A lot of my friends are graphic artists, they're great people and honestly, there are a couple of them that are pretty darn good at creating art. But you're about to learn that art, unless you sell art, won't help you attract more customers and grow your business. After reading this article my artist friends are probably going to like me a lot less. That's because this article uncovers some striking truths of small business owners throwing large sums of money away by hiring graphic artists that aren't business savvy or experienced in marketing. I feel it's important to share this with you, the small business owner, and I hope this will help shift how you think and invest in your future marketing and design projects.

Artists with no business expertise are risky investments at best. In fact, there is absolutely no way I would pay them a dime to design my marketing and advertising materials if I was a business owner. Admittedly, this is pretty harsh - I know, if you want to find out why, read the rest of this article and you might feel the same way.

"Investing money in a graphic artist hasn't worked for me", that's what Maria told me last year when we met at a networking event. Maria is a businesswoman, a fairly successful one at that, but she's had to learn the hard way something you'll know after reading a few more paragraphs.

As I got to know Maria I learned that she'd worked with two different graphic artists that created her company identity, marketing materials, web site and her yellow pages ad. Despite all of this, she wasn't getting good return on her design investment, "I just don't understand it, everything looks good but nothing is happening". True enough, the work looked aesthetically fine but I asked her one simple question, "Did your designers ask you about your marketing strategy, your ideal target market, competitive landscape and your business objectives?" She shook her head "no" with a puzzled look, "They just designed something that looked good, should they have asked?"

Damn right they should have. But artists aren't necessarily savvy marketers and businesspeople. It doesn't even occur to them to ask about niche, product placement and marketing strategy. Hiring a designer that has no expertise in marketing or business is like purchasing a new Infiniti from the car dealer and later finding out that it doesn't come with an engine: the car looks nice but it doesn't do a darn thing, it just sits there and looks nice. Similarly, if you invested a load of money in a design project that looked nice but didn't have a positive effect on your revenue, would you think you made a bad investment? Yep, I bet you would. Still, otherwise intelligent businesspeople throw thousands of dollars away on design projects created by artists that don't know the first thing about marketing.

Design without marketing focus is just art, and this is what most artists do, they just create art. Unfortunately, art isn't going to separate you from the competition and it sure as heck won't add to your bottom line. Don't get me wrong, business owners need art; they hang it on the walls of their office - and that's all it's good for. Design - Marketing Strategy and Focus = art. Successful business owners know they need more than art in their marketing and advertising. Having a clear marketing strategy integrated into their design projects is the best way of maximizing their investment.

You know it's a demanding world out there, I don't have to tell you that: life is moving faster, your customers have more choices available to them and less time and attention to give, and competition is down right fierce. So what does that mean to you, and how can you ensure you're getting the most out of your investment dollars?

You want to work with designers that are also marketing experts; these specialists not only know how to design, but they understand the psychology of outreaching and attracting the customers that you want. They know how to integrate a clear, hard-hitting marketing message into your projects, by doing this they increase your odds for success astronomically. Hiring a designer that creates based on what he/she feels is cool or clever is like shooting at a target blindfolded and hoping that you'll get lucky and hit it. When it comes to the success of your business, you don't want to be relying on luck.

If this article's got you thinking, that's good. You wouldn't hire an accountant that didn't know current tax laws, so why hire an artist that doesn't know anything about marketing or advertising?

If you want additional information on how to make sure you're working with a business savvy designer that can help you get the most out of your investment, email me for your free special report, "Top Ten Questions That Designers Don't Want You to Ask", and I'll make sure you receive this invaluable .pdf document that will enable you to clearly see if the artist your considering is qualified to help you maximize your design investment.

I help small businesses build more confidence and credibility into their business brand. Through marketing and design initiatives; I help you feel better about your company. Making you feel good about your business gives you more confidence and less anxiety when you are networking, promoting or selling your business. If your business needs the reliability and talent of an in-house marketing and design department but doesn