How to Set Up Your Freelance Design Business

In this episode of BEYOND Design, I’m talking about the part of freelancing we often avoid in the beginning — setting up the basic foundation of your freelance design business.

Not the fancy website.
Not the perfect brand.
Not seventeen apps and a dramatic business plan.

Just the simple things that make you feel more legit, more organised, and less all over the place when a client finally asks, “Can you send me a quote?”

We’ll talk about the four basics every freelance designer needs: admin, client basics, simple tools, and a clear online presence. Because sometimes the reason your business feels messy is not because you are not talented enough. It is because the structure behind the work is not holding you yet.

I also share a simple 7-day get set up plan to help you start putting the right things in place without overthinking everything.

You do not need to build the whole business in one day.
You just need somewhere solid to stand.

Read the full shownotes and 7-day checklist here

Thanks for listening to BEYOND Design ✨

If this episode spoke to you, here are a few ways to keep the conversation going:

Website & Resources → kunshuis.com
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Show notes & blogs → kunshuis.com/blog

Free support for creatives:

• 21-Day Creative Reset Challenge
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🖤 My favourite tools for life + business:

• The Playbook Planner
  — your creative sidekick for focus + flow
• The Playbook Desk
  — a Notion-powered space to run your freelance business with ease

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Because design is only 20%… the rest is life.
Thanks for being here, friend. You’re not alone in this journey—let’s design it together.

Transcript

The Four-Part Freelance Foundation

A Seven-Day Setup Plan

Tools That Hold It Together

Chase Solid And Keep It Simple

SPEAKER_00 0:27

There's something I wish more creatives would hear earlier. You do not need to look big to start properly. You do not need the fancy brand, the polished website, the perfect systems, the matching everything. But you do need a foundation. Because that is usually the thing that makes you feel all over the place in the beginning. Not your talent, not your style, not even your confidence. It is the fact that behind the scenes, not everything feels set up yet. And then every small thing feels bigger than it should be. A client asks for a quote and suddenly you panic. Someone asks for you to have terms and conditions and your stomach drops. They ask where they can see your work and now you're opening folders and looking at your backups like your life is depending on it. You finish a job and then you realize, how do I send an invoice? That kind of stress is not always because you're not ready. Sometimes it's just because the house is not properly built yet. This is not the sexy side, not the shiny side, it's the actual side. The side that makes you feel steady and ready. Because I know how it is to think once I have more clients, then I will sort myself out. But the truth is, getting sorted is often what helps you handle the clients once they do show up. And I learned this in the long and hard way. I did not start with everything beautifully in place. Not at all. I started like many of us do, with talent, hope, fear, and just enough bravery to say yes before I felt fully ready. And I think in the beginning that is normal and it's okay. But what I also know now is you do come to a point where you need to stop only being creative and start becoming buildable. Not corporate, not cold, just buildable. What does that mean? It means to have something with bones, something that can carry weight when things become difficult. Something that can support the life you say you want. Because freelancing is not just design. It is also can I hold the client well? Can I send the right things? Can I communicate clearly? Can I take payment without feeling awkward? Can I present myself online in a way that makes sense? Can I make this feel real for both me and the client? That is the foundation. And the thing is most creatives delay this part because it feels boring or scary or too business-ish. But honestly, it's one of the most loving things that you can do for yourself. Setting up your business properly is not you becoming less creative. It's you making your creativity easier to carry. That is such a different thing. So if you are at the stage where your business feels like paper all up in the wind, I want to help you bring it all back to only the basics. Not everything, just the first things. The things that make you feel legit, more settled, more able to say yes, I can do this. For me, the foundation has four parts, and it's the four parts why I say freelance is not difficult. It's small things done right consistently. So the first thing is admin. I know nobody claps for admin, nobody posts reels about folders and files and payment terms, but admin is the part that protects your piece. You need a simple way to send quotes, a simple way to send invoices, a place to track your payment, a basic process for how a job moves from inquiry to finished project. That alone will calm down so much noise in your head. Because when everything is living in WhatsApps or your email inbox, your notes app and your memory, that's not business, that is survival. And that type of survival is super, super exhausting. The second pod is client basics. And this is where you need to ask yourself, if somebody contacts me today, what do I actually have ready for them? Do you have a clear email response? Do you know how to explain your process? Do you have terms and conditions? Even if it's basic ones. Do you know how your deposits work? Do you know what files you deliver when a project is done or what falls outside of your design scope? These are small things until they are not. Because the lack of these things is where a lot of resentment lives. Not because clients are bad, sometimes they are just unclear, and that unclear falls unto us. A proper foundation helps both you and your client. The third part is your tools. And I want to say this clearly because I think social media has made the whole thing ridiculous. You do not need 17 apps. You do not need a subscription for everything. You do not need the setup of a seven figure tech founder. You need tools that help you do the work, communicate well, and stay organized enough to breathe and be creative. That might be a design program, cloud storage, an invoicy tool or spreadsheet, a note system, a calendar or a proper email. That already is a lot. Sometimes people overboard because they think if they have more, they will feel more serious. But often that is exactly the opposite. Too many tools can make you feel scattered before you even have started. Simple is serious. Then the fourth part is your online presence. And again, not perfect, just clear. Can somebody find you? Can they understand what you do? Can they see a bit of your work? Can they know how to contact you? That is enough to begin. You do not need a huge website with thin pages and animation and a copywriter's dream paragraph about how to transform brands into visionary ecosystems. Please don't overwhelm yourself. You need a clean place online that says, This is who I am, this is what I do, and this is how to reach me. That is it. Even one page can do that very, very well. And I think this matters because sometimes we keep hiding behind not ready yet when what we really mean is I am scared to be seen before everything is perfect. And I get that, I truly do. There is a very vulnerable feeling in putting yourself online before you feel fully formed, but your business is allowed to start small and still be real. Actually, most good businesses do. Mine did not begin with some huge polished ecosystem and perfect strategy, beautiful websites. It grew because I kept building underneath while I was working. And that is what I want for you to not pressure, just structure, not perfection, just enough to stop every inquiry from feeling like a mini crisis, enough to stop second guessing every email. Enough to feel like you are not pretending anymore. Because that fake it till you make it thing, I don't know, I've never really liked that. I think what helps more is set up enough that you can trust yourself. I think that changes everything. When you know where your files are, you feel calmer. When you have a quote template, you feel readier. When you know your process, you speak differently with more confidence. When your online presence matches what you do, people trust you more. And honestly, you trust yourself more as well. I think that's gold. And that is what a foundation does. Gives you somewhere to stand. So if you are listening to this and feeling like your business is a little bit all over the place, I do not want you to go into panic mode and try and fix your whole life by tonight. Please do not do that. I want you to take the next seven days and get your basics in place. Not beautifully, just properly. Here is your seven day get set up plan. Day one, set up your business admin home. Create one main folder. In that folder, you place quotes, invoices, clients, projects, portfolio, brand assets, admin folder. That is it. Day number two. Create your core templates. Make one quote template, one invoice template, and one simple email response for new inquiries. Do not overthink this process or the wording. Just make it clear so that you can use it. Day three. Write down your process. From first inquiry to final files. What are the steps? Even if it's rough, write it down. Inquiry, discovery, quote, deposit, design, feedback, final payment, final files. Now your business is kind of taking shape. Day four. Set your basic terms. What deposit do you require? How many rounds of changes do you include? When is payment due? What happens if the project grows? This does not need to sound legal or scary, it just needs to be clear for you and your client. Day five, clean up your tools. Choose your main tools and stop hopping around. Where will you keep your notes? Where will you track tasks? Where will files live? Where will invoices happen? Pick simple and stick with it. Day six. Fix your online presence. Update your Instagram bio, your portfolio, your website, LinkedIn or wherever or whatever you are using. Make sure it clearly says what you do, who you help and how to contact you. Remove the clutter, add clarity. Day seven. Let's pull it all together. Pretend a dream client contacts you today. Can you reply? Can you send a quote? Can you explain your process? Can they find your work? Can you invoice them? If yes, you are more set up than you think. And also, this is exactly why I made the playbook planner and the playbook desk. Because I know not every creative wants to build all of this from scratch. Sometimes you do not need more ideas, you need something that already holds all the pieces together. The playbook planner holds the human. It's the thoughts, the notes, the weekly planning, the real life, the things in your head, the kids, the reminders, and the playbook desk holds the business, your client process, your systems, your structure, the workflow, the site that helps you actually run things without feeling like you are reinventing the wheel every five minutes. That is the beauty of it. A lot of what I spoke about today already is there. It's not a case of staring at the blank page and trying to figure it all out. It's more like plug and play. You bring your business, your way of working, your personality, your clients, and these tools help you hold it all better and all together. Because sometimes the most beautiful thing is not building more from scratch. It's giving yourself support that already understands the way creativity and creatives work. So if you are sitting there thinking, I know I need structure, but I do not even know where to begin, that is exactly where these were meant to meet you. You do not need to build the whole house in one go. You just need to stop living on an empty plot. That is the difference. A strong business is not built on one dramatic moment. It is building small and sexy decisions that make things easier, clearer, and steadier both for you and your clients. And sometimes that is the real blow up. Not the rebrand or the fancy launch, just finally putting the right things in place. And as my college professor said, do not get distracted by all the bells and the whistles. Because when your foundation is there, your creativity has somewhere safe to land. And that matters. So this week do not chase perfect, chase solid, chase clear, chase peaceful. That is how this starts feeling real. And chase easy. Don't overcomplicate it. It's not necessary. Just do what you can and do it for yourself. If something landed yet today, please subscribe, leave me a review so that more creatives can follow. And we can help each other to understand that freelancing is not difficult. It's just small things done right consistently. I'm here to help you, guide you. Please let me know if there's anything specially you want to hear about. So thank you again for being here. It's wonderful talking to you, and I will talk to you again soon. Bye.