Episode 88: Will Hiring More Designers Actually Increase My Profit? The Truth About Growing Your Design Firm

Hiring more designers should mean more profit… right? That’s what most firm owners assume. More people, more projects, more revenue. Simple math. Except it’s not simple. And if you’ve ever made a hire thinking it would solve your workload, only to feel like your margins got tighter instead of bigger… you know exactly what we're talking about. In this episode, we're unpacking one question that keeps coming up in conversations with designers, in our community, and behind the scenes at events. Will hiring more designers actually increase your profit? The answer isn’t as obvious as people think. Because profitability isn’t just about how many people you have. It’s about how they spend their time, what kind of work they’re doing, what your role becomes as the firm grows, and whether the structure of your business can even support the growth you’re chasing. We get into the difference between billable and non-billable time, why some roles look expensive but make your business stronger, and why others look productive but can quietly eat into your profit without you realizing it. We also talk about something that most designers skip completely when they start hiring. Not who to hire… but what kind of firm you’re actually trying to build. Because if you don’t know that first, every hire becomes a guess. And guessing with payroll is a dangerous game. This is one of those conversations that might make you rethink how you grow, how you price, and how you decide when it’s actually the right time to bring someone onto your team. If hiring has ever felt exciting and terrifying at the same time… you’re going to want to listen to this one. Check out our website too: https://designdash.com/ Follow us on socials: https://www.instagram.com/designdasher/ https://www.tiktok.com/@designdasher https://www.facebook.com/DesignDasher