A poll reported today indicates that Americans are generally more confident in the economy now than they were in January. And the same may be true of design-firm owners.
 
FunctionFox Systems recently surveyed 165 principals of North American creative firms with 25 or fewer employees to gauge how the economy is affecting them. According to CEO Mary-Lynn Bellamy-Willms, in spite of the downturn, nearly 40% of survey respondents said that business is holding steady or increasing over the past year.

To be sure, firms are trimming costs and boosting efficiency in order to preserve their bottom lines. One survey participant noted that they've improved the estimating process to get a better handle on pricing; another reported raising prices for design services to make up for cutbacks in printing markups.

Most important, according to the survey report, "They report revving up their marketing and promotions—activities that can be neglected when the work is flowing freely but which are vitally important to the success of any business in any economy." Get more info from the survey on the FunctionFox website.

Business experts agree that now's the perfect time to take advantage of a few unbilled hours to focus internally on your own staff, your marketing, even your much-neglected website. HOWdesign.com has tons of resources to help guide your marketing and business efforts.