What skills do you need to transition from non-profit to for-profit work?

Before diving into design, consider your audience – their age group, location, and communication style. Tailoring your design to fit their preferences makes it more relevant and engaging. This thoughtful approach can ultimately translate into profit, aligning your work with the desires of your target audience and transforming it from non-profitable to a success.

A purposeless design lacks value. Showcase the worth of your work to your audience. Give them a reason to invest time and connect with your design. When people see value, they're more inclined to make a purchase. This shift can turn a nonprofit endeavor into a profitable one.

No Code In the changing context that we are in today, it is essential to have new skills that generate contribution to work. This is where I undoubtedly recommend learning No Code tools, which give super powers to "non-technical" people, allowing us to develop digital solutions that can transform processes, businesses and an entire company. Tools like Make, Zapier blow your mind with the integrations that can be made, GlideApps, FlutterFlow, change the way of having mobile applications quickly and at a low cost, in days or weeks (not in Months!!!), Bubble, WeWeb, Xano, change the way we develop our web applications. It is brutal what these tools can achieve, with learning curves that are undoubtedly lower than any programming language.

Regardless of the nature of your work, as a designer, you must have confidence in your abilities. Design is inherently a creative process. Confidence allows you to explore bold ideas and innovative solutions without fear of failure. When you trust in your skills, you’re more likely to take creative risks, which can lead to groundbreaking work. As a designer, you also often need to present your ideas and defend your decisions to clients or stakeholders. Confidence in your abilities enables you to communicate more effectively, persuasively, and with authority. This can help in getting your concepts approved and in building trust with your clients.

Confidence and being assertive, two great qualities that can be learned if you don't have them. A good example is Lionel Messi. For many years he always stayed practicing free throws after practice, he shot more than 300 free throws every day, he practiced it so many times, for so many years, that when he became famous, we all thought it was just talent, but it is Much more than that, it is being persistent, it is wanting to learn and then everything comes naturally, confidence and being assertive become a habit. He doesn't take the free kick to try to score the goal, he does it knowing that he is going to do it. Be like Messi, he trains every day, let confidence and being assertive be your habit.

Many artists feel like imposters when transitioning to for-profit work, unsure of how to price their art. Unlike typical goods, art pricing is subjective, leaving artists wrestling with questions about quantifying creativity and balancing financial needs against the fear of over- or under-pricing their work. Artists must be mentally prepared for the steep learning curve in understanding market dynamics and overcoming deep-rooted psychological barriers. More resources and education on art's business aspects, along with a supportive community, are crucial to help artists navigate these challenges.

"Technology is the path, not the goal" In my experience leading project, operations and, above all, technology and digital transformation teams, there is no doubt about the importance of the digitalization of processes. It is different to have a digital business than to digitize processes. In the first, technology is the core of my business, in the second I can have a traditional business, where the core is the service to my clients, here it is key to digitize my internal processes to keep myself competing. The important thing is to remember that technology will come after the needs of the business. My business and my processes have priority and technology helps, leverages, solves, improves.