4 Things You Should Know When Choosing A Designer

When seeking out a design firm to help with your business or project you should consider a few things:


1. What type of style does that designer have. While most designers are versatile, each designer has his or her own style that shows through in each piece designed. IsrylDesigns is a firm that loves to use color and is not afraid of taking risks. 


2. Budget. What is your budget for the project and is it realistic. The economy is tough and marketing budgets have been cut. Small business depend on every penny that comes in. But when hiring a design/marketing firm, you get what you pay for. If your budget is small it may work better to break down your project in phases and complete them as you have budget.


3. Trust. Hire a designer that you can trust to give you the right direction for your business. What you want and what you need sometimes are two different things. IsrylDesigns likes to be honest with our clients about their projects and the options for development. Ultimately it is up to the client to sign off on the project, but if you trust the firm or designer that you have hired it makes the honesty much easier to give/take.


4. Timeline. When do you need your project complete? Allow yourself and the firm enough time to complete the project. For major projects like websites, give the firm at least 6 months before your target completion date. 

Achieve Work Life Balance

Work-Life Balance?


Starting a business is an exciting endeavor and it is also challenging. In a business' infancy the last thing you may think about is how to create work-life balance. Making time for yourself when your business is in the startup phase (usually 0-3 years) can be critical to your success.


As a single women and business owner, I often forget to take the time to enjoy life. I am always thinking about the next thing I have to do or the next project I have to work on. Recently, over a dinner conversation, the person I was speaking with asked me what I do for myself. When I began to answer, she said, "No. You have to take time for yourself." It sounds easy to do when you hear that. It reminds me of one of my favorite sayings.


"Entrepreneurs work a few years like no one will so that they can live the rest of their life like most people cannot."


I understand this quote and respect it. But does that mean that we cannot have balance in our lives? What does it look like for us to have work-life balance? I do not have one answer, but I do know that I am striving for this balance. 


5 ways of introducing work-life balance into your routine:

• Quiet Time - Set aside at least 15 minutes a day when you do absolutely nothing. Don't think about work or any other stressors you may have.
• Quality Time - Spend a few hours a week doing something you enjoy. You can walk on the beach, get a massage, or have drinks with the girlfriends. However, if you do go out with other people do not discuss business. This time is solely for relaxation.
• Decide what is important - It is easy as the CEO to engulf yourself in your business and very tempting to seize every opportunity that comes your way. Truly evaluate whether these opportunities will make or break your business and learn to say, NO.
• Set realistic goals - Setting goals is key to success whether in business or in your personal life. I encourage you to create goals in both of these areas. What is important to the success of your business? What do you want to achieve in your personal life? When you outline these goals, it will allow you to eliminate the unnecessary. 
• Get a life - Find something that you can do, not related to your business that excites you. Do that as often as you can while you are building your company/business. Take time out with family and friends as often as you can. Enjoy life while creating a successful business.

Creating Trust Through Branding Pt. 1

 Branding - kind, grade, or make, as indicated by a stamp, trademark, or the like; A mark made by burning or otherwise, to indicate kind, grade, make, ownership, etc;… Any mark of disgrace; stigma.

Creating an idea that formulates into a business can be a difficult process. An even more difficult process is visually translating this new business to its audience. This act is called, branding. Much like its definition above, taken from Webster's Dictionary, branding is the stamp or trademark that a company burns into the minds of its consumer. The act of branding if not done correctly, can also be a mark of disgrace.

How many times have you walked into an office and thought to yourself, "I am not going to spend my money here?" How many times have you visited an e-commerce website and hesitated to put in your credit card information? You took one look at the office decor and decided that this place is not worth your time or money. The website may have looked as if the business did not put any thought into the image they wanted to portray. If they did not put thought into this than could you trust them?

Branding is not about creating pretty logos and decor for an office, it is about creating trust with consumers. Though creating corporate identity is the beginning of branding a company it extends far beyond what you see on paper. 

Recently, I was asked to do a client's initial company branding. They wanted something, "simple" which usually means, lets just do something quick and then we can rebrand later. Sometimes this is because they want to save money on the initial branding and then rebrand when they receive startup funding. However, branding should not be done under the premise of rebranding later. This can often hinder the process. The initial branding of your company as well as any branding efforts done later, should be well thought out with your target market in mind. Everything from the color of your logo to the paint in your office should be in harmony with the direction you want your business to take.

For more information about IsrylDesigns contact isryl@isryldesigns.com.

PayMo: Excellent Time Tracking Tool for Small Businesses

As a small business, We are always looking for tips and tools to better business operations. A few months ago IsrylDesigns came across the site paymo.biz and now we have an efficient way to manage projects and invoice clients.

PayMo's user-friendly interface allows us to easily navigate through all of its useful tools.


Dashboard
The dashboard shows a quick view of upcoming milestones and tasks, a color coded bar graph of the hours worked on each project, and a snapshot of the total hours worked by day, week, and month.


Milestones/Tasks
Keeping track of deadlines has never been easier. A great feature of the milestone tab is the email alert. When you add a milestone you can set a time to have an email reminder sent. Tasks are lists related to the milestone. Once a milestone or task is complete simply click on the box and it will delete itself from the list. All of your changes will be stored on your dashboard so that you can keep track of all of the company activity. 


Timer
The timer allows the user to track time by pushing one button (start) or (stop). The timer runs in the background while the user is working in another program. Should the user forget to stop or start the timer there is a way to manually enter the time.


Clients/Projects
Add all of your client details including uploading a logo or picture and contact information. This information is then populated in the invoice section streamlining the invoicing process. Once your client(s) are added, you can then add the projects, milestones, and tasks related to them.


Users
PayMo has a variety of options depending on the needs of your business. The free version of PayMo allows up to 2 users and 3 invoices per month. The upgrade version only $9.99 allows for unlimited invoicing. You can track your freelancers/employees time and include that in project billing. To upgrade your account, just click on the upgrade button on the right side of the page under Invoicing. Note: You can cancel the upgrade at anytime but you do have to click on the downgrade button to do so.


Invoicing
One of our favorite features of the site is the invoicing tool. Create a simple and effective invoice by uploading your logo. Click on the client you want to bill and their information will automatically populate. An invoice number is generated and you can click the paypal box to allow your client to pay online using their credit/debit card. The invoice will create a link that you can email to your client. Save trees and time! Note: You need to set up your paypal account before generating a paypal invoice.


Reports
Keep up with your company's hours, and finances using the reports tab. Paymo will generate reports based on hours worked by project, hours worked by user, and financial statistics. Now you can keep track of your companies productivity and financial growth all in one tool, PayMo!


IsrylDesigns is always looking for ways to make our business more successful. If you know of any tech tools, design opportunities or just want to connect email us at info@isryldesigns.com.


Thanks for letting us turn your design dreams into reality!

Setting Your Rates and Sticking to them!

"You will, at some point, get the pricing on a project completely wrong." 

-Mark Boulton in the article Be_the_boss/Deciding How Much To Charge. Practical WebDesign September 2009 Issue

Whether getting a car fixed, buying a new home, or buying apparel everyone is looking for the best rates in town and clients are no different. They too want the best rate possible, especially in this economy. But what does this mean for you as a small business or freelancer.


Since small business rates are usually set based on overhead, the amount of money you want to make, and the time it takes to complete a job there is not much wiggle room for small biz/freelancers to negotiate with clients. But should you choose to lower your rates for clients you must consider the side effects. With services, especially design you get what you pay for and while you try to be sensitive to a clients budget you do have a duty to your startup/small biz to be compensated adequately.


IsrylDesigns recently had a client that we renegotiated rates in the middle of a project. Big no, no! It is great for firms to have business in this economy, however, you should not let a client pigeonholed you into keeping a job by lowering your rates. After reading Mark Boulton's article in Practical WebDesign, IsrylDesigns is more enlightened on rates and what they mean for the branding and well-being of a company.


Tips to better rate setting for small biz:

• Provide a thorough quote that outlines the amount of time a project will take. Stick to the price in the quote.
• Avoid renegotiating in the middle of a project.
• Be ware of Discount Debbie or her friend Discount Dan – they are always looking for a discount but never want to cut back on the scope of the project.
• Ask your clients budget upfront.
• Get familiar with Good vs. Bad clients. What type of client do you want to provide services for.
• Be okay with passing up a project if necessary. A better one will come along. But not if your business keeps devaluing its work by giving discount after discount.

Have another tip for us? Email it to isryl@isryldesigns.com!