AMBITIOUS GRAPHIC DESIGNERS...
Use the Boston Matrix to Restore Your Work Life Balance
Having the right blend of products will change your life forever. Most businesses rely too much on one type of product and in the long term suffer because of this: Do you have the right blend?
Stars
A Star product is what typical graphic design businesses sell all the time. They are high in value, the volume is usually low and the amount of work relative to other projects is low. Examples of a Star product are Logos, Brochure Design, Branding Packages, Marketing Packages, Leaflets etc. Stars generate instant large cash injections.
Cash Cows
A Cash Cow is a product or service that you charge a monthly fee for. These are products or services that you can sell all the time, they have a low sale value however the amount of work they require you to do is very low. Mobile phone contracts are a great Cash Cow example. How much work does your network provider actually do for your monthly fee?
The Problem Child
A Problem Child product is one that is similar to a Star however the amount of work is high. So while they are profitable the client takes all of your time. These are usually corporate brochures where you have to have approval at many different stages which takes a lot of time, and lots of people want to give you input that usually contradicts each other!
Dogs
A Dog product is one that has a low sale value, the amount of work they take is very high and when you sell these you always make a loss. Typical products or services that fall under this type is anything you do for friends and family, contra based work and those times when someone says “if you can do this for me for cheap I will bring you more work!”. Stop selling Dogs right now! They are wasting your time and you are making a loss, so just stop!
Why You Have to Have A Cash Cow In your Business!
Before
In this diagram you can see that cash goes up when the graphic design business sells a Star or Problem Child product, however when then money is spent it returns to zero. So in order to sustain a business that sells only Stars and Problem Children product types you have to continually sell the products to keep the business alive.
These business tend to suffer during public holidays and other seasonal events. For example during the summer holidays and Christmas holidays graphic design companies can run out of money and not see new sales for many weeks.
After
Businesses that sell Stars and Cash Cows thrive.
The main difference with this product portfolio is that the cashflow never returns to zero.
The blue line represents the minimum cash position of the business. Over time it gradually grows. Businesses that have had Cash Cows in their business start each month with an injection of guaranteed cash before they even start to sell their Star products.
How confident would you be if you had £1000, £2000, or even £5000 injected into your bank account at the start of every month before you started selling Star products to your clients?
The EASIEST Cash Cow For You To Add Is Website Hosting. The Website Setup Is A Star And The Monthly Hosting Is Your Cash Cow.
Still want freedom: Which one of these is holding you back?
We know from experience that all graphics designers at this point are in one of four places. Where are you now?