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.
Well – we’re moving the whole office, and I’ve come to realize a couple of things:
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 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…
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.
Time management is crucial to the success of a freelance business.
Building an effective, hard-selling portfolio is a must for all designers, and there’s a science to building a portfolio.
1. Free Work
Don’t let things distract you from your ultimate goal of success as a freelance designer. Not TV. Not your spose. Nothing. Focus and drive for what you want. Your goal is only as reachable as your focus is sharp. For someone like me with acute attention defecit disorder, it can be rough. But – define what you want out of your venture and then grab on like a starving dog latches on to a soup bone. Tenacity and focus pays off every time.
First up is a Mac-only product – 
Being calm in the face of adversity – be it too much work or too little, is going to be crucial to the success of your business, and to your general mental well being.
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.
When you start a job, start a folder and place your work order (you really need to start this habit,) the job contract (again – start doing this. I’ll post on this really soon, plus give you a downloadable, customizable contract) and any other preliminary paperwork in that folder. That way, when you need to reference something, you’ll know where it is.
As far as being “unemployed,” why precisely am I working so much? 40 hours? Try 60. Or 70. Sometimes 80. Sometimes more. But it’s worth it…
As I start this blog, I have a few things in mind. Bear with me as I run down my list.
