All designers know they need to promote their services, but how? Here's a guide to the best practices for promoting yourself online, covering tips for how to strategically use your website and e-mail newsletters, build your e-mail list and use your website as a recruiting tool.

Although there are many ways to promote yourself online, one of the simplest has been around since the beginning—search. Learn how to get the most out of search engines and get more traffic to your site easily through search-engine optimization.

In the design field, it’s not uncommon for spouses to work together. One such couple shares insights on keeping both the business and the personal relationship strong.

The moment you walk out the door to begin your own gig, you say to yourself, "I'm doing it my way, not their way, from now on." Some of us spend the first month in our pajamas because we can and then realize—when we're rushing around to shower for an impromptu client meeting—that we need to get up and be dressed in the morning. Some work at night because that's when we work best, only to discover our clients are calling at 8:30 a.m. and interrupting REM sleep. So we adjust.

Following are five common pitfalls supervisors make in lean times, along with tips for avoiding them.

Ever jumped through new-business hoops for a prospect who, it turns out, had no intention of hiring you? Here’s how you can identify and deal with these time-wasters.

Want to really do some good with your talents? Our business expert helps you get strategic about your pro-bono efforts.

Join Decoding Design author Maggie Macnab as she discusses her new book, her approach to design and her interest in symbology.

Are you charging enough? What are other designers in your area getting for their work? HOW's recent hourly rate survey revealed some regional trends in what designers are charging.

Attention freelancers: Are you a slave to your clients? If so, it's time to set boundaries between your work and home.