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Start – Run – Grow Your Design Business

Presented By: Lara Kisielewska.

Originally aired in September 2015.
Start – Run – Grow Your Design Business is a three-part webinar series. View a single webinar or purchase all three.

Part One:

Start your Design Business

Guild members: Log into Member Central to view this webinar.

Part Two:

Run your Design Business

Guild members: Log into Member Central to view this webinar.

Part Three:

Grow your Design Business

Guild members: Log into Member Central to view this webinar.

Lara Kisielewska headshot

Member Price: $0

Non-Member Price:

$35.00

$35.00
$35.00
$35.00

Members – Access the webinar for FREE – as a benefit of membership. Log in to Member Central to view the webinar.

Non-Members – You can access our entire webinar and teleclass archive for free by joining the Guild. Won’t you consider joining today?

More About This Webinar or Presenter

Start – Run – Grow Your Design Business
Webinar Series

We’ve expanded our popular webinar on starting your own design firm to be a three-part series so that we can delve into the details of how to start, run, and grow your own design business. Lara Kisielewska, the founder of Optimum Design & Consulting, brings her 20+ years of experience to bear.

Part One:

Start your Design Business

You know you want to be your own boss, but how do you get started with your own design firm? This webinar covers the planning and strategizing you need to do to realize the vision you have for your design firm, from developing your plan to following through with practical steps you need to take.

  • Drafting your business plan.
  • Calculating the rates you need to charge.
  • Getting funding and maintaining cash flow.
  • Developing your key business relationships.
  • Setting up your business.

Part Two:

Run your Design Business

Now that you have your business set up, how do get the jobs – and fees – coming in?  We’ll go over the nitty-gritty of how to negotiate with clients, estimate on projects, and protect yourself with a decent contract. We’ll also cover what to do when the client is unhappy, and how to best resolve a difficult situation.

  • Meeting and negotiating with potential clients.
  • Estimating projects.
  • Constructing a good design contract.
  • Payment scenarios.
  • What to do when something goes wrong.

Part Three:

Grow your Design Business

Your design firm is up and running; how do you take it to the next level? This webinar covers developing your marketing plan, learning how to network, and figuring out the best ways to market your business.  We also cover how to grow your business –  through collaborative partnerships with other companies, by keeping your clients coming back, and by hiring the staff you need to make that happen.

  • Developing a marketing plan.
  • Networking: standing out in a crowd.
  • Setting up strategic alliances.
  • Keeping your clients coming back.
  • Staff: hiring and keeping employees.

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