A Love Letter To The New Designer...

🪄 To the designer just starting out…

You’re sitting at your desk - maybe it’s the kitchen table - surrounded by swatches, ideas, and dreams… and probably a fair bit of fear too.

You’re endlessly tweaking your website, wondering if your packages make sense, staring at your phone trying to convince yourself to post something on Instagram.

I remember.

Because I was you.

And what you need to know is:

It’s going to work.

Not because the stars align. Not because the right client falls into your lap. But because you’ll do the work. You’ll take one brave step, and then another. You’ll learn to back yourself. You’ll become a designer who knows their worth - and charges it.

It’s actually all about being consistent and showing up. 

But first, you need to stop trying to be perfect.

☁️ Here are some things you will wish you’d done sooner:

The ‘perfect’ business plan doesn’t exist. Progress starts when you put your ideas in motion - ask yourself:

When I call myself a perfectionist, am I actually just procrastinating because it's scary, and I'm a bit lost?

Think of business planning as a blueprint you’ll regularly revisit and revise, the brief for your business will evolve with time and experience. For now all you need is a starting proposition - light-touch, agile and educated hunches about who you’ll serve, your territory, what you’ll do for your clients. You need to test the market to see how your proposition is received.

Until you launch, it’s all theory, you are stock still, zero progress made. 

After 6 months or so, the time will come to reflect and adjust. To draft a more detailed business plan that has its basis in reality. For now, you just need to start! 

Your ideal clients can’t find you if you’re hiding. Speak up. Let your network know. You never know who’s quietly been waiting to ask for your help.

Prepare an elevator pitch, a sentence or two that trips off the tongue conveying exactly what you do and who you do it for. A pitch that shares all the passion you feel for your new venture. Memorise and practise delivering this confidently. Chances are, you'll need to be more pushy, ask favours, take every opportunity to spread the word. Your business needs you to be its brand ambassador - you’re a sales executive now too. 

Start simple: a welcome email, a pricing guide, a calendar link. Systems make you feel more professional - and they help others take you seriously.

This is where AI can help you. (I have a 'getting started' mini-course here). Using a system like GPT-4 (chatGPT), or Claude, means you can generate documents in moments based on all the online wisdom available. You’re both lucky and unlucky to be starting right now: there's so much AI help available inexpensively, and yet you need to get moving because that ‘help’ will soon be nipping at the heels of your business. 

You’re not too new to charge fairly. Confidence is built in the doing - and pricing is part of that posture.

However, it is understandable to offer your services inexpensively in those early days:

• To build a portfolio or gather testimonials.
• To collaborate on visually compelling projects that attract attention.
• Or to help trusted contacts like family or friends.

These compromises are fair - but your boundaries should be iron‑clad. Even in pro‑bono or low‑fee work, maintain full professionalism.

🛡️ Non‑negotiables from day one - applied to EVERY CLIENT:

• Treat every job like a fully-paid gig

Use the exact same systems, processes, and documentation you would for a full‑fee client - contracts, meeting slots, hours, scope, tracking. It helps set expectations, it keeps things running smoothly, it helps you build systems and experience. Behave like a method actor, don't slip out of 'business mode' in working hours. 

• Break the project into phases with built‑in exit points

Include clear ‘break clauses’ so either party can pause after each short stage if it’s not working - no guilt, no complications.

• Time‑limit your involvement & spell out the scope

Be clear: “This is discounted because it’s early-stage, but here’s what it includes - and what it doesn’t. And when it is finished I’ll bring in a professional photographer to capture your styled home.” That clarity helps everyone. If your friend-client (aka 'frient') wants more later, it can either become a paid phase or be politely declined. Agree with your frient the future date on which your assistance will terminate. Managing clients to a strict timeline is an advanced skill, if you haven't quite mastered it then having an end date to the project will save you from extended servitude. 

• Set your professional boundaries firmly:
  • No off‑hour texts or calls — treat communication like client work: scheduled, tracked, during office hours.
  • Formal contracts, even if simplified, are essential — they show you treat your work seriously and protect the relationship  
 
• Don’t misrepresent your experience and take on any project that is overwhelming in scale or scope. If you have the opportunity to take on a huge project, bring it under the wing of a more experienced designer, or engage a mentor to help you plan and manage. Your profit will be affected, but your reputation is much more valuable. 

Comparison will waste your energy. Your originality is your superpower. Lean in. 

The beauty of the startup process is that, through it, you’ll learn who you really are as a designer. It’s good practice to study the competition - but only every now then. Try to ignore them most of the time and chart your own course. 

💌 So if you’re scared… that’s OK. Normal, in fact. 

You’re not weak. You’re not wrong. You’re just new. 

And it will get easier - not because the work changes, but because you do.

You’ll stop asking for permission.

You’ll stop apologising.

You’ll trust yourself.

You’ll care less.

You’ll enjoy it more. 

You’ll stop procrastinating and start creating.

You’ll be running a real business. One that reflects your values, attracts your people, and brings you joy.

🧭 One last thing…

You don’t have to figure it all out on your own.

Fantastic support exists.

And if you want a shortcut to the starting line, I’d recommend something called Business in a Box.

It’s not fluffy. It’s not overwhelming. It’s the practical, structured starting kit I wish I’d had: pricing guides, proposal templates, client tools, and a 90-day roadmap to get you trading with confidence.

It’s made by someone who understands this journey - and it's designed to help you start strong.

🌱 So here’s your job:

Start.

Start now.

It doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to be real.

I promise - five years from now, you’ll be so glad you did.

With love,

Your Future Self