How do you handle a competiton in design business?

Business Issues
#1

Hello everyone. I have not noticed a topic like this, so this is why I decided to create it.

How do you manage to surivire in this business with so much competionions? On one client there is 100 designers, there is designers who would do a logo from 1 to 20 dollars or websites where you can create a free logo.

This is very bothering me, so I really wait for your replies. Thanks.

3 Likes
#2

Don’t compete with the $5 “logomakers.”
Rise above it. Aim higher. Do better.

6 Likes
#3

Right. Compete with the $10 “logo makers”.

Simply put, produce quality work.

#4

Don’t feed at the bottom. Aim higher.

– assuming you have the requisite, ability, education and experience.

Don’t get involved in logo design.

If you want to design logos, learn about creating brands. Designing just logos is like designing the steering wheel on a car without the feintest idea how it makes the car go around corners.

Ah 
 I just looked at your Instagram profile and there you are offering generic logos at knock down prices for flat fees.

It’s always difficult to see the top of the pond when you’re kicking up the mud at the bottom.

4 Likes
#5

Sorry guys, you both posted as I was writing – same sentiment, except with far more brevity!

1 Like
#6

I’m terribly confused. :grin:

#7

There you go again, being all efficient and economic with language, while I win all the awards for redundant verbosity!

When I was a kid, my mother always used to say, ‘Your trouble is, you like the sound of your own voice too much. You’ll be a lawyer or a politician when you grow up’

1 Like
#8

I do logos from 100 to 200 euro so I am competing with other designers lol

#9

Designers don’t “Do Logos.”
Logos are only one part of a brand experience and are easily worth 10x both of those amounts or even more if presented as part of a proper branding package that takes into account other aspects of client engagement.

Like I said, Aim Higher.

2 Likes
#10

If you’re referring to the contest sites, you can’t win. You’re competing against people working for pocket change and trying to win over naive and cheapskate clients.

If you want a step up from those sites, try Upwork.com. They don’t hold contests. Clients post their jobs. You tell them you’re interested. They look at your Upwork portfolio. If they’re interested, they hire you. No work is done without a contract in place that guarantees payment.

3 Likes
#11

nice advice. thanks

1 Like
#12

I only work for local clients that I can meet in person. I’ve never done contests or worked for internet strangers. There is a segment of the marketplace that values personal attention. They like it when you visit their business and sit down at a table with them and talk to them in person, rather than over zoom. They like it when you buy them lunch or coffee. You want to develop clients that have an allegiance to you and will continue to bring you work on an ongoing basis. That’s easier to do when you work local.

3 Likes
#13

that is interesting way. Will add to mine list.

1 Like
#15

Agree with the above replies. The thing is, you’re trying to sell logos like any other widget. Thinking like, “How many logo units can I move with all this competition?” You can sell your design service, not a product. You can sell a service that helps other businesses be more successful.

I’ll add that right now I am redesigning the branding for a client who spent 60 bucks on a logo. It was jammed out quick because it was cheap and it isn’t serviceable for their business.

#16

But there are thousands of designers on Upwork competing to provide same service. So you are STILL competing with so many other designers.

#17

Have you seen the Real World? Go out on the street and toss a stick. It’s likely to come down and hit a graphic designer.
Build the best portfolio. Build the best rep. Rise above it all.

2 Likes
#18

True, but there is always competition, no matter how one attempts to find work.

My point (that I didn’t state very well) wasn’t about eliminating competition; it was about eliminating one’s involvement in the kind of competitions that the contest sites hold.

For example, on a contest site, a designer might spend a day working on a logo that will compete with the logos of many other people who enter the contest. The chances are that all but one of those contestants will have wasted their time.

On freelance sites, such as UpWork and others, there are no contests. Clients post briefs. Interested designers respond with rates, other thoughts, and their portfolios. The prospective client chooses the designer they want to work with. A contract is negotiated, and the designer is guaranteed payment. There’s little time wasted other than the time spent applying for the job.

I’m not a fan of UpWork, by the way. The clients are usually inexperienced, naive, and looking for inexpensive work. However, as I mentioned, it’s a step up from the contest sites.

3 Likes
#19

Like in any other branch, it’s important to have something unique. I take my work very seriously and I always put my clients first. On top of that, if any clients contacts me more than twice I try to make a discount for them or something to let them know I appreciate that they come back for my services.

#20

I handle competition by continuously improving my skills and staying updated with industry trends. I also focus on building strong relationships with clients, delivering exceptional quality work, and differentiating myself through a unique design style or approach to stand out in a crowded market.

#21

if you give a discount, were you overcharging to begin with?

And unique styles only go so far. It’s not about YOUR style. It’s about having a solution for the clients’ particular needs that works. Style may not be any part of that.