Getting your hands dirty

Building the commercial skills your team needs to thrive.

Why do so many design agency and consultancy leaders (and their teams) struggle with the commercial side of their work?

For an industry that creates so much value for clients, it’s surprising how often conversations around money, scope, and business impact feel awkward, are left until the last minute, or avoided altogether.

It’s not because agency leaders aren’t capable, or committed. It’s because most of us were never taught how to handle the commercial aspects of our profession.

If we don’t invest in building those muscles – for ourselves and our teams – we risk being undervalued and underpaid.

If we want to thrive, we have to be willing to get our hands dirty.

Or, as I like to put it:

"If you want to get dirty, come play in the mud."

That’s where the real growth happens.

Why we struggle with commercial skills

1. Underprepared

Think back to your design education. You probably presented your work in critiques. You defended your ideas. You spent long hours honing your creative craft.

But did anyone ever teach you to confidently state:

“This work is worth £100,000” – and then justify why?

Most design courses don’t. Students expect training in hard skills, which in fairness are likely to get them their first job. But the result is a steady stream of designers entering the industry commercially underprepared.

2. Introverted

It’s not true for everyone, but many people drawn to creative careers are naturally more introverted. Myself included.

That doesn’t mean we’re incapable. It means that we often avoid potential conflict, or difficult conversations. Commercial issues, such as money, scope, or performance can feel that way, even though they don’t need to.

So we soften our language. We delay. We let things slide.

But if we don’t promote and defend our value, no one else will.

The good news? These are learnable skills.

‘Learned extroversion’ is the idea that introverts can, with practice, step into behaviours that feel uncomfortable at first: persuasion, negotiation, public speaking, leadership. These aren’t gifts reserved for a chosen few, they’re muscles we can build.

3. Emotionally attached

Another challenge is that we care deeply about what we create.

That passion is a strength – it fuels the quality and persistence that makes our work great. But it also makes commercial conversations harder. When you’re emotionally invested, a negotiation feels personal. A scope change feels like a compromise. Client pushback feels like criticism.

It’s tempting to argue that people with other jobs don’t feel this way. But talk to people in other professions and you’ll find just as much passion and attachment. The difference is that their work often has commerce woven in from the start.

In design, it’s tempting to build an ivory tower (beautifully crafted of course), keeping creativity and commerce separate.

If that’s what makes you happy, fine. But don’t expect recognition, or fair value, if you refuse to play in the commercial mud.

Leaders should go first

If you lead a design agency or consultancy, this isn’t just about you, it’s about your team too.

Your commercial confidence sets the tone. If you dodge difficult conversations, your team will too. If you downplay commercial acumen, your people will see it as ‘unimportant.’

On the other hand, when you demonstrate commercial confidence – talking openly about value, negotiating clearly, leading tricky conversations – you give your team permission (and encouragement) to do the same.

It’s not just about protecting margin, although of course that’s vital. It’s about empowerment. Designers who learn to navigate commercial issues feel more capable, more valued, and more in control of their careers.

Practical ways to build commercial skills

So how do you and your team actually start ‘playing in the mud’?

1. Normalise commercial conversations

Treat issues like budgets, fees, and scope as standard topics. Discuss them openly in team meetings. Share your pricing structures. Let your people see how you approach these issues in conversations.

2. Frame commerce as creativity

Position commercial challenges as design challenges. Negotiating scope, creating win–win agreements and spotting new opportunities all require empathy and problem solving, the superpowers of designers.

3. Practise learned extroversion

Lean into the behaviours you want your team to adopt. Lead the uncomfortable conversations. Show them that discomfort is temporary – and gets easier with practice.

4. Connect commercial success to impact and progress

Make the link clear: stronger commercial performance doesn’t mean selling out. Nobody needs to abandon design and become a salesperson.

Developing commercial skills just adds another string to their bow. It leads to better projects, enables more investment and increases recognition of the value of design.

And it accelerates their career progression.

5. Invest in training

Just as you’d invest in sharpening creative craft, commit resources to developing commercial, business development skills.

Ensure it's learned on the job and through intentional internal development from senior staff. You could even bring in an external expert (ahem).

These are learnable and transformative skills.

The mud isn’t that dirty

The business side of design isn’t a swamp to be avoided – it’s fertile ground.

Our problem-solving skills and lateral thinking mean we can be just as strong commercially as we are creatively.

But only if we’re willing to get our hands dirty.

You’ll find it’s not nearly as messy as you imagine – in fact, it’s the very soil that allows your work, your people, and your business to grow.

I built a 100-person international design consultancy, before selling it.

Now I work independently, providing:

GROWTH ADVICE: Invigorating creative leaders

COMMERCIAL SKILLS TRAINING: Boosting creative careers