business insights
10 Ways to Grow Your Design Firm
Advice from Bill and Wilson, Founders of Go Media There is no perfect recipe for growing a thriving design firm. But through our share of failures, we have learned what works more often than not. Here are some lessons we have…
13 Foundational Questions to Ask Yourself When Starting A Design Business
Business Plan Workbook Questions for Design Entrepreneurs Starting your own design firm? Our fearless leader, William Beachy, has created the e-book, Drawn to Business, and accompanying business plan workbook, to guide you through the highs and lows of this exciting time…
So You Missed Your Deadline…
It’s not ideal, but there may come a time when – for one reason or the other – you have to miss a deadline. In this unlikely and rare event, you need to be prepared to handle the situation with grace and the utmost professionalism. Let’s discuss some “must’s” and please share your suggestions with us the comments below!
Enplug’s Entrepreneurial Journey: Zach Spitulski Spills Secrets to his Success
By being named one of Inc. Magazine’s 30 Coolest Entrepreneurs under 30, Zach Spitulski (Enplug) has been grouped with the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos, Hayley Barna and Katia Beauchamp of Birchbox, and Drew Houston and Arash…
WWW Dot HUH? – How to Select the Perfect URL For Your Business
Follow the KISS (Keep it simple, stupid) philosophy in selecting a URL for your business. Yes, you can be creative and meaningful, but ensure that your URL is, above all, easy to remember and as error-proof as possible. Perhaps the most enjoyable way to test out your prospective URL is with the ever-famous Cocktail Party Test…
How to Launch and Run a Thriving Design Business
How to Run A Successful Design Business: a Quick Guide by Your Friends at Go Media Welcome to the Go Media’s Zine! Are you a passionate creative, student, designer, entrepreneur? You’re in the right place. Inside you’ll find the tools…
F#@% your Function, Find your Fire
Before diving into my position to Go Media, I knew the basics of personal branding.
My understanding went something like this:
1. Figure out who you are
2. Package it up nice and neat
3. Show it off to the world
How to do all those things, I must admit, was a little vague—until now. Let’s just say, I’ve just been enlightened by Michael Cavotta, certified personal brand strategist and professional headshot photographer. As it turns out, there’s more to it than a shot in the dark and a nice photo.
How to Land & Maintain Big Clients: 11 Absolutely Essential Tips
Cover image includes work from Go Media for Dawn, Pepsi and Lincoln Electric. For more of our work click here. Landing Big Clients One question we’re always presented with here at our Cleveland based website and graphic design firm Go Media…
Massive Drawn to Business Price Drop: Build A Million Dollar Business for Less with this Must-Have Resource
Massive Drawn to Business Price Drop As many of you know, we are incredibly proud of the content inside our newest eBook, Drawn to Business. Drawn to Business is a transparent look inside our business, a complete guide on the way to…
6 Questions to Consider When Rebranding Your Company
Things to consider before rebranding your company. Here at Cleveland creative agency Go Media, we take branding very seriously. We have helped many companies, who’ve undergone natural growth and change, take necessary steps to transform the face of their company for the better.…
How to Hire a Web Design Firm: Ask These Questions Before You Invest
When hiring a web development firm, we here at Cleveland creative agency Go Media are firm believers in looking before you leap. Make the right decision and your financial investment will pay dividends for the long term. This is one serious decision! Knowing that, you’ve got some serious questions to ask to potential firms. Ask this list of exhaustive questions and you can feel confident about your decision.
And of course, all consulting for a new website is free when you come to Go Media, so feel free to start your new search with us!
Networking Tips: Secrets to Networking Success
“The richest people in the world look for and build networks, everyone else looks for work.” – Robert Kiyosaki
Networking is without a doubt one of the most important efforts to get your name out there and grow your business. Like the old adage says, “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know”. Whether you’re a freelancer working out of a house or working in an established company, getting out there and meeting folks can do wonders.
As Go Media’s Account Manager, networking is an important part my job. In fact, each member of the sales team has a minimum number of networking hours to hit each month. We recognize the value of getting out there and spreading the Go Media word. Sure, there are days where the last thing I want to do after a full day at the office is go and mingle with strangers for hours, but I look forward to networking most of the time!
Often times, the hardest part is finding and getting yourself to the events. It can be uncomfortable to walk up to people you don’t know and start a conversation, but the potential outcome can be worth the 30 seconds of awkwardness.
8 Secrets to Battling Burnout & Tools to Help You Kickstart your Day
An excerpt from Go Media President William Beachy’s book, Drawn to Business
Building a business requires massive amounts of focus and energy. It’s perfectly natural to have moments where you feel absolutely fried. You won’t feel motivated to lift a single finger. Finding ways to motivate yourself are key in business and in life. Here is a list of motivators I’ve used to keep myself productive:
10 Mistakes Freelancers Make and Should Avoid Making Today
New freelancers can run into a myriad of problems. Without the support of a firm, freelancers hold a world of responsibility in their hands. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed right out of the gate. Some of our favorite freelancers are here to remind us that it’s only natural to make mistakes. Take note and try to learn from theirs today.
The Number One Myth of Hiring (& How You Can Overcome It)
Hey Go Media Faithful! Here’s another excerpt from my book, Drawn to Business, about the number one myth I’ve found in the hiring process. For more of my insights and actual tools to help you start your own million dollar company, pick up the book as well as its supplemental materials, now available on the Arsenal.
Why Working from the Beach Could Double Your Income
So recently I took a couple of months out from design to go travelling around South East Asia. Get me. I’d love to peg it as an adventure where I was searching for the lost city of whatever to find the hidden treasure of something something, but this was really just a straight up holiday.
I really don’t do holidays that often. I don’t really feel the need to – I love what I do for a living so why would I ever need a break? That being said, I’d had one too many big projects with tight deadlines in a row and even I was starting to feel like I was getting worn a little thin.
However after just maybe a week of exploring the Orient I genuinely started to pine for my wacom. I missed designing. I’d told myself that this was going to be a proper refresh for me, so I’d brought no laptop, no drawing pads, not even a pen! “Anyway”, I told myself “Bangkok really isn’t the kind of place you could sit down a get a really productive days work under your belt”, and so I tried to put it out of my mind.
How to Get Your Apparel Line into Retail Stores
Designed your own original and unique t-shirt, printed and branded your work, ready to launch? Now you’re ready for the big time.
For a lot of brands, the holy grail of going big-time is getting into well-known retail shops. There’s certainly an appeal to being able to go into your local mall and see your brand on the racks. “How do I get my clothing line into stores,” you ask? Here are some general tips for breaking into retail, straight from Go Media Partner Jeff Finley’s book, Thread’s Not Dead: The Designer’s Guide to the Apparel Industry.
How to Make (and Save) Money as a Graphic Designer
One question we get asked with great frequency is simple, yet profound: “How do I make money as a graphic designer?”
Jeff did a fantastic post about this very topic in September of 2012 called, “Side Income Strategies for Designers.” Check it out. Awesome, creative tips there.
We thought we’d take a different slant on the post this time, with wisdom coming from Go Media President William Beachy’s book, Drawn to Business. While Jeff went into side strategies, we’ll discuss strategies directly related to your growing business.
If you haven’t been introduced yet to the greatness that is Drawn to Business, it’s a nuts and bolts guide to how Bill built Go Media from the ground up. In it Bill outlines a 15 year journey, including years of struggle and growing pains, all bringing him to create the best agency in Cleveland web design, custom branding and print.
If you haven’t picked it up yet, what are you waiting for? It unlocks all the mysteries of our success.
Secret to Success: Track Your Metrics!
It’s a new year. A great time to look at what’s been working for us here at Go Media, as well as what hasn’t worked and what we’ll be doing better in the year to come.
We do this in the most accurate, meaningful way possible, one that benefits us ten-fold.
Ready for the simple, yet essential key to Go Media’s success?
We track our metrics.
Beating Busters: How to Identify and Avoid Bad Clients
Hi Go Media faithful! Bill here! I’m back to deliver another teaser article from my book, Drawn to Business. This week’s piece deals with one simple fact: in business, you’re going to get ripped off. Get used to the idea. Over time, luckily, you will learn how to spot what I like to call a busters, or bad clients. Here is a list of the different types of busters I’ve come across over the last 15 years in business. Hopefully my bad experiences will spare you the same headache. Look out for these guys!
How to Launch your Freelance Business: 9 Simple Tips
So, you’ve been fantasizing about taking the big leap in the freelance world. Maybe the three days at Weapons of Mass Creation Fest was just the little push over the edge you needed. Maybe the current job market looks so grim, that making it on your own seems like the best solution. Or is it that you just cannot stand living to create something you don’t believe in one minute longer?
You’re not alone. We chatted a bit with freelance designer Dan Stiles, known for his vibrant, bold and bright screen-print art prints and rock music posters honoring such acts as The Decemberists, Death Cab for Cutie, Ray Lamontagne and Sonic Youth, about his decision to dive in head first. Rena Tom, of Makeshift Society in San Francisco (a sweet co-working space and clubhouse for creative freelancers), also contributed. And lastly, we drew some gems of knowledge from both our experience here at Go Media and Bill Beachy’s book, Drawn to Business.
Learn How to Build the Design Firm of Your Dreams with Drawn to Business!
Disclaimer: Boasting Ahead! We have to be honest with you. We are gushing! Our President, Bill Beachy, has just made us very proud. So please excuse us while take a moment to tell you about what Bill’s been working on,…
What Your Business Can Learn From the Failed Launch of the ObamaCare Enrollment Website
On Oct. 1, the federal government formally rolled out the Affordable Care Act, also known as “ObamaCare,” beginning with the launch of online healthcare exchanges. It was disastrous. I’m referring not to the federal government shutdown that ensued as part…
How to Extract a Budget from your Client
Hi Go Media faithful! Bill here! I’m back to deliver another teaser article from my book, Drawn to Business. This week’s piece looks at how to extract a budget from your client. Ready? Here goes.
Extracting a Budget from your Client
It’s a commonly held belief that giving a vendor your budget upfront is a fool’s approach. Because of this, many clients will play dumb when you ask them for a budget. That’s fine. Don’t be a jerk. It’s still important to have a money conversation early on. You need to qualify your clients before you spend a minute working on a proposal for them. In those cases where a client doesn’t give me a budget, I’ll give them my ballpark pricing. This starts with me asking enough questions to get a general sense of their project. Then I might say something along the lines of: “OK, Bob, this sounds like a fairly typical website design: Homepage with slideshow, About, Services, Contact Us and the whole site to be responsive, correct? Great. Obviously, we’re going to need to get into the nitty-gritty details about your website in order for us to provide you with an accurate time and cost estimate. However, just so I can make sure our firm will be a good fit for you, my very rough estimation on a website like this will probably be somewhere between $15K and $30K. Does that sound reasonable to you? I just want to make sure we’re not wasting each other’s time.”