How Graphic Designers Can Save on Business Expenses

Whether you work from home or not, working as a graphic designer can come with a variety of expenses, ranging from art supplies to utility costs. The tips below will help freelance graphic designers, or graphic designers who work from home, the most. However, they can also be beneficial to those graphic designers who work for a business.

Change Utility Companies

Graphic designers who work from home or rent office space may be able to cut their expenses by checking out several utility billing services. Electrical is one of the biggest utilities that will affect graphic designers. The larger area you live in (cities vs rural areas), the more providers you are likely to be able to choose from. Make sure to do your research and compare prices. Looking at past billing statements can give you a good idea of how much electricity (or another utility like water or gas) you use in a month. You can use this information to estimate how much your bills will be with a new utility company.

Watch for Electronics Sales

Decades back, a graphic designer might have needed to stock up on paper, pencils, and other drawing supplies. Nowadays, graphic designers are more likely to rely on technology like laptops, cameras, tablets, and the like. For this reason, designers cannot often buy supplies in bulk to save money. Instead, they are more likely to save money by looking for sales on electronics.

What is the best way to know about sales? Signing up for newsletters and advertisements of your favorite electronic brands is one way. Big companies often email out subscribers when they are having sales on everything from new computers to various software. Doing this beats waiting until Black Friday or other holidays that usually have sales. Even better, this way, you can get deals from your favorite brands, rather than having to settle for whatever is cheapest.

Pay for Long-Term Subscriptions

While graphic designers may be able to buy some software outright, it is much more likely that they will need to sign up for a subscription. Many of the biggest companies that graphic designers will need, like Adobe that makes Photoshop, run through a subscription service. Usually, companies will give lower prices when customers sign up for longer subscription times. For example, one company might have a service for which they charge $15/month on a month-by-month basis. However, that same company might offer a yearly subscription for $120. While this would be a higher up-front payment, it would save $5 a month. While this may not seem like a big difference, it can help to save $60 in the course of a year! While this is just a fictitious example, many real software companies work this way. For this reason, it can be advantageous for graphic designers to save up so they can afford the higher up-front costs so they can save more money in the long run.

Work with a Partner

Freelance graphic designers, especially those who rent office space or run their business from some kind of physical location (rather than hosting their business entirely online) can benefit from taking on a partner. This is another person to bulk up your business and share your expenses with. Ideally, this other person will also be a graphic designer, or someone with a complimentary job, like working as a freelance writer or working in advertising. Together, you can form a small company or LLC. Having more than one person involved in a business can also make the business look more professional.

Working as a graphic designer, especially if you do not work for a larger company, can come with a large array of expenses. Luckily, there are many things that individuals or small businesses can do to save on expenses. Whether they switch utility companies or wait for the best sales, even the smallest of actions can help to make for large savings in the long-run.