Off By 2 : Brand Strategy & Business Growth for Founders Who Want More Freedom

Have you ever wondered if blogging is still a viable way to get graphic design clients? Or how to set up your website’s SEO so it attracts and converts the high-ticket clients you want?

In today’s episode, guest expert Jacob Cass sits down with host Kady Sandel for an incredible conversation about how to use blogging & SEO to land design clients, get leads, and generate passive income.

Jacob’s website has been viewed over 70 million times! He shares how to set goals for your blog, manage the workload, and the key tricks to help your posts stand out in a crowded market.

We also talk about how you can outsource blogging to a team of writers so you can reap the benefits of SEO without spending all your time on it. Tune in!

About Jacob Cass:

Jacob Cass is a brand designer, strategist, educator, podcaster, business coach, community builder and the founder of JUST Creative, a branding & design consultancy that doubles as an industry-leading blog and community.

Jacob helps grow brands strategically and has worked for clients such as Disney, Nintendo and Jerry Seinfeld however he is now focused on bringing this global brand experience to smaller businesses.

For Jacob, design is a lifelong journey of continuously honing his craft, as well as empowering other fellow designers & entrepreneurs to build on theirs, which has allowed him to build a large and loyal following, including his JUST Creative website which has been viewed over 70 million times.

Jacob has spoken at TEDx and been featured in Entrepreneur, Forbes, and a number of high-profile design books including The Best of Logo Lounge Master Series.

Learn more at justcreative.com or on Instagram @justcreative

Resources:

Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Snag your spot in our free $12k Client Attraction Masterclass here: https://aventiveacademy.com/attract-clients-workshop/

Connect with Kady on Instagram @aventiveacademy

Our 12-week Profitable Designer Program helps designers sign high-ticket clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com/make-money

Wondering why you’re spending all your time marketing your design business, yet not actually landing clients from it?

In this episode, Kady Sandel shows you how to tell if your marketing strategies just need more time to work… or if you are doing them completely wrong!

Learn the #1 mistake that graphic designers make when trying to market their services, plus practical tips on how to land design clients using methods like blogging, LinkedIn, networking events, and more.

Resources:

Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Snag your spot in our free $12k Client Attraction Masterclass here: https://aventiveacademy.com/attract-clients-workshop/

Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy

Our 12-week Profitable Designer Program helps designers sign high-ticket clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com/make-money

Why do some designers land high-ticket clients on repeat, while others have clients in their inbox trying to demand the cheapest price ("how much for a logo?")? Kady Sandel dives into it in this juicy episode about why she gets $12k+ design clients!

She shows you the 3 unique strategies she uses to attract high-ticket clients, with before-and-after examples from her own brand design business.

Learn how to get graphic design clients who have the budget to pay you well, package your offers in a way that excites them, and use outsourcing to provide a better experience (even if you’re just starting a design business!).

Once you've listened to the episode, be sure to sign up for Kady’s free $12k Client Attraction Masterclass at https://aventiveacademy.com/attract-clients-workshop/ .

Resources:

Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy

Our 12-week Profitable Designer Program helps designers sign high-ticket clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com/make-money

Join guest expert Lucian Grofsorean in a conversation with host Kady Sandel on how freelance brand, web, and graphic designers can build their personal brands!

You know that your design business needs its own brand, especially if you are positioning yourself as an agency or studio… but how can you build a personal brand at the same time? And do you even need to? We cover it all in this episode.

Learn the psychology of personal branding, as well as why it’s harder to make your own brand than it is to make a brand for your clients. Plus walk away with actionable steps to convert high-ticket clients with your personal brand!

About Lucian Grofsorean:

Lucian Grofsorean is a brand strategist & designer passionate about psychology and conversion-centered design. He is on a mission to help entrepreneurs transitioning from the corporate world confidently sell to their ideal clients.

Starting on your own can be terrifying at times, but with Lucian’s guidance, you'll find the clarity and consistency you need to build a personal brand that converts. He loves working with motivated people who embrace a collaborative approach and are not afraid to stand out from the crowd.

You can connect with Lucian & learn more about his work at Darkcore Studio: https://www.darkcore.studio/ or on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucian-grofsorean/

Resources:

Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Snag your spot in our free $12k Client Attraction Masterclass here: https://aventiveacademy.com/attract-clients-workshop/

Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy

Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

Let’s talk about burnout for graphic, brand, and web designers – and specifically: how you can market your freelance business and get clients without burning out!

In today’s episode, Kady Sandel shows you how to promote your design business without spreading yourself too thin or working 24/7, with examples of the methods she used to grow from a solopreneur to a branding agency.

Learn the difference between inbound & outbound marketing for creative businesses, how to pick the marketing strategies with the best ROI for you, and why outsourcing may be the key to landing better design clients (even if you’re not sure if you can afford to hire help yet!).

Resources:

Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? We show you where these clients hang out, what they want, and how to find them in our free $12k Client Attraction Masterclass here: https://aventiveacademy.com/attract-clients-workshop/

Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy

Our 12-week Profitable Designer Program helps designers sign high-ticket clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com/make-money 

Most freelance designers have had at least one horrible client…. but have you ever won a huge contest because you had the WORST client story of every designer who entered?!

Our host Kady Sandel has – and she even won a year-long Adobe subscription as her prize! In this episode, Kady shares her hilarious contest-winning client story that you don’t want to miss.

You’ll also learn how to spot these “clients from hell” sooner in your own graphic design, brand design or web design business – as well as tips to position yourself to repel these clients in the future.

Plus, check out our fun store at aventiveacademy.com/shop where we have products & merch to help you laugh at your own bad client experiences!

Resources:

Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free $12k Client Attraction  Masterclass here: https://aventiveacademy.com/attract-clients-workshop/

Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy

Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign high-ticket clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

Are you attracting cheap graphic design, brand design, or web design clients? That means it’s time to update your portfolio to make it look more expensive!

In this episode, Kady Sandel walks you through the exact portfolio changes you need to make to attract $10k+ design clients.

Even if your design work is amazing, if you aren’t presenting it right, it simply isn’t going to impress the clients who have big budgets… so let’s fix your portfolio together with these actionable tips. Tune in!

Resources:

Free workshop to uplevel your design portfolio & attract $12k+ clients: https://aventiveacademy.com/iyp-workshop/

Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy

Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

Have you ever wondered how to leverage IG stories to make more money in your design business? Then this is the episode for you!

Kady Sandel speaks with guest expert Alyssa Moorhead about how to grow your graphic design, web design, or brand design business on Instagram – specifically using the Stories feature.

You’ll learn how to build genuine connections with ideal clients, how to get them to find you in the first place, and what you should be doing in the DMs to get hired without feeling pushy.

Alyssa shares how she scaled her own creative business using IG stories, plus the best way to convert your Instagram stories & private messages into actual paid design clients on social media.

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About Alyssa Moorhead:

Alyssa is the owner of Nerve Client Studio, a Brooklyn-based Client Strategy Studio. The Nerve team helps mostly female-identifying business owners curate their dream client roster + achieve beyond-their-dreams income through done-for-your sales services.

At Nerve, they do sales differently- Not only do they nurture leads, but opportunities too; And they don’t just nurture, but they actually sign clients and opportunities. If you want sales taken off your plate by people who live for sales, Nerve is for you.

Learn more at nerveclientstudio.com and follow Alyssa on Instagram @nerveclientstudio

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Resources:

Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free $12k Client Attraction Masterclass here: https://aventiveacademy.com/attract-clients-workshop/

Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy

Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

In this episode, guest expert Natalie Gates joins Kady Sandel to share how freelance brand designers, graphic designers, and web designers can make more money and land bigger clients by collaborating with copywriters.

You’ll hear Natalie’s tips on where to find the best freelance copywriters and how to become their #1 go-to designer, the logistics of how to structure your partnership (aka: who pays who!), plus how to get graphic design clients through copywriting referrals.

We also cover the pros and cons of collaborating with other freelance creatives & what to do if a design client gives you terrible copy to work with!

About Natalie Gates:

Natalie Gates is a website copywriter and brand messaging strategist for creatives and professional service providers. She helps small businesses capture their unique value, connect with more of the right people, and turn their website into a lead-generating tool.

You can follow Natalie on Instagram at @wordsbynatalieor visit her website http://www.nataliegates.ca

Resources:

Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free 5-day $12k client challenge here!

Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy

Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

Most freelance designers have questions about how to add services to their design business: like how to go from being a logo designer, to a brand designer, to maybe even a web designer or full-service studio. In this episode, Kady Sandel covers all the “hows” of how she personally evolved her freelance business into an agency!

Get the inside scoop on what design services she learned (versus which she outsourced), how she knew when it was time to level up, and her #1 tip for when you want to expand your design business but are scared to make the leap.

Resources:

Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free 5-day $12k client challenge here!

Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy

Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com