Creative Sanity Snippets is my weekly newsletter with quick 1–5 minute reads on pricing, sales, proposals, systems, processes—the real stuff it takes to run a profitable creative business. Join thousands of creatives who get a weekly dose of sanity in their inbox.
Hiring feels terrifying—even when you’re financially ready. It took me almost three years to hire my first employee, and the reason was simple: I kept thinking in annual numbers. I looked at a $60,000 salary and thought, “There goes $60K of my income.” But that’s not how hiring works. You’re…
Your proposal price and scope can’t last forever. It’s a business offer—and conditions change. Yet too many creatives send a quote, then leave it open forever. A year later, the client comes back expecting the same price, even though your workload, costs, and experience have evolved and likely become more…
I grew up in a house with four brothers, no sisters, on a lake in Indiana. And as a Gen-Xer, people like me aren’t supposed to cry. We’re supposed to stuff it down and power through. So I was shocked when business brought me to my knees while I was…
Need more clients and project opportunities for your freelance business? This article is for you! I can’t believe I haven’t written a version of this content before. I have a whole module about this in my freelance course, and I covered it in detail during a session in my community, More Creative Academy. I…
You’re probably not charging enough. You probably feel that every day. It is because your prices are not fair. That’s often the case for freelance designers or creative agency owners. Too many of you are making your prices “fair” to your client at the expense of them being “fair” to…
There’s nothing quite like spending hours perfecting design concepts only to have the client casually knock them all down like a stack of poorly placed Jenga blocks. It sucks because you thought all three options were solid, and one of them was a full-on masterpiece. We’ve all been there. But…
We’ve all had that client—the one who wants to meet about everything. Sure, they’re excited about their project and love to talk with you about it, but let’s be honest, it can get out of hand. So how do you manage a client who wants meeting overload without damaging the…
