329 - An Honest Conversation with Shannon Mattern on What's Working for Web Designers in 2024
Jun 3, 2024
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Shannon Mattern, a web design business coach and creator of The Web Designer Academy, joins for an engaging chat on the challenges web designers face in 2024. They discuss barriers to breaking the six-figure mark and reveal strategies of successful designers earning 250k-500k+. Topics include the importance of branding, the impact of gender dynamics in pricing, and tips for maintaining work-life balance without burnout. The conversation emphasizes authenticity and shifting mindsets to foster healthier business practices in web design.
Designers should embrace their role in empowering clients financially, allowing them to confidently set their prices without guilt or self-doubt.
Successful web designers distinguish themselves through consistent marketing strategies and by viewing themselves as co-creators of valuable solutions.
Establishing clear client boundaries and prioritizing effective upselling can significantly improve work-life balance and overall profitability for web designers.
Deep dives
Empowerment Over Responsibility
The podcast emphasizes that financial responsibility lies with the clients, not the web designers. Designers are there to empower clients to generate more income, rather than to worry about saving them money. This perspective encourages designers to confidently set their prices without guilt or second-guessing their worth. By adopting this mindset, designers can better focus on providing value and service to clients who align with their business approach.
Lessons from Successful Designers
Both hosts discuss the characteristics of web designers currently achieving significant financial success. The conversation highlights that successful designers often employ consistent marketing strategies and proactively seek opportunities to connect with potential clients. A key insight is the mindset shift from viewing themselves merely as service providers to seeing themselves as co-creators of valuable solutions. This shift in perception enables them to effectively communicate their worth and stay competitive in a saturated market.
Niche and Positioning
The conversation explores the importance and nuances of niching within the web design industry. There is a debate on whether to niche by demographics, such as gender, or focus on personality traits and business needs. This distinction aims to help designers identify their target market more effectively. Ultimately, the hosts encourage designers to prioritize authentic branding, positioning themselves as founders and strategists rather than mere task takers.
Work-Life Balance Challenges
The discussion includes a crucial insight into the work-life balance challenges faced by many web designers. Struggles arise when designers become overwhelmed by the demands of their clients and the expectation to always be available. The hosts stress that establishing clear boundaries and prioritizing client relationships can alleviate these pressures. Effective upselling and marketing to existing clients are also emphasized as strategies for reducing workload while maintaining profitability.
Mindset Around Value and Pricing
A significant point in the podcast centers on the mindset about pricing and how it directly affects a designer's perceived value. The hosts encourage designers to embrace the idea that their services are an investment rather than an expense for clients. By reframing their own beliefs about pricing, designers can ask for what they deserve without feeling uncomfortable. This way of thinking not only impacts client interactions but also helps designers build sustainable business practices.
I recently caught up with my friend Shannon Mattern, fellow web design business coach who has a group coaching program called The Web Designer Academy. We often talk off-the-record but decided to record our most recent catch up, an honest conversation about what’s working for web designers in 2024.
Shannon and I are both in a unique position to be able to oversee many web designers, some early on in the journey making less than six figures and some who are established web biz owners running six and multi-six figure agencies. So we both have a good pulse on what’s working for web designers today. And that’s why I’m extra excited to let you in on our recent catch up.
Some of the topics explored are:
What tends to hold web designers back from 100k
What designers who are making 250k-500k+ are doing
Tips for getting past pricing mind trash
Thoughts on niching by gender (or whether you should niche by personality type)
Web designer work life balance tips and a whole lot more
Personally, I love having conversations with friends in the industry with no specific topic, agenda and I hope you do as well! If you do, leave us a comment for this one at joshhall.co/329 to share your thoughts.
Get all links and resources mentioned along with a full transcription at:
View all Web Design Business Podcasts with show notes and full transcriptions at: https://joshhall.co/podcast
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