As a freelance designer, one of the most difficult aspects of the job is finding clients. This is especially true when you’re young and relatively inexperienced in the industry. While you may be more talented than the top designers in the field, few people are going to just stumble across you and ask for your services. You have to actively pursue clients and enhance your visibility. In this article, we’re going to discuss how you…
We have all had them at one time or another, and no, I’m not talking about chicken pox. Just as annoying however, is a stubborn client that doesn’t seem to like anything you deliver. Yes, it’s hard to hear, but some clients will not like your designs as-is. While you may feel like saying, “thanks but no thanks,” and cutting your losses, you don’t need to give up so quickly. Instead, try these strategies designed…
The field of freelancing is changing fast. It used to be that you freelanced locally, people knew your face, you met in person and sealed the deal. The more you specialised, and once the positive word was out, you could develop a steady stream of clients who needed your particular services. Now that’s all changed… Today, freelancing is often not local at all. It’s global. Depending on whether you’re a web developer, a programmer, a…
Self-discipline is somewhat of a dirty two-word phrase to most people. When they hear it, they think of restriction, inability to do what they want and other unpleasant thoughts. In reality, self-discipline is needed in many areas for people who largely work alone. The vast majority of freelancers work alone in a home office, in a café or restaurant, or lately in co-working offices (invariably with earphones in their ears to get some peace) from…
It may be that you’ve never been that good at staying productive, or you may have been like the “little engine that could” in the office, but since you’ve gone freelance, the wheels have come off the train. Either way, don’t despair. It’s not an uncommon problem to have. Sitting in your home office with no boss looking over your shoulder and many distractions (the kids, sports on TV, digital content on your laptop), it…
Unless you had the boss from hell or a job where you never stopped and you couldn’t catch your breathe for 10 hours a day, then it is quite difficult to actually burnout on the job. For freelancers though, we are often handling all aspects of our little (or not so little) businesses. We often do everything from the creative work to chasing bills to marketing to doing the books. Quite often there is no…
It is fair to say that when freelancers get together we do a fair amount of complaining about bad clients that have made work life more difficult than needed. The few who failed to pay. The ones who were unclear on objectives, then blamed you. In terms of understanding when you have a good client on your hands, here are some key traits to look out for. Key Traits of Decent Clients 1. Clear communication.…
Being able to escape from a previous employer with their office in a single location to a more flexible arrangement is the ideal scenario for those people who are stuck in a cubicle dreaming of being free. Next to being able to retire and move to wherever they want, being able to live location independently is really the next best thing. If you are interested in freelancing, then it is important to build up contacts,…
Being a freelancer is an experience in and of itself. Along the way you will deal with cash-flow difficulties and other troubles if you do not stop the lies? What lies? There are lies that we tell ourselves as freelancers; things that we like to believe are true but it’s more wishful thinking than it is reality-based thinking. Then there are the lies that clients and prospective clients try to tell us. Sometimes these are…