DESIGNERS: Why I Promote and Support You Rather Than Compete Against You

In case you haven’t stopped by this blog lately, my last few posts here have been focused on promoting new, upcoming and/or lesser-known designers. It has been a wonderful experience getting to meet and interact with other designers that I’ve never known or heard of before, and the satisfaction of creating a forum to raise awareness of their work – and even their existence – has been priceless. It has truly been a joy and it has inspired me to continue finding ways to contribute to the expansion of the design community however I can.

Along the way, however, the inevitable question has come up: am I endangering my own freelance design business by promoting other designers who compete for the same clients? So after thinking about this I thought it would be an interesting post and possible discussion with others in the creative community. So here is what I’ve found.

I ONLY COMPETE AGAINST MYSELF

I am an extremely competitive person. I want to be the best at whatever I do, whether it’s writing, designing, music, sports, being the “world’s greatest Dad and husband”, and on and on. But in recent years I have come to the realization that comparison and competition can be extremely destructive.

Think about it. How much of our life is built around comparison? I am too fat (compared to the ‘skinny’ people). I am too short (compared to the ‘normal height’ people). I don’t have enough followers on Twitter or enough friends on Facebook (compared to the more ‘popular’ people). My clothes are out of style, my car is not cool enough, and so on. The entire advertising industry feeds on our insecurities and comparative nature, banking on that within us that is never satisfied with what we have in comparison to what others have. Keeping up with the Joneses is as old as the Original Sin.

But if I will take the time to stop looking around and comparing myself to others, and instead focus on who I am, what I have to offer, and how I am growing, I will most likely discover that I am my own truest competition.

I have high standards for myself. As a designer I want to be creative, original, and unique. As a freelancer I want to be genuine, honest, affordable, professional and helpful to my clients. As a business I want to be able to provide for my family financially.

In many ways I am accomplishing these things. Maybe not as well as others, but I am doing better at every single one of these things today than I was a year ago. By comparing my past experiences and accomplishments with what I am currently achieving I can see that I am winning this competition. On the other hand, if I looked back and discovered that I have not improved or grown at all, I would have to admit my failures and get busy with changing the status quo. Either way, it is obvious that I have the ability to succeed or fail based solely on the comparison of my own past and present accomplishments. Isn’t that enough to go by rather than looking at others in the same field as a measuring stick?

WE NEED EACH OTHER

As I have been discovering the amazing design community that until recently I didn’t even know existed, I have come to realize how invaluable my interaction with other freelancers and designers and bloggers has become. Before this revelation I relied solely on self-education. I am completely self-taught as a designer and in the past I have used the internet and my local libraries to expand my knowledge and abilities. But recently I have increased my learning exponentially at a ridiculously rapid pace thanks to the numerous blogs, tutorials, freelancers and designers that I have been introduced to, primarily through Twitter. The wealth of people and information that my eyes have been opened to has made me a better designer, freelancer, writer and person across the board, and I am experiencing personal and professional growth that is increasing quicker than ever before.

I have come to realize that I am better off looking to others, learning from them, interacting and engaging with them than I was holed up in my own little world. And together the design community is assisting anyone who wants to engage in becoming better at our craft, our business and our lives.

So why in the world would I try to be better than others in that community? Instead I want to encourage their growth and improvements as they support and assist me in mine. In the end, we are all better for it!

I DON’T HAVE TIME TO DO ALL YOUR WORK IF I HAD IT ANYWAY

I am a full time freelance designer. By definition that means I work as much or as little as I choose. I am my own boss. But ultimately I am driven by the need to provide for my family and to continue having the freedom that freelancing can provide. This usually means that I work 10-14 hours per day anywhere from 5 to 7 days per week. I love what I do, so it’s not a stressful atmosphere or something I wish I didn’t have to spend as much time doing. It truly is a wonderful way to make a living.

But if I were in competition with you and trying to steal your clients or at least get them all to notice me, when in the world would I find the time to do your work along with the work I already have?

Yes, the economic state we are currently living in dictates a need to maintain the best financial security possible. But for some reason my client count has increased more in these “hard times” than in previous years. Recent developments in social media and internet services paired with businesses looking for low overhead solutions (like e-commerce) have created an abundant need for web designers, social media managers, and more of the various services I provide. An abundance that is far beyond what I alone could handle.

So in the end, if I were to somehow convince all your clients to migrate over to me, I would have to hire a slew of employees to make sure all the work was completed.

That would pretty much ruin my ability to be a freelance designer, wouldn’t it?

CONCLUSION

In a nutshell, I have learned that I am FAR better off supporting and encouraging and even promoting other freelancers, designers, bloggers, and so on than I am trying to compete against them. I have gained new friends, new clients, new understandings, new education and on and on. It is my hope that I am also helping others to do the same. Together we can only marvel at how society is improved by our refusal to live in comparison and insecurity, and together we can encourage more people to do the same. It’s an idealist pursuit, but why not? I think it’s much better than the alternative. By comparison, anyway.

What do you think?