Resources and business education for ambitious self-employed designers
Section Styles mydm mydm-purple
Nail your process, wow your clients, & grow your design business with confidence.
How many times have you heard, “no freelancers really know what they’re doing,” and “we’re all just faking it till we make it.” That’s not true. How would you like to ditch that mindset and feel confident knowing exactly what you’re doing? Let’s leave the guesswork behind and create a foundation for sustainable success rooted in your expertise, authenticity, and real results.
Section Styles full-width mydm mydm-lightblue
I’m Alyssa, a brand & web designer with a passion for helping other brand & web designers like you thrive.
Guess what: when I first started my business, I had no idea what I was doing.
I didn’t view “freelancing” as owning a business, and I didn’t realize how much autonomy I had to create a career for myself that I loved and that made a positive impact on my clients’ lives, too.
I made a lot of mistakes and learned a lot of lessons along the way. Here, I'm sharing what I’ve learned so that you, too, can approach every project with confidence, deliver work you’re proud of, and show up as the capable, trusted expert you’ve worked hard to become.
Build your sustainable & fulfilling design business and nail your projects every time.
Section Styles full-width mydm mydm-purple
Section Styles sticky anchor-bullets full-width mydm mydm-lightblue
Free Stuff
Section Styles mydm mydm-lightblue
-
Kick-Off Meeting Questionnaire
Ready to be super prepared for your client Discovery meetings? This guide includes every question to ask at the beginning of a branding project to help you feel confident going in and well-equipped for the design process after.
-
How to Price Your Design Services
An actually-helpful workbook that walks through how to price your work in a way that’s both profitable and fulfilling for you.
-
Up-Leveling Your Client-Facing Design Process
Want to provide an experience your clients' can’t stop talking about to everyone they know? Want to get rave reviews, repeat work, and raise your prices? Grab this guide to easy ways to provide premium service without doing a mountain more work for every project.
-
Authentic Cold Emailing Template and Guide
Cold emailing isn’t all bad. Emma of Saltd Studio and I put together this guide for how to write authentic cold messages that grab attention, build relationships, and help your business grow.
Shop
Section Styles mydm mydm-purple
-
Email Scripts for Sticky Client Situations
If you’ve ever felt lost navigating project hiccups and difficult client communications, now you can have a collection of email scripts right at your fingertips!
-
Access to ask me anything — any time!
Get monthly access to the Freelance Design Biz Helpline. Ask me anything about navigating challenges, client communications, design process, pricing, setting boundaries, and more.
Design Business Education
Section Styles mydm mydm-green horizontal-summary
On the Blog:
On YouTube:
Subscribe on YouTube for regular tips on smoothing out your projects and building a sustainable freelance design business.
My Trusted Tools
Section Styles mydm mydm-navy
for running a design business
I use each of these platforms personally, and recommend them to make running your business seamless!
*Those marked with an asterisk indicate an affiliate link.
-
The Contract Shop*
Lawyer-written contracts, and terms & conditions and privacy policies for your website
-
Standout Squarespace*
Squarespace web design and coding course
-
Adobe Creative Suite
Essential design software
-
Asana
For task management
-
Toggl
For time tracking
-
Xodosign
For sending legally-binding contracts
-
Loom
For screen recordings
-
Acuity Scheduling
For booking calls and meetings
-
Mailerlite*
For email newsletters
-
Wave
For invoicing and bookkeeping
-
Mile IQ
For mileage tracking
-
IWantMyName
For website domains
-
Google Workspace
For a professional email address, and for sharing content with clients through Google Drive
-
Squarespace
For building websites
-
Pantone Connect
For using the standardized Pantone color swatches in Adobe design programs — here’s why this is incredibly important
-
Notion
For organizing information and resources
-
Moo*
For printing business cards and paper products
-
NoIssue
For sustainable packaging and mailers
-
Spotify
For good tunes 🙂
-
Focal Point Coworking
For co-working spaces and conference rooms in Asheville, NC
Section Styles full-width mydm mydm-green vertical-rule
Common tricky design client situations, how to steer them back on track, and how to prevent them altogether.