The internet is a wonderful place for business.  I’ve recently been using it with some success to bid on graphic design projects across the country – opening up my customer base by leaps and bounds as I can compete for clients outside of the Brighton, Michigan area.

In doing this, I have also been researching the other graphic design companies who are bidding on these projects.  I came across one company that had been bidding on every possible logo design project, at what seemed like an impossibly low price.  I went to their website and was immediately hit with the line, “Over 10,000 logos designed.”  And I momentarily freaked out.  How on earth was I going to compete with someone who not only designed a logo for almost free, but also had over 10,000 logos in their portfolio?

Once I finished freaking out, I realized that I wasn’t competing with these guys.  These guys were a huge company, with designers based overseas, and many of the 10,000 logos were very very similar to each other.  I doubt they’re giving their thousands and thousands of clients very individualized attention, and whoever hires them probably doesn’t know exactly which of the logos in that massive portfolio were actually designed by the designer assigned to them.  And… Turns out the logo that they were offering for this unbelievably low price was in one format, suitable only for a website.  If a company wanted a resolution suitable for print, or a vector image, they would have to spend additional money.  And for many people who aren’t particularly graphic savvy, this wouldn’t be obvious up front.

Sure, this company will get some of the projects that I bid on.  But they won’t get them all.  There are people who will appreciate what they get from working with a smaller company and actually knowing who it is that will be doing their work.  There will be people who see unbelievably low prices and… gasp… not believe them.  There will always be people who want to be an individual instead of one of 10,000.  These are the clients I want and am competing for.  Which means I am not competing with firms like this one.  I am competing with all the other designers out there who provide their clients with personalized attention and a unique final design at a price they can make a living at.  And I’m okay with that.

As small business owners have you found yourself trying to compete online with companies that made it seem impossible to compete?  What have you done to compete with them?

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