Are you a full-time business owner or a part-time designer?

Right now as your business scales, you’re probably in a better place (money-wise) to hire a new employee, buy a new office printer, or invest in a bigger marketing campaign. 

But have you considered if you can really afford to waste your 8-hour workday on menial tasks like designing?

No? I expected that. And yet you oftentimes D-I-Y some design projects because “it’s faster”. Who’s guilty? 🙋‍♀️

There are many fascinating do-it-yourself design hacks to learn from on the internet. These DIYs are usually simple, inexpensive, and quick. However, this may not be effective if you are building a professional brand.

Sure, you are a fast learner and you might be able to make a design using a well-known DIY design application, but at what cost? Don’t you think your time is way too valuable for that?

Let’s talk numbers. I will break down the reasons in this article why it’s best to get a professional designer for your company rather than doing it yourself.

Can you afford to Do-It-Yourself?

I understand that the fantastic ideas you have in mind could work well for your brand. You know your company inside-out. Your ideas may be good, but your designs have to be consistent and well-made to express them.

With a professional designer, you are sure that you’ll receive design options that reflect all the inspiration you want to see, keeping them on-brand.

Most importantly, they will learn your needs and your vision, and turn it into something you can actually use and be proud of. They are the professionals after all.

Save this much if you get a design professional

The average hourly rate for a professional designer is between $50.00-$75.00. So, if your design job is expected to take 24 hours to complete, the overall project cost will be $1,800.00.

Let’s say you landed a kind-hearted designer who gave you a 20% discount as a new client, you’d save $360.00, bringing your total to $1,440.00 for only 24 hours of work.

This is a ballpark figure and I’m unsure if the designer will allow more than 2 revisions. Or even if they’ll provide the layered files for you to edit later on should you need it.

I have a better option for you.

With on-demand design services like Deer Designer, you can focus on being a full-time entrepreneur. Leave the grunt work to the designer.

You can have as many revisions as you need, and ask for any design within our scope of work for a low flat monthly fee. And that’s for a month, not just for 24 hours. Imagine the value we can bring to your company!

How much would it be if you do it yourself?

Let’s say you pay yourself $30.00 per hour (I’m totally lowballing it here). You’ve got a project that has a projected completion time of 24 hours (with an extra 5-hour buffer since you might not be an expert).

The cost for that project will be around $870.00 IF it’s finished on schedule.

Since you’re not a design specialist and after showing what you created to colleagues or professionals who have tons of feedback, revisions may take up to 10 hours.

That means you’ll have to spend an extra $300.00 for an amateur and delayed output.

That’s a total of $1,170 for 24 hours and revisions. Deer Designer is the clear winner.

Costs aside, who would take over your other responsibilities while you’re busy designing? No one I’m sure. And if you put your operations on hold, that’s another cost to consider.

Let it go

Did you sing that one in your head? ☃️❄️👭

As an agency owner or a startup founder, you have a variety of responsibilities to ensure that the company’s operations function correctly and you can’t afford to waste time on tasks you can outsource to professionals.

Let the dirty design work go to an on-demand design service.

You can save valuable resources by teaming up with a design professional who knows your preferences and can come up with on-brand designs for your campaigns.

Professionals have the right tools and battle-tested design experience to support your growing company.

Let go and stop being a part-time designer. Take the plunge to focus on being the best company owner you can be.