| For a very long time, most companies have hired design agencies or freelance designers in order to source custom designs for their business. While it works well for multinationals such as Facebook, Microsoft and Apple that have exorbitant budgets, it proves to be a rather costly proposition for small businesses and startups as they mostly lack resources and bank balance to settle the bills of design agencies or freelance designers.But does that mean startups and small businesses don’t deserve to professional and creative logos, business cards, websites etc. for their entity? Do they necessarily dig a hole in their pockets for a professional identity? Of course not!If you’re at the helm of a startup in need of everything from a logo to a business cards, simply turn your attention to crowdsourcing design sites such as Designhill and launch a design contest. No matter how much people despise of crowdsourcing contests, it still rules the roost, especially for small businesses and startups with limited funds and resources.
Crowdsourcing design contests allow you to procure designs that share your passion, drive, and vision for your startup without spending an arm and a leg. But it’s not just that you get to save some fortune and a lot of hassle, there are numerous other benefits of holding a design contest. Let’s explore 5 of the most significant reasons why crowdsourcing design contests make for a great proposition for startups and small businesses. 1. Tap Creative Extremes: Inc.com reveals that most design agencies are in fact marketing agencies with a heavy focus on visual media. Resultantly, when you work with such agencies, you end up getting graphic designs out of complacency. This is because design agencies are not faced with any competition when working for a client. On the contrary, crowdsourcing contests thrive on competition and ingenuity. Competition gives birth to ingenuity. So, when you launch a crowdsourcing design contest, hundreds of designers compete against each other and come up with different unique concepts to win the competition making it easy for you to tap the creative extremes and get unique and superior quality designs for your startup or small business. 2. Get Much More than What You Pay for: Let’s face it; graphic design firms remain the first choice for most multinationals and large corporations. Quite expectedly, design agencies often treat multinationals and large corporations with huge budgets as premium clients and offer them better service as against startups and small businesses. After all, you’re just another low-budget client in their long roster of clients. Resultantly, most startups end up getting ‘just what they pay for’. But with crowdsourcing design contests, listed designers treat every design project as an opportunity to earn prize money and in a bid to outshine their competition; they come up with dozens of unique and professional concepts. Therefore, with crowdsourcing design contests, you get ‘much more than what you pay for’. 3. Get Innumerable Choices: Chances are that you may a design agency that would agree to work on your budget, but you would not get more than 3-5 design options to choose from limiting your choices. With limited concepts, at times, you’ll find the ideas stalled and will have no option but to compromise on your business identity. But, for crowdsourcing design contests, diversity is the name of the game. Startups can get many design ideas, inspirations and styles. With an average of 100+ design options to choose from, you’ll be able to find more than just a few concepts to match your project needs. 4. Get Affordable Designs: Forbes reveals in one of its articles that for most startups and small businesses, the real challenge remains getting things done in a nickel-and-dime. Well, with the price of graphic design services sky-rocketing these days, it becomes almost impossible for startups tobuild a brand around users with graphic elements that they can relate to and connect with. This is where crowdsourcing design contests help startups and small businesses reach beyond boundaries and get quality custom designs without burning a deep hole in their pockets. But affordable price doesn’t mean that you need to compromise on quality. So with crowdsourcing design contests, you get the finest of fine graphic designs for the price that you’ll set for your design contest. 5. Save Money & Time: Quick sprout mentions in one its insider stories that establishing a startup takes an awful lot: a lot of effort, time and money! Working with a design agency usually takes up a lot of time due to the long list of people involved in the entire process. And due to the involvement of many people, it takes a seemingly long time, a lot of energy and quite a fortune to meet people, exchange emails, arrange teleconference and personally visit the agency. However, crowdsourcing design contest doesn’t require you to spend too much time, money and resources. And all you need to do is just fill in the design brief, name a price and relax while the ideas start to pour in from graphic artists, logo designers, illustrators and an entire community of graphic artists from across the globe, ready and willing to work for you under the tightest of deadlines. It saves you money, time and efforts that you would otherwise incur on transportation, teleconference and physical visit when working with a design firms. So, Go For Crowdsourcing Contests And Give Wings to Your Startup: So, if you have a big graphic design project on your plate, launch a crowdsourcing design contests and explore the endless possibilities of getting affordable logos, business cards or web designs to establish your brand identity, garner media mileage and build a loyal customer base. |
Category: millennial
Winsight Episode 35: Adversity and the Celebrity Quarterback
When I’m in the car by myself I like to listen to sports radio instead of music. One of the reasons is I’m a huge Lakers fan so I want the latest scoop on them, but mostly I find sports radio intriguing. The more opinionated the host, the more listeners tune in. One morning while listening to Colin Cowherd on ESPN radio, he used the term “celebrity quarterback” and it had practical applications for you and me.
In this episode learn the following points:
- What successful quarterback have overcome that mediocre ones haven’t
- Why feeling like “quitting” is a good thing
- What this generation hates, but is priceless
- The different question a victim vs. a victor asks him/herself
Are you a “celebrity quarterback?” How do you normally handle adversity? What’s one takeaway you can apply this week?
Winsight Episode #32 – Obsessed w/ Efficiency
I have a confession. I’m obsessed with efficiency. I’ve always been a planner. I think about time constantly and when it comes to doing anything…I want to know how to do it smarter, not harder. I don’t mind working hard, but if I can figure out a way to do it faster and better I will.
In this episode I’ll share time saving techniques in the following areas:
- How your smartphone can put you on auto-pilot
- What system is essential to be a master networker
- The difference between habits and goals
- Why working smarter beats working harder
What do you do efficiently? In what areas can you improve? Share something that saves you time and it might just help someone else!
Winsight Episode 30: The Next Dinosaur
When referring to dinosaurs thoughts of extinction come to mind. But in this case, the next dinosaur is around, but on life support: it’s communication. I’m not talking about texting, emailing or Facebook messaging, but face-to-face communication. If you don’t believe me, go to the local hangout where teenagers gather and observe them. Most will be in a group, on their smartphones texting, sharing pictures or commenting on someone’s post completely ignoring the fact actual humans are right next to them. If you’re brave enough engage them in a conversation and if you can carry it (without much help from them) for more than 5 minutes, you’ve done well. Of course I’m stereotyping here, but poor communication is a trend that is rapidly growing and will be a thing of the past unless we do our part to reverse it.
In this episode, using Millennials as the subject, we’ll discuss:
What two forms of communication tend to lack in quality
The one thing Millennials need from supervisors in order to improve
How interviews connect to the longevity of an employee
The question one must ask to move forward
What’s been your interaction with Millenials at work? How can you help them moving forward? Please share your thoughts below!
Winsight Episode 26: Leading the Current Generation
Millennials. A single word can conjure up varying descriptions and emotions. Some of the stereotypes about this generation are true, yet others are not. Instead of sitting here and complaining about the shortcomings of this group, I prefer to point out how to lead them effectively.
In this episode the following points will be discussed:
- Why teaching isn’t about being the “best in your field
- How body language is a warning sign for motivation
- The two types of vision that need to align
- What Baby Boomers and Millennials have in common
Does this change your thoughts on Millennials? What adjustments will you make dealing with Millennials going forward?
Winsight Episode 8: Flip the Script
[audio http://traffic.libsyn.com/winsight/08_Winsight_Episode_8_-_Flip_the_Script.mp3]
Life isn’t about what happens to you. It’s about how you to choose to respond to it.
Winning in life has a lot to do with how you view the world. You can choose to be a victim or you can choose to be a victor.
During this podcast I’ll discuss:
- What reframing is and how it can help you
- Why skeptics can end up being your best customers
- When sometimes its better for others to talk for you
- The difference between going down the winning vs. losing road
How can you flip the script on a current challenge? Please share your story below so others can be inspired! Thanks!
Google CEO Speaks on Coaching
Network Events: The Future of Hiring
Most networking events promise countless benefits, yet rarely do they match our expectations. The emphasis should be on building trusting relationships, before trying to make your next sale. Friends hire friends…why do you think the rich stay rich?
Let me take this a step further and say network events are the future of hiring. I’m not talking about job fairs, but a place where job applicants can mingle with employers. Think about it. The traditional way of hiring is done through submitting an application, attaching a resume then waiting to be contacted for an interview. Anyone can lie on a resume, but a face to face interaction is what separates the men from the boys.
Imagine, as a job seeker, you were entering a room full of potential employers. You’ve memorized your elevator speech, but there’s no way you can anticipate what questions they might ask. Isn’t that just like the real world? Life is not scripted and neither should interviews. You can learn a lot about someone by having a conversation with them. Their skill set may not be obvious, but confidence, body language, tone, etc. comes off within 5 minutes or less.
I’m not undermining competence, but instead of meeting the exact educational and experience requirements, wouldn’t you rather hire someone you actually can work with? Talent is talent, no matter what industry. Skills can be taught, but intangibles such as “soft skills,” charisma and confidence usually come with the package. A formal interview is one of the worst ways to predict someone’s future performance. As an employer you want to see a worker in his/her natural environment socializing with others. Where better, than to go “undercover” and meet your next hire at a network event?
Growing Forward 