How many here make at least £2000-2500 a month from Design?

I'm not seeing how I can achieve this from doing flyers, posters and odds and ends.

I'm thinking of getting into larger money projects but need input as to what to go after.

I make more. Definitely you need bigger projects than just flyers/bc etc. Annual reports are good. As are year books for schools.

Large format projects can be quite valuable too.

Partner with some printers and get trade prices.

Offer to do the printing side of the projects - then you add 100%-200% markup to the print.

I think you'll find that quite a few people on here are earning that, but you won't get many
giving away hints and tips to find new work as you're potentially competition to them.

All you can do is what you've done so far but set your sights higher. Contact a few companies or knock on a few doors.
Have any of your existing clients got any connections? Diversify, sideline, advertise, learn new skills.

And don't forget to NETWORK - go to events, conferences, etc. in your area. Setup stands, or go about introducing yourself to others.

Get your own leaflets, business cards etc and drop them around places that you can network with others. Drop into business centres and leave your details and information with the receptionist. Ask the reception area to distribute your flyer/email etc. to everyone there.

There's loads and loads you can do to promote yourself and get business.

The above comments are spot on. You have to go out of your comfort zone and put yourself out there! I think most designers are by nature introverted, so networking can be really difficult, but the work wont always just come to you.

I can often charge around £2000 for a website that's simple and easy to build and takes less than a week to produce. Add to that annual hosting fees, and it's a nice earner that brings me money each year. Not much money, but multiply that by however many clients I'm hosting and it's nice 'passive' income. Sometimes I'll manage to bolt on a rebrand at the same time and then we're looking at something like £3000 all in, give or take. Probably 90% of this work comes from contacts of people I've previously worked for, with only a small majority coming from my site. It's taken me a few years to get to this stage though, and I do still design flyers and such like once in a while when I absolutely have to.

It's not just the type of work but the type of client you also need to think about. These jobs are typically for business owners with medium-sized companies, a nice middle ground that means I'm able to handle everything myself but still charge a decent rate. These business owners have contacts that are in the same or similar situations as they are, so they're a great place to get new work. In fact, I'm going to ask one of my past clients to recommend me to one of their contacts because their site is in dire need of updating and if I don't get in there quick, someone else might!

Paul Murray said:

In fact, I'm going to ask one of my past clients to recommend me to one of their contacts because their site is in dire need of updating and if I don't get in there quick, someone else might!

Click to expand...

How did you find out that the site is owned by one of your past client's contact?

@GCarlD said:

How did you find out that the site is owned by one of your past client's contact?

Click to expand...

Because my client mentioned it. They're a letting agent and right next door is an estate agent who often sells properties to buy to letters that my client manages. They're friends, so I'm going to ask my client to perhaps mention my name and services.

Nope, just something that was mentioned in passing during conversation. I've always found that clients are more than happy to recommend you to contacts if you do a good job so there's no harm in asking.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I think walking into businesses with confidence definitely helps. And talking to everyone about what you do makes sense.

Networking, yep, I need to do this.

Thanks

sure, I do