Running a creative business should feel like a breeze, right? But if you’ve ever found yourself scrambling to keep client projects, deadlines, and finances straight, you’re not alone. That’s where Notion comes in your all-in-one creative HQ that brings order to the chaos!

Why Notion? (aka Your Digital Playground) 🛝

Notion is like that perfect (online) notebook that organizes everything: ideas, projects, client info, and finances, all in one place. No more sticky notes, lost files, or scrambling to track down invoices. It’s the tool every designer and creative needs to get things done efficiently and with style. It's both an organizational powerhouse and also a visual tool, because it allows you create unlimited layouts, hierarchies and tables to configure information is the way that best suits your brain and your clients'.

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1. Create a Client Portal with Everything and More 🖥️

You’ve got clients to impress, and staying organized is the key. With a Notion Client Portal each project has its own space to thrive. Track progress, store design files, and have a place for onboarding and offboarding your clients all streamlined in ONE place. This way, you can show up like a true pro every time. Psst Our Notion Client Portal Template does the heavy lifting for you and has all the following must-haves listed below. It’s built for creatives by creatives - trust us, you’ll love it! The essentials for a successful client portal include:

• How-To-Use Section helping them understand how to best use the portal
• Onboarding (aka how to get started, or where to start) - I usually like to include a Loom tutorial or a welcome guide OR BOTH!
• Project Timeline, with steps breaking down the project milestones and tasks
• Clear outline of what the client has to do vs. what you're going to do - I like to assign the tasks in the project timeline to the parties responsible
• Instructions of how to do their tasks - I write directions in the tasks that are assigned to them (btw, if you use our portal template, the prompts have been written already!)

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2. Manage Your Mess with Ease 😅

Design projects come with all kinds of moving parts. But, Notion’s customizable tools allow you to track every task, milestone, and deadline without the headache. Assign tasks, set reminders, and never lose track of what needs doing! My tips:

• Set up a “Quick Tasks” section on your dashboard for those nagging little items that never seem to get done. (You know, like sending that one email that’s been sitting in your inbox for 3 days...)
• Create a brain dump section for any thoughts or quick notes you have to jog down
• Create a to-do list for yourself, either weekly or daily OR BOTH! You can use Notion Calendar to see all of the tasks from all your databases (aka project timelines) in one place so you can easily see upcoming deadlines!
• Use Notion's "nesting" function to place pages within pages to create hierarchies! For example, our Biz HQ Notion Template Bundle organizes the sub-pages by category like finances, operations, content, projects for easy navigation.

3. Track Your Finances without Opening Excel 😌‍

If managing finances send you down a spiral, don’t panic! With Notion, keeping track of your earnings and expenses is simple and—dare we say—fun. We've created a Profit Margins Calculator and Expenses Tracker template to keep everything organized, from how much you're making to where your money is going. Plus, you can track profit margins in a way that doesn’t make your head spin. Take it to the next level with our Notion Biz HQ Template Bundle. It’s packed with business essentials like a financial tracker and more because your business deserves the BEST! Here's what we've included in the templates that are absolute no-brainers:

• Services Pricing Master List to keep your pricing up-to-date in one place
• Expenses tracker for one-time, annual, and monthly costs to easily calculate your business overhead and subtract from your revenue in one click
• Tags to categorize what your expenses are for (marketing, operations, subscriptions, etc) so you can keep track of what you might be overspending on
• Place to upload receipts for all your expenses to make taxes easier

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4. Plan Your Entire Life (If that's your jam) 🍯

Use Notion for all your planning needs so that you're not jumping from Google Docs to your iPhone Notes App to your sticky notes on your desk. I like to use Notion for all sorts of things like Brand Photoshoot Planning, Design Inspo Databases, Digital Products Inventory, and Content Creation & Planning. Actually, our Biz HQ Template Bundle has all of those too. Here's what people have said about them:

This template comes with so many things I didn’t know I needed but are essential to keeping me organized. There’s so much value from the profit calculator, content planner, photoshoot planner, just so many things I’m still so excited about!! Literally everything you need bundled in 1 AND THEN SOME!!

5. Streamline Collaboration with Your Team 🤝

Collaboration is key when you’re working with clients or a team of creatives. Our Biz HQ Notion Template makes it easy with a Collaborator Portal that keeps everyone on the same page. Whether you’re sharing project timelines, design drafts, or feedback, this portal ensures everyone has access to what they need when they need it. No more lost emails or missed Slack messages everything’s right where it should be. Give each team member their own section in the portal, where they can add comments, upload files, and keep track of their own tasks. It’ll feel like you’re all working in sync, even if you’re in different time zones.

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Setting up processes like this isn’t just about staying organized, it’s about giving you more time to do what you actually love - creating! When everything’s in place, you get to ditch the stress of scrambling through paperwork and dive straight into the fun stuff, designing and dreaming up new ideas. Think of Notion as your personal sidekick, keeping all the admin stuff in check while you do your thing. So go on, let the creative juices flow and leave the boring bits behind!

I hope this was helpful, and if you have any questions or are interested in diving deeper, shoot us an email or head over to our website. Alongside our branding services, we curate specialist resources (Courses! Workshops! Templates! A podcast!) to help our community stay inspired, curious, and hungry for more. Scroll through our creative buffet and help yourself to useful tools that feed the creative parts of your brain in all the right ways.

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Love,
Alyssa xx

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