Biz Fair

A friend of mine called me and asked me to accompany her to a Biz Fair which turned out to be a free event at Renton Technical College for small business owners or startups. There are a lot of free or low cost resources for those starting their own business. SCORE, which is a group of CEO's who volunteer their time helping startups, is a wonderful resource. They will mentor you and walk you through the steps to starting your business and be successful.

One thing I have noticed is that the graphic design side of a business is overlooked. It's probably because the business owner is trying to keep expenses low by doing it themselves and using templates. But that can result in their business looking unprofessional to the public. One person declared that social media will take the place of needing a website and said that people shouldn't bother hiring a graphic designer.

I pointed out to him that graphic design is the business's public face and, like an interview, you want to put your best foot forward. I said that if a business owner is really strapped for cash they could contact colleges or universities that have design programs for student interns.

I said the same thing to my friend who wants me to design her business card and was thinking of using the stationery for business cards to save money on printing costs. That stationery is perforated and that makes the business cards look bad. A better option, I pointed out to her, is to have Office Depot or Fed Ex print the cards and cut them.

Sometimes in cutting corners you can end up with half measures and it shows. You really have to decide what is worth the investment and work out the expenses you need in starting your business. Decide what you need in equipment, software etc. to look professional and look for sales and discounts. Sometimes you can barter services.