I Wish I Knew This When I Started: Logo Design Pt. 2

How to overcome the imposter syndrome as a creative. Lessons learned from starting a design company. How to charge more for a logo design. Why do some designers feel guilty about charging for creative services? Why charge $50 for a logo? Why did you continue to charge so little?
This is the conclusion of my conversation with Ben Burns.
Find MrBenBurns here:
/ mrbenburns
/ mrbenburns
Annotations:
--
0:53 Q: What would you say to the younger version of yourself working on Odesk?
2:48 Three crucial things every small to medium size business needs to have
4:12 Think about the pain points of the potential clients that can actually afford your services
5:04 Turn client pain points into a shareable piece of valuable content to promote your services
7:00 Guide clients through the best future applications of their logo
7:33 Designers excel because they make things appear to be of higher quality and more valuable than they are.
9:04 Move into a higher market: people refer other clients who are like themselves
10:14 How valuable you are is an issue of supply and demand
10:58 Gain the confidence to charge more money
12:41 Alot of designers suffer from imposter syndrome
16:19 If you've had success and people are heaping praise on you for your work, start doubling and raising your prices.
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The PROCESS
Credits:
Executive Producer- Chris Do
Hosts- Chris Do
Director- Aaron Szekely
Cameraman- Aaron Szekely, Andrew Truong
Producer- Aaron Szekely
Editor- Aaron Szekely
Show Open- designed by William VanSkaik, animated by Bara Kwon
Intro Theme Song- Adam Sanborne www.adamsanborne.com
Annotations- Isaiah Nwukor
===
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[@terris3662]

Chris isn't just a designer, he's a psychologist.

[@tabbykittiem]

I was just thinking this is like design therapy.

[@ynotbutcher1891]

@@tabbykittiem lol

[@ninamilosavljevic8kg]

buddhist

[@ninamilosavljevic8kg]

disguised as a designer

[@nilscrawford4100]

Marketing is nothing but psychology

[@elis2781]

Shoutout to Ben for being vulnerable enough to put this on camera. Felt like a therapy session but this will help so many people, myself included

[@thefutur]

Eli S it's had a very therapeutic effect for a bunch of folks.

[@bdubsmusclepakk]

Very true. I would have been ashamed to admit that I robbed myself. But I think he received coaching probably at a great price for the interview. LOL. Just my assumption.

[@godwin_njoroge]

Almost 2 years later and this is still timeless. Great segment guys

[@Zenasanatomy]

this episode was very healing

[@thefutur]

Gaelan Andrade wow. Thank you for sharing.

[@AtulPrd]

From $50 to $30K? That's astounding, Ben! How was he able to do it? Another video about it, perhaps?

[@thefutur]

Atul Pradhananga yes. Most def.

[@itajac80]

Ben Burns . How many concepts and revisions, does the 30k include? 😂

[@thefutur]

my guess, is it's the exact same amount.

[@dayzmelttogether]

ha

[@luciequenenni4510]

:o wow. that's exciting!

[@gabriellahanna5594]

16:00 - "You are good enough when the client calls you. When they call you, you are already qualified for the job. Something you have done, your reputation, your body of work; Something you have done and got you the call to begin with, the game begins. Game is not about proving yourself to that person. But the person is already a good fit for you. So if you already have success in the work you have done, and people keeping praise upon you. Next time out, when anybody calls you including the same client, I want you to double the price. " 16:51 - " Don't take into consideration what's school you have been to, what degree you got, what city you live in, and how many awards you won; because none of that matters. IT'S THE INTERNAL BELIEF THAT MATTERS." Oh gosh!! Chris and Ben's sharing session is priceless. The Futur never want us to devaluing ourselves. This a true form of self-appreciation and self-love, and I think its one of the most important part of being an artist. We often get devalued by our society as they always want you to "lower the price" and say "It's easy to do that". But I am so grateful your videos teach so much about how to value yourself, because WE ARE WORTHY. Love you Chris, thanks for being who you are and change to the world !! This is truly a psychotherapy session that I don't deserve :')

[@SchmackTheScythe913]

When Ben Burns talks it's like he's talking from mý deepest soul. Am here wondering how I have been having the EXACT mentality he had. Then Chris do is just opening my mind to new echelons. WOW this has been the most mind opening conversation for me. I thank you both. May you guys get getting blessed 🙌🏽🙌🏽

[@thefutur]

Glad to hear

[@FamiliarVegetable]

Im an architect and I find this series a jewel. It's quite a different avenue that I'm in but I believe it's the same walk & destination. Like everyone else, this is hitting thru my core.

[@Seth-L]

architecture student... literally found this channel yesterday

[@parryprk]

Now thats a confidence booster for me.. Felt like Ben was me... Subscribed!!

[@munezstudio8300]

You're amazing Chris!!! This video is from 2016 but I'm watching now in 2019 you're inspiring me a lot I'm learning a lot from you, if I can make the price double I'll definitely send you #10%

[@ishaanambavane4490]

THESE KIND OF KZbin VIDEO'S >>>>>>>>> MY YEARS OF SCHOOLING

[@ghmasterjj]

This was a fantastic video, it really reinforced my confidence

[@thefutur]

Awesome to hear Roy. Boom.

[@multitalentedlator]

yea mines too!!

[@DebjitMajumdar]

The reason you are worth giving my ten percent in my next breakthrough, is you looked me in the eye and you had this conversation happen which actually changed my feelings towards myself.

[@thefutur]

Good luck 👍🏼

[@pradeepgusain5]

"The Futur" is Next level. Thank you for educating designers like me who can't afford to go to design school. I'm learning a lot from this channel. Every video by "The Futur" is PRICELESS. Thanks a million to Chris and his team.

[@CelestineKirui]

Me too. I am learning a lot.

[@gh0ulie]

I had about 7 breakthroughs from the first through the second part. was literally jumping because of how many connections in my head this did for me. THANK YOU THEFUTUR!

[@thefutur]

Glad to hear Stone!

[@dreese6280]

I SOOO needed this!! I identify with Ben & his spirit and am in awe at the progression he detailed. And Chris! I really appreciate his way of teaching & explaining a different way of seeing and thinking. More please!!

[@edraldi]

Ben. You’re awesome and you’ll only get better as you continue to solidify you’re greatness. Please always share what you’ve learned. It’s extremely important. Chris, you are a real Guru. I thoroughly enjoy listening to you, then applying the lessons you and your team are sharing. I’ve of late have been feeling the Imposter Syndrome, and I’m 50. I’m now either relearning or learning for the first time, the many things I’ve missed during a decent career. But I need to remind myself, as Ben probably has, that he was born with raw talent. We just needed to learn the business and how to speak to it, so we could could sell it and be trusted. To be looked at as experts. Thank you guys. Keep up the good work, education and empathy. La Paz.

[@armandoarellano6405]

This was absolutely what I needed. Glad this video was recommended to me by KZbin. I've been watching tons of The Futur videos now. The 'Letter' Idea is brilliant. I'll have to do that.

[@shawaw99]

So glad I came across these videos (while I was in the process of designing a $50 logo for a friend). I've already set a goal to completely revamp my archviz business and resolved to never again settle for less than I'm worth.

[@aary9176]

Wow, I can't wait to do the same . It's like looking inner to look outer to find conguency with clients and this helps build an audience who also learns why they are your audience on a deeper level

[@PhilipChamberlain]

I could not have happened upon this oasis of gems and information at a better time. I LITERALLY just decided to take my Graphic Design career seriously and advertise. These videos have increased my knowledge, understanding and most importantly, my confidence 10 fold. Thank you very much.

[@robamostafa700]

Chris, thank you as much as thank you means. I can't express how much your videos are helpful to me...

[@WhackPanther]

I have carved myself out a niche of design for clients within the company I work for and I have been plagued with the "imposter syndrome" in the 5 years that I have worked this new craft. This information has been so timely and so inspiring- thank you, it is exactly what I needed to hear.

[@isaacruiz8736]

It's 3am, I've just discovered this channel and I'm here watching these amazing videos one after the other. This has opened my eyes so much and gave me the confidence to be more daring and proactive as a designer when I'm freelancing. Can't believe I haven't taken one of your classes at ArtCenter! Thanks so much for this channel, Chris.

[@thefutur]

Isaac Ruiz hi Isaac. You are here now and that's all that matters.

[@SharonDeCaro]

I'm Futur binging, too LOL

[@pauldcastro]

Just found your channel today and I gotta say the amount of knowledge on this channel is just fantastic! Thank you all for putting these videos online for people like me to learn.

[@thefutur]

welcome paul.

[@shwestarstar]

Thanks for this. This is such an important conversation. Artists especially aspiring ones get discouraged to keep going with the fear of not figuring out how to monetize their work. As much as its important to not be greedy, knowing hot to rightly monetize your work is important to survive. This really helped ease some of my thoughts and doubts.

[@scola.official]

This was the video made from Nov 12, 2016. A year later, Mr. Ben Burns became the COO of this channel. The real value here!

[@thefutur]

Changing lives.

[@MotionOndra]

I just found out about this channel and I can't get enough. I'm really glad you exist, thank you for your content.

[@thefutur]

Thank you.

[@mariahagstenmichelsen1225]

Thank you both for part 2 of this interview. It has been so great to hear your thoughts about strategies for finding work which pays you enough and about overcoming the imposter syndrome. At a point where I feel hopelessness, you give me the courage to stand firm and to believe in myself. Thank you again!

[@thefutur]

Maria Hagsten Michelsen thank you sharing Maria. We are there for you.

[@AG_before]

The ROI of a Creative person/team. I'm a Creative Director and I still can't answer that well enough to my CEO. Thank you Chris. I can now tell him why instead of ask him how, and I've been a designer for over 20 years! Most of your videos are gems. I wish you the best.

[@NguyenTran-jz8cd]

This helps so many young logo designers! Thank you so much Chris, Ben and The Futur. Big thumps-up for you guys!

[@AmeHart]

This series was really great. I'm tearing up at the responses. Really good for any creative, as you said, but I'm sure the topics will especially hit home for designers. Thank you for your words of wisdom and insight and (re)assurance.

[@thefutur]

❤️🙏🏼

[@AspiringHomes]

3 years later .. it still make sense ❤️ your content will be watched even after centuries .. u guys are building an awesome ocean of knowledge that works for not only design business but for everyone doing something ..

[@thefutur]

Thank you

[@Lifeisintheair]

this video still relate until today, thanks for sharing. I have trouble to start again as a freelancer in this pandemic era and these videos really helps me to re-think & re-build the path for tomorrow.

[@belloqudusolanrewaju8902]

Chris, how come you become such an amazing person?! Thanks for everything man.

[@halerardin4252]

Honestly just thank you!!!!!!!!! This stuff is everything for a designer. Everything

[@pariswelchromero]

A wonderful transition of Ben from Part 1 to Part 2! Congrats! You did a great job of mentoring him out of his shell. I subscribed and "liked".

[@thefutur]

ben has come a long way.

[@b2thafuta]

This has helped me so much! I even sent this to a friend who owns a hair salon and it's spurred them to ask deeper questions and pursue those bigger clients. Thank you for making The Futur available to us!

[@thefutur]

Awesome! Glad to hear.

[@r.designs]

Man, this is the most helpful thing I have ever watched & learned from as a self-taught designer....I’m just blown away...

[@sidathramesh]

The analytical skills of Chris Do is bind blowing. I watched both the parts and it changed me the way I'm thinking of my core beliefs of my skills. Thank you both. God bless you.

[@Super_Naught]

I just found your videos today and have watched alot of them. This part 1 and 2, really spoke to me as im that modest guy. Doing other hand skills work for 20-30 hours and catching $150. I felt horrible but could have got more. Now im looking at logos and packaging and was trying to figure out pricing. Your videos really put a fire in my confidence and will hold my artwork in alot high regard than i have. Thank you!

[@thefutur]

ryan hinchcliff excellent. 🔥🔥

[@johnstevenalejandro3034]

Man, im so thankful having this content for free. Thank you so much!

[@thefutur]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@emberN]

i love these kinds of videos. real not too much editing and people being real. sweat and blood included. good job! learned a lot.

[@djtoman6875]

Chris is a fabulous interviewer for this sort of piece. My mind is flooding with inspiration and ideas, starting with blog topics and managing client expectations.

[@thefutur]

Dj Toman thanks DJ.

[@mlaurentiu]

you guys said everything. it applies on other areas as well. thank you for the insight.

[@thefutur]

Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@dafthassin9269]

Created my first logo a while back after I graduated and asked for a $500 price tag. The research that I had to do, the branding, the logo styles and it's application to merchandise through a few mock-ups and a month's worth of work; seems to have been a lot for that price range now. Watching this and a few videos prior, about valuing once work and having that confidence to go along with it, really does help all of us here trying to get our feet wet within this industry.

[@vikranto]

This is so eye opening conversation , usually all so called big designers just talks about the Do,s and Don'ts and some software tool which they prefer (where people thinks that's where he got that) but its totally about mindset , symmetrical logic, self confidence and saying you are worth for that . i am not much of a graphic guy but i am slowing getting into as i am running out of job the one which i always wanted to be (concept artist ) . Congratulate Ben (and tons of thanks for sharing your experience ) and Chris you really saving lots of creative minds life....Cheers looking forward to more on same !

[@thefutur]

Thanks and Cheers! #Reprogram #Unlearn

[@Sam-rg5hx]

Great episode. Thanks Ben for sharing your personal experience. Thanks Chris for the guidance. You both helped me a lot to move forward!

[@chachadodds5860]

"Permission," is the key for anybody that lacks confidence. It's where having a coach is invaluable. Great video on overcoming insecurity & low self image. "Triple down on current strengths & accomplishments."

[@connor_ge]

This is one of the most important videos on youtube for designers, thanks for sharing!

[@thefutur]

Thanks Connor.

[@ChristianLeovido]

Thank you for uploading this video, it was mind opening. I subscribed to your channel and found a huge amount of value in these series. Greatly appreciate it.

[@yellchai]

I'm 28 and starting my own design business and the futur has been my bible! I had a plan to do 4-5 brand identities for free for friends/colleagues and then would go straight to market with the aim to charge $300-$500 for a logo. I've just finished said gratis work and will come back to this when we have landed our first client!

[@digitalarch1969]

I can totally relate to Ben and I became quite emotional on the near end of the video. That impostor syndrome is so real to me as well. I'm glad that one was brought up!

[@farheenreshi]

Wow! I don't have words to describe.....you completely changed my perception. I am a beginner trying to get into graphics design. I just love your content❤

[@SoyUnoChavo]

You know.. I didn't really like Chris for the first few videos I saw with him, but he really touched my heart with this video. It was very touching, informative and uplifting. Thanks Chris for having these videos available to us! Wish you the best!

[@thefutur]

Thanks Sal

[@danieldondzilo7986]

Four years old and still as relevant. Great interview. This is a timeless topic.

[@edimainwang1255]

I have watched a number of videos from you guys but this is one of my best episodes because it has really caused me to begin my healing journey. Thanks Chris and Ben.

[@thefutur]

Glad to hear.

[@aerodylluk2543]

I can be really critical of you guys and your stuff but you are easily the best resource I have found for learning the business of design. Really great video.

[@thefutur]

Thanks Ben.

[@cece4226]

Man, I'm learning alot watching this! Love how you guys think so outside the box, it is Amazing! 👍👍🏆🏆

[@kathrynrotsaert1620]

This is really great advice for all creative/entrepenurial types, not just designers. You set your value. Half the battle is the internal one.

[@thefutur]

at least 50% is mental.

[@untoldanalytics1259]

Literally in the works of marketing to barbershops. Thank you for the free lesson, tied up with personal exploration and a therapy session! Forever thankful, Chris!

[@thefutur]

Glad to hear

[@josefc7787]

This is very encouraging and refreshing! My name is Josef and new to your channel. I just want to say, I wished I knew about this way back when I was attending design school because all of what said makes so much more sense! Thank you guys! Keep it up!

[@chronicfish]

I really needed to hear this Chris... extremely helpful and valuable

[@thefutur]

chronicfish glad to help.

[@wanpotutu1285]

This is good information. I think thefutur are doing a great job revealing the value graphic designers have.

[@chrislo5780]

this is truly gold content... thank you both!

[@cherishnichole]

Still very relevant, this should be tied in with your talk/video on confidence. You hit it on the nail when you mentioned that designers suffer from that "waiting to be discovered' syndrome and the fear of being called an imposture. This is giving me much strength to move from the service desk support field and back into designing. Thank You.

[@thefutur]

Here to help.

[@fredlalas]

Bro I JUST charged someone $50 for like 2 good looking logos... I’m on the EXACT same path as young Ben right now.

[@heatherbozarth6152]

Thank you for the encouragement and advice, Ben! I am trying to start a web and graphic design business and have been struggling with a lot of the things you spoke of.

[@thefutur]

go for it!!

[@arifstryder5393]

Love this convo. It does enlighten me to pursue what I would love to be, an expert graphic designer and a great life designer. Thank you Chris, and thank you Ben 😁🚀

[@SoFlyIndustry]

You're so right. We often feel like we need to be validated by someone we respect so that we feel good about pushing it a step further. I'm exactly at that stage. Thanks for the enlightenment. (big words!)

[@thefutur]

lol. (small word)

[@bryandelgadoaguirre1324]

I follow your channel for a long time, I love your videos and the value they bring me, but these two videos are the best!! I feel totally identified with Ben, I just found out about Fiverr and I was thinking about joining that platform to get clients, I live in Bolivia and here people don't have much culture to make a logo for their brand, companies are very informal and they don't even pay $50, but after seeing Ben's life, he inspired me to want more and to be able to charge more for what I do, thank you for everything and God bless you for sharing your experiences.

[@Easilivnpage]

wow,i normally do not comment on KZbin videos but i just thought your video is worth my comment.This is a great eye opener for me.I came across your channel some days ago and i keep asking myself what i have been doing all along.Thanks so much guys

[@thefutur]

Hi. Thanks for the feedback. Glad you found our channel and hope you'll stick around.

[@AmodeusR]

I didn't want to "lose my time" watching these two videos, but more of gained time instead of losing it, I gained confidence in at least trying to start to sell my knowledge. I never believed in me when it came to designing, because everything I ever created was always jury rigs, improvisations of how to do something that sometimes made everything harder and/or bizarre to work with. However, after watching these two videos, I want to at least try to have a start, even though I am kind of in this point. I'll learn what I need and don't know and become better, while finally having a start. Thank you so much for these videos!

[@TechMyLifeVideo]

Some fantastic stuff, this video has been sitting in my watch later for too long, I didn’t think it could be so amazing. Thanks.

[@TechMyLifeVideo]

Technically part 1 was in there. :)

[@aaresabdool1278]

Hey Chris, this was great thank you so much, it really helps knowing that its not just me going through these things. keep up the great work

[@SmartdogYT]

This video series is just amazing! I think a lot of great designers need to work on their self confidence (me included) and this kind of tutorials / interviews are real helping!

[@thefutur]

thank you. I have 2 lectures on confidence that I will try to record and share.

[@GoodmorningPanda]

You guys have me hooked! This is great advice for someone coming straight out of college, thanks!

[@thefutur]

MsPanda hi. Welcome to the channel.

[@codmarshal2292]

the best thing for me is that I am still a teenager but I get to see here why some people fail or some people succeed, i mean its the best thing to learn from mistakes, but wasting time in doing mistakes and learning from them why don't we learn from others mistake....this channel is great.

[@mace9502]

Thank you so much for these videos. If I continue on the graphic design path, this will help me so much!!!

[@georgerobles9747]

I've been in such a rut for a long time. This has changed my perspective greatly. Thank you!

[@massmanpro]

I just stumbled upon this video today and MAN it's making me rethink a lot of things about my business. Excellent advise guys!

[@thefutur]

You're very welcome.

[@junaediprasetia8173]

thankyou Chris Do & Team! 🙏🙏 to set the high-price, is not about what degrees you have, where city you are live in, what the war do you won, is not about that. to set the high-price, is about internal believe. -Chris Do. *my-note.

[@philiq18]

Confidence. It really all comes down to confidence. I appreciated that point on the "impostor syndrome". I've had some insecurities around that, because I don't have a certificate/diploma/degree in graphic design. My background and formal qualifications are in urban/city planning, but I've been a self-taught graphic designer for 14 years. This discussion really helped to give me some new perspective to move past feeling like an impostor or poser. Thanks!

[@thefutur]

you have to believe in yourself.

[@txips]

Hi! I really appreciated this design talks that you guys are doing. Learning so much from listening to this and understanding whats the right mentality to approach my own design work. Thanks for doing this, and keep it up!

[@thefutur]

txips thank you. We will.

[@JoseMedina-pv2ev]

Great video as always! Exactly what I needed to hear at this moment to reinforce the confidence in my work and my worth as a designer.

[@thefutur]

glad to hear joe.

[@FireInMyBones]

This is great. Right along the same thought process of those I work with. Stop playing small, play big. I was once told you can ask any price as long as you can keep a straight face.

[@TheDeehobbs]

This is solid guys! Thanks for the encouragement and straight up breakdown on how we as designers should be thinking.

[@thefutur]

thanks Will!

[@johnjumawid]

I love the way Chris thinks. His mindset is amazing. Awesome content!

[@karenwang6930]

Wow, really on point video. I'm going through the same things as Ben, and I feel like we have the same mind set and personality on charging people for work. I didn't major in design and have always had that impostor feeling ever since I started doing design seriously. And because of school, most of my friends are business and computer science majors, it's really great to see the mind sets of designers. When talking about making design into a successful business, a lot of videos out there will teach you how to earn passive income selling icons and t-shirts. It's refreshing to see this video taking another point of view, putting the emphasis on quality other than quantity.

[@thefutur]

hi karen. glad you connected with ben. many of our audience hear their story in ben's voice.

[@rbtx6025]

This was very helpful to me. I've been a paid freelance copywriter for a few months now and have been using Upwork to find clients. Like Ben, I didn't know what to charge clients and I let them decide what they wanted to pay. Ben is right, clients on Upwork want to pay pennies on the dollar for creative work that literally takes hours of your time because there are freelancers out there that will accept that. I'm going with the advice of "keep pushing the ceiling until you hit your limit". Thank you!

[@mazinabubacker7460]

I really needed this. This was really talking to me.

[@emdottie813]

Wow. This series has been eye opening. I'm a self taught designer and I have done logos for $50 because I felt like there were things I still didn't know. I felt like I couldn't charge as much as the pros. This really helped me. Thank you so much!!!!!

[@thefutur]

go get your money!

[@drawwithclawsarturoa.6772]

I identify a lot with what you guys talk is amazing how little sometimes we believe in our work or what we do. And and how hard is to put price on our work. this help me to a lot of points congrats for sharing this.thanks a lot.

[@thefutur]

Thank you.

[@iestynwalters7681]

Motivating stuff! Thanks to Ben for being so candid.

[@thefutur]

It would not be possible to have this dialogue w/ Ben if he wasn't so open.

[@aumarivero]

Watching in 2020. Such a classic. Thank you!

[@defcon9464]

Excellent video. You mentioned all the phases I went through. Thanks a lot!

[@thefutur]

Lucifer great. Thanks.

[@jmacuna]

Almost 6 years, but the value I learned from here is what made me go from $50 logos to $500. It's not that much but still paving to that $1000 up logos

[@thefutur]

Keep going.

[@denysbilous4243]

This is f**king incredible video. Thank you guys for what you are doing!

[@garrettledbetter7086]

This 3 year old video is one that I regularly come too to fight any negitive thoughts I may be having as a designer. Thank you for this educational and inspiring lesson .

[@thefutur]

Glad to hear

[@nagendrasingh9932]

This whole 2 part series is awesome. Loved it thoroughly. Would love to see videos on designing 'details' in one's design work for web/devices. Looking forward.

[@thefutur]

web design episode up next. live critique and review.