Creative Business Audit

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Please complete your email address* This field is required.Ensure you use the same email you used to confirm your Creative Inside Mentoring.
example@example.com
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Your First Name:* This field is required.
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Your Last Name:* This field is required.
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Your Business Name:* This field is required.
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1. Do you have a narrow niche that makes you an obvious choice?* This field is required.Pick the answer that best describes you/your business.
A. Basically I work with anyone and will do a bit of everything. I often do things I'm not confident in or don't love doing because I need the income. I keep my message in my marketing very broad to appeal to as many people as possible.
B. I have a preferred style of client and/or project type but don't really focus on it in my marketing very often. I don't want to put anyone off, lose potential enquiries or get bored working on the same thing.
C. I do have a niche I prefer to work with. I focus some of my messaging on the problems they have and services they want to buy, but it's hit and miss. Sometimes I attract the right clients but I attract just as many that don't fit my preferred industry, stage or project type.
D. My niche is crystal clear and very specific. I'm regarded as an expert in this area and people seek me out. Everything in my business is aligned to the niche including my brand, my message, my services, and marketing efforts. I attract and get referred prospects in that niche more often than not.
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2. How clear is your point of difference and unique perspective?* This field is required.Pick the answer that best describes you/your business.
A. My design work does the talking for me. What I do isn't really that unique or different but it's all I've got. I'm not sure how else I would set myself apart from other designers apart from price or fast delivery perhaps.
B. I do have a point of view about business and brand beyond design execution, but I feel nervous about sharing it. I don't want to seem too opinionated or upset anyone. I tend to focus mostly on my design work to help set me apart which usually gets positive feedback from the design community.
C. My work is one of my strongest points of difference, but it's not everything. I also share my thoughts and ideas through marketing and long-form content from time to time, and have clear ideas on what could be done differently or better in my clients' industry and in the creative industry.
D. I have a strong (contrarian) perspective on what my clients need to succeed in their industry and talk about that confidently in my content and my messaging. I also have clear messaging on how I'm different from other designers in my work, approach and the results I achieve for clients. I feel that sets me apart as a creative. When people think of me, they immediately associate me with a particular concept.
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3. How do you package and sell your services?* This field is required.Pick the answer that best describes you/your business.
A. I keep it simple and let the client decide what they want. I have a list of all the things I can do for them, which is a pretty extensive range, and then we put together a solution based on what they need. I quote every project on a needs basis or an hourly rate.
B. I have lots of packages to ensure I cover off everything anyone could possibly need. I usually have calls or emails back and forth with potential clients to help them work out what package works best for them and the quote project-by-project based on the packages as a starting point.
C. I do have service packages and a services overview document, but sometimes clients want to tailor them to their own needs so I add and remove stages and deliverables based on what they want.
D. I have 1-2 clearly defined services that are focused on my client niche, greatest strengths, and what are also the most profitable services. These are laid out in a capability statement I share with all enquiries before I commit to a discovery call.
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4. Are you confident when it comes to pricing your work for profit?* This field is required.Pick the answer that best describes you/your business.
A. I really don't know where to start when it comes to pricing my work. I just pick a number that feels like it's cheap enough to get approved by the client so I win the project.
B. I want to make sure I'm not too expensive so I get as much work as possible. I charge my work based on an hourly rate that I feel is reasonable and affordable, and then come up with a project figure based on the number of hours I think it will take. But to be honest I have no idea if that's accurate and so feel I often under-estimate the time involved and get under-paid.
C. I'm pretty happy with how I price my work but do sometimes feel guilty that I'm charging too much so I end up over-delivering or letting the scope expand but don't charge for it.
D. I'm really clear on what my financial goals are and how to price my work to meet those goals. I consistently measure how much I invest in projects, and if they're profitable, and make adjustments to my pricing accordingly. I feel happy with my pricing and confident I'm being paid well for the value I create for my clients.
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5. Is brand strategy a central part of what you do?* This field is required.Pick the answer that best describes you/your business.
A. I don't do any brand strategy. I want to but don't know where to start offering it.
B. I do brand strategy as part of some projects but it's just bundled up in the main service and I don't really charge for it.
C. My most expensive offer includes a brand strategy stage and deliverable, but I have other services without strategy because clients don't always want to pay for it.
D. Brand strategy is core to everything I do. I treat it like a non-negotiable. I talk about it all the time and ensure clients know why it's important. If they don't want strategy they're not the client for me.
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6. Are you building your profile and visibility as a branding authority?* This field is required.Pick the answer that best describes you/your business.
A. I'm a designer and that's what I talk about. I focus my messaging around visual branding - colour palettes, fonts etc. My case studies and the work I share centre on visual deliverables. I don't think I have the authority to talk about anything other than design. Leads are sparse at best and almost entirely from word of mouth.
B. I talk about my approach to branding but don't think it's particularly unique. I do sometimes share messaging, opinions and insights around branding related topics, but do default to design content because I feel most comfortable with it. I show up on social media occasionally, but most of my work comes from referrals rather than my intentional visibility strategies.
C. I'm starting to grow my confidence talking about brand strategy and include that reasonably consistently in my messaging. My case studies have an element of strategy as part of the story as well as design. I've also developed a unique approach to 'productise' what I do and talk about that in my marketing and sales process.
I have a strong branding and brand strategy focused marketing message and share that across opinion-led media such as masterclasses, LinkedIn, case studies and long-form content. I have a proprietary methodology which I talk about confidently and know it delivers strategy-led results. I also have a proven system, including a sales funnel, for attracting regular leads into the business,
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7. Do you behave like a consultant in your business?* This field is required.Pick the answer that best describes you/your business.
A. I see and describe myself as a freelance designer. When a client hires me, they're paying for my time so I take the brief and do exactly what they've asked for. I never challenge what they want even if I don't necessarily agree.
B. I try to guide the client but lack a bit of confidence. On occasion I have pushed back a little bit but if the client doesn't agree I don't really know how to redirect them and end up doing what they've asked me to do more often than not.
C. I do take the lead and aim to guide the client when they go off-track. I am comfortable challenging the client on their feedback or thoughts if I think I need to to get the best result. I also present and talk to the client face-to-face and never share important stages of work in a recording.
D. I confidently take the lead with clients. I often have business level conversations with clients and guide them in building the final solution. I will direct clients back to the business and project goals if needed and feel clients see me as a trusted partner to their business, not just a creative resource.
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8. Do you have a leveraged network?* This field is required.Pick the answer that best describes you/your business.
A. I don't have a network really, I have a few friends in the industry and past clients that refer work sporadically, but it's not consistent.
B. I do have a close group of other service providers and we regularly refer each other work. It doesn't give me all the work I need but it's a good start.
C. I do aim to reach out and grow my network, and I've presented/appeared as a guest a few times, but I'm not as consistent as I could be. I'm keen to do more to grow a valuable network, and make it a more consistent, strategic effort, but I'm not completely confident about where I should be putting my energy.
D. I understand that my network is important to my visibility which is essential to growth, and I commit to profile building as a core strategy in my business. I regularly appear as a guest within other business owners communities, on podcasts and as a speaker. I take a strategic approach to referrals and nurture those valuable relationships.
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9. Do you have a strategy-led marketing system?* This field is required.Pick the answer that best describes you/your business.
A. Marketing, what marketing?
B. I share my work on platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn, and write the odd blog when I remember or have time. I've been meaning to be more consistent but haven't had time, and my website desperately needs updating, I don't think it sells me well at all.
C. I have an intentional lead generation tool (e.g. a lead magnet) which does bring people into my world but I don't have a system to nurture these leads and convert them consistently.
D. I have an end-to-end marketing and sales funnel that regularly bring enquiries into the business. I run ads, attract leads with strategic assets like masterclasses and lead magnets, commit to regular email marketing and out-reach to nurture warm leads.
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10. Reflecting on the answers you've chosen so far, what do you feel are your 3-4 biggest challenges in your business right now?* This field is required.
Priority 1
Priority 2
Priority 3
Priority 4
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