with)? How are you going to present it? Will you use mockups, case studies, or something else?
Let's do an experiment. Here is an example of how a logo can look:
Now, that logo design may be cool, effective, or memorable… but the way it is presented doesn't look particularly special to clients.
But if you present the same exact logo using mockups, clients can see the possibilities of how your work can help their business:
Can you see that your portfolio's effectiveness depends on how you present it? The first example simply put a logo on white paper, and the second example used a mockup tool (which is available for free online).
If you are interested in improving your portfolio so you can get amazing clients, sign up HERE for our 1-hour free workshop where you'll learn our tips and tricks for putting your portfolio together so you can charge more (and make more money) as a freelancer.
An Education in Sales and Business
The best educator is life itself. Running your own freelance design business will teach you, every day, more than you ever thought was possible.
But, hang on…don't despair that you need to learn it all on your own! We can provide you with the tools and resources to face the freelance stages you are certain to encounter.
Business isn't rocket-science, after all. It's predictable and, because we've already done it the hard way, we can show you the short-cuts and best approaches.
Now that you know you need to have a great portfolio, how do you get people to see it? To make money as a freelance graphic designer, you'll need clients – of course!
It's essential to realize that a freelancer doesn't work for someone else who brings in the work assignments. As a freelancer, you'll do way more than just sit at your computer and design. You are responsible for the work that comes in, as well as the work that goes out!
This is something most freelancers forget: you are not just a designer anymore. You are also a salesperson, marketer, CEO, bookkeeper, and more.
Get Clients as a Freelance Graphic Designer
As a freelancer, one of the most important business tasks you will focus on is sales and marketing. Essentially, the more clients you get, the more you can make.
But, it's also important to consider that if you get better (and bigger) clients, you'll be able to scale faster. For example, you could aim to make enough money to hire others, grow as a freelancer, work less hours, and build something bigger than just yourself.
Here's the secret: the same service can be sold for $1K or for $10k. The difference is in your ability to attract the right client and deliver the value of whatever amount you want to charge.
Have you heard of "broke creatives"? This isn't what you will be. The difference is simple but critical…as a freelancer, you are a business person, not just a creative. You need to learn to behave like a freelance business owner.
Running a business has lots of elements. Fortunately, being a freelancer is really the simplest form of operating a business (versus something like running a factory!). Think of freelancing as your manageable starting point. You've got this. You can do it!
Start by figuring out who you want to work with (skincare line, bicycle shop, gym equipment…). This is your ideal client! Then, you need to figure out where they hang out (for example, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google), and then put all your efforts there so your ideal clients can find you.
If you need help getting clients as a freelance graphic designer, Aventive Academy offers a free 1 hour workshop called 3 Proven Steps to Attract Clients to Your Graphic Design Business.
Why don't you sign up right now and begin your freelance business education? Our workshop is amazing and will help you take the first steps. You can choose a workshop time that fits into your schedule, especially if you are still juggling a 9-5 job.
Developing a Freelancing Mindset
Your dreams are big. You want to earn more money, and you want to have the flexibility to work as much as you want, set your schedule, and choose your work location.
At the end of the day, you want to have a stable and profitable freelance business that provides you with more income than your current 9-to-5 (and with scaling potential for additional career growth later!).
Your dreams are good. They are reasonable. But they will be yours. When you are a solo entrepreneur, you need to develop a specific mindset. Your mindset will carry you through the confusion of days that are discouraging, and it will illuminate the ways to reach your mountaintops, too!
You need:
- Grit (determination)
- Confidence
- A growth outlook
- Positive attitude
- Resilience (the ability to bounce back)
- Sheer hard work
If you aren't sure you have these elements in place, don't give up! These characteristics can be learned, just like the steps to running a business can be learned.
Making More Money as a Freelancing Graphic Designer
At Aventive Academy, we encourage looking for inspiration and motivation from those who have already cut a path in the direction you're headed. Do you have a role model you can look to, someone who has built a successful freelancing career already?
You could also look for someone who earns more than $250K/year and listen to how they deal with adversity, goal setting, and emotions in their business. What advice do these seasoned experts around you have?
The truly successful are those who are content, not just well off financially. Think about the essential elements we listed above and how you can connect with people who have these qualities already.
There will be days when you will be overwhelmed and tempted to give up. On those days, remember the most important business advice you can ever get: Stay in the game.
Don't give up. Keep getting up. You're a good graphic designer, right now…have faith that you will be an even better freelance graphic designer tomorrow 😊
What are you waiting for?! We'd love to get to know you more and encourage you in your freelance journey. Think of us like your launching pad crew and your mission control. We'll give you the best tools and the encouragement that can only come from someone who has already done it themselves!
Take a look at our course Freelance Starter Kit and plan to earn more in your freelance graphic design career.
How Much Do Professional Graphic Designers Make
Source: https://aventiveacademy.com/how-much-do-freelance-graphic-designers-make/
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