I share money-making tips here at GDB all the time. They include upselling your design projects, generating passive income, specializing in a particular discipline or skill, and many many more.
But there’s one key to making money that I fear I haven’t been very clear about.
It’s not that I’m trying to hide anything from you – I want you to be successful too! But it’s something that I have just kindof been doing all along and never really thought to talk with you about it.
So what’s the secret? I diversify my income.
Same ol’, same ol’
It’s really easy to fall into the same old routine as a designer. You find a client. You work on a project. You get paid. And then you start all over again.
But if you want to make more money and make money more regularly as a designer, you’ve got to think outside the box and find more ways to make some cash. And I mean lots of different ways. Not just two.
A penny here, a penny there
I have actually gotten to the point where my side-ventures make me more money than actually doing design work. I make money from blogging (both here at GDB and for other bloggers who are willing to pay me), I make money from affiliate work, I make money from referring some clients to other designers, and I make money from many other little avenues of income.
And the little bit of cash I make from all of these different avenues (blog advertising, sponsored posts, paid writing, consulting, referrals, etc) bring in a significant amount of cash each month.
Sure, I only make a little from each one of them every month. But since I have taken time to diversify, I have money coming in from many different places at once – and it adds up.
Don’t put your eggs all in one basket
See, here’s the trouble with relying solely on design projects as a source of income. What if your clients run out of money? What if you suddenly suffer a terrible accident and lose your site, or motility in your fingers?
Heaven forbid any of these things ever happen to you, but what if.
If you only have one source of income and you lose the ability to milk that source of income, you’re in big trouble.
How will you diversify your income today?
I’m giving you a challenge: Find a way to diversify your income as a freelance designer today! Don’t put it off. Don’t let it sit on your to-do list for months and months.
Find a way to diversify your income today and then share your decision with me in the comments of this post.
Good luck!
Written by Preston D Lee Preston is the founder of GDB, a designer, programmer, marketer, and entrepreneur. Follow @prestondlee
And here I thought you were going to give me a get-rich-quick idea! Silly me.
I have a couple of passive income products, but they haven’t really taken off yet, and I’m working on more, but it’s a slow process. Like you, I’m hoping that generating several smaller streams of income will eventually add up.
@Theresa Sheridan,
If you don’t mind my asking, what are the sources of passive income you currently use? Are they working well for you?
@Preston D Lee, I resell domain names and hosting accounts, mostly to my clients at the moment. I also have some things on Zazzle, and I have an eBook about SEO. The products on Zazzle don’t do much, but I don’t work at promoting them because I’m just too busy. The eBook is starting to do a little better, but the domain names and hosting do the best at this point. It’s just so hard to promote everything at once, and still promote my design services as well. Oh and school. Oh and the part time job I still have for the time being. Can we say burn the candle at both ends?
Can you give a ballpark figure on what you earn on each of those different venues?
@Frank Suyker,
Frank, I make enough to buy groceries for me and my family and pay a portion of our rent each month.
This “article” is pretty skint on usable information. Not really worth anyone’s time, is it?
@dsr,
Your comment is a little ‘skint’ on usable information as well. How would you suggest I make this post better. I would love some constructive criticism.
Thanks!
I agree some more info would help.. all you mention is you do “side ventures” but not how those actually make money. For example I run http://www.chestwear.com on the side using cafepress.. and it brings in a few dollars a month. some months better than others..
@Mike,
Thanks for the constructive criticism. Maybe this little infographic will help. Here’s how I make money as a freelance designer: http://t.co/cwlXKE8
I’m thinking to make a side business too beside my steady income using my design skills. Hopefully it will work out slow but sure. Thanks for the article though.
@Jane,
Best of luck to you! Let us know how it goes.
i liked this article, a venture to generate passive income will help me alot, however the venture is my choice and which ever direction i want to give that, it is for me to find out. cant ask more from an article!
Thanks.
@maria,
I appreciate the kind words. A few people thought it was vague, but you understood the point of the article. Find something that works for you. The tips I use to diversify my income may not work for you and vice versa. The idea is just to diversify. Best of luck!!
My situation is a little different… I’ve been there and done that. Had to pull over and actually take a hiatus because my site was too popular (without the education). Now I’m just building a database of content for the years ahead after getting some professional training. AdSense is starting to come around again using different methods without a web server. Still, there is a lot of problems yet with the way advertising money is being distributed. IMHO, TV ads should be worthless compared to YouTube ads which have REAL numbers. View counts are the most important factor when broadcasting your content.
So this isn’t really a blog about making money as a designer, more about making money with other projects and working as a designer on the side!
@Si,
I guess it depends on how you look at it. Just because I make money from my design blog, does that mean I’m not a designer? I would say no. I guess what the post is really about is adding to your repertoire of work as a designer.
@Si, Exactly Si. Title should be changed for a more accurate read! “Part-time jobs to get you through.” Of which I entirely agree with.
//Beth @ the Phoenix Marketing Agency
So Preston, what’s a designer got to do to get a referral from you?
@Omar Muhammad,
Not sure what you mean, Muhammad, but I’d be happy to help you however I can. Why don’t you shoot me an email? http://www.graphicdesignblender.com/contact
I look forward to it!
I take Up your Challenge !!
Thankx so much for the Heads up . I was solely Dependent on my freelancing work for the inflow of Money, But you are Completely right in saying to not to keep all my eggs in the same basket.. i am trying to diversify my income.
@Outsourcing,
Thanks for taking the challenge! How do you plan to diversify? I’d love to hear.
I recently toured 6 industrial design offices with my nephew; I’m a longtime freelance designer and he’s a freshman in ID at Syracuse. Much of what I saw bears out in this article, only more so. Design consulting is basically not a viable business model right now for many companies of all sizes, for a variety of reasons.
The industrial design offices we visited have leaned hard on their affiliated services, such as engineering, manufacturing partners, other design disciplines, and spec projects. Spouses with benefits figured large!
Recurring themes were diversifying their service offerings, selling up to old relationships and cultivation of symbiotic relationships, building bridges to China, and limiting spec devotions to 10% of working hours.
My spec efforts include a travel comfort invention, a fundraising system for farmer’s markets (plantacarrot on youtube), a new decking system, and a security system for protecting copper plumbing in HUD foreclosure properties.
Shameless self promotion: visit my website blazingpencils.com and let’s talk about how I can boost your product line’s orbit.
Hey there…. I run my own studio designing for the music industry and I agree that finding passive income to supplement your income is the way to go. One way I’ve had some success, is through Art Licensing. For those not familiar with this, It’s creating artwork & designs and then putting deals together with manufacturers that want these designs on their products. You usually get an advance up front and royalties on the products sold. This does take a bit of time to get rolling, and There are trade shows to attend as well (LICENSING SHOW in Vegas and the SURTEX show in NYC) which are not too cheap. But if business is slow, and you have time to create new lines of art, it can be a very cool area to pursue. I actually get some pretty nice royalty checks from designs for kids school folders and cell phone case graphics.
There are a few sites out there with alot more info on this topic if you’re interested. (http://artlicensingblog.com/)
Good luck out there…
@Phil Yarnall,
Great addition, Phil. Thanks for sharing!
I have been looking for a way to make income all my life. I started a blog to get a following, but that has not exactly panned out yet.
I sell on etsy and on ebay and that is not awful but I cannot live on it, and I work as a restorator for an antique lighting store. That one used to be a real job and now it is less so. I need about 3 more jobs and then I might be getting somewhere.
Thanks for asking.
@meg,
The idea is also not just to keep adding more work to your plate, but to find passive income streams that will help you make more money without putting in more hours. Good luck!
plz i need ur help am in a state where there is no mush money an am a graphic designer what can i do.
I really liked this article for a couple of reasons. It helped me not to feel like I was the only designer who also does non-design related work. (I’m currently waitressing part-time.) This article also helped motivate me to come up with other ideas to diversify my income, maybe not a blog or paid writing, but SOMETHING. Thanks