 Hello Aces, welcome back to module 3, lesson 4.2, finding good designers. In this lesson, we're going to identify how and where you can find good designers and the red flags to spot the bad ones. Let's dive right in. How do you choose a good designer? First and foremost is to identify your own goals and your expectation. It is almost impossible for you to find a good designer without you first identifying what you want. People cannot give you what you want without understanding, without seeing, without knowing what you want. You would never be able to find a good designer if you're not clear with your goals and your expectations. So make sure first and foremost is that you're clear with that. Second up is that communication is the vital piece when choosing a good designer because at the end of the day, what we're talking about is putting and transferring what you have in your mind to your designer and it's their job and responsibility to put that out there and actualize that, showcase people what you're thinking. If the designer does not have good communication skills, then it is almost impossible for them to actually understand what you want and to bring it out in the world. And on top of that, why would you want to work with someone who doesn't respond to you for 48 hours or that is very flaky? You do not want to work with someone like that. Don't rely on just their portfolios because oftentimes their portfolios could be stuff or projects that they worked on in a team environment and they just played a really minor role and they put it up as their portfolio. That itself has burnt a lot of people because, oh, they worked on Uber. That means that they must be a really good designer. Not almost all the time does not translate properly. Ask them what they need from you, making sure that if you're working with a good designer, you need to make sure that you understand their working process. You understand what is it that they would need in order for them to do their job. If they don't ask anything from you, then they just feel like that. You know what? Just by what you say, I know exactly what you want. That has a lot of opportunity for disaster as well. So definitely make sure that you ask them what they need from you. Explain your brand and your target market to them so that way they have better understanding on what is it that you want to bring to the world. So then that way they can create something specifically for your clientele. And also look for relevant industry experience and referrals. At the end of the day, we want to work with someone that has done something similar before. If they have done a lot of packaging designs, but they have never really designed a website nor have they designed a logo, then that might be a red flag as well. So definitely make sure that they have the relevant industry experience, that they have designed stuff for restaurants before because that itself would save you a lot of headaches because they understand the portfolio and the demographic that they're designing for. Now, what are some of the red flags of a bad designer? Poor attitude and slow communication. One of the best and one of the biggest red flag ever is communication. Something that I truly, truly think will make or break your business or your branding team if they don't communicate well with you. Another thing is that if your designer starts to take these criticisms really personally, as designers, they, yes, they shouldn't be egoistic to a certain degree because they need to make sure they stand behind their designs. However, if they are not willing to accept you as a client and your feedback and take that with constructive notes, then it is very difficult to work with this designer as well. So definitely if they take things very personally, then that is a huge major red flag as well. It would be like pulling teeth working together. If they don't ask any questions, that once again is a huge red flag as well. It jumps back up to communication. If they don't ask you enough questions and if they don't have enough answers, then it's very difficult for them to create something that really suits what you need. And you know that for a fact, because they're just not experienced enough to ask the right questions. If they focus on aesthetics over practicality, because at the end of the day, we just want people to buy. We want people to actually order stuff on our website. We want people to click into, let's say, the social media campaigns. But if they just create something that looks really nice, but then the usability is just all over the place or that they have many different different call to actions and different points within their marketing campaigns, then it paralyzes people to take action. And that's the reason why they might not be the best designer because they only focus on the aesthetics over practicality. Now that you understand what is a good designer and a bad designer, it is time to figure out where. Well, listen, where do I even find a great designer? First off, it is through word of mouth. Always, always the best referral is always from friends. OK, I highly, highly recommend that you just put the word out there asking on Facebook, Instagram or whatever platform that you're on and ask people, hey, you know what, does anyone know a great designer? Oftentimes people know of a designer here and there. Second thing is Craigslist and newspaper. Let's say if within your network, you don't have a good designer, then you can rely on Craigslist or online forums or newspapers to find a designer. Next up is Fiverr and Upwork.com. Fiverr is basically a website that takes orders for as little as little as five dollars. So you're going to be able to find some designers there, but a lot of them are overseas. Same thing with Upwork. Basically, you can go on Upwork.com, create your own project. And then from there onwards, you can actually choose different designers that bid for your project. Once again, these platforms are usually catered to people that are overseas, whether it be Pakistan or India or just basically all over the world. And that's why the quality of the product is sometimes a little bit lacking. And there is discrepancy with what you're looking for. Behance is also another good website that you can find good designers from. Ninety nine designs might be a little bit more pricier, but the quality is definitely a little bit better. All in all, finding a good designer really comes from a strike of luck. And if you are looking to find a good designer, make sure you identify your goals, identify your vision really well and communicate that well with your designers. And that really honestly is the key in finding a great designer. Now, it is your turn to find yourself a designer to build out your branding assets. Go and create a all your brand assets. Go and find a great designer. Go into the link below to download that worksheet so then that way you can follow along in this lesson. We just talked about where and how you can find a good designer and how do you spot the bad ones. And the next one, we're going to be talking about numbers, numbers, numbers. How do you even begin forecasting your restaurants revenues? This is a really key module as we transition into module four. Make sure you guys keep watching. I'll see you guys in the next video.