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Graphic Design Business Plan

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The Metolius Agency

Executive summary executive summary is a brief introduction to your business plan. it describes your business, the problem that it solves, your target market, and financial highlights.">.

The Metolius Agency is a Eugene, Ore. based graphic design and visual communications firm.  Metolius will be concentrating on corporate identity of established companies.  The targeted customer is a small- to medium-size company that has been established for five to 15 years.  The company has done well with the business so far, but they are in need of a new corporate identity to allow them to move to the next level.

Metolius will operate out of a small office in the downtown area.  For months one through seven, Kiev Lartiste will be the sole employee.  By month seven, Kiev will be hiring an assistant to help with design work as well as administrative details.

Metolius will offer companies a fresh perspective regarding corporate identity and visual communication.  Kiev has a unique background where he has business skills and creative skills.  Most firms come solely from creative backgrounds.  While this is useful for the crafting of logos and other devices of visual communication, it lacks the intuitive business mindset that Kiev brings to the firm.  This competitive edge allows Kiev to bring both an aesthetic design focus as well as a practical, quantitative mindset that adds value to the service offerings by creating solutions that have both creative elements combined with rational, business ideas.  This is useful since the clients are more business oriented.

Metolius will grow their customer base by providing clients with well-priced projects due to reasonably low overhead, creative, practical designs that add more value than competing graphical art firms, and superior customer attention.  The Metolius Agency will reach profitability by month nine and generate $27,347 in profits by year three. 

1.1 Objectives

The objectives for the first three years of operation include:

• To develop a start-up graphics agency that will grow to profitability within year two.
• To create a company whose primary goal is to exceed customer’s expectations.
• To create a firm that provides the target customers with valuable services and provides the owner with a flexible, creative, fun, and profitable business opportunity.

1.2 Mission

The Metolius Agency’s mission is to provide the customer with creative and practical graphic design work and visual communication services.  We exist to attract and maintain customers.  When we adhere to this maxim, everything else will fall into place.  Our services will exceed the expectations of our customers.

1.3 Keys to Success

The keys to success are:

• Professionalism
• Practical insight
• Enjoyment of the experience

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Graphic Design Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Graphic Design Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 10,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their graphic design businesses. On this page, we will first give you some background information with regards to the importance of business planning. We will then go through a graphic design business plan template step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here >

What Is a Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategy for reaching them. It also includes research to support your business plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan

If you’re looking to start a graphic design business, or grow your existing graphic design business, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your graphic design business in order to improve your chances of success. Your business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for Graphic Design Businesses

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a graphic design business are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans and angel investors. With regards to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to confirm that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business.

The second most common form of funding for a graphic design business is angel investors. Angel investors are wealthy individuals who will write you a check. They will either take equity in return for their funding, or, like a bank, they will give you a loan. Venture capitalists will not fund a graphic design business. They might consider funding a graphic design business with a national presence, but never an individual location. This is because most venture capitalists are looking for millions of dollars in return when they make an investment, and an individual location could never achieve such results.

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How to write a business plan for a graphic design company.

If you want to start a new graphic design business or expand your current one, you need a business plan in the proper business plan format . Below are links to each section of your graphic design business plan template:

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of graphic design business you are operating and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have a business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of graphic design businesses.

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan. For example, give a brief overview of the graphic design industry. Discuss the type of graphic design business you are operating. Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers. Provide a snapshot of your marketing strategy. Identify the key members of your team. And offer an overview of your financial plan.  

Company Analysis

In your company analysis, you will detail the type of business you are operating.

For example, you might operate one of the following types of graphic design businesses:

• Publishing graphic design : this type of business creates eye-catching visual materials for books, magazines, and newspapers.
• Website graphic design : this type of business creates user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing website pages.
• Product graphic design : this type of graphic design studio creates illustrations and prototypes of various products.

In addition to explaining the type of graphic design business you will operate, the Company Analysis section of your business plan needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to question such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of client contracts, contract renewals, revenue generated, number of referrals, etc.
• Your legal structure. Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry analysis, you need to provide an overview of the graphic design business.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the graphic design industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating. 

Secondly, research can improve your strategy, particularly if your research identifies market trends.

The third reason for market research is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your graphic design business plan:

• How big is the graphic design industry (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential market for your graphic design business? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your graphic design business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: business owners and entrepreneurs, bloggers, marketing professionals. 

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of graphic design business you operate. Clearly, entrepreneurs would want different service options and would respond to different marketing promotions than bloggers, for example.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, include a discussion of the ages, genders, locations and income levels of the customers you seek to serve. You can find demographic information for various locations on government websites.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can understand and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.

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Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other graphic design businesses. 

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t direct competitors. This includes low-cost freelance platforms and design tools like Canva. You need to mention such competition to show you understand that not everyone who needs graphic design will utilize a graphic design company.

With regards to direct competition, you want to describe the other graphic design businesses with which you compete. Most likely, your direct competitors will be graphic design businesses in the same niche.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their businesses and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as:

• What types of clients do they serve?
• What types of graphic design services do they offer?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you provide superior services?
• Will you provide services that your competitors don’t offer?
• Will you make it easier or faster for customers to use your services?
• Will you provide better customer service?
• Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.  

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a graphic design business plan, your marketing plan should include the following:

Product : In the product section, you should reiterate the type of graphic design business that you documented in your Company Analysis. Then, detail the specific products you will be offering. For example, in addition to graphic design, will you provide unlimited revisions, a dedicated project manager, or free mock-ups?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your marketing plan, you are presenting the services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the location of your graphic design company. Most likely, your graphic design business can be operated remotely, and you can serve several geographic locations at once. Mention how your remote graphic design business offers ample opportunities. 

Promotions : The final part of your graphic design marketing plan is the promotions section. Here you will document how you will drive customers to your location(s) or website. The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Advertising in local papers and magazines
• Reaching out to local websites 
• Social media marketing
• Local radio advertising

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your graphic design business, including project management, sales and outreach, and design work.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to work with your 100th client, or when you hope to reach $100,000 in revenue. It could also be when you expect to partner with a major brand or complete your first graphic design case study.  

Management Team

To demonstrate your graphic design business’ ability to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company. 

Ideally you and/or your team members have direct experience in managing graphic design businesses. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act like mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in managing graphic design companies or successfully running small businesses.  

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statements.

Income Statement : an income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenues and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you work with 60 clients per year or 120? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets : Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your graphic design business, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a bank writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement : Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and make sure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt. For example, let’s say an advertising agency approached you with a $75,000 contract to provide graphic design services for their clients on an annual basis. Let’s further assume the contract would cost you $75,000 to fulfill in terms of increased staffing costs. Well, in most cases, you would have to pay that $75,000 now for employee salaries, software, image licensing, etc. But let’s say the company didn’t pay you for 180 days. During that 180-day period, you could run out of money.

In developing your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a graphic design business:

• Business build-out including website design and branding fees, hosting, advanced digital security and encryption, etc.
• Cost of equipment like design software, high-speed internet, project management platforms, etc
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Business insurance
• Taxes and permits
• Legal expenses

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your trademark or copyright information.  

Putting together your own business plan for a graphic design business is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will really understand the graphic design industry, your competition, and your customers. You will have developed a marketing strategy and will really understand what it takes to launch and grow your own graphic design business.  

Graphic Design Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my graphic design business plan.

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Where Can I Download a Graphic Design Business Plan PDF?

You can download our graphic design business plan PDF  here. This is a business plan template you can use in PDF format.

What is the Goal of a Business Plan's Executive Summary?

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of graphic design business you are operating and the status; for example, are you a startup, do you have a graphic design business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of graphic design businesses?

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Graphic Design Business Plan Template

JAN.30, 2018

Do you want to start graphic design business?

Are you planning to start your own company of graphics designing ? Well, if you are creative and also have the ability to bring your creativity to the table then this is definitely the right business for you.

Graphic designing is probably one of the skills which are needed in nearly every other business. If you are not convinced, just look around you and you will see graphics everywhere. Graphic designing is needed in branding, posters, print advertisement, product packaging, publications (newspapers, books, magazines etc.), handbills, billboards, websites, in short nearly all areas. This business has undoubtedly a lot of market potential and a need for continuously emerging new and innovative minds.

The biggest benefit of starting this business is that it requires the least capital investment as compared to many other businesses. You can start this business in a small office with a small team and a little inventory comprising of laptops, and a few office and stationery products. The second benefit is that this business starts yielding a profit as soon as it is launched and has the least amount of risk associated with it, provided that you are creative and plan your business effectively.

So, before you move on to starting this venture, you will have to prepare a comprehensive graphics design business plans which will establish the basis of your company’s future operations and decisions. If you are wondering how to write one then here we are providing you the business plan for a graphic designing business startup named ‘PixelCo’.

Executive Summary

2.1 the business.

PixelCo will be a bonded, insured and licensed graphic design business striving to cultivate relevant and meaningful connections between brands and people by our unparalleled visuals and graphic designing services. PixelCo will be located in the Manhattan borough of the New York City and will be owned by Angela Gori, a world-renowned Graphic Designer. Gori has been associated with some of the world’s biggest graphics designing companies and was Chief Creative Officer for the American Marketing Association, D.C. Chapter for last 6 years. She has worked with about 14 out of top Fortune 100 companies as well as various influential associations, consumer brands, educational institutions and government agencies.

A 200 square feet office has already been acquired on lease in the center of the main commercial district of the downtown Manhattan. The place was formerly used as an office for a small IT firm. Some changes and interior designing woodwork are also required and a contractor has been hired for this purpose.

2.2 Management

The success of a startup heavily depends on its staff and management so make sure to plan it before thinking about how to start your own graphic design business . Gori has always been extremely passionate to start a graphic design company of her own even from her college days, that’s she had planned everything beforehand.

The main management body of the company will comprise of sales executives, graphic artists, cartoon and animation specialists, website developers and customer representatives. The team will be led and managed by Gori herself, who is well experienced in fulfilling all business plans for graphic design needs. The staff will be hired one month before the launch of startup and will be trained by Gori.

2.3 Customers

Our target market is the corporate sector, institutions, and organizations located in Manhattan and other parts of the world because anybody from anywhere can acquire our services through our official website and can pay us via PayPal, Payoneer, or online bank transfer. We will provide all sort of graphic designing business mainly website design, logo design, advertising material design, animations design, etc. We have priced all our services in the similar ranges as of our competitors except for brand logos whose price have been set 20% less so as to encourage sales. For an express delivery of 24 hours, an additional 10% amount will be charged on all of our services.

2.4 Business Target

We aim to become the best graphic designer in the New York City within next five years of our startup. Our main business targets to be achieved as milestones over the course of next three years are as follows:

• To achieve the net profit margin of $10k per month by the end of the first year, $15k per month by the end of the second year, and $25k per month by the end of the third year
• To balance the initial cost of the startup with earned profits by the end of the first year
• To open up a second company office by the end of three years in San Francisco, and a third office by the end of five years in Los Angeles

2.5 Keys to Success

We can achieve our business targets by following these keys to success:

• Successful marketing of our services through various platforms so as to attract as maximum customers as possible
• Ultimate client satisfaction by providing high-quality work and unlimited revisions until the client is fully satisfied
• Unparalleled customer service so as to build long-term working relationships with the clients

Company Summary

3.1 company owner.

PixelCo will be owned by Angela Gori, a world-renowned Graphic Designer. After completing her Masters of Art in Graphic Designing from University of Illinois, Chicago, Gori remained associated with some of the world’s biggest graphics designing companies and was Chief Creative Officer for the American Marketing Association, D.C. Chapter for last 6 years. She has also been recognized with the prestigious FOLIO: Top Women in Media award for her achievements as a leader. So far, she has worked with almost 14 out of top Fortune 100 companies as well as various influential associations, consumer brands, educational institutions and government agencies.

3.2 Why the Business is being started

Gori pursued her passion by serving in some of the biggest graphic designing companies of the United States but soon she realized that she can establish her name in this industry only by her own setup. That’s when she decided to start graphic design business completely by herself. Now, she will have all the freedom needed to realize even the craziest of her innovative ideas.

3.3 How the Business will be started

Starting a graphic design business is very easy since it doesn’t require as much inventory as needed in other businesses. Gori has planned everything about her business including the required personnel and inventory. The company will procure following things for the startup.

• Office furniture including three filing cabinets, four work desks, couch and chairs for customer waiting area, a round table with chairs for meeting area
• Four computers with color printers, scanners, and graphic tablets
• Graphic designing and other related software including Illustrator, Freehand, Photoshop, Quark, Traffic Office Manager, Font Management Utilities, and Microsoft Project
• A small library of requisite journals and magazines
• Assorted office stationary and brochures
• A strong internet connection and office telecom systems

The financial experts have forecasted following costs for expenses, assets, investment, and bank loans for the business plan .

The detailed start-up requirements, start-up funding, start-up expenses, total assets, total funding required, total liabilities, total planned investment, total capital and liabilities as forecasted by experts, is given below:

Services for customers

PixelCo will mainly provide visual communication and graphic designing services to small startups as well as established companies. We want to compete with all leading graphic design businesses in the United States, which is why we have formed a quality assurance team that will ensure that all of our services meet our customers’ expectations. Our products and services are listed below:

• Website design and graphics
• Print media design including newspapers, magazines, and books
• Advertising and corporate branding including brochures, infographics, posters and product packaging
• Logo design and visual identity services
• Illustrations and presentations
• Animations and cartoons production

Our services can either be acquired by visiting our office in downtown Manhattan or by our official website.

Customers can contact us online where they will be assigned to one of our representatives who will record the customer order in detail. Customers can also pay us via PayPal, Payoneer, or online bank transfer.

Marketing Analysis of graphic design business

The most important component of an effective graphic design business plans is its accurate marketing analysis that’s why Gori acquired the services of marketing experts to help her through this phase. It is only after this stage that a good graphic design business plans could have been developed. After identifying the trends of graphic design market in the New York City, the marketing experts and analysts also helped her to select the best site for establishing the main office of the company.

The success or failure of a business totally depends upon its marketing strategy which can only be developed on the basis of accurate marketing analysis. There are four main steps to carry out an accurate graphic design marketing analysis which are to identify the current market trends, identify your target audience and potential customers, set out the business targets to achieve, and finally set the prices of your products and services. Marketing analysis is extremely important because the planning of many subsequent components depends on it and it also forms the basis of the business strategy of marketing for graphic designers or graphic designing companies. Therefore, it must be considered before developing the planned business model graphic .

5.1 Market Trends

Graphic design is non-verbal or visual communication. Anything that cannot be done verbally but needs to be communicated must be put into some form of design so as to send the message across. If you look around you will find yourself surrounded by graphics, the picture on your coffee mug, the magazine cover, the pack of gum on your desk, and even the typeface in a TV ad are all examples of graphic design business plans.

That’s why graphic design industry is one of the biggest and the fastest growing industries in the world. As of 2017, there were more than 335,000 graphic design companies in the world including small and large companies as well as individual graphic design freelancers. The annual revenue earned by these businesses was over $62 Billion. Moreover, this industry is one of the few industries which have seen a constant increase in revenue along with the increase in business locations with time. Similarly, graphic designing is one of the popular businesses in the United States. According to the US Bureau of Labor, the graphic design industry employed more than 280,000 people in the US as of 2008 including web designers and other print designers as well.

This growth is attributed to the increase in other businesses in the United States since all businesses require graphic design services to appear professionally to the public. Graphic designing services are required by every business for its advertisement, promotion, and marketing and as other business increases, the market for graphic design business plans also increases. After identifying these market trends, it is clearly evident that the graphic design business is always blooming and can be immensely profitable provided that you plan your business successfully.

5.2 Marketing Segmentation

Our target market is the corporate sector located in the Central Business District of the Manhattan which provides many opportunities to us. Manhattan houses more than 300,000 businesses as of 2014, including local, national and multinational businesses. On average, these businesses make millions of dollars every year and can easily spend extravagantly on their graphic designing needs for the sake of promoting their brands.

In order to develop a good marketing strategy, it is crucial to analyze the market segmentation. A successful and efficient marketing strategy can only be developed after we completely know our potential customers. Our experts have identified the following type of target audience which can become our future consumers:

The detailed marketing segmentation of our target audience is as follows:

5.2.1 Corporate Sector:

The biggest consumer of our services will be the corporate sector located in the Downtown Manhattan and in various parts of the world. There are hundreds of local, national and multinational businesses and companies located within 15 km radius of our office including product manufacturers and distributors, real estate owners, developers, and contractors, research and development companies, banks and insurance companies, hotels, restaurants and food companies, IT and software development firms, branding and advertising agencies.

These companies and businesses require the services of graphic designers for fulfilling their visual communicative needs such as to create/update their brand logos and create/update the graphics on their websites or social media pages. These companies need graphic designers for developing an instant connection between their target audience and their products/services, and also for producing visual aids and informative images (e.g. menu for a restaurant, infographics) that help the customers in communication and various other purposes. Utilizing an appropriate graphic design can improve every aspect of a business and can positively impact clients, vendors, and employees.

Considering the need of graphic designing for these businesses and their annual average income, our experts have forecasted this target group to contribute the biggest portion of our revenue. Hence our marketing strategy will be specifically tailored to attract this customer group.

5.2.2 Institutions & Organizations:

Our second target group comprises of various institutions and organizations located in Manhattan including government and public-sector organizations, schools, colleges and universities, political parties, religious and sports organizations, and non-profit organizations. These organizations also need graphic design services for promoting their messages and other purposes.

5.2.3 Print & Digital Media:

Our third target group consists of print and digital media companies located in Manhattan. These companies include but are not limited to television studios, video production companies, publication companies (for graphics designing of newspapers, magazines, and books). This group, due to its specific nature, requires a lot of graphic designing work and will thus become the second biggest consumer of our services. The detailed market analysis of our potential customers is given in the following table:

5.3 Business Target

Our target is to balance the initial cost of startup within the first year of our launch and to become the best graphic designer of the New York City within next five years of our startup.

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5.4 Product Pricing

Product and service pricing is one of the most important factors in deciding the strategy for an event planning business. After considering the market demands, we have priced all our services in the similar ranges as of our competitors except for brand logos whose price have been set 20% less so as to encourage sales. The reason behind our pricing policy is to achieve the minimum attractive rate of return which would not be possible in case of offering our services at low prices. Various packages are priced according to the delivery time and number of revisions. For an express delivery of 24 hours, an additional 10% amount will be charged on all of our services.

After identifying the graphic designer demographics , market trends, market demand, and the potential customers of the startup, the next step is to define an effective strategy to target graphic design customers. A successful strategy can only be developed after setting specific marketing goals, defining milestones to achieve those goals, carrying out a competitive analysis to know what is missing in your current competitors, and finally develop the strategy for attracting your potential customers.

6.1 Marketing Goals

• Website Traffic & Conversions: Our goal would be to achieve a 20% increase in website traffic each month and to get at least an 80% conversion rate, i.e. to turn 80% of our website visitors into our customers.
• Engagement Rate & Social Media Following: Engagement rates indicate the frequency at which people interact with your posts. Our goal would be to increase engagement rates and our social media following so as to decrease the response time to customers.
• Brand Awareness & Recognition: A business’s reputation builds over time. Our goal will be to get featured in the local news or on a certain website by a popular blogger within first 3 months of our launch.
• Google Search Ranking: Google search rankings is one of the most important factors in deciding the success of a business, especially a startup that’s why we will play special emphasis on it. Our goal would be to rank on the first page of Google within 3 months of our launch.

6.2 Milestones

The important milestones to achieve our marketing as well as business goals are given in the following Gantt Chart.

6.3 Competitive Analysis

The graphic design business plans is undoubtedly one of the most competitive industries of the United States. With the increasing number of graphic design startups and freelancers, the competition is getting stiffer by the day. One has to be highly creative and come up with innovative designs and concepts so as to survive and grow in this industry. Our competitive advantage lies in the power and dedication of our team. We have a team of creative and highly proficient graphic designers, a team with excellent qualifications and experience various niche areas in the graphic design industry. Our second biggest competitive advantage will be the leadership of Gori since she is a world-renowned graphic designer and has worked with 14 out of top Fortune 100 companies.

6.4 Sales Strategy

After carrying out a detailed analysis, our experts came up with the following brilliant ideas to advertise and sell ourselves.

• We will advertise our business in relevant business magazines, newspapers, TV stations, and social media.
• We will introduce our company to corporate organizations and key stakeholders by sending introductory letters alongside our brochures.
• We will offer a 25% discount on our services for the first three months of our launch.
• We will offer a 40% discount on all of our services on Client’s referral.

6.5 Sales Forecast

Considering the quality of our services and our exceptional marketing strategy, our sales pattern is expected to increase with years. By analyzing our market segmentation strategy, our experts have forecasted the following sales on a yearly basis which are summarized in the column charts.

The detailed information about sales forecast, total unit sales, total sales is given in the following table:

6.5.1 Sales Monthly

6.5.2 Sales Yearly

With the advent of the internet, it has become very easy for a graphic design company to work for those clients who are located in any other part of the world. That’s why most of the graphic design companies located in the United States have their biggest clients in other countries of the world. This trend is somewhat unique to the graphic design industry and is probably one of the reasons for its rapid growth and expansion. Even any of you can start your own graphic design business either through a freelancing website or by creating your own website.

7.1 Website Marketing Strategy:

The international graphic design business is only possible through a well-developed website. A website is just like a digital platform where the clients and service providers can interact, make contracts and even send/receive payments. In addition to that, it is an established fact that a well-ranked website on Google directly or indirectly leads to increased sales. That’s why it is very important to develop an attractive website for a graphic designing business plans.

7.2 Website Development:

Gori has a team of website developers, led by Anna Rick, who would be responsible for developing and maintaining the official website of PixelCo. Anna would also ensure that our website remains on the first page of Google because you don’t exist if you are not ranked on the first page of Google. Since this task will be done by our team so no additional cost will be incurred in the startup.

Personnel plan

Personnel plan, like all other plans, is an important component of effective d esign business plans so it must be planned before you even think about how to market your graphic design business . Its importance is due to the fact that success of any business significantly depends upon its employees. It is never easy to estimate the number and type of staff needed for a company before it is even launched therefore it is advisable to seek the help of HR experts to get through this phase. Gori acquired the services of experts to help her develop the following personnel plan for her company.

8.1 Company Staff

Gori will act as the General Manager of the company and will initially hire following people before she moves to start a graphic design business :

• 1 Accountant to maintain financial and other records
• 4 Sales Executives responsible for marketing and discovering new ventures
• 10 Graphic Artists for designing logos, infographics, brochures, and other graphics
• 2 Cartoon and Animation Specialists for designing animation for various purposes
• 4 Website Developers led by Anna for graphical work pertaining to websites
• 4 Customer Representatives to interact with customers and record their orders
• 1 Front Desk Officer to act as a receptionist
• 1 Security Officer

We will ensure that only qualified, creative, hardworking, customer-centric are hired and they are always ready to work in order to help us build a prosperous business benefitting all stakeholders (owner, workforce as well as customers). To ensure the best quality service, all employees will be selected through vigorous testing and will be trained for a month before starting their jobs.

8.2 Average Salary of Employees

The following table shows the data about employees and their salaries for next three years. The salaries of the employees for the second and third year are estimated by our experts on the basis of our forecasted expansion. The salaries will show a deviation if the company expands more or less than the forecasted growth rate.

Financial Plan

After deciding the strategy and personnel plan of the company, the next step is to develop a detailed map about the financial projections covering all aspects of the company. Just like the planning of other aspects, you must prepare a financial plan before you start thinking about how to start graphic design business . The financial plan should craft a detailed map about the cost of startup, inventory, payroll, equipment, rent, utilities and how these costs will be covered by the earned profits. So, before starting a graphic design business , make sure to carry out a detailed profit and loss analysis. The company financial plan outlines the development of the company over the next three years and is specifically developed to achieve both the company’s short-term and long-term objectives.

9.1 Important Assumptions

The company’s financial projections are forecasted on the basis of following assumptions. These assumptions are quite conservative and are also expected to show deviation but to a limited level such that the company’s major financial strategy will not be affected.

9.2 Brake-even Analysis

The following graph shows the company’s Brake-even Analysis.

9.3 Projected Profit and Loss

The following charts show the company’s expected Profit and Loss situation on the monthly and yearly basis.

9.3.1 Profit Monthly

The following graph shows the monthly profit, as forecasted by the company’s financial experts.

9.3.2 Profit Yearly

The following graph shows the yearly profit, as forecasted by the company’s financial experts.

9.3.3 Gross Margin Monthly

The following graph shows the monthly gross margin, as forecasted by the company’s financial experts.

9.3.4 Gross Margin Yearly

The following graph shows the yearly gross margin, as forecasted by the company’s financial experts.

The following table shows detailed information about profit and loss, and total cost of sales.

9.4 Projected Cash Flow

The following column diagram shows the projected cash flow.

9.5 Projected Balance Sheet

The following table shows detailed data about pro forma cash flow, subtotal cash from operations, subtotal cash received, sub-total spent on operations, subtotal cash spent. The following projected balance sheet shows data about total current assets, total long-term assets, total assets, subtotal current liabilities, total liabilities, total capital, total liabilities and capital.

9.6 Business Ratios

The following table shows data about business ratios, ratio analysis, total assets, net worth.

Download Graphic Design Business Plan Sample in pdf

Professional OGS capital writers specialized also in themes such as cybersecurity business plan , internet business plan , dating website business , online retail store business plan , online store business plan , business plan for a video game company and etc.

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Graphic Design Business Plan [Sample Template]

By: Author Tony Martins Ajaero

Home » Business Plans » Arts & Craft Sector

Are you about starting a graphic design business ? If YES, here’s a complete sample graphic design business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE to raise money .

Look around you and you will see graphics all around you; from the television, to the internet and then to the books. Truth remains that graphics will continue to get all the attention it gets now because of the creativity involved in the profession.

Those who are in the trade know that one of the things that make one stand out is the level of creativity one is able to bring to the table.

The graphics industry is vastly becoming a saturated one as more and more people are beginning to take to the trade.  This is because of the profitability that it assures. If you are a graphic designer, there is no limit to the amount you can make as a professional- especially if you know how to generate doable business ideas.

The truth is that many talented graphic designers (graphic artist) gets stranded because they lack innovative ideas to transform their talents (skills) into a money making venture.

The fact that you are a graphic designer does not in any way restrict you to a certain way of doing business. First and foremost, you must have mastered the skill, and then you should look outside the box. Looking outside the box could mean that you should also acquire complementary skills like video editing and video coverage skills et al.

The bottom line is that if you want to make more money as a graphic designer, then you should be ready to go out of your way to develop innovative business ideas that is in sync with your skills; ideas that won’t take you too far from your core area of business. This is also  where having a detailed business plan comes in.

A Sample Graphic Design Business Plan Template

1. industry overview.

The graphics design business has really opened up over the years and this can be especially attributed to the advent of the internet. A whole lot of things have really caused the business to really boom and in turn attract people to start the trade as well.

The advent of personal computers no doubt gave leverage to the graphic design industry, it is now easier for graphics designer to carry out their jobs from the comfort of their homes with ease and accuracy in terms of designs specifications and color combinations et al. Graphic design can be categorized under the visual and communication arts industry.

Everyone will quite agree that the graphic design industry has come to stay and of course it is one industry that plays key roles- not only in the business world, but also in nearly all the aspects of what goes around in our world today. For instance; organizations with top notch logos would have hired the services of a graphic artist.

As a matter of fact, the services of graphic artists are needed in branding, print advertisement, the publication industry (books, magazines and newspapers et al), handbills, posters, billboards, websites, product packaging and in other areas.

One of the good things about this business remains the fact that you can start by acquiring a skill in the business and then begin to horn your creativity skills in the industry. There are a thousand and one schools both offline and on line that offers trainings. All that is therefore needed to be done is to be really attentive so that one can get all the rudiments of the art right.

Over the years, the graphic design industry has experienced tremendous growth; from the use of crayons, colors, paints, markers and pencil, to the use of desktop publishing and graphic art software. Beyond every reasonable doubt, a graphic designer cannot be effective and efficient in this dispensation without the use of computers and computer software applications; computer enhanced creative process for graphic artists.

The graphic design industry is undeniably a very large industry and pretty much active in all the parts of the world. Statistics has it that in the united states of America alone, there are 138,035 registered graphic design companies, employing about 172,494 and the industry rakes in about $11bn annually.

The industry is indeed a highly competitive industry, which is why no graphic design company can boast of generating more than 5 percent of the total revenue in the industry.

As a matter of fact, IBIS World has stated that the two biggest graphic design companies have a combined market share of only 5.2 percent. Statistics also has it that 93.2 percent of players in the graphic design industry employ maximum of 10 full – time workers per time.

Over and above, the graphic design industry is very open to aspiring entrepreneurs who have the required skills to start his or her own graphic design business and of course make good money from the industry. As a matter of fact, it was projected that over the next five years, new technology will continue to emerge that will make it easier for more players to come into the industry hence increasing the competition in the industry.

2. Executive Summary

Louis & Levi Graphic Design Studio Is a U.S based but world class graphics design company. We do not have plans to handle things with levity, which is why we have really made it a point of mandate to do all that we are able to We have been able to lock down a standard and well – positioned office facility in a busy business district in Baltimore, the largest city in Maryland.

We are a graphic design company that is set to compete in the highly competitive graphic design industry not only in the United States market, but also in the global market. Louis & Levi Graphic Design Studio will be involved in the all aspect of graphic design services- such as Web Design, Print Media Design, Advertising and Corporate Branding, Graphic and Commercial art services, Corporate Identification design services (logos), Cartoons and Animations.

Our business goal is to become one of the leading graphic design companies in the United States and we will make sure that every graphic design jobs that leaves our studio can favorable compete with the best in the industry.

We believe that having the best of employees also have a ways of helping to boost a business. This is one of the reasons why our workers will be selected from a pool of talented and highly creative graphic artists in and around Baltimore and also from any part of the world as the business grows.

We will make sure that we take all the members of our workforce through the required trainings that will position them to meet the expectation of the company and to compete with leading graphic designers in the United States and throughout the globe.

We have put plans in place to build a state of the art graphics studio in Baltimore – Maryland. Our studio will be well equipped and we will ensure that we follow the trend in the industry. At Louis & Levi Graphic Design Studio, our client’s best interest come first, and everything we do will be guided by our values and professional ethics.

We will ensure that we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards by meeting our client’s needs precisely and completely. We will cultivate a working environment that provides a human, sustainable approach to earning a living, and living in our world, for our partners, employees and for our clients.

Louis & Levi Graphic Design Studio is founded by Louis Clinton and his friend and business partner for many years Levi Bradford. They have a combine experience in corporate branding and advertising, cartoon and animations, graphic and commercial art services and print media design.

3. Our Products and Services

Louis & Levi Graphic Design Studio was established with the aim of maximizing profits in the graphic design industry. We want to compete favorably with the leading graphics design companies in the United States, which is why we have but in place a competent quality assurance team that will ensure that all our graphic designs and services meet and even surpass our customers’ expectations.

We will work hard to ensure that Louis & Levi Graphic Design Studio is not just accepted nationally in the United States of America, but also in other parts of the world. Our products and services are listed below;

• Print Media Design
• Advertising and Corporate Branding
• Graphic and Commercial art services
• Corporate Identification design services
• Creating Illustrations
• Cartoon and Animations (3D et al) Production

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

• Our vision is to establish a standard graphic design studio whose services and brand will not only be accepted in the United States of America, but also in other parts of the world.
• We are poised to solve the graphics problems around town.
• Our mission is to provide professional and highly creative graphic design and related services that will assist businesses, individuals and non-profit organizations in promoting their brands.
• We want to build a graphic design company that can favorably compete with other leading brands in the industry.

Our Business Structure

At Louis and Levi, we have structured our business so well so that all and sundry can benefits from Louis & Levi Graphic Design Studio. Our business is a graphic design company that intends to   start small in Baltimore, but hope to grow big in order to compete favorably with leading graphic design studios in the industry both in the United States and on a global stage.

We are aware of the importance of building a solid business structure that can support the picture of the kind of world class business we want to own. This is why we are committed to only hire the best hands within our area of operations.

At Louis & Levi Graphic Design Studio, we will ensure that we hire people that are qualified, hardworking, creative, customer centric and are ready to work to help us build a prosperous business that will benefit all the stake holders (the owners, workforce, and customers).

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our senior management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of five years or more as agreed by the board of trustees of the company. In view of the above, we have decided to hire qualified and competent hands to occupy the following positions;

• Chief Executive Officer
• Creative Director

Human Resources and Admin Manager

• Sales and Marketing Executive
• Graphic Artist
• Cartoon and Animation Specialist

Client Service Executive

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Executive Officer – CEO:

• Increases management’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results; developing incentives; developing a climate for offering information and opinions; providing educational opportunities.
• Responsible for providing direction for the business
• Creating, communicating, and implementing the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
• Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
• Evaluates the success of the organization

Creative Director:

• Serves as project manager of the organization; works directly with employees
• Responsible for designing concepts for advertisements and other promotional needs for client (s)
• In charge of copy writing and laying out chronological advertisement plans
• Develops strategic plan by studying technological and financial opportunities; presenting assumptions; recommending objectives.
• Accomplishes subsidiary objectives by establishing plans, budgets, and results measurements; allocating resources; reviewing progress; making mid-course corrections.
• Coordinates efforts by establishing procurement, production, marketing, field, and technical services policies and practices; coordinating actions with corporate staff.
• Builds company image by collaborating with customers, government, community organizations, and employees; enforcing ethical business practices.
• Maintains quality service by establishing and enforcing organization standards.
• Maintains professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops; reviewing professional publications; establishing personal networks; benchmarking state-of-the-art practices; participating in professional societies.
• Make certain that production and development department perform efficiently, coordinate employee efforts, and facilitate communications between management and graphic designer
• Ensures that the organization work in line with international best practices.
• Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the organization
• Defining job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
• Carries out staff induction for new team members
• Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
• Responsible for arranging travel, meetings and appointments
• Oversee the smooth running of the daily office and factory activities.
• Makes sure that the smooth and daily cleaning is never compromised.

Sales and Marketing Manager

• Manage external research and coordinate all the internal sources of information to retain the organizations’ best customers and attract new ones
• Models demographic information and analyze the volumes of transactional data generated by customer
• Identifies development opportunities; follows up on development leads and contacts; participates in the structuring and financing of projects; assures the completion of development projects.
• Writes winning proposal documents, negotiate fees and rates in line with organizations’ policy
• Responsible for handling business research, market surveys and feasibility studies for clients
• Responsible for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s needs, and communicate with clients
• Develops, executes and evaluates new plans for expanding increase sales
• Creates new markets cum businesses for the organization
• Empowers and motivates the sales team to meet and surpass agreed targets
• Attends really warmly to the clients that come to the office.

Accountant / Cashier:

• Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
• Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports; analyzes financial feasibility for the most complex proposed projects; conducts market research to forecast trends and business conditions.
• Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
• Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting for one or more properties.
• Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
• Responsible for administering payrolls
• Ensuring compliance with taxation legislation
• Handles all financial transactions for Pick ‘a’ Brain™ Finishing School
• Serves as internal auditor for Pick ‘a’ Brain™ Finishing School

Graphic Designers (2)

• Liaises with clients to determine their requirement and budget
• Responsible for developing concepts, graphics and layouts for product illustrations, company logos, and websites
• Responsible for managing client proposals from typesetting through to design, print and production
• Responsible for reviewing final layout and suggesting improvement if necessary
• Responsible for working with clients, briefing and advising them with regards to design style, format, print production and timescales et al
• Determine size and arrangement of illustrative material and copy, and font style and size
• Responsible for liaising with external printers on a regular basis to ensure deadlines are met and material is printed to the highest quality
• Responsible for preparing drafts or material based on an agreement brief.
• Researches and advice the organization on style, genre and other trendy info as it relates to graphic design.

Cartoon and Animator Specialist (2)

• Responsible for designing models, background, sets, characters, objects and the animation environment
• Works creatively to produce original and aesthetically pleasing designs and solutions
• Uses specialist computer software applications such as Maya, Lightwave, Softimage, Cinema 4D, Flash and After Effects
• Presents designs to customers for evaluation
• Liaises and working effectively with other design and production staff
• Welcomes students and visitors by greeting them in person or on the telephone; answering or directing inquiries.
• Ensures that all contacts with clients (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) provides the client with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
• Through interaction with students on the phone, uses every opportunity to build client’s interest in the company’s products and services
• Manages administrative duties assigned by the school coordinator in an effective and timely manner
• Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the schools’ products, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to students when they make enquiries

6. SWOT Analysis

Louis & Levi Graphic Design Studio engaged the services of a core professional in the area of business consulting and structuring to assist our organization in building a well – structured graphic design business that can favorably compete in the highly competitive graphic design industry in the United States and the world at large.

Part of what the team of business consultant did was to work with the management of our organization in conducting a SWOT analysis for Louis & Levi Graphic Design Studio. We believe it was really expedient to have only professionals handle this aspect and so we got the best of results.

Here is a summary from the result of the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of Louis & Levi Graphic Design Studio;

Our core strength lies in the power of our team; our workforce. We have a team of creative and highly proficient graphic designers, a team with excellent qualifications and experience various niche areas in the graphic design industry.

Aside from the synergy that exists in our carefully selected graphic artists our designs and services will be guided by best practices in the industry. We know that with a solid area of strength, we will be able to attract loads of people, who will patronize us.

As a new graphic design company in Baltimore – Maryland, it might take some time for our organization to break into the market and gain acceptance especially from top profile clients in the already saturated and highly competitive graphic design industry; that is perhaps our major weakness. Another weakness is that we may not have the required cash to promote our business the way we would want to.

• Opportunities:

No doubt, the opportunities in the graphic design industry is massive considering the number of individuals and corporate organizations whose businesses depends on the services of graphic artist. As a graphic design company, we are ready to take advantage of any opportunity that is available in the industry.

Therefore, for us to harness what we have, we have to be all hard working so that at the end of the day after putting our best, we will get what we deserve.

Just like any other business, one of the major threats that we are likely going to face is economic downturn. It is a fact that economic downturn affects purchasing / spending power. Another threat that may likely confront us is the arrival of a new graphic design company in same location where our target market exist and who may want to adopt same Business model like us.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

• Market Trends

The trend in the graphic design industry is that the target market keeps expanding, people and organizations are now seeing the need for them to engage the services of graphic designers either in branding or packaging their products and services or in helping them create animations that will help them communicate their brand to a wide range of clients.

For example; politicians no longer rely on graphic artists to design and produce colorful campaign handbills, posters, billboards and other print related campaign materials but also to help them produce animations and cartoons that will help them effectively communicate their message.

Another common trend in the graphic design industry is that, most graphic design firms no longer settle for clients within the location where there physical office is located but also from any part of the world. The truth is that with the advent of the internet, it is now easier for a graphic design company or a graphic designer to work for clients in any part of the world.

A graphic design company can be located in the United States of America and have their biggest client in United Arab Emirates. Many thanks to the power of the internet. Lastly, the graphic design industry will continue to evolve due to the advancement of computer technology and software applications designs et al.

8. Our Target Market

Before starting our graphic design business, we are certain that there is a wide range of both corporate and individual clients who cannot successfully run their businesses without the services of graphic designers. As a matter of fact, without graphic designers branding, publications and animation industry will struggle.

In view of that, we have created strategies that will enable us reach out to various corporate organizations and individual who we know can’t afford to do without our services.

We have conducted our market research and survey and we will ensure that all our graphic design services is well accepted in the marketplace. Below is a list of the people and organizations that we have specifically market our products and services to;

• Banks, Insurance Companies and other related Financial Institutions
• Blue Chips Companies
• Corporate Organizations
• Manufacturers and Distributors
• Real Estate Owners, Developers, and Contractors
• Research and Development Companies
• The Government (Public Sector)
• Schools (High Schools, Colleges and Universities)
• Sport Organizations
• Religious Organizations
• Political Parties
• Television Stations
• Printing Press (Publishing Houses) and Authors
• Branding and Advertising agencies
• Entrepreneurs and Start – Ups

Our Competitive Advantage

No doubt the competition in the graphic design industry is getting stiffer by the day, you have to be highly creative and come up with appealing designs and concepts in order to survive in the industry. The graphic design industry is indeed a very prolific and at the same time a highly competitive industry.

Clients will only hire your services if they know that they can get nothing but the best from you. We are quite aware that to be highly competitive in the graphic design industry means that you are not only expected to be able to deliver consistent and highly creative designs, but you must be able to meet set targets.

No one would want to continue to hire your services if don’t always meet up with the target date of completion of projects.

Our competitive advantage lies in the power of our team; our workforce. We have a team of creative and highly proficient graphic designers, a team with excellent qualifications and experience various niche areas in the graphic design industry.

Aside from the synergy that exists in our carefully selected graphic artists our designs and services will be guided by best practices in the industry.

Lastly, all our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category (startups graphic design businesses in the United States) in the industry. It will enable them to be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our business aims and objectives.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

Sources of Income

Louis & Levi Graphic Design Studio is established with the aim of maximizing profits in the graphic design industry and we are going to go all the way to ensure that we do all it takes to meet and surpass the expectations of all our clients.

This is why one of the things that we have done is to identify the areas that we will source out startup funds from. Louis & Levi Graphic Design Studio will generate income by offering the following graphic design related services;

10. Sales Forecast

Having good sales is one of the driving forces of our graphics designing business. This is why we are always taking time to do a proper forecast. We know that constantly doing this will help us sit up in the aspects where we may be found wanting.

One thing is certain; there would always be corporate organization and individual who would need the services of graphic design firms.

We are well positioned to take on the available market in graphic design industry and we are quite optimistic that we will meet our set target of generating enough income / profits from the first six month of operations and grow our graphic design company to enviable heights.

We have been able to critically examine the graphic design market and we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast. The sales projection is based on information gathered on the field and some assumptions that are peculiar to similar startups in Baltimore – Maryland.

Below is the sales projection for Louis & Levi Graphic Design Studio, it is based on the location of our business and of course the wide range of our services and target market;

• First Year-: $100,000
• Second Year-: $300,000
• Third Year-: $7500, 000

N.B: This projection is done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and there won’t be any major competitor offering same graphic services as we do within same location. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.

• Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

We are mindful of the fact that there is stiffer competition in the graphic design industry; hence we have been able to hire some of the best marketing experts to handle our sales and marketing.

Our sales and marketing team will be recruited based on their vast experiences in the graphic design industry and they will be trained on a regular basis so as to be well equipped to meet their targets and the overall business goal of Louis & Levi Graphic Design Studio.

Our goal is to grow Louis & Levi Graphic Design Studio and to become one of the top 10 graphic design studios in the United States of America which is why we have mapped out strategy that will help us take advantage of the available market and grow to become a major force to reckon with not only in the United States of America but also in other parts of the world.

Louis & Levi Graphic Design Studio are set to make use of the following marketing and sales strategies to attract clients;

• Introduce our graphic design company by sending introductory letters alongside our brochure to corporate organizations, religious organizations and key stake holders.
• Promptness in bidding for graphic design contracts from the government and other cooperate organizations
• Advertise our business in relevant business magazines, newspapers, TV stations, and radio station.
• List our business on yellow pages ads (local directories)
• Attend relevant international and local expos, seminars, and business fairs et al
• Create different packages for different category of clients in order to work with their budgets and still deliver excellent design and services
• Leverage on the internet to promote our business
• Engage direct marketing approach
• Encourage word of mouth marketing from loyal and satisfied clients
• Offer Probono services to people who need graphics designing services.
• Hold free graphics training for people who might   want to learn.

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

We have been able to work with our in house brand and publicity consultants to help us map out publicity and advertising strategies that will help us walk our way into the heart of our target market.

We are set to become the number one choice for both corporate clients and individual clients in the whole of the United States and beyond which is why we have made provisions for effective publicity and advertisement of our graphic design company. Below are the platforms we intend to leverage on to promote and advertise Louis & Levi Graphic Design Studio;

• Place adverts on both print (newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms
• Sponsor relevant community based events / programs
• Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook , twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote our services
• Install our BillBoards on strategic locations all around Baltimore – Maryland.
• Engage in road show from time to time in targeted neighborhoods
• Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas
• Contact corporate organizations by calling them up and informing them of Louis & Levi Graphic Design Studio and the services we offer
• List our graphic design company in local directories / yellow pages
• Advertise our graphic design company in our official website and employ strategies that will help us pull traffic to the site.
• Ensure that all our staff members wear our branded shirts and all our vehicles are well branded with our company logo et al.

12. Our Pricing Strategy

At Louis & Levi Graphic Design Studio we will keep the prices of our services below the average market rate for all of our customers by keeping our overhead low and by collecting payment in advance from corporate organizations who would hire our services. In addition, we will also offer special discounted rates to all our customers at regular intervals.

It is vital we do this so that we do not scare people away with our pricing. We are aware that there are some one-off jobs or government contracts which are always lucrative; we will ensure that we abide by the pricing model that is expected from contractors or organizations that bid for such contracts.

• Payment Options

At Louis & Levi Graphic Design Studio, our payment policy will be all inclusive because we are quite aware that different people prefer different payment options as it suits them. Here are the payment options that we will make available to our clients;

• Payment by via bank transfer
• Payment via online bank transfer
• Payment via check
• Payment via bank draft
• Payment via mobile money
• Payment with cash

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will help us achieve our plans with little or no itches.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

In setting up any business, the amount or cost will depend on the approach and scale you want to undertake. If you intend to go big by renting a place, then you would need a good amount of capital as you would need to ensure that your employees are well taken care of, and that your facility is conducive enough for workers to be creative and productive.

This means that the start-up can either be low or high depending on your goals, vision and aspirations for your business. The materials and equipment that will be used are nearly the same cost everywhere, and any difference in prices would be minimal and can be overlooked.

As for the detailed cost analysis for starting a graphic design company; it might differ in other countries due to the value of their money. However, this is what it would cost us to setup Louis & Levi Graphic Design Studio in the United of America;

• Business incorporation fees in the United States of America will cost – $750.
• The budget for Liability insurance, permits and license will cost – $3,500
• Acquiring an office space or warehouse that will accommodate the number of employees for at least 6 months (Re – Construction of the facility inclusive to fit into the design of our graphic studio) will cost – $150,000.
• Equipping the office (computers, printers, projectors, markers, servers / internet facility, furniture, telephones, filing cabinets, and electronics) will cost – $10,000
• Amount required to purchase the needed software applications – $ 3,500
• Launching an official Website will cost – $500
• Amount need to pay bills and staff members for at least 2 to 3 months – $70,000
• Additional Expenditure such as Business cards, Signage, Adverts and Promotions will cost – $5,000

Going by the report from the market research and feasibility studies conducted, we will need about two hundred and fifty thousand (250,000) U.S. dollars to successfully set – up a medium scale but standard graphic design company firm in the United States of America.

Generating Funding / Startup Capital for Louis & Levi Graphic Design Studio

Louis & Levi Graphic Design Studio is a business that will be owned by Louis Clinton and his friend and business partner for many years Levi Bradford. They are the sole financial of the business which is why they decided to restrict the sourcing of the start – up capital for the business to just three major sources. These are the areas we intend generating our start – up capital;

• Generate part of the start – up capital from personal savings and sale of his stocks
• Generate part of the start – up capital from friends and other extended family members
• Generate a larger chunk of the startup capital from the bank (loan facility).

N.B: We have been able to generate about $100,000 (Personal savings $85,000 and soft loan from family members $15,000) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $150,000 from our bank. All the papers and document has been duly signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

It is easier for businesses to survive when they have steady flow of business deals / customers patronizing their products and services. We are aware of this which is why we have decided to develop a various mobile apps for different clients and for different purposes.

We will also work with corporate clients to help them develop customized mobile apps for their business. We know that if we continue to come up with highly creative and unique graphic designs and excellent job delivery for both businesses and individual, there will be steady flow of income for the organization.

Our key sustainability and expansion strategy is to ensure that we only hire creative, competent and selfless graphic artists and cartoon and animation specialist, create a conducive working environment and employee benefits for our staff members.

In the nearest future, we will give our most dedicated and prolific employees the opportunity to be part owner of the business. We know that if we implement our business strategies, we will achieve our business goals and objectives in record time.

Check List / Milestone

• Business Name Availability Check:>Completed
• Business Incorporation: Completed
• Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts various banks in the United States: Completed
• Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
• Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
• Securing a standard office facility for our studio: Completed
• Application for business license and permit: Completed
• Purchase of All form of Insurance for the Business: Completed
• Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
• Generating part of the start – up capital from the founders: Completed
• Writing of Business Plan: Completed
• Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
• Drafting of Contract Documents: In Progress
• Design of Logo for the business: Completed
• Secure trademark for our products: In Progress
• Graphic Designs and Printing of Packaging Marketing / Promotional Materials: Completed
• Recruitment of employees: In Progress
• Purchase of the Needed furniture, office equipment, software applications, electronic appliances and facility facelift: In progress
• Creating Official Website for the business: In Progress
• Creating Awareness for the business: In Progress
• Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement: In Progress
• Establishing business relationship with vendors and key players in various industries: In Progress

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Freelance Graphic Designer Business Plan: Creative Spark (2023 Fictional Example)

I. Executive Summary

Creative Spark is a freelance graphic design business that offers a comprehensive range of design services including branding, logo design, digital marketing visuals, and print designs. The business is initiated and operated by a seasoned graphic designer with a passion for transforming ideas into compelling visuals.

II. Market Research and Analysis

Industry overview.

The graphic design industry in the US has shown steady growth over the past five years with a projected annual growth of 3.5% to reach $15 billion in 2021, according to IBISWorld. The pandemic has escalated the demand for online visual content, opening new opportunities for graphic designers.

Market Trends

The growing number of businesses looking to enhance their online presence and the increasing importance of visual content in digital marketing are key factors driving the growth of the graphic design industry.

Competitor Analysis

While there is significant competition in the freelance graphic design market, Creative Spark stands out by providing personalized attention, high-quality designs, and quick turnaround times.

III. Business Model & Pricing Strategy

Business model.

Creative Spark operates on a project-based model, generating revenue through various graphic design assignments sourced from multiple clients.

Pricing Strategy

The pricing varies depending on the complexity and scope of each project. A standard rate card is maintained:

• Logo Design: $300 - $500
• Branding Package: $800 - $1,200
• Digital Marketing Visuals: $100 - $300 per image
• Print Designs: $200 - $400 per design

IV. Service Offerings

Creative Spark offers an array of graphic design services ranging from logo design and branding packages to digital marketing visuals and print designs.

V. Target Customers

Creative Spark targets small and medium businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs who need professional graphic design services to build and enhance their brand image.

VI. Marketing Strategy

Seo strategy.

Creative Spark will focus on targeting high-traffic keywords like "freelance graphic designer," "graphic design services," and "professional logo design." Given the industry average, a 2% conversion rate can be expected from approximately 4,000 monthly site visitors, resulting in 80 potential project inquiries per month.

Social Media Presence

A strong online presence will be maintained across platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, and Behance, showcasing the portfolio, sharing design tips, and engaging with the community. A sample content calendar could include:

• Monday: Showcase of recent design work
• Wednesday: Graphic design tips or tutorials
• Friday: Behind-the-scenes look at the design process
• Sunday: Inspirational design quotes

VII. Financial Forecasts

Revenue projections.

Assuming an average of 10 projects per month at an average cost of $400 per project, the estimated first-year revenue stands at around $48,000.

Expense Projections

The initial startup costs, including a high-performance computer, design software subscriptions, and initial marketing expenses, are estimated to be around $2,500. The recurring monthly expenses, including software subscriptions, marketing, and miscellaneous costs, are expected to be around $200.

VIII. Legal & Licenses

As a graphic design business, Creative Spark needs to ensure the legal use of fonts, images, and other design elements, in addition to a business license and professional liability insurance.

IX. Operations & Processes

Creative Spark operates from a home office, communicating with clients via email, phone, and video conferencing. All designs are delivered electronically, allowing the business to operate efficiently without the need for physical office space.

X. Conclusion

With a wide range of service offerings, a well-defined target market, robust marketing strategies, and a lean operational model, Creative Spark is well-positioned to succeed in the burgeoning market of graphic design.

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