3 Reasons to be a White Label Designer

The number one question that I get from other graphic designers about entrepreneurship is “how do you book clients consistently?” The truth is, this is something that I’ve struggled with in my business, and the thing that’s helped the most is becoming a white label designer. White Label Design can get a bad rep, but I have had a great experience! So let’s dive into what white label design is, 3 reasons why you might want to try offering white label services, and some cons to consider. I’m also going to introduce you to an incredible resource to jumpstart your white label journey: my friend Amy’s course One Week to White Label!*

(*Affiliate disclaimer: The links in this blog post are affiliate links for One Week to White Label. This means that if you click a link and make a purchase, I get a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products that I truly believe in from businesses that I trust!)

What is a White Label Designer?

“White Label” is a term that can be used to describe any contractor who provides a service for another agency with the credit going to the agency’s brand. So a white label designer creates designs (in my case, brand and website design!) for another designer or agency. This is unique because now your client is the designer who hired you rather than the business owner that the design is being created for. Typically, the white label contractor is providing this service for a more established agency or business. The hiring designer pays the contractor for their service, and adds in a buffer when charging their own clients so that they can profit.

My Background as a White Label Designer

Just to give you an idea of where I’m coming from, here’s a rundown of my experience as a white label designer:

I get most of my white label design opportunities from genuine connections made with other designers. My first white label opportunity came in 2021 after an Instagram conversation. The designer asked me to be on retainer to assist her with tasks for a certain amount of hours each week. I was new in business, so the work I did was considered “junior design” – simpler tasks like website edits, mobile optimization, packaging logos, making launch graphics, etc. Once I started white labeling, I had money coming into my business every week for the first time!

As I’ve become a more experienced designer I’ve had the opportunity to take the lead on projects. I still help with those “finishing” tasks, but I mostly do full brand or website design projects! Getting more experience has also allowed me to position myself as a white label expert and charge more premium prices. Know that where you start with white label design (or business in general, honestly) doesn’t have to be where you finish!

3 Reasons to Try Being a White Label Designer

Hopefully you are starting to see the appeal of white labeling from reading my experience, but let’s get into 3 specific reasons you might want to start offering white label services. There’s a lot I could mention, but here are my 3 favorite perks of white label design:

• Recurring Revenue (yes, you can have consistent income as a freelancer!)
• Increase Your Skills (and get paid while doing it!)
• Low Maintenance Marketing (hello, relationships and referrals!)

Let’s dive into each of these benefits more.

Recurring Revenue

Since you’ll be working with established designers who have a more steady flow of clients or tasks, it’s likely that they’ll want to hire you for projects again and again! That means recurring revenue from repeat clients. This can look like having clients on retainer, or booking one-off projects within a reliable network of clients you love working with. If consistent income is something that you struggle with as a designer, partnering with a more established business could be the answer!

Increase Your Skills

Working on projects consistently will naturally allow you to increase your skills quickly. I’ve been blown away by how much my skills grow just within a year. Also, as a newer designer white labeling has allowed me to get more experience working with luxury brands that I probably wouldn’t have booked on my own yet. It’s also worth mentioning that part of white labeling is being able to adapt to the agency’s style (although sometimes people will hire you for your style!). This definitely challenges you to master being a versatile designer.

Low Maintenance Marketing

Like I touched on before, a white label business model thrives off of relationships. With most leads coming from repeat clients, things like blogging or posting on social media aren’t as much of a priority for me. Now that’s not to say that I don’t do any content marketing at all (it definitely helps!). But if you’re like me and marketing isn’t your biggest strength, it’s nice to be able to have projects coming in without constantly being on Instagram. I focus on serving my clients (and their clients) well and it has paid off in the form of repeat business and referrals!

The Cons of White Label

Even though there’s a lot that I love about white label design, I also want to be fair and mention some of the downsides.

 The first is that most of the time you won’t get credit for your design work – the credit goes to the design studio who hired you. This can be discouraging if you’re trying to grow your own portfolio. However, I have several gracious clients who have provided me with testimonials. One of my retainer clients even allowed me to feature some of my favorite projects in my portfolio! 

The other downside is that a lot of white label designers feel like they can’t “charge full price” since their designer client still has to charge their clients and make a profit. My best advice here is to do the math and decide what feels fair to you, then be open to having an honest conversation with your clients. I’ve had clients be willing to raise their prices in order to afford my services! 

Ready to Try White Label Design? Here’s Where to Start

If you’re feeling excited about the opportunities that exist with white label design, give it a try! The potential for recurring revenue, increasing your skills, and low maintenance marketing make it so worth it for me personally. My friend Amy is a talented white label designer with an amazing course to help you get started, One Week to White Label*. In Amy’s course, you’ll learn how to focus on the work you love while established businesses bring you consistent projects through white label partnerships – and set it ALL up in just 5 days!

(*Affiliate disclaimer: The links in this blog post are affiliate links for One Week to White Label. This means that if you click a link and make a purchase, I get a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products that I truly believe in from businesses that I trust!)