Help! I think I need a graphic designer

The do-it-yourself mentality has its upsides in the business world (your sagging plywood conference table notwithstanding). Indeed, the proliferation of productivity software has enabled the most motivated among us to handle finances, analytics, product management, and, of course, business graphics on their own (we're talking REALLY motivated). But when do you step aside and let a professional graphic designer handle your graphics needs?

1. Your logo. This thing appears everywhere from your website to your business cards. Unless you have a strong background in design and marketing, please steer clear.

2. Your website. Think about what you want first. If you don't agree upfront on exactly what you want, you could end up with higher costs down the road when you need to change something. Don't overdo it though. One graphic designer (remaining nameless by request) says "I hate it when people come in with mock-ups.  It means they have given all this thought to something and will be much harder to deal with.  It is good to come in with some general requirements, but if I had it my way the first mock-ups would be done during our first meeting with the client."

3. True cost. Graphic designers are expensive but consider the services they provide. They help create the look and feel, the visual theme, for your company. Consider paying for a style guide to apply to all of your future projects. Combined with the right software and proper templates, all of your business documents and graphics can share the same professional look and be done in-house. Also, weigh your time. If you spend six hours designing a UI mockup (and you aren't a designer), you probably need to consider outsourcing to a professional. The designer gets paid to design. You probably don't.

4. Inside v. Outside. If the design or graphic is only ever going to be shown within your organization (most of the time) there's probably no need to have it professionally done. That company BBQ flyer is probably not a good reason to hire a designer. On the other hand, if you want to create a print advertisement that will appear in highly circulated publications, go to a professional.

Remember, there's nothing wrong with trying something out on your own. It's probably not worth paying $500/hr for some basic presentation graphics. Productivity is all about your tools and automating routine tasks. However, streamlining a process may mean outsourcing to a professional.