Most freelance designers have had at least one horrible client…. but have you ever won a huge contest because you had the WORST client story of every designer who entered?! Our host Kady Sandel has – and she even won a year-long Adobe subscription as her prize! In this episode, Kady shares her hilarious contest-winning client story that you don’t want to miss. You’ll also learn how to spot these “clients from hell” sooner in your own graphic design, brand design or web design business – as well as tips to position yourself to repel these clients in the future. Plus, check out our fun store at aventiveacademy.com/shop where we have products & merch to help you laugh at your own bad client experiences! Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free $12k Client Attraction  Masterclass here: https://aventiveacademy.com/attract-clients-workshop/ Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign high-ticket clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

Are you attracting cheap graphic design, brand design, or web design clients? That means it’s time to update your portfolio to make it look more expensive! In this episode, Kady Sandel walks you through the exact portfolio changes you need to make to attract $10k+ design clients. Even if your design work is amazing, if you aren’t presenting it right, it simply isn’t going to impress the clients who have big budgets… so let’s fix your portfolio together with these actionable tips. Tune in! Resources: Free workshop to uplevel your design portfolio & attract $12k+ clients: https://aventiveacademy.com/iyp-workshop/ Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

Have you ever wondered how to leverage IG stories to make more money in your design business? Then this is the episode for you! Kady Sandel speaks with guest expert Alyssa Moorhead about how to grow your graphic design, web design, or brand design business on Instagram – specifically using the Stories feature. You’ll learn how to build genuine connections with ideal clients, how to get them to find you in the first place, and what you should be doing in the DMs to get hired without feeling pushy. Alyssa shares how she scaled her own creative business using IG stories, plus the best way to convert your Instagram stories & private messages into actual paid design clients on social media. *** About Alyssa Moorhead: Alyssa is the owner of Nerve Client Studio, a Brooklyn-based Client Strategy Studio. The Nerve team helps mostly female-identifying business owners curate their dream client roster + achieve beyond-their-dreams income through done-for-your sales services. At Nerve, they do sales differently- Not only do they nurture leads, but opportunities too; And they don’t just nurture, but they actually sign clients and opportunities. If you want sales taken off your plate by people who live for sales, Nerve is for you. Learn more at nerveclientstudio.com and follow Alyssa on Instagram @nerveclientstudio *** Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free $12k Client Attraction Masterclass here: https://aventiveacademy.com/attract-clients-workshop/ Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

In this episode, guest expert Natalie Gates joins Kady Sandel to share how freelance brand designers, graphic designers, and web designers can make more money and land bigger clients by collaborating with copywriters. You’ll hear Natalie’s tips on where to find the best freelance copywriters and how to become their #1 go-to designer, the logistics of how to structure your partnership (aka: who pays who!), plus how to get graphic design clients through copywriting referrals. We also cover the pros and cons of collaborating with other freelance creatives & what to do if a design client gives you terrible copy to work with! About Natalie Gates: Natalie Gates is a website copywriter and brand messaging strategist for creatives and professional service providers. She helps small businesses capture their unique value, connect with more of the right people, and turn their website into a lead-generating tool. You can follow Natalie on Instagram at @wordsbynatalieor visit her website http://www.nataliegates.ca Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free 5-day $12k client challenge here! Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

Most freelance designers have questions about how to add services to their design business: like how to go from being a logo designer, to a brand designer, to maybe even a web designer or full-service studio. In this episode, Kady Sandel covers all the “hows” of how she personally evolved her freelance business into an agency! Get the inside scoop on what design services she learned (versus which she outsourced), how she knew when it was time to level up, and her #1 tip for when you want to expand your design business but are scared to make the leap. Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free 5-day $12k client challenge here! Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

Are you burnt out from trying to scale up your design business problems on your own? Craving an outside perspective to help you see if your ideas make sense? In this episode, Kady Sandel shares the story of when she joined a mastermind earlier in her brand design business, including the positive and negative aspects of it. Learn about our upcoming High-Ticket Client Mastermind for creatives and how it can help you hit $10k months in your web design, graphic design, or brand design business. Prevent burnout and stop trying to do everything yourself – it’s time to accept help, make designer friends, and see real results in your design business! Visit aventiveacademy.com/mastermind for all the details. Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free 5-day $12k client challenge here! Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

If you need to feel motivated in your freelance design business again, this is the episode for you! Guest expert Jeremy Mura joins Kady Sandel to break down the key mindset mistakes that are holding your creative business back. You’ll hear Jeremy’s tips on how to position your freelance business so you can attract more clients and opportunities – and leave an amazing impression on them when they arrive. We also cover how to set your prices confidently, how a positive mindset will transform the way you interact with high-ticket clients, and how to create space for your dream projects by embracing an abundance mentality. Don’t miss this one! About Jeremy Mura: Jeremy Mura is an award-winning logo identity designer, YouTuber, and creator from Sydney, Australia. He has been in the design industry for 10 years working with brand names such as Disneyland Paris, Adobe Live, Macquarie Business School, American Express, and Telstra. Jeremy has over 4M+ views on YouTube with over 500+ videos uploaded, has taught over 65k+ students on Skillshare, and has grown a following of 100k+ on Instagram. He has been featured on Adobe Live, LogoLounge Book 12, Skillshare, FrontRow Design Conference, and Creative Market. You can follow him on YouTube and Instagram, or get free his resources at JeremyMura.com Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free 5-day $12k client challenge here! Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

Have you ever craved the guidance of a mentor for your freelance design business, but you weren’t sure where to find one? In today’s episode, Kady Sandel speaks with guest expert Prajin Shee about how to find the right mentor for your creative business – including where to find one, what qualities to look for in a mentor, and how exactly a mentor can help you grow your graphic design, brand design, or web design business. Prajin shares how having a mentor helped him scale his company, plus the best way to set up your mentor relationship so you see real results in your business. Join us and discover how to skip the years of trial and error by finding a mentor who can get you to the next level! About Prajin Shee: Prajin is the Co-founder of Gray Line Media, an agency that helps solopreneurs and small businesses create remarkable websites and relatable content. He is passionate about giving time back to business owners/freelancers by helping them build out streamlined processes and automating redundant tasks so they can focus on the things that are important to them. Prajin has been featured by Gartner where he discusses the importance of focusing on people, processes, and culture and shares his learnings through cofounding his own business. Prajin's presentations are full of valuable content, sharing stories from his life and providing tips from the trenches to ensure small business owners/freelancers are geared for success Learn more at www.graylinemedia.comand connect with Prajin on LinkedIn at @prajin-shee Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free 5-day $12k client challenge here! Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

In this episode, guest expert Faith Rodriguez joins Kady Sandel to share the details of how niching WAY down in your design business can help you attract higher-ticket graphic design, brand design, and web design clients. You’ll hear Faith’s fascinating career journey from esthetician to marketing expert, and how she blends these passions together to help her specialized audience of beauty professionals. We also cover how to find your creative niche, why it’s usually more obvious than you think, and how to make dream clients come to you by making a few key shifts in your marketing. Tune in! About Faith Rodriguez: As a small-town girl turned too city to go back, Faith enjoys the finer things in life like a cool-toned berry lipstick paired with a set of Forever 21 pumps that hurt after five minutes of standing. Faith is a marketing strategist, beauty branding specialist, and website designer who started her career as a licensed esthetician and used it to gain her M.S. in Digital Marketing & Analytics. After completing her education, she started offering business services and products specifically designed for licensed beauty professionals. Faith, now the founder of Faith Elizabeth Marketing, upholds the mission to help fellow beauty professionals become empowered entrepreneurs through growth strategies and marketing tactics. Learn more at faithelizabethmarketing.com and follow her on Instagram @faithelizabeth.marketing

Want to land high-ticket design clients? Then stop calling yourself a graphic designer :) In today’s controversial episode, we talk about how to describe your graphic design, brand design, or web design business in a catchy way that stands out and makes clients & networking partners remember you. Kady Sandel breaks down the reality of what non-designers picture when they hear the word “graphic designer,” and why you don’t want to be lumped in with that crowd! Learn a simple & fun way to describe your business differently, plus one mindset shift that will help you make more money and step into your power as an entrepreneur. Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free 5-day $12k client challenge here! Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

Have you ever had an amazing client show up in your inbox… and maybe you even had calls with them, or they put down a deposit… then, they disappeared?! In this episode, Kady Sandel talks about what to do when a freelance graphic, brand, or web design client ghosts you. Learn the top reasons why clients ghost designers, how you can prevent this from happening, and how to protect yourself when it does. You will walk away with both mindset tips and clear-cut strategies to handle ghosting – and you’ll know how to attract better, more professional clients in the future. Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free 5-day $12k client challenge here! Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

In this episode, Kady Sandel shows you what to do during client lulls and dry spells in your freelance graphic design, brand design, or web design business. Freelancers often fear those time periods between clients, but if you’re strategic, they offer the perfect opportunity to improve your design business, fine-tune your messaging, grow your network, and get your next five-figure client! Learn what to focus on if you don’t have freelance clients at the moment, including the top action steps to get you the best ROI. Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free 5-day $12k client challenge here! Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

Have you ever tried so hard to seem “professional” for your freelance clients that you no longer felt like yourself? Is your content feeling stagnant and boring? In today’s episode, brand strategist & guest expert Destiny Washington sits down with Kady for an incredible conversation about how to let your authentic voice & personality shine through in your freelance design business! Learn how to make more money by bringing your whole self to your design projects, and our top tips to build trust with your audience by embracing (and sharing!) your values & personality quirks. By the end of this episode, you will feel inspired by your freelance business again and have actionable next steps to attract more clients by being yourself. About Destiny Washington: Destiny Washington is the founder and brand strategist of Laurice Creative. She specializes in building authentic mission-focused brands for arts non-profits. Laurice Creative was born out of a necessity of creative freedom and unabashed belief in one’s own ability. Destiny proudly built this business with limited means and a larger vision - library cards and "digital nomad" moodboards. After 3 years, she has built a thorough branding and social media strategy system that was created and fine-tuned working collaboratively with non-profit and creative-based clients. Learn more at www.laurice.studio and follow Destiny on Instagram at @lauricecreative Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free 5-day $12k client challenge here! Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

Want to crack the code of charging more while working less in your design business? This is the episode for you! Kady Sandel shows you how to explain your value to clients (and add the services they really want!) so you can charge more than other freelance graphic, brand, and web designers.  You will hear the story of her first $9,000 month as a freelance graphic designer – and why that month wasn’t as good as it sounds. Learn the #1 mindset shift that will help you position in the value of your services, plus practical tips on what services to add to your business to get your dream clients to a yes. Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free 5-day $12k client challenge here! Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

If your freelance design clients constantly want tweaks and revisions to your projects… you can learn how to limit revisions effectively & spend less time on them in this episode! Kady Sandel shares honest business advice around how you can massively reduce revision requests in your graphic, brand, or web design business. Learn how to set up your contracts, create boundaries with your clients, and structure your projects from the very beginning so clients see you as an expert (and stop asking for changes). Kady also discusses the process her branding agency implemented that brought revision requests down to almost zero! Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free 5-day $12k client challenge here! Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

In this episode, guest expert Dot Lung joins Kady Sandel to share how freelance brand, web, and graphic designers can leverage social media to attract high-paying clients. Tired of getting a smattering of likes on your posts, but no $10k clients in your inbox? Learn the top mistakes designers make on social media, and how you can fix them to make more money in your design business! We also show you how to grow your following through collaborations, pick the right platforms, and convert your followers into paying freelance clients. About Dot Lung: Dot Lung is a Los Angeles native that has travelled the world working on different social media campaigns. Dot is short for Dorothy, and Lung is Mandarin for dragons. Taking on the moniker of Mother of Dragons, she has helped her clients build social media empires. Through her interest in human behavior and knowledge of all things social, Lung aims to empower creative people to make digital magic, build a future together, and get their work seen. Learn more at www.dotlung.com and follow Dot at instagram.com/dotlung. Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free 5-day $12k client challenge here! Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

We’ve all had them: the design client who wants to pay “in exposure,” who asks their entire family for opinions on your logo, who complains about all their previous designers… In today’s episode, Kady Sandel shows you the freelance client red flags to watch for, with plenty of examples from her own business. Learn how to spot potential headaches before accepting a project, set and hold your boundaries, and land better clients that value your work and expertise (and that you genuinely love working with!). Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free 5-day $12k client challenge here! Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

Looking to grow your freelance design business ASAP? In this episode, Kady Sandel shares her simple 2-step strategy to help you to land freelance graphic, brand, and web design clients in the short term – like tomorrow! Learn how to get clear on who your next client is, contact them with confidence (even if you’re an introvert!), plus the long-term marketing tactics you can start using today. Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free 5-day $12k client challenge here! Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

There are things you should do to market your graphic, web, or brand design business, and other things you should definitely NOT do! In this episode, Kady Sandel dives deep into the 5 biggest marketing mistakes that cost her time, money, and clients when she was starting out as a freelancer. From awkward networking events to social media blunders to wasted advertising money… hear her personal freelancing stories, as well as how to avoid these mistakes so you can land $12k+ design clients faster. This episode will help you revitalize your marketing and learn what strategies DO work to hit six figures in your freelance design business! Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free 5-day $12k client challenge here! Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

In today’s episode, we talk numbers: specifically, the math of how you can get to a $10k month as a freelance graphic, brand, or web designer! Kady Sandel breaks down the numbers of how you can hit six figures in your design business in a way that feels manageable, possible, and fun. There are a lot of ways you hit $10k per month, and some strategies require more work than others – let’s dive into the details together. If you usually feel intimidated by math, be sure to join us for this episode to gain a new perspective & feel empowered to sign $10k+ clients in your design business. Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free 5-day $12k client challenge here! Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

You already know that branding and design are important… but how important are they to your own freelance design business? In this episode, Kady Sandel shows you the strategy of what your own logo, designs, colors, and fonts need to look like to attract high-paying freelance design clients. Learn what visual designs $12k brand, web, and graphic clients care about the most, where you should put your attention as a freelancer, and what to do if your visual branding isn’t working. Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free 5-day $12k client challenge here! Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

How good of a designer do you need to be before you can sign freelance clients? Will improving your design skills help you grow your business? If you feel like you’re constantly improving your portfolio and doing sketches, but STILL not catching the interest of high-paying clients – this episode is for you! Kady Sandel shows you the right balance between design skills and business skills so you can get unstuck, attract $12k+ freelance design clients, leave your 9-5, and finally feel confident in your freelance design business. Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free 5-day $12k client challenge here! Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

In this episode, Kady Sandel takes you behind the scenes of her pricing journey as a freelance designer: from doing projects for free, to charging $65 for a logo on Craigslist, to charging $18,000 for a branding package within just a few years! Learn how to upgrade your mindset, raise your rates, sell bigger packages, attract higher-paying clients, and make a living with your design business. Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free 5-day $12k client challenge here! Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

You have heard the industry advice to niche down in your design business… but you might be afraid you will lose potential clients. Let’s bust that myth and show you the behind-the-scenes of what happens before and after you niche down! In this episode, Kady gives you a full view of her design business before and after she embraced a niche – including her financial numbers. Learn how to choose a design niche that will be profitable, plus what you need to change in your messaging to be seen as an expert. Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free 5-day $12k client challenge here! Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

Are you constantly sending proposals to potential freelance clients, then never hearing back? Or maybe you’re confused on when to send a proposal at all! In this episode, Kady shows you how to create freelance design proposals that sell. Learn what your proposals need, the exact workflow of when to send one (without wasting your time), plus the biggest proposal mistake that is killing your sales. Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free 5-day $12k client challenge here! Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

There are millions of freelance designers out there… but in the end, none of them are competing with you. What?! In this episode, Kady will explain this concept and show you how to stop comparing yourself so you can make more money in your graphic, brand, or web design business. Learn how to do competitor research without getting jealous or deflated, plus how to stand out from them without even trying. Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free 5-day $12k client challenge here! Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

Have you ever been scared that when you present your designs to the client, they will be unhappy? Well… that happened to Kady! In this episode, she tells you the whole story, what you can learn from it, and most importantly: how to attract better freelance clients (and spot the red flags!) so this won’t happen in your design business. Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free 5-day $12k client challenge here! Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

Are you tired of clients who lowball you, negotiate your rates, or complain that your design services are expensive? In this episode, Kady will show you how to leave them behind and find freelance clients who are happy to pay your rates. Learn how to attract better clients, get them to hire you, set boundaries, and never look back! Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free 5-day $12k client challenge here! Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com

Every designer knows your portfolio is important, but how should you format it to attract the attention of paying clients? In this episode, Kady gives you the real-life hacks to create a portfolio that sells projects and stands out from the competition. Plus learn the one change she made to her portfolio that finally got dream clients to reach out to her! Resources: Want to sign a $12k graphic, brand, or web design client? Join our free 5-day $12k client challenge here! Connect with us on Instagram @aventiveacademy Our Aventive Academy programs help designers sign better clients, make more money, and grow their freelance businesses so they can have the freedom and cash they desire. Join us at aventiveacademy.com