things that went too far: selling vs skill

We’re here with another part of things-that-went-too-far.

And I’ll start with this thought I see everywhere: “There’s someone who has half as much talent as you making twice as much money simply because they know how to sell.”

Every entrepreneur and service provider read this and ran with it.

The message went from once taking pride in your work to “wasting time” improving your skills – so that you could focus on marketing. This was the generic message being put out there. Every single person reading that sales content was told they were already good enough, and should stop focusing on the “wrong things”.

I’m telling you now… this really backfires.

Especially when you have clients coming to you fixing someone else’s work, because it was incomplete, mediocre, or there were people convincing enough to sell them on an expensive package of deliverables they won’t use.

You know who tells you that you don’t need another course on writing, design, marketing, or whatever it is that you do? Someone who has something else to sell 😅.

My scheduled disclaimer: we know plenty of people with tons of talent who CAN’T seem to make money.. That is not the topic at hand, since you can scroll endlessly and get advice from just about everyone on this.

On the design side, here’s what I’m seeing as a result: 5 to 6-figure prices on branding that needs to be fixed because it doesn’t work in all formats, in black & white, or across different sizes. Colors that are atrocious on the web… literally painful to look at. Mismatched, random styles. Web designers who didn’t know about accessibility or web pages that you legally need. (No, seriously, I’ve seen VIP day web design courses that just teach you to sell really expensive templates and shoo them off).

Hey, I get it. We’ve all delivered work that wouldn’t meet our standards now. We learn and evolve.

But when you’re hell-bent on just selling and figuring it out later, because you’re better at that than creating the actual deliverable, it’s time to step back.

And there’s really no shortcut to fix that. It’s a matter of practice, feedback, collaboration, mentors, community, and a work environment that can nurture all those things. Hanging out with people smarter than you so you can keep your ego in check.

Sometimes when you start off as your own (girl)boss and you call the shots, your only reference is your customer/client. But they’re not going to pick up on technical or niche ways you can make things better - they’re busy making sure it fits with their needs.

I’ve seen many designers go this route and lack community or accountability. I’m sure you’ve seen a thing or two in your industry too? 😉 

Even if you’re solo, don’t be on an island. Be a part of diverse groups, like IRL friends to peers to mentors. I’ve seen what it does to the quality of my work (MASSIVE improvements) and how I want to keep stepping it up.

I have so much more to learn, and I’m excited to know I’ll only be getting better, not just focusing on and plateauing on everything else.

*No Marketing designs in the wild this week, I’m hanging with family 😀 

Here’s a pixelated sticker gif I made since I’m working all month. Summers in SD get crowded, so we long for late August/Sept to enjoy our favorite spots. I’m thinking of a staycation on top of a few other getaways after this month.

What I’m working on:

• wrapping up prototypes on Figma - prepping it for dev on Framer

• brushing up on my typography skills via print assets

• brainstorming artsy content I want to film end of summer

Hire me for brand, web, or marketing design - My retainer slots are totally full but I’m open for project-based work 👩🏻‍💻

Hit reply and let’s chat or go to my page and see more.