Archive for the ‘Setting Up & Running A Business’ Category

When you’re thinking of making the switch from a hosted website platform – like Blogger, WordPress.com, Squarespace or similar – to hosting your own site, the whole process can seem like a daunting, mysterious vortex. One from which you’ll never escape!

Before you even get to thinking about the fun bit – how it’s going to look and which of your illustrations you want to display – there’s a whole raft of decisions, tech-filled tasks and foreign-sounding hurdles to negotiate.

One of these – the starting point for everything – is which hosting company to choose. We’ve put together this basic guide to help you select a hosting company for your illustration portfolio site…

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Congratulations! You’re building a career from your creative talents…without wanting to dampen your enthusiasm too quickly, setting yourself up in business in the *right* way as soon as possible, will minimise any headaches and complications along the way. Here’s our 101 guide to setting yourself up as a professional business owner (yes, that’s you!)…

Decide Your Business Structure

Sole Proprietor/Self Employed

This is the simplest form in which to do business if you’re a single illustrator, just starting out and/or your income isn’t yet enough to support you. As a self-employed professional, you’ll be solely responsible for ensuring administrative tasks are completed, such as:

• Calculating & paying the relevant taxes, depending upon your state/country
• Paying National Insurance, Social Security/Welfare fees
• Filing your tax returns

Incorporation

This is a suitable option if your earnings have reached a level where it makes sense to try and minimise your tax obligations and leverage the tax benefits that incorporation brings.

There are additional associated costs with incorporating – such as the process of incorporating itself, submitting annual  reports etc. – which is why it only makes sense to do this if your earnings are at a level in which the benefits outweigh the additional costs. The process for incorporation is relatively simple (in the UK/US) although the costs and requirements differ in the US, depending upon which state you incorporate in.

Structure Your Business Finances

This is probably one of the most hated topics for most creative entrepreneurs – and yet, it can also be the simplest to get right. If you sort this out from the beginning, you’ll save yourself time and money in the long run – especially if you decide to hire an accountant. The following aspects of finances and money should be considered:

Proposals, Estimates & Invoicing

As a working illustrator, you are highly likely to need to submit proposals, estimates and invoices at some point in your career. You can do this manually “on the fly” if you prefer, or you can be smarter about it and use templates, tools and even integrated systems to help you manage this and look (and be) more professional with clients.

Tools like Freshbooks and Xero (multi-currency) enable you to quickly create professional-looking estimates and invoices, log them, chase up payments and even give your clients an online interface with which to pay their invoices. They also help you quickly summarise and reconcile your income (and outgoings if you track invoices you receive here too) at the end of each month/quarter/year.

If you decide not to use an online service, then you should at least consider the following:

• Set up a template document for your proposals, estimates & invoices so you don’t have to re-create the wheel every time you need to send one off.
• Brand your templates and documents with your logo/professional brand for a consistently professional image.
• Use a coherent numbering system and make sure you keep an organised record/file of the documents you send out so you can reference and find them easily for your submissions & returns.

Receiving Money (receivables)

It is good practice to have a separate bank account for your business income and expenses – and keep it entirely separate from your personal finances. As a business owner, you are (hopefully!) going to be receiving money – you need to determine how you want to receive this and then set up the necessary systems and accounts to receive this. If your clients are primarily local, then you may decide to accept cheque, cash and direct bank transfers which is relatively simple.

If you’ll be working with international clients, then you’ll need to factor in transfer costs and alternative payment options, such as Paypal. While many people dislike Paypal, unfortunately there isn’t currently a decent alternative, so it’s worth setting up a Paypal account (make sure it’s a business or premier one) in preparation. You can link it to a bank account to easily transfer money you receive but this process can take a while so it’s good to do sooner rather than later.

Paying Expenses (payables)

Alongside receiving money, you’re also likely to need to pay expenses – and once again, you should keep this entirely separate from your personal finances.

You also want to ensure you get and keep receipts for every business-related purchase you buy so you can claim these as tax deductions – this is where an accountant can cover their own costs, by saving you their fee in the taxes you need to pay. If you’re unsure of what can be deducted, keep the receipt anyway and double-check with an accountant before preparing and submitting your returns.

Hiring An Accountant

It can be difficult, if you’re just starting out and income is low, to consider hiring an accountant as an investment – or as something that’s necessary but if you’re smart about it, an accountant can easily cover their own costs with the money they help you save on deductions.

If you are just starting out and you don’t earn enough income yet to warrant hiring an accountant, then make sure you at least keep your own accurate records to make your life easier. You should keep a basic spreadsheet that tracks:

• Income earned – ideally related/tied to invoice #
• Expenses paid – make sure you keep the receipt
• Monthly profit & loss – your income minus your expenses every month

Not only is this good practice for the future, it also gives you a useful snapshot of the financial health of your business and will make your life as a business owner infinitely less stressful, as soon as you get a handle on your financial transactions and overview.

Create Your Key Business Documents

This is something that many small business owners don’t bother to do – and then find that their business admin takes them twice as long as it needs to. By setting up and creating key business documents for your business, you can shortcut the time it takes to do the repetitive, ongoing tasks you always need to do and focus your time on the more exciting creative aspects.

The following business documents and templates are useful to create:

• Your fee list – this may not be something you share directly with clients and prospects but it will save you a huge amount of time if you have a list of your fees and fee structure. You may have an hourly rate, a per job fee, a per project fee which is compiled based upon an estimate of hours or tasks involved…it doesn’t matter, as long as you know how you charge out a job and it works for you.
• Your terms & conditions – even if you don’t share these with clients (although you should), you at least have your own list of the terms under which you operate. Items can include your your list of fees, your turnaround times, your # of concepts policy, your fees for any changes in a brief and more.
• Draft contract – you should ideally have some sort of contract which you require clients to sign, prior to starting a project. If you don’t have this, then you should at least have some terms & conditions which you can send them/send them a link to ensure both parties know the terms of the project.
• Templates for estimates and invoices – as above, if you’re not going to use an online/desktop tool for this, it will save you time if you create a basic branded template which you can use every time you need to create an estimate or invoice.

If you have all of the above in place, you’ll be more organised than the majority of small business owners currently operating – which is a simple, actionable way to set yourself apart and on the road to long term, profitable success.

Recommended Resource:

The 12 Week Challenge Kit: Set Up Your Illustration Business in 12 Weeks

This is the flagship product for zero2illo and is designed for both apisring illustrators looking to set up their business from scratch and already-working illustrators who struggle with the business aspect of things.

The 12 Week Challenge kit walks you through weekly tasks which will help you put all the solid foundations you need in place to build a profitable and sustainable long term career in illustration. Grab your copy of the kit here >>

Now you’ve done that, how about creating a professional-looking brand for your illustration business? Check out Branding 101 for Illustrators.

It’s very easy to sit daydreaming in your office, at your desk, working a job you might like but aren’t truly passionate about and think of how cool it would be to be paid to illustrate for a living. Just think…people would actually pay you to create and draw and illustrate. It’s always been your dream, hasn’t it?

But in reality, making a living from your art isn’t all about creating and illustrating – there are other parts of the “job” which may be less appealing. In this article, we’ll look at  number of things you’ll need to consider if you’re going to pursue your goal of becoming a professional illustrator s that you can go ahead with your eyes wide open…

What do you want to illustrate?

Ask yourself this question…If I could illustrate anything and get paid for it, what would it be? Your portfolio should reflect the type of work you would like to be doing – after all, if you’re going to make a career of this, it makes sense to choose something you enjoy, doesn’t it?

If you hate illustrating comics (even if you are great at them), it isn’t sensible to fill your portfolio with samples of your comics work. Even if you think this is your best shot at getting that first commission, I’d recommend that you focus on creating a portfolio that reflects the work you really, really want to do – not just the work you can do.

Here’s a non-exhaustive list of the different types of illustration income streams:

• Editorial illustrations for newspapers & magazines
• Illustrations for children’s books
• Magazine covers
• Book covers
• Art licensing (e.g. patterns you see on children’s clothing or greetings cards)
• Advertising campaigns
• Packaging

If you take a look at your local shopping mall, you’ll see just how many things you could illustrate. The fun (and sometimes tricky) part is deciding what you want to illustrate.

Your Illustration Style

There are differing opinions on whether a signature style is a good thing or not, some people even think ‘style’ is a dirty word and that if the concept of your illustration is flawed, dressing it up in your style is the equivalent of putting lipstick on a pig (we’ll leave that discussion for another time!).

There are generally two schools of thought on the style issue:

1. You should be able to adapt your style to fit the job
2. You should develop a recognisable signature style

Lets look at the pro’s and cons of each…

The Adaptable Style

Pros:

• Being able to work in multiple styles opens you up to more clients/opportunities

Cons:

• You run the risk of becoming known as a ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’
• It makes Art Directors nervous because they don’t know what they are going to get from you
• Difficult and expensive to market as your potential client base is so varied

The Signature Style

Pros:

• Easier to market your work to a specific niche and stand out in the crowd
• Become the ‘go to’ person for your style of work
• Makes you more memorable

Cons:

• Only able to go for jobs/genres that your style would be suitable for

Where you fall on this debate will determine the type of portfolio you create and the type of work you decide to pursue. From personal experience, I’ve decided that developing a signature style is the approach I want to pursue and that works best for me. It’s up to you to decide which strategy will work best for you.

What Does It Mean To Be A Professional Illustrator?

There are numerous definitions which you can apply to the term “professional illustrator”. The one that’s most important is the one which holds most meaning to you! For example, you’re a professional illustrator as soon as somebody pays you to create an illustration – even if that’s a friend who wants a mural for their kid’s wall.

It’s important to define what being a professional illustrator means to you – so that you know exactly what it is you’re aiming for. There are probably more options than you realise! Here are a few questions to get you started:

• Are you looking to create a supplementary income stream using your creative skills to give you a bit more income alongside your day job?
• Do you want to create a full-time income to replace your day job by using your creative/illustration skills?
• Would you like to be paid to illustrate?
• Would you like to earn an income which enabled you to create whatever you wanted whether you were paid for it or not?
• Are you aware of and prepared for the additional aspects of running an illustration business – such as the administration side of running and growing your own business?
• How important is it to you to be paid for the illustrations you create?

Non-Creative Tasks You’ll Need To To

Running your own business as a professional illustrator means you’ll be diving into the world of entrepreneurship and business ownership. That’s something many creative people forget as they dream of making a living from their art. Alongside the fun, creative parts of being paid to illustrate, you’ll also be required to perform numerous non-creative tasks to keep your business ticking along and even growing. These include:

• Deciding on a business structure
• Managing your own finances
• Marketing yourself & getting commissions and regular work

It is these tasks which trip up even the most talented artists and illustrators so it’s useful to go into this with your eyes wide open and be fully aware of everything you’ll need to do to make a success of being a professional illustrator.

The Skills You’ll Need

Alongside the obvious creative skills you’ll need to build a sustainable career as a professional illustrator, there are a number of additional skills which will really determine how successful a career you’ll have. This includes building up some core skills and knowledge in the following areas:

• Business management and strategy
• Personal branding and marketing
• IT and technology
• Financial management

While these are often seen as the more mundane, boring skills for creative entrepreneurs they are what make the difference between two creative professionals with the same level of creative talent and ability.

The one who has the ability to market themselves, run a professional business and manage their finances more effectively in the long term will highly likely have the more sustainable, effective and profitable career – and not struggle with the ongoing ups & downs, bust or boom nature of being a professional or freelance illustrator.

Recommended Resource:

5 Qualities Of A Successful Illustrator.

Written by Thomas James, creator of the popular Illustration website ‘Escape From Illustration Island’, this e-book and audio-book guides you through the essential characteristics that make a difference in an Illustrator’s career, why they matter and how to cultivate them within yourself. Grab a copy of the ebook here >>

Now you’ve got a clearer idea of what the life of a professional illustrator might be like – and you’re still keen! – you might want to check out the next stage in your journey, Setting Yourself Up in Business.