Episode 211: Creating All-in-One Design Services with Ariel Kuhn
Are you a multi-passionate designer that feels forced to niche down into one service? While niching down works for some, it didn’t work for Ariel Kuhn. In creating an all-in-one design service for her clients, Ariel offers a one-stop shop for small business owners who may feel overwhelmed with where to start in creating a website. Listen in as Ariel explains how she decided to create an all-in-one design service and the education she invested in to back up her expertise in brand strategy, design, and copywriting. Ariel Kuhn is a photographer and brand strategist helping new-ish small business owners feel at home in their online space. She focuses on getting creative entrepreneurs off to a solid start in their business with brand strategy, photography, copywriting, website design, and mentorship all in a single process so they can stop second-guessing and find their groove a little quicker. She knows the weight of expectations and insecurity when launching a business and aims to shake that off her 1:1 clients as soon as humanly possible so they can do what they love with confidence, like soon. She’s a homebody at heart, favorites oversharer, and if she’s not chasing her girls around, she’s re-watching a favorite show and reciting the best lines. Offering an All-in-One Design Service When Ariel began her business, she found that working with multiple vendors and developing the right timelines for projects to flow was holding her up. So why not hone in on the skillsets she was lacking and learn the trades she needed to create an all-in-one design service for her clients? So she did just that. Ariel sought out the experts in every field she needed to learn in order to train under them and provide the best service for her clients. Not only does it allow her to serve her clients through brand strategy, design, and copywriting, but it also allows for an easy option for brand new businesses to connect with a one-stop shop for their brand and web design needs. Overall, this creates an incredible customer experience. Niching Doesn’t Work for Everyone There is a trend and an expectation in the creative industry that you have to niche down. While that works for some people, it hinders others. Ariel realized that when she was working on projects, her clients would need all of the pieces nearly simultaneously. She realized that she had a knack for making all of the visual components come together, then her love for writing blossomed as she was helping clients with their design projects. If niching down doesn’t work for you or your brand, it’s important to consider how they can all work together. The Flow of All-in-One Design Services In creating an all-in-one design service, it’s important to create a valuable workflow to guide the project. Ariel found that there was no other place to start besides brand strategy. Brand strategy is where a brand is finding their ideal clients and who they’re talking to. By starting with brand strategy, it allows designers to better plan for the visuals, copy, and strategy long-term. Once she’s completed the brand strategy phase, Ariel works with skilled website template designers who are skill and have infused brand strategy into their designs. She then customizes those design templates based on the content of the brand. This all-in-one design service eliminates the stress of trying to get so many different vendors to work together on a single design project.