I’ve worked with a lot of small business owners over the years. Most of them are brilliant at what they do. Many of them find the creative and marketing side of things a bit stressful — not because they’re doing anything wrong, but because nobody ever told them how it works from this side of the table.
So here it is. The things I wish every client knew before we kicked off a project together.
A good brief is the best gift you can give a creative
The number one thing that determines how smoothly a project goes — more than budget, more than timeline, more than tools — is the quality of the brief.
You don’t need to know exactly what you want. That’s partly what you’re hiring me for. But the more clearly you can describe the problem you’re trying to solve, who you’re trying to reach, and what success looks like, the better the work will be.
“I want a new website” is a starting point. “I want a website that helps corporate HR managers understand what I do and feel confident enough to book a call” is a brief.
Changes are normal. Endless changes are a sign something went wrong earlier.
Good creative work involves revisions. That’s not a failure — it’s the process. You see something, you react to it, you refine it together. That’s how it’s supposed to go.
Where things get difficult is when the changes are fundamental. When the direction shifts three rounds in. When someone who wasn’t mentioned at the start suddenly has strong opinions in week four.
This usually isn’t anyone’s fault. It’s normally a sign the brief wasn’t tight enough, or that not everyone who needed to be involved was involved at the beginning. Getting the right people in the room (or on the call) at the start saves everyone a lot of time and goodwill later.
Timelines require both of us
One thing that catches clients off guard: a creative project can stall just as easily on your side as on mine.
I need things from you — feedback on drafts, sign-off on copy, access to accounts, photos or assets. If those things take a while to come through, the timeline moves. I can only work as fast as the information I have.
I’m not saying this to put pressure on anyone. I’m saying it so you can plan for it. If you know you’ll be on holiday in week three, let’s factor that in upfront rather than working around it under pressure.
“I’ll know it when I see it” is harder than it sounds
I understand this instinct completely. Sometimes it’s genuinely hard to articulate what you want before you’ve seen some options. But “I’ll know it when I see it” as the only brief puts a lot of guesswork into the early stages, which usually means more rounds of changes and a longer path to something you love.
The better version of this is: “I don’t know exactly what I want, but here are some examples of things I like, here’s what I definitely don’t want, and here’s the feeling I’m going for.” That’s something I can work with.
You know your business better than I do. I know communication better than you do.
This is the partnership that works. You are the expert on what you do, who you serve, and what matters in your industry. I’m the expert on how to communicate that in a way that resonates with the right people.
The best projects happen when both sides trust that. You trust me on the marketing and creative decisions. I trust you on the nuances of your work and your clients. Neither of us overrides the other’s area of expertise.
What makes a project genuinely enjoyable
Honestly? Clients who are invested but not anxious. Who give real feedback rather than vague approval. Who push back when something doesn’t feel right rather than signing off and then coming back to it later.
The clients I do my best work for are the ones who treat it as a collaboration, not a transaction. They’re not just waiting for deliverables — they’re thinking alongside me.
If that sounds like you, we’d probably get on well. Book a call here and let’s find out.
