Approaching small business for work

theshoefairy

Recently I have been picking my own brains apart for something that I could do to earn some extra money.

I have quite a bit of spare time on my hands at the moment and I am at university studying for a Graphics degree.

I though of ways that I could put my skills to some use and came up with the idea of approaching small businesses who can't afford the costs of getting logos, business cards designed by professional designers so I thought I may contact a few to see if they would be interested in this as I would be willing to design for them at a fraction of the cost. Not only would it make me a little bit of extra cash, it would also get my work out there in the real world.

Any advice would be appreciated on how to go about this.

Thank you.

paulwf

My gut feeling is that you would be best to focus your efforts on startups. That is when they will most need logo creation and business card design etc. Once a business has been going a couple of years they probably will have most templates and logos on file, and if they need ongoing design work they will probably have a designer.

If you decide this is the way to go then try and network with other professionals that startups would be using such as accountants, commercial solicitors, business bank managers etc. Referrals are a very good way of getting business.

Try and go on the Business Link courses for startups, they are free and you will learn about business as well as being able to mention your business to a dozen or so people that are looking to start their own business and might be in need of your services

Networking in general is a good idea, there are numerous events run by the business department of the local council, local chambers of commerce, enterprise agencies, Business Link and so on. Most are free and you might get a free breakfast out of it

I think being able to offer a complete package might be the way to go. Definitely team up with an IT student so you can produce small business websites between you. If you can get a local printer on board as well that could be good although that might be difficult as some will do design in house.

Although it is tempting for business to outsource design services online I think people only do that because of the price, as you are a student if you can offer competitive prices I think people would go with you. Build up a portfolio if you can perhaps by doing some work for free for local schools or charities so you have something to show customers.