Origami Graphics

24/12/2025

What would you add? 😌💅

2025 was, for me, like playing life on Expert Mode. Constant huge upheavals in my professional and personal life meant time off, project delays, and financial stress. Not fun.

Here’s what I would have done differently (and what I’ll be doing in 2026):

🩵 RATES UP FOR BETTER MARGINS: I’ve nearly doubled my revenue on last year, and my team of design assistants has been super helpful. But my own rates weren’t high enough for the level of business I was doing, and that meant I didn’t have enough money in my wallet at the end of the day. This year was EXPENSIVE.

🩵 HARDER DEADLINES FOR SELF AND CLIENTS: This goes hand-in-hand with higher rates, as I’m able to manage my workload and cash flow better if I can keep a predictable schedule by charging better and not taking so many jobs on.

🩵 SLIGHTLY LONGER PROJECT TIMEFRAMES: By accounting for the unexpected and allowing extra time, deadlines wouldn’t have been missed by me or clients in the first place.

🩵 DIVI: I taught myself how to use Divi this year and have already made FOUR client websites. Go read my blog to find out why I moved from Wix and Elementor to Squarespace and Divi.

Out:

❌ It can all be summarised by this:
taking on too much, tolerating bad behaviour, accepting exploitation in our industry, and giving others extra financial comfort and stability… at your own expense.

All this is in the rear view mirror now - let’s see how 2026 goes. 👀

12/12/2025

I'm charging higher and holding everyone to project deadlines much more firmly in 2026. Here's why:

2025 was incredibly challenging, and I learnt some critical business lessons to take into 2026. Want the goss about where I failed and how things need to change next year? Here it is.