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Give Yourself a Raise Today.
As designers, especially those running home-based businesses, we’re constantly searching for ways to grow our income. The instinct is usually to chase more clients, raise our prices, or work longer hours. But what if I told you there’s a way to give yourself a raise without any of those headaches? In this article, I’m excited to share a transformative approach: making more money by spending smarter, not harder.
Learning to Let Go: The Story That Changed My Mind
This lesson started with a simple story. Picture this: a young boy visiting his grandparents, eager to explore. He slips his hand into an antique vase, reaching for a shiny quarter placed at the bottom. But his hand gets stuck. No amount of tugging works until his dad, desperate, offers a $50 reward if he’ll free his hand. The boy immediately lets go of the quarter and slips his hand out. The moral? Sometimes, we’re so fixated on the small things that we don’t realize the value of simply letting go.
We do the exact same thing in our businesses. We clutch onto subscriptions, tools, and services, convinced they’ll make us more professional or that we might need them “someday.” But just like the boy with the vase, this stubbornness quietly drains our bank accounts month after month.
Uncovering the Hidden Costs in Your Business
Let’s get honest about where our money is going. The costs lurking in your business aren’t always obvious, $15 here, $10 there, but they add up quickly. Ten unused subscriptions can easily add up to $150 a month, which balloons to $1,800 a year. Some designers juggle twenty or more. Gathering new apps and tools feels exciting, but the impact becomes painfully real when you review your annual credit card statement.
Now, where do these costs hide? Here’s what you need to look out for:
Core Creative Software
Most of us pay for a design suite, maybe with extra illustration, photo, or video tools on top. Ask yourself: Are you truly using all these features? Are there tools you could drop or downgrade?
Websites, Hosting, and Domains
If you design websites, beware the graveyard of unused domains and hosting plans for long-forgotten projects. Premium themes, plugins, and page builders also love to auto-renew. Perform regular check-ups. Are you still using these on any live sites? Could you consolidate or downgrade?
Business Software
Project management, client communication, proposals, and invoicing are ripe for overlap. Do you really need separate platforms for each function, or could one tool cover most of your needs? For proposals, a well-crafted PDF and a basic e-signature may suffice. When it comes to invoicing, I personally use WaveApp, it’s free and reliable!
Storage and Backup
It’s tempting to juggle Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, and multiple backups because “clients prefer it that way.” But wouldn’t it make more sense to choose one primary storage and one solid backup system? If you’re not maxing out any of them, that’s money you can reclaim.
Marketing Tools
From email platforms to social media schedulers, analytic dashboards, and membership sites, costs can run wild. Are you cleaning out inactive email subscribers to lower your rate? Are expensive schedulers really saving you time, or are you still posting manually?
Courses and Memberships
I believe fiercely in lifelong learning, but it’s easy to pay for memberships or courses you rarely use. Here’s a key question: If this were something new to me today, would I happily pay the price again? If not, consider cancelling or pausing.
Practical Steps: How to Audit Your Expenses
Ready for action? Here’s a simple framework to reclaim your profits and give yourself a raise:
- List Everything
Spend an hour with your bank statements and payment history. Write down every recurring business expense: name, monthly or yearly amount, and its purpose. - Label Each Item
Use these categories:- A: Essential – you rely on it day-to-day.
- B: Useful but expendable – you use it, could live without.
- C: Unused or rarely used.
- D: Replaceable with something cheaper or free.
- Take Action
For every C or D, decide to cancel, downgrade, or consolidate.- Cancel if you don’t use it.
- Downgrade if you’re overpaying.
- Consolidate where overlap exists.
- Add Up Your Savings
Tally the monthly and annual savings. That number is, in effect, a raise: no extra clients, no hours added.
I recently let my CapCut subscription expire, realizing it overlapped with my Filmora Pro subscription. It’s a small change, but multiplied across services, the impact is enormous.
Critical Takeaways
- Letting go isn’t failure, it’s growth.
- Your business will thrive by focusing on essentials and eliminating waste.
- Past investments are sunk costs. Don’t let old decisions dictate future success.
- A lean toolset means more profit and less stress.
- Don’t feel compelled to follow the crowd. Choose tools for your needs, not because they’re trendy.
Challenge: Audit Yourself and Give Your Raise!
Block off an hour this week and conduct your own subscription audit. Label your expenses, make decisions, and calculate your annual savings. I promise, not only will your wallet thank you, but you’ll feel more empowered and informed about your business.
If you’re comfortable sharing your results, I’d love to hear from you! Reach me via the feedback form on the Resourceful Designer website or by email at feedback@resourcedesigner.com. If you’re part of the Resourceful Designer Community, post your numbers and help inspire others.
Remember: Profitability isn’t about collecting tools. It’s about creating a sustainable business that pays you well for your expertise. Sometimes the best way to move ahead is to let go.
So, give yourself a raise. Audit your expenses. Spend smarter, not harder.
Stay creative!
Let me help you.
Running a graphic design or web design business alone isn't easy. If you're facing any struggles running your design business, please don't hesitate to reach out. I'll do my best to help you by addressing your issues in a future article or podcast episode here at Resourceful Designer. You can reach me via my feedback form
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