Command higher pricing and stay in-demand with other freelance creatives becoming specialists in their fields.

Only ONE designer can be the cheapest...

Are you tired of taking orders?

When I became an online freelance designer after a corporate lay-off, it made sense to have a "menu."

"Step right up! Step right up! Get your graphic design in this ONE STOP SHOP!"

Everyone else has to be different.

BIG MISTAKE.

I had this PDF service card for logos, business cards, flyers...you name it, I shilled it. It was equally exhausting invoicing for all those little things and finding more clients who needed all those little things.

I was selling "fast food" that clients didn't care about.

Because I was an order-taker.

I was serving up the cheapest result...a picture representing their name. Clients will proclaim, "I want a logo." But what they really meant was...

"I NEED A BRAND."

Order-takers will always have to bargain, negotiate, and accept the least pay.

So I started my own restaurant (metaphorically) and in two years time, I started to bill more by doing less. What made the shift in client billing for me?

POSITIONING.

Selling Fast Food "Menu"

Selling Gourmet "Meals"

Positioning creates an authoritative image for yourself in the minds of your audience.

To learn this, I dove into the books of Sally Hogshead, Donald Miller, and binged on the videos of Chris Do. I began to TALK about my process of creating a logo instead of just doing it for clients.

When you position yourself as an "order-taker," you're going to get small orders with people who will complain about the size of their fries.

I became the Top Chef of my own restaurant.

I shifted my offerings with a 3-course "meal" that served what I believed my clients needed first: brand strategy.

QUESTION: When was the last time you went to a REALLY nice restaurant?

I'm willing to bet a few things...

• The menu was the Chef's choice.

• No substitutions allowed.

• The plating, the experience, and the presentation were spectacular.

• You abided by the dress code to get seated.

• The bill was $$$$ that you paid it AND tipped on.

• You'll be back.

That's POSITIONING. That's AUTHORITY.

How can you position yourself to an audience & turn them into clients who pay and play by your rules?

I've spent more than $15,000 dollars and 15 years figuring out the shortcuts that experts package and tuck inside their $$$$ coaching programs.

Here's it straight:

To "make it" in showbiz, you needed to be an attractive, triple threat.

Online, you need to activate three attractants. I call them "pheromones."

We just talked about Authority, the other two are Audience & Automation.

1. Authority: knowledge of an in-demand skill

2. Audience: storytelling to a high-paying niche about your skill

3. Automation: consistent marketing distribution of your knowledge & experience with the skill

I have some Creative Guides that might help with that...

Master of ONE Roadmap

Choose a Profitable Path

Become a pathfinder by merging a talent with a high-demand skill and a new interest that's exciting or challenging.

Eliminate the Competition

Decide to master ONE thing, instead of everything, and discover a treasure trove of clients looking for specialists not generalists.

F.O.C.U.S. on a Problem

Make a name for yourself by focusing your brand identity & messaging on industry needs, desires, choices, and gaps.

Build Roads to the Solution

Spend 90 days stacking brand authority blocks and creating portfolio pieces that lead to Rome (your signature solution).

Control the Traffic Flow

Construct systems that build trust over time by sending leads to the right place, at the right time, and even the right person.

Expand Your Territory

Amplify brand reach by mapping out authority assets, digital products, media opportunities, and other income streams.

Creative Guides for Senior-Level Graphic Designers

All Guides

No course to list.

Think Small. Grow BIG!

Hi 👋🏼, I'm Aisha.

Brand Strategist and Designer

I used to be a graphic design desk jockey pushing pixels for accounts like Hill & Valley, Dollar General, Walmart, and SmartCo Foods at a fast-paced, retail ad agency.

The game room, soda machine, and annual trip to Six Flags masked the low pay for a while...until burning the midnight oil ever Friday burned me out in eight months flat.

After a new job and subsequent layoff from that, I decided to stay home after first kiddo and try freelancing. The breakthrough in my billing happened when I focused on serving one client with one skill: Brand Strategy.

I branded cool clients along the way like the "SockDock" — a viral laundry helper that's been viewed by millions on Good Morning America, Fox, ABC, and the Today show, and I've also contributed to the HuffPost; referrals came easy.

Then COVID happened, clients disappeared, and I got off track failing in other niches that caught my eye as they promised to be the next, pandemic-proof thing.

Now I'm rebuilding back again in a new design vertical with the same brand strategy framework, and warning other creative freelancers about the perils of splitting your focus.