Take a moment and run through the first 15 minutes of your day with me. Any day of the week, a “work day,” the weekend, any day you like. What does your morning routine look like? You wake up. You […]
I saw someone asking it on twitter just the other day. I got a Linkedin message about it over the weekend. And I’ve realized it’s the absolute worst question you can ask about any sort of creative work. The scariest part is, most […]
I was recently listening to an interview with James Clear–productivity hacker, athlete and entrepreneur. He made a very interesting point about two seemingly similar words that can have very different meanings. Those words? “Can’t” and “don’t.” He was specifically speaking about […]
It’s been a couple of weeks since we changed our brand name from GraphicDesignBlender.com to Millo. Personally, our team has loved the change. I mean, can you imagine all the time we save every day by typing “millo” instead of “GraphicDesignBlender”? […]
Writing today’s post is proving much more difficult than I thought it was going to be. After 6+ years of blogging at Millo and interacting with so many of you, we’re closing the doors on Millo and cutting the ribbons on an […]
Dear friend and Millo reader, After 6 years of providing some of the best business tips for designers at GraphicDesignBlender.com, we’re giving Millo a major upgrade. The first and most obvious change to Millo will be that it will no […]
One of my favorite business books of all time comes from Chris Guillebeau and it’s titled The $100 Startup*. The book is packed full of great advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. Here’s one that really resonated with me and can help […]
What’s the number one resource all entrepreneurs don’t have enough of? Time. Especially if you’ve built your business around providing a service for people. Because, once the 24 hours in a day run out, you have no choice but to start […]
Last month, we completely changed where we host GraphicDesignBlender.com. We left our previous host, where Millo had been hosted for more than 5 years, and made the switch to Squidix. And today, to celebrate a seamless transition (thanks, guys!), Millo […]
We share tips for making money as a freelancer here at Millo all the time. They include: upselling your design projects, generating passive income, specializing in a particular discipline or skill, and many many more. But there’s one key to making […]
Between freelancing and running Millo, I’ve been “in business” for over seven years now. I know that’s not much for some people, but for me, I feel pretty blessed to have reached lucky number 7. Looking back on the last 7 years […]
I recently had one of the best moments of my life. My son (who’s currently 4 years old) randomly came up to me one day and said, “Dad, I’m going to be an artist when I grow up.” Why was […]
Knowing which questions to ask when designing a logo can be difficult. You don’t want to look stupid by asking the wrong kinds of questions. You don’t want to overwhelm your client by asking too many questions. But if you […]
I get that it’s possible to make good money without ever dealing with clients. But still, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess: you work with clients on an almost-daily basis. And, let’s be honest, clients can […]
Today, I’m excited to announce a brand-new addition to the Millo family: The Freelance Report (thefreelancereport.com). Why am I excited? Because until now, our small team has been limited in our ability to fill your life (in a good way) with […]
A few years ago, I made a couple small changes that resulted in a huge positive shift for my business. At the time, I was building this blog and running a freelancing gig. And I was busy. Which meant that some […]
When I was very young, I used to read the comics in the Sunday newspaper (an activity that I’ve unfortunately discontinued). I fell in love with comic strips like Calvin & Hobbes, Pickles, Baby Blues and others. And for a […]
Have you ever watched the television show Shark Tank? If you haven’t, here’s the gist: the Shark Tank is a place where hopeful entrepreneurs pitch their business to highly successful millionaire and billionaire entrepreneurs (like Mark Cuban and Daymond John) in an […]
If you are like I was as a University Junior or Senior, you’re chomping at the bit to get out of school. It’s all you can do to keep completing your assignments (especially the ones that feel like busy work). […]
Last week, I had an opportunity to speak to a group of students at my Alma mater and I had a complete blast. My presentation was titled something like “Skipping 3-5 years: how starting a blog in college helped my skip […]
The other day I was at lunch with a friend of mine when he accidentally offended me as an entrepreneur. He didn’t mean to. Not in the slightest. And I’m not talking like a huge offense. No harm, no foul. […]
So the honeymoon phase is over with your design business huh? Me too. I’ve been running my own business for more than five years and a few months ago, this truth really began to hit me hard: A job where […]
Half a decade ago, I (along with half the world, it feels like) got caught up in the lifestyle business craze when I read Tim Ferris’ The Four Hour Workweek for the first time. Since then I’ve read dozens and […]
In February 2014, I launched an all-new members-only section of Design Blender called Stoked. And last Thursday just under six months later, I basically put the whole project on pause. It wasn’t a flop. It wasn’t a failure. And I […]
A couple weeks ago, Karol wrote a great post about not getting cheated by your design clients. In that post, we recommended (as we always do) that you have a signed contract with most of your clients. But in the […]
If you’ve ever looked into personal finance, you’ve probably heard some sort of advice that sounds something like this: “If you saved $4 every day instead of spending it on your morning coffee, you’d have nearly $1,500 plus interest in […]
Have you ever considered the fact that you might be thinking TOO much when it comes to building your business? You spend weeks and months (maybe even years) trying to figure out which email software to use, which color to […]
If you’re not careful as a freelancer, it can be easy to get caught up in the heat of the moment when talking with a client. But whatever you do, don’t let one of these phrases slip out while you’re […]
I get it. You’re an entrepreneur. So that means you have to have a one-year plan, a three-year plan, and a five-year plan–all with their own backup plans each. Right? I disagree. In fact, most of the successful independent entrepreneurs […]
Well, it’s Friday again. In some ways, you’re probably totally jazzed about it. A couple days off (hopefully) from the grind of client phone calls, bills, and the other details of running your business. (It’s a love-hate relationship. I get […]
Just about anything worthwhile can be created in one weekend. That was basically the message I got from a recent Fizzle interview with Gumroad founder, Sahil Lavingia. Sahil used to work as a designer at Pinterest and left that gig to start […]
I’m in the middle of a huge redesign for a web site that gets hundreds of thousands (and sometimes millions) of monthly visits. It’s a big deal. And it’s pretty stressful. But if you’ve ever done any sort of redesign […]
A couple months ago, I was totally taken by surprise when I realized that GraphicDesignBlender.com turned five years old! In the Spring (U.S.) of 2009, I bought the domain and started writing. And now, five years later, here we all […]
It’s finally here! Today, we’re releasing April Greer’s all-new ebook bundle How Much Should I Charge? A simple guide to getting paid what you deserve. And, in case you missed the post last week, we’re giving away a FREE Skype […]
When you’re first starting out as a freelancer, it’s easy to get caught in the trap of offering discounts, cutting rates, or doing work completely free. Even as a seasoned freelancer, if you’re not careful, you might end up using […]
Being a freelancer can be exhilarating. You choose your hours, you call the shots and you work for yourself…. or do you? Take a step back for one moment and think about it. Do you really work for yourself? You […]
Today, we’re joined by freelance designer Brent Galloway in an audio interview. Brent’s a freelancer, a blogger, and is working on some really great new projects, including a new blog for freelancers (details in the audio interview). Here’s just a […]
After months and months of work, the brand new Millo community, Stoked, is finally here! At Stoked, we’re trying to build the best community for fueling your design business and really getting excited about the work you do as a […]
Are you one of those designers who uses a web portfolio to show off their work and find new clients? You’re in good company because most designers do the same. And most designers also rely on an analytical tool (like […]
Regardless of how great you are at building great business relationships, nearly every designer finds themselves (eventually) at odds with at least one client. You know what I’m talking about. The client is pretty picky, always asking for revisions or […]
In just 3 short weeks, we’re launching Stoked, a brand-new community for designers who are serious about fueling their business. (Learn more about Stoked here.) And to celebrate, we’re giving something away every week leading up to launch day! Last […]
Today, I’m over-the-top excited to announce one of the biggest developments at Design Blender in a long time! We’re announcing the release of Stoked our upcoming design community built to help you throw fuel on your design business. You may […]
I’ve been designing web sites for almost a decade. I love web design. I stay up late designing web sites. I thrive on learning cool new techniques and get a rush every time I update a page’s source code and click refresh. Every…single…time. It’s […]
Are you sitting around waiting for the next big idea to pop in your head before you start your business? Maybe you sit on the couch on Friday Nights watching Shark Tank on television and thinking to yourself: “Gee, if I […]
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