Summary: By: Anne Dewvall.
Unless you are a designer by trade, you should think twice
before putting the look of your business in your own hands. You may have
fantastic taste or a fervor for Photoshop, but your business is too important
to DIY graphic design.
We know entrepreneurs are often pinching pennies, especially
during the startup phase. But, investing in a good graphic designer will pay
dividends. Your clients are judging your business from the moment they set eyes
on you. From your company logo to package design for your breakthrough product
to your website, the way your company looks
matters at least as much as how it acts. Here are a few of the many reasons
why you shouldn’t leave those design choices in your own hands.

Humans are visual creatures. Looks are important, even when
they possibly shouldn’t be. Yes,
customers should hire your plumbing business based on how well you fix leaks,
but first they make a decision about how likely your business looks to fix
leaks based on your logo, the sign on your van, and a million other ways you
may have left a visual impression on them. The top reason to hire a designer: design is important to your business’s
bottom line.
The second most important reason entrepreneurs should hire a
graphic designer is because design is skilled work. Whether or not you have
artistic talent of your own (but especially if not), you can't compete with designers who are trained to
present your business to the world. Talented designers can build websites that
engage customers and drive sales or create advertisements that make your
business memorable. This isn’t something you learn overnight: that expertise is
what makes a designer a good expense. Just like you wouldn’t (we hope) take on
your own accounting or legal representation, graphic design is best left to the
pros.
A graphic designer can provide a fresh perspective. While
it’s important for entrepreneurs to maintain close contact with their brand
identity, a designer can be a great creative collaborator. Together, you’ll
build better ideas than you would alone.
Entrepreneurs know that the pressure of perfectionism can
often be a drag, especially when you are the one making all the decisions. Have
you ever spent way too long debating about a color choice? Have you postponed
designing a website because you didn’t have the time to make it look good? Let
a designer break through those barriers for you so you can move forward and
spend your time working on your business instead of the business of making your
business look good.
Finally, entrepreneurs should outsource their graphic design
projects because DIYing your own design runs the risk of looking amateur and
cheap. We’ve all seen this happen. The business card with the size 18
lettering. The black website with green text that someone thought seemed cool.
The advertisement with a dozen different fonts that made it impossible to know
what was for sale. When it comes to graphic design, remember – you get what you
pay for!
Content Contributed by Anne Dewvall, NetWork Kansas. NetWork Kansas is a proud U.S.SourceLink affiliate, America's largest resource network for entrepreneurs.