One day while working remotely I felt like I was getting hot. After taking my temperature I had a fever approaching 102 and after getting a test it was revealed I had the dreaded COVID-19 Coronavirus. 

Thankfully I was able to recover and I wanted to share my experiences so you can hope to prevent yourself from getting COVID and how to manage your symptoms.

*Please note I am not a medical professional and I am not providing any medical advice. If you are feeling ill please seek healthcare*

Are you confused about how to go about pricing for your creative services? Hourly pricing seems to be the go-to method for pricing creative work. I see why it is simple, easy, and understood by all; however, this pricing method significantly undervalues your worth as a creative.

How do you determine the true value of a project? Value-based pricing is a method that can help the client understand the impact your work has on their business and allow you to price what is fair to you and the client.

In this episode, I walk through an example of how I could charge between 300% - 800% higher than the initial price the client wanted to pay. You can do the same in your business.

Recently I discovered the reason why Netflix went through the trouble of creating their own custom font. Turns out they paid $1,000,000 for it. However, when you examine this closer there's a blueprint for how creatives can charge a million for their services as well.

Sites Mentioned:

• https://www.daltonmaag.com/studio
• https://www.similarweb.com/

If you do not know who your audience is you won't know how to talk with them. The key to getting to know your audience is creating customer profiles.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

• https://www.google.com/ads
• https://www.google.com/analytics
• https://uifaces.co/
• https://unsplash.com/
• https://generated.photos/

BOOKS

• The Brand Gap: https://amzn.to/35aDPAx
• The Business of Expertise: https://amzn.to/2ZiyEuC
• More Books on Brand Strategy: https://kit.co/nathanallotey/learn-br... /

TIMESTAMPS 

• 00:00 - Introduction
• 00:46 - What is Strategy?
• 02:45 - Overcome Imposter Syndrome
• 03:56 - Teach Everything You Know
• 05:19 - Write Case Studies
• 07:08 - Change Your Target Market
• 09:25 - Don't Offer Strategy First
• 11:32 - Branding Book Recommendations
• 12:55 - Conclusion

Before creating or designing anything for a client the first and most important step is to set the strategy. When offering a strategy session to a client what are the deliverables that the client can use after the discovery session that will impact their business for years to come?

In this episode we walk through some of the deliverables you can offer the client once the strategy session is complete:

• Roadmap
• Brand Attributes
• Brand Voice
• Prioritizing Goals
• Customer Profiles

Want to sell strategy to your clients? Learn the CORE Discovery process
 

The recent showings in the news of racism have now awakened the masses to what people of color have been going through for some time. I reflect on the color of my skin and explain what we can do to create lasting change beyond what hashtag is trending. 

Great websites and resources: 

• https://blackswho.design/
• https://peopleofcolorintech.com/
• https://www.diversifytech.co/
• https://www.blackgirlscode.com/
• https://blkcreatives.com/
• https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/

Brand Strategist Melinda Livsey shares her origin story of how she went from design order taker to brand expert. Now she gets paid upwards of $10,000 per strategy session for her thoughts alone, without doing any design work which requires pushing pixels.

Melinda will help you get paid to think. Follow her:

• Twitter: @melindalivsey_
• Instagram: @melindalivsey
• https://www.marksandmaker.com/

With so many designers out there and websites where clients can choose the lowest price for design how do you rise above the competition and break free of becoming a design commodity.

There are 3 things you can do today to stand out as a designer:

• 01:28 = Understanding the Creative Process
• 02:48 = Choose a Complimentary Service
• 04:42 = Partner with Other Creatives

Strategy is one of those words you hear thrown out all the time in a meeting but many times it is not clearly defined nor understood by all parties. Learning strategy is the first step in setting yourself apart as a creative professional.

I read an article on strategy which had a huge impact on how I think about strategy: http://bit.ly/wtf-strategy