It’s possible to hire someone to create a slide deck in the style of Duarte for less than the hourly rate of a half decent designer. It’s no longer good enough to have technical skill in a world where a client can access a million freelancers online and hire based on price and need.

Yes, there are designers who can make your presentation look almost like Duarte, but there really is only one Duarte, and many people are willing to put their hands in their pockets because they want the genuine article.

Creative professions are in a state of flux as potential clients confuse price with value and technical skill with creative ability. If you want a presentation that’s ‘good enough’ then you can get one for less than two hundred bucks. Why wouldn’t you?

And that’s the nub of the dilemma facing creatives. Why wouldn’t your potential clients go to Elance or 99 designs instead? When everyone owns the means of production, what’s scarce? The obligation to demonstrate your value and to frame your scarcity is yours, not the clients’.
It’s up to you to become the one they seek out, not simply the someone they seek.

Creative success is not just about output, it’s about what people believe about you and the energy you and your particular presence brings to the project.

There is only one Johanna Basford, Jessica Hische and Nancy Duarte. No substitutes.
And every day they tell a story that gives people reasons to seek them out.

What story are you choosing to tell?

Image by Alper Cugan.