Are you afraid to treat your business more like a business?

I talk a lot about being pricing and profitability, about being more productive and using systems to help you with that and about phased approaches to get you from where you are now in your business to where you want to go. But what if all this action taking feels so far away from where you are in your business?

That’s why in this blog, I am looking at what might be causing you to be fearful to treat your business more like a business, what the impact of this can be and how the results are often the opposite of what you expected would happen.

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ClickUp, Sustainable Business Stephanie Taale ClickUp, Sustainable Business Stephanie Taale

Are you mentally overloaded? Here's how to get rid of your mental to-do lists

Let's talk about something most designers running a business can relate to: the never-ending mental to-do list.

You're probably familiar with it – the notebook filled with hasty scribbles, post-it notes strewn about like confetti, and an ever-expanding collection of random thoughts that never seem to find a home.

It's this mental to-do list that can sometimes make you feel like you're juggling too many tasks at once, and let's be honest, it can be downright exhausting. So in this blog, we will explore how to minimise mental to-do lists.

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The 4 biggest lessons I learned from 2.5 years in business

I started my business with big dreams and even bigger goals. But I could have never imagined what an emotional rollercoaster it would be to start your own business. How you can go from feeling confident in your abilities to second-guessing everything that you are doing? These are the biggest lessons I’ve learned since then.

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Why you shouldn’t invest in a one-size-fits-all course

Did you invest in a lot of programs that left you thinking that while you know a lot more you’re still in the same place? Only know you're doubting yourself and wondering why you can't make it work. If you want to transform your business to be more aligned and sustainable you won't find what you're looking for in generalised or those I will teach you the exact steps I used to build a thriving, money-making design business programs.

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Client Process, Productivity, Dubsado Stephanie Taale Client Process, Productivity, Dubsado Stephanie Taale

How to streamline your brand or website design client process

Feeling like you're reinventing the wheel with each client project? Writing emails on the fly, dealing with inconsistent processes, and falling short of the client experience you aspire to? What you really need is to streamline and elevate your design workflow. In this blog, we’ll delve into some straightforward strategies to establish clear boundaries, set expectations, and make your workflow smoother – ultimately leaving your clients happier.

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Client Process, Ideal client Stephanie Taale Client Process, Ideal client Stephanie Taale

How to use a brand or website design consultation to better qualify clients

I don't have to tell you why you need to have consultation calls as a designer. But if you notice that the clients you are working with are often not your ideal clients you want to have a look at how you can improve. One of the main things you can work on is improving your client qualification process. So, let’s discuss how you can qualify your clients with a design consultation call and where in the client process to offer this call.

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Client Process, Dubsado Stephanie Taale Client Process, Dubsado Stephanie Taale

How to improve your brand discovery process

Timelines that get extended, additional concepts that need to be created and countless rounds of refinements. These are just a couple of things you can run into as a brand or website designer during client projects that can cause a lot of frustration. You can tackle this by improving your brand discovery process. So, let’s discuss what exactly a thorough brand discovery process is and how you can set this up.

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Brand Strategy, Branding, Business Foundation Stephanie Taale Brand Strategy, Branding, Business Foundation Stephanie Taale

What is the difference between brand discovery and brand strategy

Many designers have adopted the title of brand strategist and called a section of their process brand strategy. My question for you is: Are you really offering brand strategy? Or is it 'just' brand discovery? That's why in this blog we're looking at the difference between brand discovery and brand strategy so that you can make sure, it's very clear for your clients what they can expect from your services.

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How to set your goals for 2024

So what if instead of setting ‘random’ or vanity goals like growing newsletter subscribers to 2000 we would set our business goals based on our business and life vision? Isn't that the key to transforming your business to be more aligned? For it to be less draining and overwhelming? In this blog, I walk you through the 4 steps to turn your vision for your business into actionable goals.

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Productivity Stephanie Taale Productivity Stephanie Taale

How to get started with time tracking

It can be daunting to figure out how to track your time and what to do with it after you've tracked it.

So in this blog, we'll look at: How to get started with time tracking, how to evaluate how you're spending your time and what's next after you've gained insights into where your time is going

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How we decide the custom plan for your mentoring program

Working together with a business mentor to set your business up for success is a big step. It is not only very exciting but probably also a bit scary because of the monetary investment. So, today I wanted to share more about the mentor program that I offer and how we create your custom mentoring program

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Business Strategy, Business Foundation, Pricing Stephanie Taale Business Strategy, Business Foundation, Pricing Stephanie Taale

How to price your design packages for profitability

Pricing your services is one of the toughest things you need to do. Because your pricing is not just a number, there are often a lot of emotions connected to your pricing. But these emotions are not serving you when it comes to building a profitable business. So that's why this blog dives into a 6-step plan to price your services based on data, not on feelings. So that you can transform your business to be more sustainable and profitable.

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Business Strategy, Productivity Stephanie Taale Business Strategy, Productivity Stephanie Taale

Use these 2 steps to create time to work on your business

You’re working evenings and weekends (and have been for a long time) to finish this client work. You're stuck in a loop. To establish solid processes and boundaries, preventing timelines and scopes from spiralling out of control: You've got to streamline your processes, trimming down hours spent on client onboarding and admin. 3-hour custom proposals are really not needed… To streamline effectively, you need more time away from client projects. This blog dives into the 2 steps to create more time to work on your business

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Business Strategy, Aligned Business Stephanie Taale Business Strategy, Aligned Business Stephanie Taale

Want to create an aligned business? Do this first.

The first step you need to take when you’re ready for your business to become more than a business that makes money. Because to me it’s all about having a sustainable business, with a focus on the overall long term results and being able to use your business as ‘a vehicle’ to have the freedom to live the life that you want.

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Business Strategy Stephanie Taale Business Strategy Stephanie Taale

5 steps to perform a monthly business review as a designer

As a designer responsible for every aspect of your business, you're no stranger to the juggling act that comes with it. You're not just the creative mind; you're the accountant, the project manager, and the marketing guru. The weight of running a design studio can sometimes feel overwhelming, but taking a moment each month to reflect can make a world of difference. This process can be your secret weapon in achieving financial stability and sustainability.

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