The biggest reason why prospects consider hiring overseas is because it’s probably cheaper than working with your web design business. Many don’t see a justification for paying twice or even three times more for web design, when they can hire someone in another country to do the job cheap. Whether you like it or not, your web design business has to compete in a global marketplace. Some of your competitors are able to charge lower fees because the cost of living is much lower where they live. Explain to your clients some or all of the following reasons why your web design business should be hired instead of your overseas competitors:
Lower the Risk of Fraud
Your clients have access to all sorts of watchdog groups and reporting agencies, such as the Better Business Bureau, if you don’t deliver the services you promise. They can file complaints and warn other prospects not to do business with you. Those agencies may also investigate your business as a result of complaints. That’s not going to happen with web designers overseas. The client simply puts themselves at a greater risk, and the cheaper price will end up costing more than you would ever charge if something goes wrong. Encourage your clients to research web design fraud and hiring overseas for themselves. You’ll be surprised how many return to you to learn more about what you can offer.
Reduce Communication Issues
A language barrier can contribute to communication issues, and that can lead to more time spent on a project than necessary. It can also lead to work that’s not complete or inadequate. Working in the same country where your client resides doesn’t make you a better communicator, but it can reduce the number of communication issues due to language. Tell your clients that you can spare them the frustrations and pain associated with translation and hiring overseas. You can also save them costs to redo their projects and on charges for time spent going back and forth with overseas designers.
Poor Copywriting
Hiring overseas sometimes leads to poor copywriting as well. Your clients expect expert work that makes them shine, and not content that is full of errors. Many of the complaints from individuals hiring overseas involve the lack of writing skills that must accompany web design work. You should convince clients that your web design business doesn’t have those problems. Even if you outsource work to freelancers, you can review their work to ensure that it meets the client’s standards. Many web design companies and freelancers overseas cannot outsource copywriting work because it would cost more to hire them than what they are paid to design the website.
Some clients will ignore these reasons and pursue hiring overseas no matter what you tell them. They will focus solely on the lower rates and take their chances. It may be in your best interest to forgo those clients if they cannot see the value in what your web design business has to offer.
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Before you decide to sue a client for non-payment, you have to determine whether doing so is a smart business move. There are a number of reasons why you may decide to not pursue the matter in court. One primary reason to consider is if it’s worth the legal expense that you will incur to file and sustain a legal battle. A secondary reason is the potential bad publicity that you’ll get, even though you have a legitimate claim. It can be difficult with some clients to remain objective and make your decision without anger or emotions running high. You should consider the ramifications before you go after a client and deny any impulse to take immediate legal action. If you’re satisfied with your decision to sue them, here’s how to do it:
Demand Payment First
Ask your attorney to draft a demand letter on your behalf and have the attorney send it to the client. If the amount is too low and if it costs more to have your attorney draft the letter, then you’ll have to do it yourself. There are several sample demand letters online. The gist of the letter is that you’re asking the client to pay within a specified time of receipt of the letter, and in the letter you document the monies owed and the facts that back up that payment is owed. You should serve the letter on your client by sending it by certified receipt through the post office, and you should require a signature upon receipt. The letter will be included in your evidence when you pursue the matter in court.
Write Your Complaint
If the client is non-responsive, you’ll have to write your complaint to file in small claims court. Whether you file a complaint in small claims court or superior court in your area depends on the amount owed. Call the court clerk if you’re not sure where you need to file your complaint. The information should be available on the court’s website as well. The complaint should state the facts which prove the basis for your legal claim, such as the services you provided, the dates when you notified the client about the payment or sent an invoice, and any agreement made between you and the client for services and payment. Your job is to prove that the client breached the contract, whether it was written, verbal or implied.
File Your Complaint and Serve the Client
Any small claims court will require proof that you served the client with a complaint and summon. The exception is when you can obtain a waiver of service, where the client agrees to waive his rights to be served. You can serve the client by certified mail or have an authorized court official do it for you. The best thing to do is find out what the court in your jurisdiction requires for a proper serve. Your client could ask the court to dismiss the case if you don’t get this right.
Present Your Case at the Hearing
The court will schedule a hearing for your case. Before the hearing, you may have to respond to your client’s Answer and motions in writing. You may also have opportunities, or at least look for them, to settle with your client. It’s important to prove your case at the trial, by illustrating to the judge why you should be awarded damages for breach of contract. If the court rules in your favor, then you can proceed to collect the court judgment.
It’s important to determine up front whether you can collect a judgment before you sue a client. You may win in court, but if the client has no assets or money, then you’ll have wasted your time.
Writing a graphic design business plan is one step you can take to thrive as a new business. The alternative is to have no plan at all and risk business failure because you have no idea how to guide your business. Your partners, employees or potential investors can all benefit from a detailed plan that outlines the finances, management, sales and marketing strategies that you will implement. A thorough plan needs to include the following things:
1 – Executive Summary
Your executive summary should not exceed one page. It should contain an overview of your business mission, operations, objectives, and marketing and sales strategies. If you plan to share your business plan with others, then you can expect this page to be the most read. Keep it interesting so that you can intrigue readers to continue reading the rest of the plan.
2 – Services
Before you write your plan, you should decide on your niche. A graphic design business plan that covers all possible services is too broad and it will make it difficult for you to grow and compete in the marketplace. Your services should be specific to the niche that you want to target. Some examples of services that you may offer are:
Brand identity
Packaging
Logo design
Book covers
T-Shirt designs
Print marketing materials
Specify the services you plan to offer in your plan and remind the reader, and yourself, that there is a need for those services in your niche market.
3 – Target Market Analysis and Strategy
You must identify your target market and offer as much detail as you can about it. Part of the reason for many business failures is that they lack target market identification. You need to know exactly who you plan to serve, what their needs are, who else is serving that market and how to best deliver your services to them. Your analysis should include:
Demographics about your customers
Details about the businesses in your target market, such as the number of employees
Estimate the number of prospective customers
Discussion of trends in the graphic design industry
Strategies for customer acquisition and retention
Analysis of competitors
This portion of your business plan will benefit you greatly. You can refer to it as you implement marketing strategies, as well as share it with some of your employees.
4 – Management and Personnel Plan
In the management and personnel section of your graphic design business plan, you should cover your background as it relates to your ability to manage the business. You should discuss your educational background, work experiences, certifications and other areas of your background that will influence your leadership in the company. You should also list everyone who will work for your company as an employee, consultant, freelancer or independent contractor, along with their respective pay.
The good news is that you don’t have to write a graphic design business plan from scratch. You can buy affordable software that will include templates and outlines, and many will guide you step-by-step through the business planning process.
