No one likes to be rejected.

This post, 10 reasons we’re not the right fit for you by Jammy Digital, came up in my Twitter feed and I was not only drawn by the great illustration but how they cued on human nature to want what we can’t have.

This type of content is not only intriguing but also is a great way to explain how you work and your values in one swoop. 

After a few years in business, a creative adds experience by working with a variety of clients. Starting out usually means taking on any client willing to work with you without much experience under your belt. Which means learning a lot about yourself and what type of business you want to be.

So when it comes to creative services knowing what you don’t want to do also is a way to promote what you do well.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself:

1. Are you a creative consultant or a hired gun? Do you want to lead your client with insight and strategy or are you there to take direction them? 
2. How available do you want to be? Are you fine with being on call 24/7 or did you want a life outside of your business? 
3. How much do YOU value your skills? The more you value what you offer, the more you should be billing. When your experience and insight benefit your client, that should be translated into be paid properly for it. 
4. Who do you want to work with? Along the lines of pricing, know who has the budget for what you offer. New startups are exciting not just because it can be an opportunity to have fun with creative ideas without pre-conceived brand guidelines, but also simply creating something new for the first time. But these type of clients also come with potential drawbacks, like lack of understanding or value of what you offer and because of that limited budgets but big expectations. 
5. How much time do you need to do a job well? Every project you take on reflects on you. So you want the work to be reflective and top-notch to promote and bring in new clients. Are you willing to rush the work for the sake of doing a good job for your client?

This is a starting off point. Making an effort to keep asking these kinds of questions is how you can grow and develop your services in a way that serves you first.

As you go through these you will begin to get a sense of your values and mindset when it comes to how you want to run your business. Unless you want to become a creative virtual assistant, clarifying what you don’t want helps you to create a plan based on what kind of business you do want to create.

Written by Crystal Reynolds