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.
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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 clear niche that makes you an obvious choice?* This field is required.Pick the answer that best describes you/your business.
A. I do a bit of everything. I would never turn anyone away regardless of what type of business they have or creative service they want. I often do things I'm not confident in or don't love doing because I need the income.
B. I have a preferred client and/or project type but don't really focus on it in my marketing much. I don't want to put anyone off or lose potential enquiries.
C. I do have a niche I prefer to work with. I consistently focus 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 everything in my business is aligned to that including my brand, my message, and my services. 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. At the end of the day, design is design. What I do isn't really that unique or different. I'm not sure how I would set myself apart from other designers apart from price or speedy 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 my main point of difference. I'm not the best designer in the world, but I do think what I do is pretty good. I also share my thoughts and ideas from time to time and have clear ideas on what could be done differently or better in my clients' industry and in the design industry.
D. I have a strong 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.
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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 from me. I have a list of all the things I can do for them on my website, which is a pretty extensive range, and then we put together a solution based on what they need.
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.
C. I do have service packages but usually 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 2-3 clearly defined service packages that are focused on my client niche, what I love doing and are also the most profitable services for me.
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4. How visible are you in your business?* This field is required.Pick the answer that best describes you/your business.
A. I never show my face in my business, I focus all of my content on my creative work and say 'we' on my website rather than talking about myself.
B. I pop up occasionally on socials with a (re)introduction post, and have a small bio on my website with an image of me.
C. I'm reasonably visible in my business. I share my point of view regularly and have a consistent personal brand presence most of the time.
D. I'm a clear and strong presence in my business and my personal brand is what my followers and clients would see first. My personality strongly influences everything in my business and I don't shy away from sharing it or my unique point of view.
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5. Are you creating an amazing client experience?* This field is required.Pick the answer that best describes you/your business.
A. My clients get what they ask for - nothing more, nothing less. I'm not getting paid enough to go above and beyond and I'm too busy doing the work to worry about anything else.
B. Let's just say there's room for improvement. I appreciate my clients but I often feel so busy and overwhelmed. I worry I'm letting them down and I'm not on top of things as much as I could be. If I'm honest I haven't spent much time thinking about how I could improve their experience but I probably should, I'm just not sure how I'll find the time.
C. I know my clients love working with me, however I'd love to do more in this area to really set myself apart, create a memorable experiencing from on-boarding to off-boarding, and ensure every client becomes a raving fan.
D. I know that customer experience is everything! I go out of my way to ensure my clients feel loved, appreciated and well looked after at every stage in the process and it shows. I get so many clients who keep coming back to me for work and refer me to others.
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6. Do you create impactful outcomes for your clients?* This field is required.Pick the answer that best describes you/your business.
A. I take the brief and do what the client has asked for, is that impactful enough? They seem pretty happy most of the time. I don't offer a strategic process because that's not what my clients want.
B. I have a basic process for discovery through to design and final delivery, but it changes quite a bit depending on the project. I do some work with my clients to ensure I have a defined brief and that everyone's clear on what the project goals are, but I'm not sure if I always get it right. I have a portfolio that describes what the client came to me for and showcases the design outcome.
C. I have a solid approach which I've developed with some trial and error. I do think I'm reasonably strategic in my methodology but I'm not sure my clients see it that way. I know my work solves problems and creates outcomes for my clients beyond great design work, and I aim to talk about that in my post-project case studies some of the time.
D. Absolutely, I'm always focused on the bigger picture for my clients' businesses and how I can help them get the results they need. Strategy is a clearly defined stage in my process and I have a unique approach to my projects which I have 'productised' and marketed so clients see and feel the value in my way of doing things. When I share case studies I always focus on the strategic impact and outcomes.
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7. 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.
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 and change 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 that I'm being paid appropriately for the value I create for my clients.
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8. Is marketing a key priority and a well-oiled machine in your business?* This field is required.Pick the answer that best describes you/your business.
A. Oh no, I knew marketing would come up. The mention of it makes me what to run and hide. I literally don't know where to start. I think I posted on Instagram a few times a few years ago but got hardly any likes so gave up. Honestly, I just have no idea what I should be saying! I tend to rely on referrals but it's inconsistent and I never know where the next new client or project is coming from.
B. I do some marketing, mainly posting on social media. But really, I don't need to market myself. I've got more work than I can handle as it is, so I don't really have time to do much marketing in any case.
C. I do things to market my business but I wouldn't say it's as consistent as it could be. I'm keen to do more, and make it a more consistent, strategic effort to get the most bang for my buck but I'm not completely confident about where I should be putting my energy.
D. I write an annual marketing plan, review it quarterly and commit to the most high return marketing efforts on an ongoing basis. I have key marketing functions in place including email marketing, strategic posting and content creation, SEO and a lead generation funnel. I'm open to trying new things and always learning and taking action.
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9. How do you ensure you have a seamless, smooth running studio?* This field is required.Pick the answer that best describes you/your business.
A. Workflow management, what's that? I just take the work and fit it in around my existing commitments. It usually means I end up working late and at weekends to get everything done.
B. I have a running list of everything I need to get done, and work through as much as I can every day. I do find I miss deadlines sometimes and have to apologise to the client which I feel bad about. It's just hard to get through everything and the list just keeps getting longer!
C. I allocate my work using a scheduling system which works well and I do feel I have a good handle on my workload. It is a struggle to keep clients on track though and I feel like things move around a lot which can be frustrating. I also feel like I keep putting off working on my own business because client demands come first.
D. My workflow runs like clockwork. I have a 3rd party system to schedule all of my work so I know exactly what my workload is. I know what I need to be doing and when, to ensure I meet all client deadlines. I have SOPs, legal terms and conditions and client documentation in place to ensure every project runs smoothly. There's plenty of time for me to do the projects that will grow my business too.
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10. Reflecting on the answers you've chosen so far, what do you feel are your 3 biggest challenges in your business right now?* This field is required.
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