I know this video is almost 3 years old, but as an 18 year old looking to pursue a degree in Visual Communications/Graphic Design, the more videos of yours' that I watch, the more I think I should minor in a business degree.
The best thing I've done for myself is to go back and rewatch some of this content. I was going through a slump and depression was setting in and I remembered days when I was grinding and building and absorbing all this knowledge. Thanks to you and the team for steadily putting out such inspiring and educational content.
I used to find online design entrepreneurial style youtube videos somewhat horrible. But listening to your videos while working has been a guilty pleasure of mine for the past year
Same boat here. Spent the last week doing some long overdue folio website updates and now binging on Futur vids to get into that "make yo own money" mindset
For me as an introvert and freelancer, you are god send. Thank u for being a model not by talks, but through action and results from your life. Deep gratitude sir.
This is one of my favorite episodes ever. The questions were what I would want to ask (business mistakes and pricing). The answers were very helpful. Chris Do is a great speaker. I loved the real examples, especially the pricing/bid example. Great set, topics, answers, camera ops, editing, etc.... This channel is always giving excellent, high quality content. Thank you!!!!!!
Cheers for the Video! Forgive me for butting in, I would appreciate your thoughts. Have you considered - Fiymaria Graphic Gainer (google it)? It is a good one of a kind guide for getting the best graphic design for your project minus the normal expense. Ive heard some unbelievable things about it and my cooworker after many years got great results with it.
Cheers for the Video clip! Apologies for chiming in, I would love your thoughts. Have you heard the talk about - Fiymaria Graphic Gainer (should be on google have a look)? It is a great exclusive guide for getting the best graphic design for your project minus the headache. Ive heard some interesting things about it and my m8 finally got excellent results with it.
Thanks everyone for commenting. I will do an episode on bidding. What industries do you work in? What are the sizes of projects your bidding on? What specific challenges are you having? Post questions you want answers to and I'll answer all of them on video.
I work in video production and would love to see more episodes on bidding jobs. Thank you for all of the incredible information. This channel is a goldmine.
Hey Chris, Its been some months that I started my own creative agency.. We work on the fluid model and don't have enough cash flow to rent a place right away. I was wondering how can we take the agency to the next level. Well, this is absolutely what I needed to see today. Not only did I learn selling confidence and assurance to prospective clients but to also bid the projects correctly. I love how you say that talent needs to be nurtured and work culture plays an important role in that. I am not letting go of this video for a long long time. I wish you could come out with more such insightful videos on your channel. Wish you luck..
Totally hooked on these videos, I've had them running all morning! They answer all the questions that are almost impossible to find definitive answers for, especially tough if you're freelance and work alone. I think this has changed how I'll deal with clients forever, thank you!
Recently I've decided to move on from my well-paying current job and reboot my father's old design firm. One of the major factors for being confident on taking this risk is knowing I have access to quality knowledge on this channel. Thanks, guys!
I am running an animation studio in the 15th year now and this is a great and very useful talk here. This should be a core part of all type of creative studies to stop all mistakes artists and creatives do when they slowly and painfully transform from a passionated hobbyist to a professional and realize that creativity, skills and talent is a serious business. It's all about money. And money gives you (creative) freedom to run a successful business and healthy life.
yes it does. You'll love the new podcast i'm working on where I interview Blair Enns. He goes into the "peculiarities of creative people" and their aversion to money, and specialization.
Hi Sir, can I ask? Can a freelance graphic designer that completed only a (national certificate III) run a business design online? Where should I start? Please can you guide me? Thank you and God vless always ❤️
This has helped me a ton, I work in software and I usually underbid on projects, where I end by giving myself a small salary just to keep things running. Now I understand why many of the online calculator nearly take 50% over what I do.
I am 25 years old industrial designer working on advertising company in Turkey. I want to found my company as always but i thought i should learn the bussiness first i am trying to teach myself everything about bussiness, then i discovered you and addicted your videos its really helpfull makes me focused.
I switched directions in my career at the late age of 51 and graduated with my BFA in Graphic and Web design. These episodes are invaluable to me as a newbie and n the industry and have helped me understand so many concepts and business development standards that I would never acquire on my own with little experience in the field. Chris....you are a Monster speaker! Bringing me all of the pertinent information I need in an innovative and cutting edge format. You are the Man!
Hey Cheri. I'm 46 and I started copywriting and funnels a year ago, turning down more money in an industry i dont like, teaching! Now i'm studying GD and Chris is indeed brilliant. How is your career going? Happy to find your comment because as a 46 year old i feel a bit silly retraining with the youngsters!
I'm going to start a business with one of the most ambitious person I know. And your videos are really helping us to get started and inspires us to dream big and work hard.
I never get sick of that intro for some reason (which isn't normal..). I feel like it encompasses your friendship, business relationship, and personalities all in one short clip.. Anyway! finally getting around to watching this. Really enjoyed this. Definitely one of my favorites. As for the bidding question, would definitely like a video more about the bidding process. I have spoken to a few local web design companies and they are similar in that they don't even mark up for copy work that they hire out. Copy usually holds up a site launch or project and can be such a headache, so they will actually just connect the copywriter with the client (talking smaller company having to hire freelancer copywriter). They only charge a markup if they are actually managing the copywriter (as in project management) and they will roll that into the price of the contract. Would love to hear some feedback on something like that, as copy is very often times a pain-point for a project especially when clients "claim" will supply copy, yeah, we all know that never happens. Great questions and answers. Really looking forward to more videos like this and love that you and Jose are so active in the comment section. You guys are definitely building an online community.
That would be killer! Have been estimating, dealing with RFPs, and sending out proposals quite a biy lately so that would be greatly helpful. Keep up the awesome work and thank you!
It takes knowledge and experience to feel more confidence in what you do in that career to explain yourself well and to get your messages across to sell yourself, as you know.
I just graduated from Industrial Design, and im starting up my design business firm. You sir, are my sensei! Thank you so much for your tips and knowledge, it's helping me quite a lot.
This is 8 years ago but its gold in some junks thousand contents which only look for views, This is literally pure gold who teach us the true design business !! Thank you so much!!
Chris you really are a pillar of inspiration and motivation to me (clearly you are to thousands of designers & others) but I make sure to watch your videos EVERY SINGLE DAY! Even when im working I have something playing of T.F in the background. I believe even if I am totally focused & in the zone creating something, the words you speak are planting positive creative seeds subconsciously in my mind. I am 70% self taught in design, which includes you & your teams videos..The schooling I did in field of design was many years ago, but I dont believe that matters, if you got it you got it. Creativity comes naturally to me, and ive now been running my own small GD biz for about 2 years! I have a solid base of clients, over half of them are return clients, & then the rest word of mouth, this is my full time gig & I dont pay for any advertising whatsoever. All my reach is organic, & I network with other small biz peeps, it just seems to happen. Always looking for ways to expand & improve my business & services, im obsessed with ideas & implementing them. I am so grateful & blessed to be doing what I LOVE, love doesn't even describe how I feel, im super PASSIONATE & when im having a moment, I look for your videos that pick me up & get me back into the GRIND! Always works! Right now, im under charging for what I offer, my value - so im stepping up my game. Anyway, I know this is an old video back from 2015 but ive watched it twice now & you are just super helpful, knowledgable & smart , dont mean to blow smoke up your arse but just saying it how it is lol :) - ill leave you with a saying of mine, theres prob similar out there but I live by this "Theres no 9 to 5 , late nights & early rise, we grind to thrive " - Loz @ LOZ CHAI DESIGN xx (Australia)
Oh really yes this is fantastic news! id love more information on where you are speaking , ticket costs etc ! :) if you could email me the info , or guide me to where I can find out more that would be rad! my email is admin@lozchaidesign.com ! :) thank you! how exciting! Really, if it wasn't for your videos, knowledge, tips and advice you pass on I am not sure how my outlook would have been today, because many of the things I do and implement come back to what you have taught me. :) I still have a long way to go, but I love the process and its all about the process - be real , be raw and be rad - Loz
IDK what's cooler...all this information about starting & running a design business OR the fact that you have a Danny Way Alien Workshop board!! The KA board by Evan Hecox is just an added bonus!
I agree with those who say this interview is a great help and concisely delivered. I'm a UK based designer who is looking at starting up a product development practice and this puts allot more reassurance in my little steps.
I recently jumped into the freelance world. It can be tough at times. This channel has provided so much valuable insight and knowledge to me. Huge fan. Thanks!
This episode is the best! Right now I am really in a lost space here in the Creative Industry in Indonesia. Maybe it's because I'm just a fresh graduate, but I just don't like to keep working for a company or someone. I wanted to start my own business and be something more higher than just sitting in front of a PC or a workstation and just "click, click, click" (no offense to other designers). Thank you for the great content!
I ve been in the design/advertising business for a long time, about 15 years, but have somehow missed this series entirely. It's really well put together & has some great advice for younger people starting out, something not often found in RUclips vids. Seems like most vids are just about ego & Net fame. Anyway, great job by your whole team. I'm stoked to keep watching them today while I'm supposed to be working. - 1 topic suggestion which may already be done...The thing I get asked all the time by new designers is how do I find all my work. Where are all these jobs coming from? I get a lot of referrals but new designers or agencies obviously don't have that luxury.
Mr. Do, your philosophy in the business of design, inspired us to incorporate. And it works!!! we felt more confident than ever! and can mark up (reasonably) with our clients :) so a massive grateful thank you!
Chris Do just dropped some serious knowledge. Thank you so damn much for this episode!!! I've been stressed to the gills, working the past two months into freelance, and have been freaking the hell out about managing clients/scoring contracts and had no clue how to bid appropriately. This episode just lit up my foggy path. I need to watch this a few more times. I hope you doing a Deep Dive on Bidding /Part 2.
+Steven Mercado I will Steven. Based on the response below, I kind of have to now. Good luck getting out of the fog. Hopefully our channel is a beacon for you.
Thanks Chris! I love this channel. Skool is definitely my light house. You guys always have something innovative to give and provide clarity. Much appreciated.
Waiting for the day when there will be someone like Chris, but teaching for Industrial Designers. Still, this has been extremely useful, since graphic design is my side hustle.
I love how much you trained urself up and how passionate you are. you should definitely gimme a slice of that^^. I liked the "How To Price Design Services & Make More Money"-Episode the most, cause you constantly emphasized the value to the client and how that should affect your offer, rather than throwing out a hourly rate in combination with a rough time assessment. Actually I just give some feedback now, cause this episode covers a little bit of bidding, which is calculated by the hourly rate * days = subtotal. One of the enlightening moments from the "How To Price.."-Episode was the fact that this model is kinda unfitting for that sort of work. I feel now like if it is sorta inconsistent. I hope you could light me up a little bit. Greetz comes Berlin
Thank you Chris for taking the time and sharing your knowledge to those in the world who need advice, like me , in the process of starting my own design studio!
i loved this episode so much. So much of those questions that i have been longing for an answer has been clearly given here. Thank you so much for this. Means a lot
Wow! Took a lot from this episode. Advice is still gold! Thank you Chris Do. Loved the straightforward interview. Wish to have that kind of communication strategy too!
Hey, What's up! 2:34AM your videos are keeping me up way past my bedtime, BUT I can't really stop watching - Firstly I'm absolutely in love with the pricing structure of this episode. I've honestly never seen anything like it and I think that there are a number of people out there who have been using this Blueprint to cost their "Build You're Social Media Business" Tutorials which the charge hundreds, if not thousands of dollars for people to enrol in. 5k to 20k Dollars, let's talk about that. Living in South Africa, I think that the only people who have the capacity to charge those amounts are agencies because of the South African, 3rd world mindset (not for long, these are totally going to be my agencies going rates). You see I KNOW that in the South African industry, almost everyone I know has adopted the mindset of feeling bad about charging people a fair amount of money because they feel as though the client will not be able to find value in their work. The Truth you're bringing to the table is that YES " by saying NO, you're making room for bigger clients". The BIG difference for myself as a creative is without a doubt experience with work which is why I'll be taking the time to go through as much of your content as possible, and creating my own success blueprint which will function within a South African context. It's not that I can't go and start meeting with clients immediately, it's more along the lines of what I've seen so far on Futur. I feel as though I would only be lying to myself if I were to perform strategy for a client BUT I was not up to scratch with my own company strategy. I don't want to become a brand who doesn't practise what they preach and I want my clients to see that I am able to perform the services I will be offering them, for myself. This will include a Mission Statement (I think that was the first few minutes of the video @ ). I completely agree on how difficult that is, however, I like the value profile model - WHO, WHAT, HOW TO SOLVE. Just to clarify on the middle segment - Accounting for error - (@ ) - I have charged somebody (MORE LIKE THEY SIMPLY PAID ME) - R2500 OR about $200 to film for 3 days and perform an edit which took me about 3 months to complete. I have also worked on projects until completion for free with NO way to redeem my earnings from the client. What I've learned, are the different ways it hurts. You see, because I was working at the time I didn't realise just how bad it was, however, I now think more critically about the Freelancer who is sitting at home and will accept minimum pay to perform extraordinary amounts of work because they are desperate for the business. I can confidently say that after being a part of the process for a good few videos now (50+), I will NOT be held responsible for the degradation of creatives by reducing my rates & I will inform other creatives of their disservice to the community by undercharging and undervaluing other creatives work during the bidding process, which even I have been guilty of in the past. Little did I know just how shallow minded I was being. However, I am older and wiser now. 3:02AM I have work in the morning - thank you all for always bringing the STEAK, I will probably be writing one of these long ass comments in one of your videos which I will watch tomorrow. Cheers.
A project manager I once worked with taught me a rough rule of thumb for this. Take your first guesstimate, add VAT and then multiply by π. So in this case (5000+25%)*3,14=19625. Not too far off :)
God this is gold. Seriously Chris your changing my life man, I'll own a successful shop and large part will be thanks to you thanks man. I'll send that 10% lol
Started pitching $500 websites, after encountering Chris Do, pitched $4.5 and have 3 verbal agreements, plus 2 payments of part of the quotes, for part of the deliverables. Then I pitched $50k for a web app (albeit delivered by a world renowned partner development firm) Nevertheless, the fact that I even had the notion to pull in a superstar partner firm and go for $50k is absolutely a function of Chris Do's transformational education.
Wowww...I need to readjust how i rate our price and how I bid...coz here in Indonesia seems that we always underbid our project....to create visual FX here in Indonesia it's under $ 10.000 ... I really need to readjust my rate price....thanks Chris...you are the best
Chris you guys are on a big time roll. Awesome episode, I plan to watch it twice but while I watched the first time a question popped up for me. You stated that really, you could sell your company and really based on your skills and confidence continue to make a living. The question I have for you is if you were starting again with 20/20 being your asset, how would you build your business today ? Would you build a team and focus on sales ? Or would you keep it small and mobile using only what you needed to get the jobs done ? Or would you take on most of the work yourself ?
Chris Do great response..! I thought you might answer that way...so by your answer I'm guessing you would be more of a project manager vs a straight designer. I'm guessing you would also be the sales closer too. I thank you and the always entertaining ***** for this valuable.....Scratch that Extremely valuable episode...I may watch it a third time...lol you guys are on a roll..! I think you've found your sweet spot...thank you
Great question ...I won't go way back but for me the last few months have been awesome. Everything from the rebranding of the show to the subject matter to the guest has been value packed. I think you guys honing in on what we the viewers wanted has helped to take you guys deeper and us (the viewers) deeper than the surface stuff. You both have given us a bigger slice of what makes you both tick. For you Chris exposing us to your business coach was wonderfully deep. For Jose, he's shared some deep feelings and has shown his more serious side which allowed me to understand his passion even more. The studio audience addition on some of the episodes makes the show more cohesive. The Unfiltered segments with Mr. Pao are brilliant to me. It was another voice other than you and Jose proving your message to us. Jose's interview with Mr. Chong was awesome. All of these things bring so much value. I don't think there is another person or team doing it like you two. There are people who speak about the "Freelance" world. Others who preach, "sell value not commodity" but they are not as thorough as you two. I think you guys are delivering a great product. Everything from my viewpoint seems to be working together really well.
i loved this episode so much. So much of those questions that i have been longing for an answer has been clearly given here. Thank you so much for this.
+Anmar Al Gaboury Happy to do this. Deeper dive on bidding. Do you ever sign up for the webinars that we run? I field questions like this and answer you directly.
14:00 A smaller 3d/vfx studio is what you need with an expandable network of artists working remotely, it's the future of vfx and 3d - that's how we roll here and it works very well . You only pay for the artists on board (which could be one guy plus a project manager or 10 guys) and not the MASSIVE building they are all working from. If you need a great 3d and vfx company search for companies that have been in business for over 5 years and are still churning out big brand videos.
Thank you so much Chris for taking the time to teach us about the Business of Design...your lessons are very helpful in my career! I appreciate it very much. Cheers!
Thank you so much Chris, I loved the bidding table and combining all the costs that I don't usually think of. The idea of what would it cost for someone else to do the work is brilliant - definitely takes me out of the 'do it all myself' model. I loved all these questions and really enjoy the way you succinctly answer them. Thanks heaps!
As a freelancer, how can you bid even $100 when there are plenty of other designers out there, bidding like only $10? Please make a video about freelancing. P.S loved this video. Chris Do is awesome! 👏🏻
I'd love to see a video with a more complex breakdown of bidding, based on your personal strategies- I don't work with Fx (yet!) moreso 'agency' meets production company for film, video, stills, etc.... but budgets are definitely something I need more info on since I have been working solo for 7 years and previously worked with bigger studios in another country (U.S, now I'm in Germany). Either way, thanks a lot for the candid info... it really empowered me to just do it since my assertions matched most of your advice, but I definitely feel you are the guy to ask for my more complex questions. And I'm def. down with helping with the littles' tuition upon implementation, I got you!
That's so cool at the end. I so agree that your life is your work and you should find something that completes you. Same way, building up my company now, I'm trying to build a group of best friends with amazing skills that live an amazingly fulfilling life. I'm sooo gonna buy that book! Thanks again Futur people! Looking forward to join the community very soon and buy a bunch of your products. I'm already working on redesign of my process with things i learned for your process.. Can't wait to dive deeper!
This is gold! One question: What about considering the scope of the project when bidding? Is this already built in when you estimate how many days it will take? For example, a 1 minute motion graphic, verses a 5 minute motion graphic.
+Chris Do I do UI design for a living in China, and our team is facing a lot of problems that mentioned in this vid, such as team management and sell the fantasy to clients.
So glad finding this channel. I have another way to deal with clients that push too many revisions. While still in a process of negotiating and signing the contracts I always demand an Anex which states > as a producer we are fully committed to bring top notch service as agreed and will after 5th revision (if not our fault) start Invoicing any additional time extra. I run an advertising agency and therefore run a structured yet chaotic business where I strangely find peace and balance. You mentioned Advance payment, could not agree more! What essentially this does it puts both parties on the same level ....better, we find ourselves on the same boat with well planned strategy and workflow. Regarding "hard" clients. Interesting, I have more troubles with bigger clients where I am shocked sometimes how they lack proper organizational and communication skills to bring whole story to a another success story. And to end ... let us not forget that if initially there is no chemistry with the client I'd rather walked away with no hard feelings and head up high rather than creating financial and legal issues that in the end cost you more and pretty much end any future cooperation.
Over the past couple of days I've watched a lot of your videos - and I'm really impressed with all of them, especially this one. I've been looking for a lot of answers and I may have found them. Thank you ever so much.
+The Skool Network In a nutshell: how to be professional, how to get paid and how much to ask for (among many other things)... Your videos are invaluable at this time. Once I have viewed all of them I'll know more of what specifically i need to ask, and in how much detail.
Great episode! This is what I needed to hear and learn when I first started my design business (thou I lost at least 5-figures due to non paying clients) wished that the business of design was taught in school. Even now that I am an educator myself, I still got so much to learn and pass onto my students. Thanks you so much @TheSkoolNetwork for your videos and words of wisdom :)
This really helped, especially the bidding part! They should really teach this sort stuff at university! My problem is that I always charge too little for my graphic design work. I'm about to watch your Proposal video. Thanks for all the help!
You have a lot of wisdom.....it took me a decade to learn some of these lessons. :) Fortunately my agency survived that ignorance. And yes yes yes, collect your funds in advance. Like your channel, glad I found it.
![Lethal Company Music Video 🎵 "Follow The Orders" [VERSION A]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/QeooZB4Z7RA/mqdefault.jpg)
I know this video is almost 3 years old, but as an 18 year old looking to pursue a degree in Visual Communications/Graphic Design, the more videos of yours' that I watch, the more I think I should minor in a business degree.
That’s a good idea.
well?
The best thing I've done for myself is to go back and rewatch some of this content. I was going through a slump and depression was setting in and I remembered days when I was grinding and building and absorbing all this knowledge. Thanks to you and the team for steadily putting out such inspiring and educational content.
Love this interview. No beating around the bush and real legit answers.
You know my style. All steak little sizzle.
You get, straight to the point.
I used to find online design entrepreneurial style youtube videos somewhat horrible. But listening to your videos while working has been a guilty pleasure of mine for the past year
Thank you 🙏
Watching this after covid-19 layoff.
Same boat here. Spent the last week doing some long overdue folio website updates and now binging on Futur vids to get into that "make yo own money" mindset
For me as an introvert and freelancer, you are god send. Thank u for being a model not by talks, but through action and results from your life. Deep gratitude sir.
This is one of my favorite episodes ever. The questions were what I would want to ask (business mistakes and pricing). The answers were very helpful. Chris Do is a great speaker. I loved the real examples, especially the pricing/bid example. Great set, topics, answers, camera ops, editing, etc.... This channel is always giving excellent, high quality content. Thank you!!!!!!
Thanks @michelle.
+Michelle G Thank you and that means a lot considering how many episodes we've taped.
Cheers for the Video! Forgive me for butting in, I would appreciate your thoughts. Have you considered - Fiymaria Graphic Gainer (google it)? It is a good one of a kind guide for getting the best graphic design for your project minus the normal expense. Ive heard some unbelievable things about it and my cooworker after many years got great results with it.
Cheers for the Video clip! Apologies for chiming in, I would love your thoughts. Have you heard the talk about - Fiymaria Graphic Gainer (should be on google have a look)? It is a great exclusive guide for getting the best graphic design for your project minus the headache. Ive heard some interesting things about it and my m8 finally got excellent results with it.
Thanks everyone for commenting. I will do an episode on bidding. What industries do you work in?
What are the sizes of projects your bidding on?
What specific challenges are you having? Post questions you want answers to and I'll answer all of them on video.
I honestly don't think I've ever bid on a job. My challenge is believing in myself and prioritizing what I need to focus on.
Jeffrey Youngblood you work your way up. Keep watching and apply what you learn. Small steps at first.
I work in video production and would love to see more episodes on bidding jobs. Thank you for all of the incredible information. This channel is a goldmine.
Chris Do I found my dude. Thx Chris you're amazing bro.
Hey Chris, Its been some months that I started my own creative agency.. We work on the fluid model and don't have enough cash flow to rent a place right away. I was wondering how can we take the agency to the next level. Well, this is absolutely what I needed to see today. Not only did I learn selling confidence and assurance to prospective clients but to also bid the projects correctly. I love how you say that talent needs to be nurtured and work culture plays an important role in that. I am not letting go of this video for a long long time. I wish you could come out with more such insightful videos on your channel. Wish you luck..
Totally hooked on these videos, I've had them running all morning! They answer all the questions that are almost impossible to find definitive answers for, especially tough if you're freelance and work alone. I think this has changed how I'll deal with clients forever, thank you!
Recently I've decided to move on from my well-paying current job and reboot my father's old design firm. One of the major factors for being confident on taking this risk is knowing I have access to quality knowledge on this channel. Thanks, guys!
You're very welcome.
I am running an animation studio in the 15th year now and this is a great and very useful talk here. This should be a core part of all type of creative studies to stop all mistakes artists and creatives do when they slowly and painfully transform from a passionated hobbyist to a professional and realize that creativity, skills and talent is a serious business. It's all about money. And money gives you (creative) freedom to run a successful business and healthy life.
yes it does. You'll love the new podcast i'm working on where I interview Blair Enns. He goes into the "peculiarities of creative people" and their aversion to money, and specialization.
Make sure to subscribe to our channel to be notified of new episodes. Chris is working on the bidding episode as so many of you have requested.
Has anyone ever sent you 10%?
someone just asked me for our address. I assume the "check's in the mail". But still waiting.
Yes. Jacob Campbell was the first.
Hi Sir, can I ask? Can a freelance graphic designer that completed only a (national certificate III) run a business design online? Where should I start? Please can you guide me? Thank you and God vless always ❤️
This has helped me a ton, I work in software and I usually underbid on projects, where I end by giving myself a small salary just to keep things running. Now I understand why many of the online calculator nearly take 50% over what I do.
Chris, you blew my mind by teaching how to bid. From $5k to $20.5K
That was awesome
Glad to help.
I am 25 years old industrial designer working on advertising company in Turkey. I want to found my company as always but i thought i should learn the bussiness first i am trying to teach myself everything about bussiness, then i discovered you and addicted your videos its really helpfull makes me focused.
Welcome Omer. Learning is a good addiction.
man I love how chill you are in this video!
Thanks
4 years later, and I am from another country (argentina). And this video is useful as hell. Lots of great information really down to earth. Thank you
I'm part of a new design company and I am so glad I found this video. I can't thank Chris Do enough for the amazing insights!
Hi. Welcome.
Watching to Chris Do under that light is instant peace
I think the process has the best intro yet
I switched directions in my career at the late age of 51 and graduated with my BFA in Graphic and Web design. These episodes are invaluable to me as a newbie and n the industry and have helped me understand so many concepts and business development standards that I would never acquire on my own with little experience in the field. Chris....you are a Monster speaker! Bringing me all of the pertinent information I need in an innovative and cutting edge format. You are the Man!
never too late to start Cheri.
Hey Cheri. I'm 46 and I started copywriting and funnels a year ago, turning down more money in an industry i dont like, teaching! Now i'm studying GD and Chris is indeed brilliant. How is your career going? Happy to find your comment because as a 46 year old i feel a bit silly retraining with the youngsters!
I'm going to start a business with one of the most ambitious person I know. And your videos are really helping us to get started and inspires us to dream big and work hard.
awesome! good luck.
Thank you. I'm starting to freelance as a graphic designer and this helps a lot.
I never get sick of that intro for some reason (which isn't normal..). I feel like it encompasses your friendship, business relationship, and personalities all in one short clip.. Anyway! finally getting around to watching this.
Really enjoyed this. Definitely one of my favorites. As for the bidding question, would definitely like a video more about the bidding process. I have spoken to a few local web design companies and they are similar in that they don't even mark up for copy work that they hire out. Copy usually holds up a site launch or project and can be such a headache, so they will actually just connect the copywriter with the client (talking smaller company having to hire freelancer copywriter). They only charge a markup if they are actually managing the copywriter (as in project management) and they will roll that into the price of the contract. Would love to hear some feedback on something like that, as copy is very often times a pain-point for a project especially when clients "claim" will supply copy, yeah, we all know that never happens.
Great questions and answers. Really looking forward to more videos like this and love that you and Jose are so active in the comment section. You guys are definitely building an online community.
If ***** doesn't beat me too it first, I will do a web bidding episode.
That would be killer! Have been estimating, dealing with RFPs, and sending out proposals quite a biy lately so that would be greatly helpful. Keep up the awesome work and thank you!
It takes knowledge and experience to feel more confidence in what you do in that career to explain yourself well and to get your messages across to sell yourself, as you know.
I just graduated from Industrial Design, and im starting up my design business firm. You sir, are my sensei! Thank you so much for your tips and knowledge, it's helping me quite a lot.
Sensei bows to student.
This is 8 years ago but its gold in some junks thousand contents which only look for views, This is literally pure gold who teach us the true design business !!
Thank you so much!!
You’re very welcome
Chris you really are a pillar of inspiration and motivation to me (clearly you are to thousands of designers & others) but I make sure to watch your videos EVERY SINGLE DAY! Even when im working I have something playing of T.F in the background. I believe even if I am totally focused & in the zone creating something, the words you speak are planting positive creative seeds subconsciously in my mind. I am 70% self taught in design, which includes you & your teams videos..The schooling I did in field of design was many years ago, but I dont believe that matters, if you got it you got it. Creativity comes naturally to me, and ive now been running my own small GD biz for about 2 years! I have a solid base of clients, over half of them are return clients, & then the rest word of mouth, this is my full time gig & I dont pay for any advertising whatsoever. All my reach is organic, & I network with other small biz peeps, it just seems to happen. Always looking for ways to expand & improve my business & services, im obsessed with ideas & implementing them. I am so grateful & blessed to be doing what I LOVE, love doesn't even describe how I feel, im super PASSIONATE & when im having a moment, I look for your videos that pick me up & get me back into the GRIND! Always works! Right now, im under charging for what I offer, my value - so im stepping up my game. Anyway, I know this is an old video back from 2015 but ive watched it twice now & you are just super helpful, knowledgable & smart , dont mean to blow smoke up your arse but just saying it how it is lol :) - ill leave you with a saying of mine, theres prob similar out there but I live by this "Theres no 9 to 5 , late nights & early rise, we grind to thrive " - Loz @ LOZ CHAI DESIGN xx (Australia)
thanks Loz. I'm going to be in Brisbane next year at a design conference. maybe you can make it?
Oh really yes this is fantastic news! id love more information on where you are speaking , ticket costs etc ! :) if you could email me the info , or guide me to where I can find out more that would be rad! my email is admin@lozchaidesign.com ! :) thank you! how exciting! Really, if it wasn't for your videos, knowledge, tips and advice you pass on I am not sure how my outlook would have been today, because many of the things I do and implement come back to what you have taught me. :) I still have a long way to go, but I love the process and its all about the process - be real , be raw and be rad - Loz
IDK what's cooler...all this information about starting & running a design business OR the fact that you have a Danny Way Alien Workshop board!! The KA board by Evan Hecox is just an added bonus!
I agree with those who say this interview is a great help and concisely delivered.
I'm a UK based designer who is looking at starting up a product development practice and this puts allot more reassurance in my little steps.
6 yr old video, still amazing relevant in 2022(always in the futur) 😉!
I recently jumped into the freelance world. It can be tough at times. This channel has provided so much valuable insight and knowledge to me. Huge fan. Thanks!
thanks alex. it can be brutal out there in the streets of real life. keep your head high.
These questions are well-thought out ! The answers were spot on and truthful. No BS. Just useful information. Thanks for sharing!
This episode is the best!
Right now I am really in a lost space here in the Creative Industry in Indonesia.
Maybe it's because I'm just a fresh graduate, but I just don't like to keep working for a company or someone. I wanted to start my own business and be something more higher than just sitting in front of a PC or a workstation and just "click, click, click" (no offense to other designers).
Thank you for the great content!
You are brutally straightforward, but to me you make scenes. I can understand you, Best mentor one can wish. Thank you.
I ve been in the design/advertising business for a long time, about 15 years, but have somehow missed this series entirely. It's really well put together & has some great advice for younger people starting out, something not often found in RUclips vids. Seems like most vids are just about ego & Net fame. Anyway, great job by your whole team. I'm stoked to keep watching them today while I'm supposed to be working. - 1 topic suggestion which may already be done...The thing I get asked all the time by new designers is how do I find all my work. Where are all these jobs coming from? I get a lot of referrals but new designers or agencies obviously don't have that luxury.
Desk1 One thank you for acknowledging that. Appreciate it.
that moment when you realize you just came across a gem. Bro this is amazing series of informative videos.
+chillhomie7 Thanks and dig in. We have a lot more content coming your way.
This is one of my favourite channels. This man is a visionary. I love this.
thank you. we'll keep working til we earn your #1 spot.
I was a creative hippy now I feel more like a business man. Thank you!
that's awesome!
2021 and this content is still useful. The Futur, you are doing well.
Mr. Do, your philosophy in the business of design, inspired us to incorporate. And it works!!! we felt more confident than ever! and can mark up (reasonably) with our clients :) so a massive grateful thank you!
nice. Thank you.
LOVE THIS!
I'm a Brand Consulting and this video is exactly what I was needing.
Thank you!
no other videos like this online. epically useful, you have demystified so much of the process
Glad to hear. Thank you.
Chris Do just dropped some serious knowledge. Thank you so damn much for this episode!!! I've been stressed to the gills, working the past two months into freelance, and have been freaking the hell out about managing clients/scoring contracts and had no clue how to bid appropriately. This episode just lit up my foggy path. I need to watch this a few more times. I hope you doing a Deep Dive on Bidding /Part 2.
+Steven Mercado I will Steven. Based on the response below, I kind of have to now. Good luck getting out of the fog. Hopefully our channel is a beacon for you.
Thanks Chris! I love this channel. Skool is definitely my light house. You guys always have something innovative to give and provide clarity. Much appreciated.
+Steven Mercado You got it. we can change our logo to a light house. : )
3 years late but this video is great. I own a construction company but i do design as a hobby, and the business side is just the same.
never too late, unless you're dead.
Waiting for the day when there will be someone like Chris, but teaching for Industrial Designers. Still, this has been extremely useful, since graphic design is my side hustle.
how are the concepts different? can't they be applied across verticals?
I love how much you trained urself up and how passionate you are. you should definitely gimme a slice of that^^. I liked the "How To Price Design Services & Make More Money"-Episode the most, cause you constantly emphasized the value to the client and how that should affect your offer, rather than throwing out a hourly rate in combination with a rough time assessment. Actually I just give some feedback now, cause this episode covers a little bit of bidding, which is calculated by the hourly rate * days = subtotal. One of the enlightening moments from the "How To Price.."-Episode was the fact that this model is kinda unfitting for that sort of work. I feel now like if it is sorta inconsistent. I hope you could light me up a little bit.
Greetz comes Berlin
one of the best education channel in youtube and in the internet
Thanks
Just want to thank you and send some good energy your way, I truly appreciate your insights on the design industry!
Thank you Chris for taking the time and sharing your knowledge to those in the world who need advice, like me , in the process of starting my own design studio!
Ariana Fridman you are very welcome!
he said the thing that we need to hear 100%
i loved this episode so much. So much of those questions that i have been longing for an answer has been clearly given here. Thank you so much for this. Means a lot
Wow! Took a lot from this episode. Advice is still gold! Thank you Chris Do. Loved the straightforward interview. Wish to have that kind of communication strategy too!
Hey, What's up! 2:34AM your videos are keeping me up way past my bedtime, BUT I can't really stop watching - Firstly I'm absolutely in love with the pricing structure of this episode. I've honestly never seen anything like it and I think that there are a number of people out there who have been using this Blueprint to cost their "Build You're Social Media Business" Tutorials which the charge hundreds, if not thousands of dollars for people to enrol in.
5k to 20k Dollars, let's talk about that.
Living in South Africa, I think that the only people who have the capacity to charge those amounts are agencies because of the South African, 3rd world mindset (not for long, these are totally going to be my agencies going rates).
You see I KNOW that in the South African industry, almost everyone I know has adopted the mindset of feeling bad about charging people a fair amount of money because they feel as though the client will not be able to find value in their work. The Truth you're bringing to the table is that YES " by saying NO, you're making room for bigger clients".
The BIG difference for myself as a creative is without a doubt experience with work which is why I'll be taking the time to go through as much of your content as possible, and creating my own success blueprint which will function within a South African context. It's not that I can't go and start meeting with clients immediately, it's more along the lines of what I've seen so far on Futur. I feel as though I would only be lying to myself if I were to perform strategy for a client BUT I was not up to scratch with my own company strategy.
I don't want to become a brand who doesn't practise what they preach and I want my clients to see that I am able to perform the services I will be offering them, for myself.
This will include a Mission Statement (I think that was the first few minutes of the video @ ). I completely agree on how difficult that is, however, I like the value profile model - WHO, WHAT, HOW TO SOLVE.
Just to clarify on the middle segment - Accounting for error - (@ ) - I have charged somebody (MORE LIKE THEY SIMPLY PAID ME) - R2500 OR about $200 to film for 3 days and perform an edit which took me about 3 months to complete. I have also worked on projects until completion for free with NO way to redeem my earnings from the client. What I've learned, are the different ways it hurts. You see, because I was working at the time I didn't realise just how bad it was, however, I now think more critically about the Freelancer who is sitting at home and will accept minimum pay to perform extraordinary amounts of work because they are desperate for the business.
I can confidently say that after being a part of the process for a good few videos now (50+), I will NOT be held responsible for the degradation of creatives by reducing my rates & I will inform other creatives of their disservice to the community by undercharging and undervaluing other creatives work during the bidding process, which even I have been guilty of in the past. Little did I know just how shallow minded I was being.
However, I am older and wiser now. 3:02AM
I have work in the morning - thank you all for always bringing the STEAK, I will probably be writing one of these long ass comments in one of your videos which I will watch tomorrow.
Cheers.
good for you Sahil! now, get some sleep and let those ideas cook.
A project manager I once worked with taught me a rough rule of thumb for this. Take your first guesstimate, add VAT and then multiply by π. So in this case (5000+25%)*3,14=19625. Not too far off :)
I am writing a bid right now based on this formula. Great content.
every word that came out from his mouth was gold piece... this is all i want to know....
lol. that is an interesting visual you just painted in my mind.
God this is gold. Seriously Chris your changing my life man, I'll own a successful shop and large part will be thanks to you thanks man. I'll send that 10% lol
looking forward to that #tenPercent Rene.
Started pitching $500 websites, after encountering Chris Do, pitched $4.5 and have 3 verbal agreements, plus 2 payments of part of the quotes, for part of the deliverables. Then I pitched $50k for a web app (albeit delivered by a world renowned partner development firm) Nevertheless, the fact that I even had the notion to pull in a superstar partner firm and go for $50k is absolutely a function of Chris Do's transformational education.
Awesome!! So happy for you David.
@@thefutur Thank you, slight nerves, like being in the ring with King Kong. However, shall stay open transparent and learn from Angular minds
Thanks God I found this channel. There is so much helpful stuff !
Wowww...I need to readjust how i rate our price and how I bid...coz here in Indonesia seems that we always underbid our project....to create visual FX here in Indonesia it's under $ 10.000 ... I really need to readjust my rate price....thanks Chris...you are the best
its so difficult to find such intensely informative and fully concrete knowledge. awesome stuff
Nicolas Ramirez thanks!!
Chris you guys are on a big time roll. Awesome episode, I plan to watch it twice but while I watched the first time a question popped up for me. You stated that really, you could sell your company and really based on your skills and confidence continue to make a living. The question I have for you is if you were starting again with 20/20 being your asset, how would you build your business today ? Would you build a team and focus on sales ? Or would you keep it small and mobile using only what you needed to get the jobs done ? Or would you take on most of the work yourself ?
Great question. I need to think about it.
***** well said brother..! What things would you change or approach differently given your experience if you had to start over tomorrow.
Chris Do great response..! I thought you might answer that way...so by your answer I'm guessing you would be more of a project manager vs a straight designer. I'm guessing you would also be the sales closer too. I thank you and the always entertaining ***** for this valuable.....Scratch that Extremely valuable episode...I may watch it a third time...lol you guys are on a roll..! I think you've found your sweet spot...thank you
Just curious how you'd describe our sweet spot. What do you get out of watching us?
Great question ...I won't go way back but for me the last few months have been awesome. Everything from the rebranding of the show to the subject matter to the guest has been value packed. I think you guys honing in on what we the viewers wanted has helped to take you guys deeper and us (the viewers) deeper than the surface stuff. You both have given us a bigger slice of what makes you both tick. For you Chris exposing us to your business coach was wonderfully deep. For Jose, he's shared some deep feelings and has shown his more serious side which allowed me to understand his passion even more. The studio audience addition on some of the episodes makes the show more cohesive. The Unfiltered segments with Mr. Pao are brilliant to me. It was another voice other than you and Jose proving your message to us. Jose's interview with Mr. Chong was awesome. All of these things bring so much value. I don't think there is another person or team doing it like you two. There are people who speak about the "Freelance" world. Others who preach, "sell value not commodity" but they are not as thorough as you two. I think you guys are delivering a great product. Everything from my viewpoint seems to be working together really well.
Finally got to hear the logic on branding when it comes to a client's value in terms of their return, my gain.
i loved this episode so much. So much of those questions that i have been longing for an answer has been clearly given here. Thank you so much for this.
This was seriously amazing +Chris Do. Really to the point. We would love to hear more details about bidding and how to justify your bid to the client.
+Anmar Al Gaboury Happy to do this. Deeper dive on bidding. Do you ever sign up for the webinars that we run? I field questions like this and answer you directly.
14:00 A smaller 3d/vfx studio is what you need with an expandable network of artists working remotely, it's the future of vfx and 3d - that's how we roll here and it works very well . You only pay for the artists on board (which could be one guy plus a project manager or 10 guys) and not the MASSIVE building they are all working from. If you need a great 3d and vfx company search for companies that have been in business for over 5 years and are still churning out big brand videos.
Dude the bid example is about to change my life!!! Thank you!!!!
like a boss!
Paid upfront! For sureI do 1/3 up front, 1/3 upon submittal and 1/3 when permit is granted and or customer satisfaction
GOLD 💎
That breakdown on the whiteboard was #GOLD.among other great insights. Thank you so much!
Thank you so much Chris for taking the time to teach us about the Business of Design...your lessons are very helpful in my career! I appreciate it very much. Cheers!
You’re very welcome.
Awesome episode!
Best part: I'll show "the viewers" how to bid. :)
This was great, man. Appreciating The Futur content very much and finding it motivational. Great job guys
Wow, this is an incredible episode. I love it. I thank you for the information, and the insightful, it has helped me a lot. Thank you very much.
Man this is such a useful talk here. Thank you so much Chris Do and team at the Futur. You guys are amazing.
David Saucedo thanks buddy.
Thank you so much Chris, I loved the bidding table and combining all the costs that I don't usually think of. The idea of what would it cost for someone else to do the work is brilliant - definitely takes me out of the 'do it all myself' model. I loved all these questions and really enjoy the way you succinctly answer them. Thanks heaps!
thanks Rebecca.
I'm learning SOOOOO MUCH from this channel!! So glad I subscribed!!! Thank you guys!!!
Thank you
I can't stop looking at the Evan Hecox skateboard and the art piece. The Danny Way AWS board is also great :D love the information thank you
thanks. we got some really cool decks now.
everything about this conversation was perfect. thank you 🙏🏾 ❤
Thank you
This episode feels like it was directed straight at me. Great one. Thanks, Chris and team
As a freelancer, how can you bid even $100 when there are plenty of other designers out there, bidding like only $10? Please make a video about freelancing.
P.S loved this video. Chris Do is awesome! 👏🏻
already did.
I'd love to see a video with a more complex breakdown of bidding, based on your personal strategies- I don't work with Fx (yet!) moreso 'agency' meets production company for film, video, stills, etc.... but budgets are definitely something I need more info on since I have been working solo for 7 years and previously worked with bigger studios in another country (U.S, now I'm in Germany). Either way, thanks a lot for the candid info... it really empowered me to just do it since my assertions matched most of your advice, but I definitely feel you are the guy to ask for my more complex questions. And I'm def. down with helping with the littles' tuition upon implementation, I got you!
we have a kit we are working on to address just that. stay tuned!
That's so cool at the end. I so agree that your life is your work and you should find something that completes you. Same way, building up my company now, I'm trying to build a group of best friends with amazing skills that live an amazingly fulfilling life.
I'm sooo gonna buy that book! Thanks again Futur people! Looking forward to join the community very soon and buy a bunch of your products. I'm already working on redesign of my process with things i learned for your process.. Can't wait to dive deeper!
I'm a Houdini guy. And you just need to be a generalist with the knack to investigate and problem solve when the need arises.
Such a powerful episode.
This is gold! One question: What about considering the scope of the project when bidding? Is this already built in when you estimate how many days it will take? For example, a 1 minute motion graphic, verses a 5 minute motion graphic.
Love this episode, hearing your views has suddenly enlightened me. Thanks.
+Grace Zeng Glad to shed a little light on your world. What do you do?
+Chris Do I do UI design for a living in China, and our team is facing a lot of problems that mentioned in this vid, such as team management and sell the fantasy to clients.
+Grace Zeng wow. how did you find us? youtube is banned in china.
Chris Do Well, curiosity could fly us everywhere. haha...
You guys are blowing my mind. Thanks for awesome advice. Go Chris!
Jen carlson hi Jen. Come to our workshops sometime.
So glad finding this channel.
I have another way to deal with clients that push too many revisions. While still in a process of negotiating and signing the contracts I always demand an Anex which states > as a producer we are fully committed to bring top notch service as agreed and will after 5th revision (if not our fault) start Invoicing any additional time extra. I run an advertising agency and therefore run a structured yet chaotic business where I strangely find peace and balance. You mentioned Advance payment, could not agree more! What essentially this does it puts both parties on the same level ....better, we find ourselves on the same boat with well planned strategy and workflow.
Regarding "hard" clients. Interesting, I have more troubles with bigger clients where I am shocked sometimes how they lack proper organizational and communication skills to bring whole story to a another success story.
And to end ... let us not forget that if initially there is no chemistry with the client I'd rather walked away with no hard feelings and head up high rather than creating financial and legal issues that in the end cost you more and pretty much end any future cooperation.
You have to trust your gut and find a good fit for you and the client.
Over the past couple of days I've watched a lot of your videos - and I'm really impressed with all of them, especially this one. I've been looking for a lot of answers and I may have found them. Thank you ever so much.
You are certainly welcome. What question were you looking to have answered?
+The Skool Network In a nutshell: how to be professional, how to get paid and how much to ask for (among many other things)... Your videos are invaluable at this time. Once I have viewed all of them I'll know more of what specifically i need to ask, and in how much detail.
+stu k keep digging. You are at the beginning of your journey. We will be here to help.
+The Skool Network Will do. Thanks for the encouragement.
Definitely one of the best videos. Straight to it! Keep it up guys!
Great episode! This is what I needed to hear and learn when I first started my design business (thou I lost at least 5-figures due to non paying clients) wished that the business of design was taught in school. Even now that I am an educator myself, I still got so much to learn and pass onto my students. Thanks you so much @TheSkoolNetwork for your videos and words of wisdom :)
We couldn't agree with you more. All designers need to learn some key business principles if they want to be taken seriously in the real world.
This is amazing asking all the right questions and giving the right answers very impressive
Thank you.
This really helped, especially the bidding part! They should really teach this sort stuff at university! My problem is that I always charge too little for my graphic design work. I'm about to watch your Proposal video. Thanks for all the help!
Daniel White charge more. You can provide better customer service and work when you do.
This is perfect for our agency, as we cross into our fourth quarter of our first year of existence.
Thanks Chris and skool
I loved that you connected this with VFX/Film. It would be cool to see talks like this related to this field or Video Games as well.
So informative, So inspirational... Best design channel on youtube
we agree : )
You have a lot of wisdom.....it took me a decade to learn some of these lessons. :) Fortunately my agency survived that ignorance. And yes yes yes, collect your funds in advance. Like your channel, glad I found it.
thanks cup of kudos.
I literally canceled Netflix after watching couple of your videos, thank you so much!!!