Risky business.

You can’t complain about the bad client experience if you agreed to take on a cheap or horrible project agreement. The problem with many small businesses or “cheap clients” (please note I said ‘many’, not ‘all’) is that they are greedy, short-sighted, and impatient, they do not appreciate or are not looking for value.

This is a very bad combination for progression, “cheap clients” depend on quantity and mass consumption over time. Opposed to actually building the business on a strong foundation in order to be self-sufficient.

Possible reasons to have this mindset may be due to the pressures of trying to solve employment and income issues as a startup business. It’s been said to never do business with a desperate person, while not their own fault, they have instead bent to their circumstances which makes them make quick and short, sometimes, uninformed choices.

Longevity is important when thinking about building a business. We can’t see into the future but we, as designers, try to make educated assumptions.

These are some of the reasons why, instead of welcoming small businesses as potential opportunities for brand development, they are accepted with great hesitation by many creative businesses or simply shunned. Designers who take on this type of work will regularly feel demotivated due to very little reward.

“Where is my money!” would be a common thought from a designer or creative professionals generally, who end up in projects that not only have very little reward but put them in a game of ‘Hang Man’ for their money.

Creative businesses look for investments, not expenses. Small businesses clients are very expensive because the risk is high and the returns are low. However, we must keep an eye out for exceptional ideas, concepts, and industry innovators, the builders. We should welcome new industries as creative services because every good business will need creative help at some point, these businesses will grow and add value to not only themselves but to the fortunate designer who helped to create their brand. Because of this, the creative industry will always be around.

I will add, the idea that we all have to start somewhere is true, it just does not have to be in a “shithole” all the time. Creatives need to find the strength and bravery required to attract investments while understanding the psychology of business all at the same time.