Nerve Center Design On A BudgetNetwork Marketing Business Blog

Nerve Center Design On A Budget

Wow. I was reading a post in the Better Networker forums and it turns out a lot of people are having trouble hiring designers to design their nerve centers or blogs. Some people are getting ripped off and others just don’t have the cash to hire a certified pro. So I thought we could break this issue down and offer a few solutions.

We’ll, talk about how to get decent design at affordable prices, and how to protect yourself from getting scammed. Which, I hate to say, is bound to happen to everyone at some point in time.

So here’s a few tips that will dramatically reduce your chances of getting ripped off and save your designer a massive headache. Which, as you’ll soon find out is one way to save a load of dough.

So let’s get started…

1) Know what you want. It saves money!

Don’t approach a designer until you have a clear idea of what you want from them. Save links to websites. Take screenshots. Write notes. The more thorough you are the better it will turn out.

Make sure you’re thorough about what you expect. Make it clear to your designer that you expect nothing less than agreed and that it’s okay if they can’t deliver as long as they let you know so nobody wastes time or money.

One great tip from Mike Dillard in the Better Networker forums (here’s the link) is that you should use www.jingproject.com to record a short video of what you’re looking for. Visit the sites you like and share that video with your designer. I think that’s an awesome tip. It will save you a lot of frustration and your designer will know what you want too.

2) Have a decent budget. It saves money!

I know a lot of people are running their business on a budget and a professional designer is way out of their league, but if you want to hire someone to design for you it is gonna to cost you some money.

From experience, I can tell you It costs a lot more to hire the wrong designer at a cheap price than it costs to hire the right designer in the first place. So you might want to consider upping your budget if it’s tight. Unless you’re the gambling type.

In fact, if all you have is a hundred bucks I would strongly advise you to buy your own blog theme or template and learn how to tweak it yourself. It’s mostly what you’re going to get from a designer at that price level anyway.

How much should you pay?

Well, here’s the real problem… there’s no set price. Designers will charge you anything from $100 to $15000 per project. It depends on what you’re looking for and where you go to get it done.

Okay, that’s all fine and dandy but how much should
I pay for a nerve center or blog design?

I would say, based on my experience that you shouldn’t have to pay over $500 to get your nerve center or blog professionally designed. But I would be wary of any designer willing to do it for less than $200. There’s something fishy there. Either they don’t know what they’re doing or they’re desperate.

Money saving tip…

Don’t go to a design agency. These places have massive overhead even in small towns so they charge through the roof. A complete waste of your marketing budget unless you’re a massive company in my opinion. I know a couple of ladies who got ripped off $750 for basically business cards because they went to a local design agency and it’s not the first horror story I’ve heard.

With that said, not all designers are crooks.

So here’s how to pick a designer that’s right for you…

3) Picking a decent designer. It saves money!

In design like any other profession there’s varying levels of skill and training. With that said, you’ll also have to understand that “web design” as a profession didn’t really exist ten years ago so there’s a lot of self-trained designers floating around.

Three Types of Designer…

Certified Designers: A lot of people don’t know this but designers are certified and trained professionals in a lot countries. Guidelines vary, but in some cases they have three years of school followed by one year of full-time work before they can even apply for certification in their field.Then they’re reviewed by a panel of professional designers who scrutinize their work. They’re granted membership based on competence and before they’re free to practice design as registered professionals.

Of course, not every designer is certified. This is often the case in newer fields like web design where technology is changing so fast even certified designers can’t keep up with the race. And even in countries with certification, there’s nothing to stop anyone with a little skill from setting up shop as a “Designer”. So it’s practically the wild west.

Desk-Top Publishers: Now standards vary. There’s “desk-top publishers” who are basically untrained graphic designers. Yes, sometimes they go through one or two years of training, and sometimes they have web design skills but many are not professionally trained at all. I wouldn’t recommend hiring a desk-top publisher for your primary design, but they often make the best full-time designers when it comes to file preparation and design on a budget.

Weekend Warriors: Last we have designers who are self-taught. No formal education at all. This doesn’t mean they can’t provide the quality of design that you need, but you do have to understand you’re taking a risk. Not all designers are created equal and you should proceed with caution.

With that said, you’re probably gonna end hiring a designer who is self trained. Most professional designers are gonna be way out of your price range. I’m not even joking here.

So where do you find a designer?

Well, one untapped resource is local community colleges. Quite often the students are skilled but haven’t had the work experience they need to charge professional rates. But be careful here because a lot of graphic designers have no idea about Wordpress or blog design. So if you’re looking for someone to design your “nerve center” then you’ll most likely need a web design student or grad.

Another place I’d highly recommend is the Better Networker Forums. But not in a conventional way. Find someone who already has a beautiful blog or nerve center up and ask them who designed it for them and if they mind telling you how much it cost. You’d be surprised by how helpful a lot of folks are.

You’ll want to be thorough…
• Read their testimonials if they have any.
• Study the sites they’ve already designed.
• You could even ask to talk to their clients.

Remember that it’s your money and time at stake. And the surest way to save money on design is to make sure you do your homework.

In my opinion, the safest way to find a great designer is to get a referral from one of their existing customers online. This is easier than it’s ever been on forums like Better Networker. All you have to do is ask your peers.

But what happens if you get ripped off?

Well, here’s how to get your money back

You have a few options…

#1 First, you should contact your designer immediately. Mention your concerns, and if they can’t resolve them then ask for your money back. Any self respecting businessman will refund your money or fix the problem.

Unless of course, you’re not living up to your side of the deal. Which sometimes happens, it’s why you should ALWAYS have a recorded agreement of some kind. Even if it’s just and e-mail or letter. It’s a document you can refer to to make sure you’re in the right… because let’s face it… in a busy business it’s easy to forget what you paid for.

#2 If you used Paypal then you could dispute the payments with them. Paypal tends to side with the customer. Which is good unless customers want to rip you off. Now, this could tarnish your reputation with Paypal so when possible you should work things out like adults.

#3 If you paid by credit card you can do a charge back by contacting your credit card company. Never ever do this unless you have no other choice. Not only are you risking their reputation but YOUR reputation as well.

#4 If you paid by post-dated check then you can put a stop-payment on it. But that’s really a last resort. A lot of people won’t accept payment by checks anyway. So you’ll probably never run into this.

But, you have to be honest with yourself too. If you asked your designer for something and then changed your mind then it’s not really their problem. If they live up to their agreement with you. Whether it’s verbal, or by e-mail then you have no right to the money you paid out. The customer isn’t always right. And sometimes it hurts to admit that we’re wrong.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been there. And maybe you’re wondering if a clever contract could end these woes.

What about contracts?

I believe if someone is gonna rip you off then it doesn’t matter how much paper you have them sign. With that said, only work with people you like and trust. If your gut says “don’t trust them” then back out right away.

I still think you should have some sort of recorded agreement. Whether that’s an e-mail, a letter, or a recorded phone call. The important thing is that both sides know that the agreement is recorded somewhere and both sides have copies of it before the work is started.

By all means, if you have a good lawyer, draw up a contract. You might have more insight into this aspect of business then I do.

Should you pay upfront?

I know this is a big issue, but here’s what it boils down too. He who has the money, makes the rules. So don’t let your designer bully you around.

Keep your money as long as you can. Tell your designer that you’re uncomfortable paying them upfront until you at least see some rough versions of what they can do for you.

Be careful here, because designers consider this “working on spec”. Which basically means… giving you the work before you approve it and pay. It’s pretty common for designers to get ripped off by clients who do this so most professionals will not be happy with this at all. Some will even chew you out for suggesting it.

But as much as I hate to say it. As long as you haven’t payed-up, you have the power. So do as much as you possibly can to keep control of the money even if that means paying more or leaving a non-refundable deposit with the designer. It’s better than losing your entire budget over horror-show work.

So lets wrap things up…

I’ve given you almost everything I know about hiring designers. Whether they’re graphic designers or web designers. These tips will save you a load of headaches and cash if you use them.

But not all designers are created equal. You have certified pros, weekend hacks, and everything in between. And you’re not going to get a world-class designer for ten bucks an hour. It’s like trying to find a pro-bono lawyer. But that doesn’t mean you can’t find good design at decent prices.

And I hope this article helps you do just that.

To your success,

Jason The “Better Networker”

P.S. Oh, and if you’re interested in the forum post I was talking about earlier then here’s the link. Im not sure if there’s any new replies, but there was some really good tips there too. If anything I hope this article compliments them.

http://www.betternetworker.com/forums/mlm-traffic-formula-course-f52/need-advice-with-a-sticky-situation-quick-t18449.html

P.P.S. Have you ever been ripped off by a designer? If you have a specific story you would like to share then I’d love to hear it below.

Jason on November 23rd, 2009

Wow. This is a long one. You might want to print it out if you’re hiring a designer anytime soon. Hope this helps.

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