by Rover Jones | Penji – A Review from a Small Business Owner | Every small business owner has a dream of making it big in a market that may be saturated by similar entrepreneurs with likely similar dreams. But in order to have a breakthrough, image, branding and marketing are key.
On the top of the chain of immediate needs is a logo, right? Getting to choose from a pool on the Internet is already a big hassle, as well as curating designers from recommendations in marketplaces and of course, from referrals.
Then along comes Penji. This service-oriented site breathes efficiency and creativity and seem to do what it has set out to do – to do on-demand graphic design work that is customized, individualized and most of all, affordable.
The no-brainer business model of Penji attracts small business owners like me because of its flat rate concept. This allows flexibility and does not tie you down to a contract, more so having to go back and forth with the details. Simply choose a service plan, tell them your needs, and voila!
Let us retrace the steps of being a small business owner first, so we can see why Penji is a necessity these days.
First, before jumping in as an entrepreneur, you would probably be toying around with some concepts of a business that you have been contemplating on either as an employee or an executive. Picture yourself in your desk and doodling the time away with your notepad (or Ipad) and seriously considering establishing your own business.
Then you do some research, crunch some numbers and arrive at an a-ha moment. The first thing you do is to craft a crude logo, right? So, you do it yourself by probably sketching with a pen or pencil. Then you go online and check out some possible samples or pegs. You also try out some possible fonts.
While at it with a logo design, you realize that you need to design a website. You sketch some layouts, get screenshots of those you like, and put them in a folder to get back to them later.
Then you think of your marketing materials, labels, merchandising, and other design work. You get overwhelmed. Eventually, you realize that this bit of work is needs an expert or two.
So, you go and try to find some graphic designers online. You find a few agencies and realize how expensive they are for your budget – that is – if you have one! You for freelancers and realize there are thousands out there. Good for you but you do not have the time to sift through all of them. You ask some friends for referrals. They are all good but they are either booked of not as affordable as you expected, plus, there are so many documents to fill out.
Then you encounter Penji. You check them out and these are what you find out. Read on.
Why Use Penji?
Penji was established in 2017 in Camden and has proved to be a viable business model given its promise for unlimited designs for a flat monthly rate. It is as if you are paying for a graphic design agency for all the work that you need. But since it has been working with hundreds of small business enterprises and even the likes of Reebok, you know the caliber and reliability of this design platform.
Penji’s rates start at $399/month for the Pro Plan and boasts of unlimited graphic design projects from the get-go. With the inclusion of a dedicated graphic designer, how can you go wrong? If you add $100/month for the Team Plan worth $499/month, you get have some illustration and UX/UI work done, including infographics. That is definitely a cool deal. For larger needs, especially as you expand your business, the Agency Plan at $899/month allows you double the output with two designers plus prioritized 24/7 support.
Pros & Cons
Penji was created for fast-growing small and medium-sized businesses as well as the big guns who need access to more design talent.
An obvious Pro for Penji will be its dedicated designer plus its 24/7 support. But the way I see it as a small business owner, the “you-can-cancel-anytime” (no contract) clause is a big Pro.
On the Cons side, since it is a subscription-based model, you will have to use the unlimited design projects to be able to maximize cost-efficiency. Also, since communication is via email only, you might be looking for a chat box somewhere for quicker response times. However, since designers need as much information as possible, they, too, will need more time to absorb and digest your needs. Thus, email is more effective.
What’s Next?
First, let me give you a nifty idea. One business I own and manage is an SEO agency. As such, I get clients who give me other projects, including some graphic design work. Since I do not need one in my business, I usually outsource these to freelancers. But given Penji’s subscription model, it is as if I will have a dedicated design person in my team. How neat is that?
So, the nest best thing to do now is to assess your current graphic design needs and see how Penji can help you.
In the end, you will be thankful that you have known Penji’s subscription-based, cancel-anytime graphic design platform.
About Rover Jones
Rover is a blogger and small business owner of a content marketing business.
