We recently connected with Julius Greene IV and have shared our conversation below.

Julius, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s easy to look at a business or industry as an outsider and assume it’s super profitable – but we’ve seen over and over again in our conversation with folks that most industries have factors that make profitability a challenge. What’s biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

One of the biggest challenges with having a profitable graphic design business would be how everyone is in a race to the bottom. Other companies believe that pricing services/deliverables lower than the competition will allow them to get more work. Unfortunately, all it does is subliminally tell customers that these services should be cheap. Looking at sites like “Fiverr” where someone may charge $5 for a service that a professional design agency would charge thousands for. Racing to the bottom means that sold proprietor businesses would have to do Twice the amount of work to turn a profit.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Julius Greene IV. I’m a graphic designer from Southfield Michigan and the business owner of 4th Gen Creations LLC. A graphic and brand design company. I specialize in creating unique and memorable brand identities that help businesses stand out in today’s competitive market. I also offer print design like, brochures, flyers, business cards, etc. as well as other promotional material.

Oddly enough, my introduction to this industry (graphic design) was an accident. I happened to see my best friend dabbling with Adobe Photoshop. I didnt quite know what it was and as he walked me through what it was, I became more curious about what I was looking at. He eventually gave me a copy of the program and I used it to create personal and creative profile pictures for social media. Eventually after seeing my images, people began to ask me “how much would I charge to design something like that for them”. Once I realized I could get paid from graphic design, I began to dive deep into learning more about it. Eventually started a business around designing and helping others succeed in their businesses and the rest is history as they say.

Im most proud of the fact that I’ve helped alot of business come to life with my work. Some clients express that I helped give their baby air to breathe. It feels good watching others succeed but even better knowing that I had a hand in helping them.

I’d just like to let potential clients know that im here to help. Im here to bring an idea to life.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One lesson that I had to unlearn, and it’s also something I believe others need to unlearn, was the idea that speaking about money is wrong. Most jobs and social environments have taught us that speaking about money is taboo. That you shouldn’t talk about money but when it comes to business, that’s one of the first things that need to be discussed. I had to learn to get comfortable having a money talk as well as getting comfortable discussing larger numbers. there was one time, a client reached out for a branding package for a whole expo. I was fairly new to the business so talking numbers wasn’t really a comfortable area for me. After discussing all the details for the expo, we finally got to the numbers. I was so scared to have that talk that I ended up Misquoting the client for the project thinking “If I tell them I a number too high, ill lose the job but if it’s too low, they won’t think I’m serious. Ultimately, I got underpaid for the amount of work required for that project. I knew it was worth more but I was too uncomfortable to have the money talk.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

The best source of new clientele for me has been 2 places. 1 would be social media. Since I work in a very visual field, I’m allowed the opportunity to showcase my work and how I’ve helped others. Seeing is believing and if potential clients can see what value you bring, it makes it a lot easier to have them reach out. the second source and probably my main source is word of mouth. Luckily, I’ve provided well enough services that my clients refer others to me. While it can be a hit-or-miss way of gaining new clients, It’s my favorite way. It lets me know I’m doing something right if people are willing to refer others to me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.4thgencreations.com
• Instagram: 4thgencreations
• Facebook: Julius Greene IV
• Linkedin: Julius Greene IV

Image Credits
4thgencreations