Professionals are called professionals for two reasons. First, they do the job better than most people. Second, other people call them professionals and pay them because of the first reason.
Many people will tell you to “save money” and “do it yourself”. In some instances, this is very sound advice; especially when you have no cash. However, it is often taken too far and becomes counter-productive by destroying credibility and turning away the target audience. The end result looks amateurish and buyers (customers and investors) walk away.
Today, I read on Seth Godin’s blog (see the CONNECTIONS section) his article titled: Why aren’t you (really) good at graphic design?
His premise is this: Today, business professionals are expected to have professional looking presentations and collateral. However, because of today’s “easy” software, instead of hiring someone you can do it yourself. You will not be as good as a professional but you will be “really good” and that is good enough.
I have seen “really good” and usually it is not good enough. The problem with “really good” is that it is purely subjective and often based on the other idea, “I just do not want to spend the cash.” Standards and expectations are lowered by the business owners. The problem is that customers do not lower them and expect professional. The customers go elsewhere.
When I was the marketing director of an animation festival and executive producer for a startup animation studio we saw many portfolios, many artists and graphic designers. There is a big difference between DIY and professional. There are many levels of professional and wide range of prices.
Maybe you cannot afford world-class, but maybe you can afford something. You need to make the right decisions on when to DIY and when to find a qualified person within your budget. When you approach a professional, tell them what you want and your budget. Don’t hide the budget but figure out what you would pay for what you want. If it is not enough, they will tell you. In my expereicne, if the designer does not have a budget they will usually overbid. You keep it under budget by giving them a budget.
Godin identifies the four big things people try to DIY and suggest you can too: PowerPoint presentations, web sites, business cards, and bio photos. It is just not that easy to do all four. Here is my response:
Presentations in Power-Point: Absolutely DIY. Why? The best ones today are simple with no animation. They just look good. You could hire someone to develop a color template and then use that template over and over. This would be branding development (see tomorrow’s post).
Web site: If it is very simple and you are satisfied with out of the box, then by all means go DIY. Otherwise, hire someone with talent. Amateur sites look that way. There is a lot more to it than meets the eye. If your business depends on look and presentation, then you have to spend the time and money on a web site.
Business Cards: If you do a simple black and white design or use one of the online pre-designed cards, then DIY. Otherwise, hire a designer. When it comes to printing them, save yourself a lot of time and trouble and just get them printed. At overnightprints.com you can get 100 double sided color cards (standard size) for $14.95. You can get 1000 for $49.95. It is worth it. If you print them and cut them yourself it will look amateurish. $50 is a sushi dinner for two. Skip one of those and get business cards.
Bio photo: Anyone can take a photograph. Having someone take a good photograph and then knowing how to color correct them well for presenting on the web and in print (which are different from each other) is another story. You could probably take a lot of decent pictures of yourself. It is a challenge for me. If you can take the time to figure out to color correct it then do it; otherwise ask a professional.
Godin missed a few more items that many people also DIY which maybe they should not. I will write more on that topic tomorrow.
