Being an entrepreneur for many years, I’ve come to the conclusion that the sooner you accept that budgeting for a startup business website is as illusive as figuring out Google’s algorithm for search,  you’d be in a much better place.

If you’re an internet entrepreneur or any kind of  business owner for that matter,  chances are good that a large amount of your business success will depend on your online presence.  With that said;  the top 3 things young entrepreneurs worry about all the time are…  finance, finance and more finance.  Most entrepreneurs have a business idea and a plan to succeed.  What most of us are lacking is the ability to budget our startup costs effectively.  In our defense though, it can be difficult to predict what expenses a new business will incur as it grows. 

Building or designing a brand these days is more about building an effective online presence.  Which means finding a designer who is both talented and knowledgeable to understand and effectively implement your branding design strategies.  I’m not going to bore you with a branding design lecture at this point, but take a look at this great presentation on the importance of  branding design below.

It is my position that if you’re building a business to succeed, you should be mindful of the core ingredients for success.   Hiring the right web designer to build your website is  one of those core ingredients.

BUDGETING FOR YOUR WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT

Getting Website Design Services For Free

The ideal option is to find a worthy web developer and offer him a partnership in your new venture in exchange for his expertise. This will not only allow for a possible continuous and quality development of your company and brand identity, but also a major reduction in your startup cost.

Hiring a Freelancer or Web Design Firm

If on the other hand, you choose not to partner with a web designer then your next option would be to hire a freelancer or  web design firm.

How To Budget For A Web Design Project

Many young entrepreneurs get the initial quote from  a web designer and allocate the respective funds as their  web development budget.   The problem with this is that the initial quote that a designer gives you seldom proves to be the one you end up paying.  Sometimes it maybe less but most times it ends up being more.  Much more.

As a designer starts a project, he/she may not know the obstacles that will occur as the project gets on-the-way.  This is especially true for custom website design.

Custom website design can sometimes involve lots of programming which is not an exact science, hence, can easily add hours to your project, ultimately increasing your website budget.

So you should be aware about these things upfront as you’re negotiating the terms of agreement.  If you’re on a tight budget (like most young entrepreneurs), try to negotiate a project price instead of an hourly rate.  This way you’re sure to be able to manage your money a little better.  Another way to plan for the unexpected is to create a detailed design brief , outlining your business strategies and project requirements.

Do You Have A Post Launch Budget ?

Another thing most entrepreneurs overlook is the post launch expense of a website.

When a website is launched, aside from the inevitable bugs that will come up, there are many things that will not be apparent until your visitors start to use your website. For example:

·        How user friendly is the website ?

·        Is your call to action buttons in the right places ?

·        Are your signup forms too long or difficult to fill out ?

·        Are the landing pages effective ?

Once you determine that the Buy Now  buttons should be green instead of light blue and that you’d rather have a search bar at the top of the home page instead of a link on the side bar. You’re talking about more time and hence more money. 

These are just some of the things you should be mindful of as you budget, negotiate and ultimately hire  a web designer for your startup company.

What have been your experience with budgeting for a website design project?

Are you looking to hire a web designer for your startup business?  Request a free quote from our designers network.

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EBGE '09 Introductory Video from myrmigi design house

I am very pleased to introduce The Myrmigi Design House Team to the Styleapple Hire A Designer series. Myrmigi Design House is a creative studio that offers high-end creative design services including motion design, graphic design, 3D design, and animation projects (2D/3D). You can read the design firm's full profile here.

The Myrmigi Design Team wrote a very comprehensive article on the The Top 10 Things to Look for When Hiring a Motion Graphics/Animation Designer. If you are thinking about hiring a motion graphic designer for your next project, this is a must read. Find a brief excerpt of the article below. You can read the full copy here.

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 The Styleapple Hire A Designer series continues with Melissa Gerber, a Freelance Graphic Designer with an extensive background in packaging design. She is an accomplished Art Director and Designer, experienced in publishing, packaging, editorial, and branding design. You can read her full profile here.

Melissa wrote a very comprehensive article on the Top 10 things to look for when hiring a Graphic Designer for A Packaging Design Project. If you are thinking about hiring a graphic designer to do packaging design work, this is a must read.  Find a brief excerpt of her article below. You can read the full copy here.

The Top 10 Things to Look for When Hiring a Graphic Designer For A Package Design Project Written by Melissa Gerber Freelance Graphic Designer

 1. Know the style of what you want your product to look like or at least an idea.
Visit stores that carry the type of packaging you are creating. If you find designs you like take notes and pictures if you can. You can also search the internet for packaging ideas and inspiration. Also, sometimes on the back of packages you will see the designer name. If you really like the design it is fairly easy to google the designer's name and most times an online portfolio can be found with their contact information, resume and portfolio.

2. Visit creative websites.
There are a lot of online designer portfolio websites out there now. This makes it much easier for the client to search easily for packaging designers with all types of backgrounds and styles. Some sites include: styleapple.com, coroflot.com, creativehotlist.com, and designrelated.com just to name a few. At these sites you can search specifically for packaging designers and review their work and resume. If you are unsure of what style you are looking for your design to be these sites will also show you different approaches to various packaging.

3. Review resume carefully.
In addition to reviewing the designer's portfolio, pay close attention to the designer's resume. Carefully review the resume to make sure they have the skill set that you require for the project. This will show you the designer's experience with other clients and companies. It will tell you how long they have been designing and their experience level. A beautiful portfolio is promising, but the amount of experience they have is an important factor to consider. The amount of projects they have done over the years shows that they have learned to communicate and understand the needs of their clients. It also shows that people keep coming back to them.

4. Research and communicate with a few designers.
Find 2 or 3 designers whose work you really like and talk to them all to get a feel for who would be best to take on your project. Get a quote from each and discuss the project with them. Then see who you feel most comfortable giving the project to.

Continue... Read points 5 - 10 here  

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 The Styleapple Hire A Designer series continues with Jonathan C. Smith, Senior Industrial Designer and Chief Editor at Design Exposed.

Jonathan holds multiple patents for his work in industrial design and have experiences in both the corporate and consultancy environment.   Jonathan wrote a very comprehensive article on the Top 10 things to look for when hiring an Industrial Designer. Find an experpt of the article below. You can read the full copy here.

What are the top ten things to look for when hiring an Industrial Designer? Written by Jonathan C.Smith, Industrial Designer

This isn't a simple cut and dry answer. The person you are looking for is always determined by your needs and each designer has different strengths and weaknesses.

Factors such as technical skills, experience, and passion are considerable factors.

In general, terms these are the top ten skills/traits to look for when hiring an Industrial Designer.

1.) Critical thinking skills/problem solving skills
2.) Open Mindedness
3.) Enthusiasm
4.) Willing to learn new skills and wear more hats
5.) Aptitude for Engineering
6.) Communicate ideas effectively: Verbal, written, and in sketch form.
7.) Sees the forest through the trees
8.) Variety of design/life experiences: Mentally mature
9.) Aptitude for Graphic Design
10.) Materials and Manufacturing knowledge

Here is a break down of the aforementioned list.

1.) Critical thinking skills/problem solving skills

Can you think on your feet? Can you read into a problem or design brief and think your way through the problem from more than one perspective? Finding one solution isn't the end of the line. We need to explore as many perspectives as possible. This is an overlooked skill that can be learned, but it requires a commitment on your part. Look for the positives and the negatives, being honest with yourself will yield more effective solutions. These qualities directly relate to the next item on the list.

2.) Open Mindedness

Any time you enter a situation with a biased perspective you are limiting yourself to what you have already perceived is the answer. You can get around this, but it will take you more time to get up to speed. Listen to those around you, think about it from a variety of perspectives and don't think any idea is a bad one until you are ready to trim the fat off your ideas.

3.) Enthusiasm

Your enthusiasm can have a dramatic effect on others. Being open minded and enthusiastic about the potential of a project can heighten the quality of your results and the attitude of those around you. Besides, if you aren't genuinely enthusiastic about your work, others will notice.

4.) Willing to learn new skills and wear more hats

If you are looking for a career then you better put your steel toe shoes on. Hiring managers don't want to hire someone who will leave in a year or two or three. The cost associated with hiring a new employee is very high. And they wan tot make sure they hire someone who is in it for the long haul and is genuinely committed to great results.

 Continue... Read points 5 - 10 here

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Image From The Design Portfolio of Amanda Reid

The Styleapple Hire A Designer series continues with Amanda L. Reid, President & Principal Designer at MANDARINASTUDIO. Amanda has nearly a decade of experience in various levels of interior design services for commercial and residential projects. Prior to starting MANDARINASTUDIO, she served for 8 years as Project Designer at a boutique architecture + interior design firm based in New York City.  Amanda wrote a very comprehensive article on the Top 10 things to look for when hiring an Interior Designer. If you are thinking about hiring an Interior Designer for for your next project, this is a must read. Find a brief excerpt of her article below. You can read the full copy here.

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I know as a design professional, finding the right designer to do a specific job can be time consuming and somewhat difficult, much less trying to find one when you're outside the design industry and not familiar with design at all. I've created the "Hire A Designer" series to help clients find the right designer by giving them some valuable tips on what to look for when hiring for their next big project.

I will be selecting design professionals from within the Styleapple design network to participate in this series and present what they feel are the top 10 most important things to look for when hiring a designer.

This week I've managed to secure Camille Wilkinson to discuss what she feels are the ten most important things to consider when hiring a fashion designer. Camille Wilkinson has worked in the fashion industry for over 25 years and has created a reputation for working with some of the top brands in the industry. I have had the chance to work with Camille and found her to be both professional and very creative. You can see some of her design work on Styleapple.

The designer tips in this series will be introduced on Branded Designers but the complete list will be posted on the Styleapple "Hire A Designer" pages where clients are submitting quote requests to the Styleapple Network.

Here is a briefing of Camille's Top 10...

POINT 1. From the first online (or offline) portfolio to the last portfolio you sift through, ask yourself: Which one blew you out of your socks?

POINT 2. Those portfolios that knock your socks off are where to start your follow-up.

POINT 3. What made them catch your eye, hold your breath, and call in the rest of your team to see what you see. If you know what you need, seeing what fits the bill should be easy. The plus of looking, is if you find something more, something je ne sais pas (I don't know what), but when you see it - wow - you know it.

It might be good to know what kind of environment they best design in... It is not just a passing curiosity to know how a designer thrives best. And aside from the physical environment, what is the computer environment or OS (operating system) - along with the programs - that made their work pop. Genius may also have its source in the tools used.

POINT 4. A good portfolio contains - like manners - a designer's best foot forward, their best work, their best representation of all of what they can do as a designer. And like manners, it's not a façade, it's not a put-on, it's in fact the super powers that they have cultivated throughout their career to the point where they are now: Now, ‘You Are Here'. So no worries, they should be able to back up what ever they have presented. That is to say, they should be able to apply all their talents and skills to whatever you may challenge them with.

POINT 5. Check and balance your initial awe of pretty pictures with sound design process practicalities. If you don't see it in the portfolio, and you still want to investigate what the designer is capable of, let this be one question in your first line of defense upon interviewing:

QUESTION #1. Are you capable of detailing your designs in a tech pack?
You should also ask:
QUESTION #2. Are you capable of leading fit meetings for your designs?
And since you are on this track, ask this:
QUESTION #3. Are you knowledgeable of fabric types, constructions, knitting qualities, and gauges?

Yes, you need to get technical with a prospective designer, to know the perimeters of their skills. Even if you have departments who this work is delegated to, a designer must know how to communicate with them to get their designs to the next stage. 

See the complete list here>>

If you are interested in writing a top 10 for your discipline in design. Feel free to leave a comment or contact me directly at calvin [at] styleapple [dot] com

Are You Looking To Hire A Designer? 

Get A Free Project Quote From The Styleapple Design Network: Get A Freelancer>>

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We've been working hard, very hard these past few months on some major projects I believe will assist my designer colleagues who are looking to create some success in 2009 and beyond.

We are now in beta for our new website: www.styleapple.com which has been going very well, Thanks to all our beta testers for taking part in our bug hunting process. BTW, We are still accepting beta testers as we continue to develop the site. [Become A Beta Tester]

Branded Designers - The Agency,  Camille Wilkinson - Fashion Designer From New York City

We have also started Branded Designers - The Agency. I've always had a desire to help young designers grow their businesses. The Agency will do just that. Branded Designers - The Agency is a talent agency focused in the creative industry. We will represent a selected group of designers, providing the personalized service designers need when starting a new venture or simply finding new freelance projects.

We are currently accepting applications until we have reached our capacity. The Agency will only represent a few selected designers in order for us to effectively serve the designers we represent. All remaining applications will be placed on our waiting list.

To apply simply submit your profile on www.styleapple.com and send us an email title: Branded Designers Application, please include your name, title and location in the email.
I looking forward to working with you.

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I would like to make a quick point of reference to one of my past sales experience.  I remember back in the day when I was a sales executive  at New York Health and Racquet Club , a New York City based health club.  Our monthly sales quota was to sell about 60 gym memberships per month at a premium price of $2100/yr.   Imagine having to talk to someone you just met and tell them to write a check for $2100 after 10 minutes.  Very daunting task to say the least, but still obviously doable - we met our quota quite often.  But  there is something not being said here. 

You see we had two types of clients coming into our club:  The first was the client who just walk off the street and into the club and the other was a client who knew of our service, quality and reputation (And this was mainly due to the pre-sales efforts incorporated in our sales cycle)    So I'm sure you can guest which client or customers became members more often... The ones with the background of our company of course.  No surprises there.  So if that is indeed the case offline.  Why are we not taking the same initiatives online?  Especially now that more and more of our business income is coming from our website and online efforts.  There are many things  that can assist in the pre-sales process,  including the obvious ones, email campaigns, newsletters  and company design blogs; but what about your website itself? 

Don't get me wrong,  I'm a big fan of blogging to share just this kind of information to your clients; as a matter of fact  Jacob Cass, a well respected graphic designer wrote an article on why logo design does not cost $5.00 in which he outlines his thought process when designing and also justifies his price even before the client hires him. BUT....  How many clients are going to be able to read that article before hiring:  How about those who simply come to your website and is looking for  some direct information regarding your products and services and is not a regular reader or a subscriber to your design blog.  This is why I recommend having a website that truly engages and provide a sense of  understanding and guidance keeping front and center the thought process your customers.

A great example of this is Studio Grafik, A Logo Design and Branding company with a website  that is very simple but has a very effective presentation of their products and service.   They give a quick summary of the client job request,  some thoughts on how they approached the design (1) , showed the completed logo and presented their branding efforts in different mediums, i.e.  Print (2) and website layout (3) and breaks down the logo to its bare mininum to expand on their thought process (4)  This kind of detailed outline of projects engages  and provide a sense of security to the client that this company know their business, even before any phone call or email has been sent.  This is a great pre-sales technique.   I've layout  the flow of Studio Grafik presentation of  one of their clients,  Sublime//ip  for your reference.

What are some of the techniques you've used in your design business for engaging your clients/customers on your website?

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I like it when I can go to one place and get everything I need. Like Walmart or Target, you can buy face wash and have a slice of pizza while waiting on line. I even wrote an article on tips on choosing a web designer and outlined a list of things a customer should look for when looking to hire (another combo deal) but after taking a second look at my recent post I realized that I was a little unfair and would like to clarify a few things; specifically the relationship between web designers, SEO and internet marketing consultants.

Your web designer should not be your SEO consultant or your internet marketing consultant for one simple reason. He might charge you double for his services... and rightfully so. You'd be getting two professionals for the price of one. Don't get me wrong I still think a SEO savvy web guy is probably someone you should keep on your short list but I don't think it's the norm in our industry yet. As the website design industry becomes more competitive; you'll begin to see the ‘all in one' philosophy become more prevalent. SEO, internet marketing consulting and website design is an inevitable marriage primarily due to the intense competition on the web for designers bidding for new projects and companies competing to be on Google's top 10 SERPS. In fact, I think SEO marketing companies should be cozying up with as many web designers and design companies across the globe as humanly possible-it just makes good business sense to me.

When creating a website it's crucial to design it with your customers in mind, identified by individual needs. David Meerman Scott calls these individual identities your buyers personas in his recent book on Marketing and PR. It's no longer about how cool your site looks but rather how effective your website is. As we are at the last phase of design for styleapple.com- a portfolio and job site for designers and design companies. we had to take a step back and rethink our website appeal and answer a few basic questions:

• Who are our demographics, i.e. web designers, graphic designers, design companies, pr firms, etc?
• Are we answering all the initial questions a new visitor might have, like what's this website about or where do I find the freelance jobs?
• Are we giving them the option to identify themselves once they arrive on the site? i.e. creative pro, design company, etc.
• Are we giving them the information they need once they've identified themselves? For example a designer might be interested in creating a design portfolio, browsing creative job listings or looking for new inspiration.
• Are we providing adequate information to answer our site visitors questions? i.e. why should I join Styleapple? , how will creating a portfolio help with my getting new projects?, how can posting a job help me find the right talent?
• Are we revealing the full functionality, product or service that the website offers? i.e. this site will give you additional exposure outside of your website, provide you with a personalize URL for client review, give you an opportunity to meet other creative pros like yourself?
• Are we giving them options of solutions? i.e. posting your portfolio online will help in getting your work noticed by potential clients or signing up for job alerts will send you updates when new projects become available?
• Do we have appropriate conversion forms at the time our site visitors are ready to take action, buy or subscribe, i.e. create portfolio, sign up for job alerts, or post a job forms?

You should not expect your web designer to answer these very important questions for you. I would suggest consulting with an internet marketing consultant or someone who knows about internet marketing to discuss this process as it is vital to your company's website success. David Meerman Scott's book "The New Rules of Marketing and PR" is a pretty good read and gives some great tips when designing or redesigning your company's website.

Is it too much to ask a web designer to know SEO and Internet marketing techniques to maximize your website effectiveness? What's your opinion?

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Now we've come up with 10 great tips to keep in mind when looking to hire for your next web design project primarily  based on the great feedback we've gotten from the design community:

1. Does Your Web Designer know what SEO Stands for?

One of the things I look for is the designer's knowledge of SEO (search engine optimization)  I know they might tell you that that's what an SEO Consultant is for; but there are web design companies that will do the little things like:  Place the right keywords and meta titles on your website. Use H1 headings to tell Google what your web pages are about.  Give you suggestions on keyword density relative to content when writing content for you pages.  These things help search engines find your website more easily.  This is also a great way for web designers to add value to their services while at the same time giving the client a more effective website.

2. Is The Quote Too Good To Be True

Be cautious of getting a quote that's too low. No I didn't make a mistake when I said too low.  Shop around  and get a few prices for your project.  There are going to be companies that will highball you and some that will even lowball you.  For one of my projects I've gotten a quote of  $20,000 and one for $3700 for the same project.  If a quote is too low it might mean that the company is not aware of the details or the quality you're looking for.  I hate to say this but most times, you get what you pay for.  Keep in mind though, a quote that seems  too high is probably too high,  go with the majority cluster of quotes on this one.

3. Sitemap is Not An Option

  A development sitemap is the layout of your website in a flowchart format.  This is important because it allows you to see visually how your website will function. A detail development sitemap is quite tedious for a designer but very helpful for you in making sure your proposal  is well understood before signing the bottom line.

4. Does Their TOS (Terms of Sales Agreement) Leave You With Butterflies in Your Stomach

If the design company TOS seem like you're selling your soul to the devil; then you probably are. It's true that  companies and designers must protect their time and money when doing projects but should have a reasonable TOS agreement that doesn't strip you from your deposit  5 minutes after you've sign the contact.

5. Go Behind Their Backs in an Honest Way

This is something I learned accidently but saved me from choosing the wrong web design company.  What you do is ask the web design company for a list of all the websites they've done to get a feel of the work.  Then you choose the ones you find that closely resembles what you're looking for in terms of  style and functionality.  Once you've gotten their contact information, call your web design company and ask if you can call a few of the website owners to get their feedback.  Two things can happen here, they might say no (INSTANT RED FLAG) or they might say yes.  In which case proceed and hopefully you get the positive feedback you want, enough to solidify the deal with the web design company you had a gut feeling about in the first place.  

For the next five tips, read James's Post: 10 Great Tips for Choosing the Right Web Design Company Regardless of Size - Part 1

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