Freelance Tips | Freelance Advice | All About Freelance

I’ve been in business for a long, long time. Well – 10 years for myself and 20 as a professional. That’s long enough that I’ve had ups and downs. I’ve won some, I’ve lost some. Thankfully, I’ve won a lot more than I’ve lost.

And in the losing, I’ve learned a couple of things – and they’re inextricably connected.

1. You can’t please everyone.

and

2. Don’t upset the people you can’t please – no matter how good it would feel.

When I first started freelance design full-time, I had a pretty good string of making my clients very happy. I worked hard, I worked cheap, and I did my square best on every project.

Then, there came the day when I stopped doing one of those. Take a guess which one…

When I worked really cheap, every single client would be thrilled, as they were getting professional design at a cut rate. When everyone started paying me what I was worth, I immediately started getting bellyachers. I had the “no way am I paying that much” crowd.

I’ve also had clients that just would not be pleased by anything I would do. My style wasn’t what they wanted, or I wasn’t going fast enough, or they just couldn’t communicate what they wanted.

And so, when that kind client would come around, I did my best to be cordial and not be condescending, but I steered them away in a gentle, decent way. As good as it would feel to tell them off and use big words and rant and rave, I decided to be kind. Show them the door and gently push, even if I wanted to kick.

Winston Churchill said “When killing a man, it costs nothing to be polite.” And that should go with clients and customers. Be polite, be kind – even while you’re giving them the axe.

I’ve had many clients complain about rates, complain that they’re not getting what they’re looking for or that my style just wasn’t appropriate – and I’ve had a lot of those people come back to me when they couldn’t find anyone cheaper/faster/better. I’ve also had the formerly “disgruntled” recommend me to other people.

If I had burned the bridge, I would have lost the customer, lost their friends, lost their associates.

Word of mouth is one of your best sales tools – and upsetting someone will guarantee bad press. But, a couple of warm fuzzies and kind words will always come back to not haunt you.

One of the worst parts of the job could really be one of the best tools you can have.

Client criticism and comments.

In the world of design, it’s really easy to become sort of insular and only see what YOU think is good design. Just because it’s something you dig, and something that other designers will like and appreciate does not necessarily mean that it’s the best solution.

One of the bottom lines that can be overlooked is what the client thinks is the best solution. After all, they understand their customer base better than you do. They know what their base expects and wants to see – and so they need to have some legitimate power and sway in the final piece.

Your job is to present the best finished work to your client, and many times, you have to tell the client what they need. You have to hold their hands, pick their brains, distill everything they say and think and want, and then turn around and give that to them in a package that is attractive, timely, and ultimately – sellable.

The actual design work is up to you, but you can take a lot of what the client says about their end user and use that to your advantage. Not just for that particular job, but for many jobs.

If you design an ad for a car dealership, pick that dealer’s brain for information on their demographic. Listen to any complaints or preferences they have. If they give you examples, save them. Then, when you work with them again, you save time – and thus, make more money. Plus, that information will help you with other clients with the same demographic.

But beyond that, you can get a good feel for what different demographics and types of people are looking for in a design, be it a logo, ad, website, whatever. Taking the criticism and little cues from clients can actually make you a lot of money, save you a lot of time – and it can make you look a lot smarter.

With all that said – you’re the designer, and you know design better than the client. That’s why they’re paying you. They’re not always right (read more on that here.) But ultimately, they have the final say (since they’re paying the bills) and you have to do what they ask – but you’re the professional designer. And part of being a professional designer is the ability to take what they like, don’t like and use their knowledge to create the best design you can. Then, you can take that knowledge and make your future work ever better.

Criticism, comments, likes and dislikes are tools the client gives you – and you can use them any way you like.

Well – we’re moving the whole office, and I’ve come to realize a couple of things:

1. I have a lot of stuff.

2. I wish I had less stuff.

So, to that end, I’ve gotten rid of a lot of things I don’t need in the office. Old papers, useless books and instruction manuals. Old documentation from jobs, dry pens, broken pencils and torn up file folders. Heck – I have gigabytes worth of worthless junk on my hard drive that I’m ditching. I stopped playing World of Warcraft a year ago. Do I need to keep the files?

And it got me thinking – I need to do this once a month.

As a freelancer (and as a person in general) I have a tendency to be a bit of a pack rat. I keep far too many physical items around that I say to myself that I might need. I keep a zillion mockups on my hard drive. I keep magazines that I might use as reference.

Too many things piling up in too many places.

So – I’m going to do a sincere, hard-core and ruthless house cleaning once a month, and I think it’s a good thing. That way, I can keep a streamlined workspace and have less distraction.

If I toss something, I’ll be pretty sure I won’t use it again. If it’s something that someone else can use, it’s off to Goodwill.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who holds on to too much. If you’re a pack rat like me, I suggest a real cleaning. It’s good for the soul, which is always good for business.

There are days when I’m incredibly productive. I can sit down and wipe out project after project. But – realistically, those days are reasonably few.

There are more days when I piddle and play and wander – and those are the days when I need to keep my mind supple and re-charge my creative batteries. Being an “artìste” can be a fragile thing, and keeping inspired is important.

I’ve tried numerous things to keep myself focused, and by and large, they all fail sooner or later. So, now when I’m unfocused, I try to not just spin my wheels looking at a project on the screen or by sitting around and watching the same hockey highlights over and over again.

I suggest walking away from work. Just up and leave the desk and do something else. I’ve found that doodling in a sketchbook, playing some guitar or wandering around the house for a couple of minutes really helps re-focus my brain.

When you break the cycle of thought that you’re in, you can come back with a fresher perspective. When you forget about what you’re doing, your brain kind of has to re-set, and you might find that you have an epiphany and wind up with the perfect solution to what you’re doing.

Plus, you can cultivate other things in your life – because you do have a life outside of work, right?

I’ve been remiss with updating this blog – with some good reason. I’ve gone through a rough couple of months personally. My wife, my children and I have gone through the ups and downs of a miscarriage (my wife is blogging about it here) and I’ve been undertaking an overhaul of my business.

It’s been rough to say the least.

But – it has reminded me of one thing: Why I am a freelancer, and why I’m happy to be a freelance designer going into 2008.

When I started my career as a graphic designer, I was in “Corporate America,” and I missed so much of my life making a buck. When presented with an opportunity to strike out on my own, I jumped at the chance and the change. I wanted to spend more time with my wife and then only son. I wanted control over my time and my creativity – but mostly, I wanted to be around for all the little things that I missed when I was at the office.

I love being able to wake up in the morning, make my coffee, chat with my wife and tickle my children – but the thing I love the most is when I hear the door to my office creaking open to reveal a little smiling girl, waiting for me to turn around and smile and let her know it’s o.k. to come in and show daddy her latest dolly or piece of sparkly something. It’s being here – doing what I love, and near to the people I do it for…

So – that’s what I’ve come out of 2007 with. Not some great artistic discovery or some great business tip. It’s perspective – and appreciation for why I do my “job.”

In 2008, I have some goals:

Get Out of Debt
Grow My Businesses
Get Better Clients
Have More Fun
Paint at Least 10 Oil Paintings
Fill Up Another Sketchbook
Learn to Play the Guitar and Ukulele
Get a New Laptop
Go on 2 Vacations

But mainly, my goal is to be better. A better man, a better husband, and a better dad. And, better at putting the important things first.

My design is important, my business is important, and my art is important – but the most important thing is why I do all of that. I do that so I can spend better and more time with the ones I love.

So – I encourage you to make a list of what you want for yourself in 2008. I suggest examining why you want that, though. What’s important in your life? Why do you do what you do?

Once you figure that out, you’ll start seeing that it’s all very easy – because what you’re doing will bring you closer to what you love.

So there – 2007 is over. 2008 is here…

There seems to be a lot of musical symbolism out there, so I thought I’d take a well-known album, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and apply bits of it to the freelance designer’s life…

Today, we’ll deal with some aspects of “Time.”

I’ve been scattered for a few weeks, and it’s been good and bad. The good part is that I’ve had a tremendous amount of work – but the bad part is that I’ve had a tremendous amount of work.

I have preached before about the problems of worrying and working out of fear of not having money, and I’ve recently fallen into that trap. I’ve been working with a horde mentality lately, and I’ve taken the past couple of weeks to break that cycle – and it’s already paying dividends.

Working out of worry or fear of not paying bills and taking on clients that you wouldn’t take on if you were making a ton of dough is one of the biggest problems of the freelance designer.

So – advice for the day: Work and look for clients as if you have an abundance of work and clients.

You have to pay bills, and you have to keep things rolling – but you can quickly shoot yourself in the foot if that’s all you’re working for. I have moments of remembering that and moments of going the opposite direction.

When you work out of fear, you’re going to take projects below what you’re worth, and the load of work that you will get because you’re not charging much or taking on lousy projects will keep you from the stuff you really want to do.

You want projects that pay well, with good clients, that are challenging and allow you to flex your creative muscle – but you can’t land that type of project if you’re swamped with low-paying, non-creative projects from pain-in-the-neck clients.

So – look at your client list and job list. Look at the ones that you know are good, creative, fun projects and highlight them. Next, find the ones that are a drag and work to get those out of your life. Once they’re off the docket, take the time that you would have spent on those projects and look for more of the projects that you want – the fun stuff, the well-paying gigs and the good clients.

You’d be surprised at how quickly you can generate good leads – and good projects when you’re not under the gun to all the “get-me-over-the-hump” projects. If you’re a slave to making a couple of bucks, you can’t advance your business or your career, and to quote Pink Floyd’s “Time”:

And then one day you find
10 years have got behind you.
No-one told you when to run.
You’ve missed the starting gun

Bad projects and bad clients might make money, but that won’t make you happy – and a happy designer is a successful designer.

Tomorrow, we’ll deal with “Ticking away the moments that make up the dull day. Fritter and waste the hours in an off-hand way.”

When I first started freelancing so many moons ago, I got a piece of advice that is really pretty good. It has nothing to do with finances or design. Nothing to do with software or time management or finding work.

The advice? Get up, shower and get dressed like you’ve got meetings that day – whether you do or not.

It sounds simple and stupid and mostly pointless, but it’s about mindset. It’s about starting off on the right foot every morning and taking your business seriously.

Now, I will admit to having days when I don’t get out of my jammies – but in the beginning, especially, I got an awful lot of mileage out of treating my freelance design business as a job instead of a vacation. Sometimes, it certainly feels like a vacation, but it really is a serious business with competitors, paperwork, nice clients, mean clients and pencils and pens and supply closets.

Your business is your job – and there aren’t too many jobs that would let you come in wearing a robe and slippers with your hair all messed up…

(a footnote: I gotta go take a shower. I’ve only got 28 minutes before I have to go to work…)

Building an effective, hard-selling portfolio is a must for all designers, and there’s a science to building a portfolio.

In many ways, your “book” needs to be very much that – a book of your experience and style. You want to build it in a way that makes sense, is attractive and is easy to “read.”

You want to start strong and finish strong. Put your best pieces first, your next best last, and the “filler” in the middle. When people are looking at your portfolio, they’ll usually look at the first and last piece – and if that ropes them in, they’ll check out the middle. If you have enough pieces, eliminate the “fluff,” and just have the really strong pieces. But – the more you have, the more likely your client (or potential client) is to find what they’re looking for.

Layout is important – and organization is key. Keep logos with logos, brochures with brochures, etc. If you’re going totally online (you should have a website as well as an analog book – more on that later) break things down by category. Be very clear about the categories – if the client can’t find what they’re looking for, they’ll look elsewhere.

Keep your descriptions short – the prospective client is probably not interested in the minutia of the project. Brevity is the soul of wit – and the soul of portfolios.

Show diversity. Clients want to see that you can handle more than one type of project. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve landed a logo job, only to have that client later have me work on a brochure or website after looking further at my portfolio. This goes back to not being a one trick pony. Diversify. It’s a good thing…

Update, update, update. If you keep your work current, you show that you’re active and available. Plus, chances are that you’re doing better work today than you were 2 years ago.

Keep a real portfolio – not just online. If you meet with a client face-to-face, having a real paper book is invaluable. You can show final printed pieces that the client can touch – and that speaks volumes more than pixels. Plus, if you show up and say “just look at my website,” you can look a little unprepared – and there’s a good chance that they won’t visit your online portfolio, no matter how good it is.

Your portfolio speaks far more than your voice or your appearance. It’s the tool that defines your business and your style. It’s your public persona and your showcase. It’s the most important sales and promotion tool you have.

So there. Now – go work on your portfolio!

One of the big issues I have is taking breaks. They’re absolutely crucial, but as freelancers, we seem to kind of sweep them under the rug.

Taking regular breaks help you avoid repetitive stress injuries (carpal tunnel, etc.,) they help you keep fresh and your ideas flowing, and they help keep you from going blind. Those cathode ray tubes and itty bitty pixels are not the easiest things on your eyes and your chair, no matter how ergonomic, is bad for your back.

It doesn’t have to be a long break, but you need to get up and walk around for a minute or two. Get a cup of coffee or some water. Go outside. It might sound odd – but do a jumping jack or stretch your arms and legs. Get the blood flowing again. If you really can’t get up and mill around, take a couple of minutes to turn away from whatever you’re doing and tense up every muscle in your body a couple of times. Tense, release, tense, release. It’ll help.

It’s always good to break the cycle of what you’re doing – if even for a few minutes. It’ll keep your design work fresh, and your body a little healthier.