How budding desktop publishers can build their businesses - Desktop Publishing - Column

Home Office Computing, Feb, 1992 by Steve Morgenstern

Nobody gets paid for desktop publishing.

Why not? Because DTP is a tool, an element of a larger process, not an end product. Nobody gets paid for hammering--they get paid for building. There aren't any professional stirrers--there are professional cooks.

And desktop publisher? They get paid for communicating. So if you want to make money using DTP technology, start with the right self-image. You are a communicator. You may be communicating a marketing message or publishing facts the recipient wants to learn. In either case, DTP used well can turn your communication skills into a profitable trade.

There are really three ways small businesses can use DTP: one, publishing of books, newslettersm and other materials to be sold commercially; two, creating materials that attract and retain customers for your nonpublishing business; and three, selling your services as someone who creates printed materials for others. This month I'll concentrate on the third category, looking specifically at attractive projects for those who are just starting out in the communicator-for-hire business.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD PROJECT?

Let's begin by looking at what makes a project suitable for desktop-publishing newcomers.

It plays to your strengths. Are you a whiz with words? A top-nothc illustrator? A designer whose work sends off sparks? Evaluate your special skills and look for projects that stress those abilities. For example, an excellent illustrator may be able to create a one-page flier that both captures the recipient's attention and delivers information about the product or service being promoted with a large graphic and very few words.

It matches your existing clients' needs. Unless you are entering the business world for the first time, you probably have a set of established contacts. You may never have undertaken a communications-oriented project for them, but you still know them and, more important, they know you. That means you will at least have the opportunity to pitch to someone who does't regard you as a stranger.

Now evaluate the ways DTP opens up new avenues to servicing those contacts' needs. That's the way I originally got into desktop publishing--taking on the production of a newsletter I had been hired to write. The client had an in-house art department with too much work to handle. I offered an economical alternative. Voila! I was in business.

It provides a good portfolio piece. Samples sell. Designers call a really handsome project that can be used to attract additional clients a portfolio piece. As you begin to build your communications business, developing your sample portfolio is a major consideration.

Of course, you can always crank out DTP material for make-believe businesses to use as samples--and you probably should. But they won't have the same impact with potential clients as a real project you completed for a real client who paid you real money and, ideally, because of your work.

And if you do have a success story, think about ways to use it effectively. Clearly, you'll want to ask for a substantial number of printed samples. But consider taking that a step further. If the clien't very happy, ask if prospects may call for a recommendation.

Do you want to show off your skiils by taking on a project for the local PTA or church group or community theater? Setting aside for a moment the psychic satisfaction involved in doing pro bono work, is it good for business? Yes, if you get credit on printed piece and that credit includes enough information for prospective clients to contact you directly. Frankly, I wouldn't place a lot of stock in building a business this way, though I have anecdotal evidence that it works.

It pay well. Pricing is an extremely difficult issue. Nearly identical end products can be priced very differently depending on the nature of the client. What is considered reasonable varies geographically, too, and depends on the uniqueness of the service you're offering. If you have training in biochemistry, for example, you may have be able to charge a significant premium for your specialized knowledge when undertaking a project for a pharmaceutical company. But you'll have to lower fess substantially, even on a project of the same DTP complexity, if the client is a company that runs children's birthday parties.

I'd recommend that you start by deciding how much you really need to make per hour. Include your time, supplies, overhead for the home office (including all taxes and insurance), and a bit more for wear and tear on your equipment. Then estimate the number of hours a project will take and multiply through. Add a little if you think the client is used to spending money, subtract a bit if you really want the job think the client is a penny-pincher.

Present a bid for the whole job--not an hourly fee. I've been asked more than once to bid on jobs based on an hourly rate, but I don't like it. It's an inappropriate way to bill for creative work, when ideas may come quickly or slowly depending on the flight patterns fo your personal muse. Besides, I'm folding a lot of overhead and downtime into the hour I use in calculating a bid, so my bid may sound high when judged on that basis. Happily, desktop publishers are often competing against businesses with higher overheads and larger staffs, so we often come in sounding extremely reasonable by comparison.