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Facebook Page Design & The Freelance Designer – Worth It?

By Mister Freelance • December 27, 2011 • design, facebook, finding work, freelance, promotion, resources, social media • 2 Comments

Such a Cute Doggy. He Loves Facebook Pages!

I’ve been a freelancer for 14 years (or thereabouts) and there have been a lot of changes in that time. One of the biggest (obviously) is the whole social media thing. It’s been a game changer in a lot of ways. It’s a great way to connect with other freelancers, it’s good for promotion, it’s good for branding – and it’s good for wasting time.

But, at the same time, it can be another great revenue stream. It’s something that’s pretty easy to design around, and with some easy-to-use tools, you can do some really cool stuff.

While there are tons of social media platforms, one of the most configurable and usable is Facebook. It’s nice that it’s also become one of the most ubiquitous – and it’s opened up a good, viable new stream of work.

I started a new company (I love doing that) in AVLFB.com. It’s focused on my local area, Asheville, North Carolina – but if you wanted to go nationwide (and I have with this, to an extent) it’s a rich field, and really seems to be growing.

Now – this really isn’t a promo piece for my businesses. It’s just demonstrating that diversifying is a good thing, and that branching out into Facebook Page Design is an easy way to add a new stream of revenue.

The design is pretty straightforward (Photoshop, anyone?) and the build-out is pretty easy, too. I use a couple of tools – Lujure and North Social to do the actual uploading and build-out. Lujure is my tool of choice, as it’s simple and has a great feature set. You can add like buttons, contact forms, images, fans-only images and areas, etc. Just about anything you see the big boys do on Facebook can be done using Lujure. I use the big (read: expensive) package – but you can do it all for the $30 a month package. You pay more for non-branded pages with some other bells and whistles – but, plan and price accordingly.

I’ve built TONS of pages with (admittedly) very little marketing – and I’d bet you can hop on the bandwagon now, too. It’s a growing field, and with some good marketing – or upselling – it can be a real boon to the old pocketbook.

Check out AVLFB.com for some examples. You can also see some examples on my main site, or the Facebook pages for either: DesignAVL on Facebook and AVLFB on Facebook.

Bye bye, Elance…

By Mister Freelance • August 30, 2010 • advice, finding work, freelance, resources • 1 Comment

Well – I’ve finally cut ties with Elance. I got kind of tired of paying monthly for something that was an afterthought and really not bringing in any sincere income. It’s not that it isn’t a good service, and there is certainly a place for it – but at this point in my career, I feel like my energies are best spent elsewhere.

Elance is a good place to find work, if you’re willing to work über-cheap. Being an American with 4 children and a wife to support, I can’t afford to give away logo design for $25 a pop. I’m a huge believer in ‘you get what you pay for’, and I think that Elance kind of bore that out. I would bid, get rejected, and have to move on to the next thing. And usually, the folks would go with the guy that has 45,000 “gigs” landed, and he’s made just slightly over $30,000 for those finished gigs. His stuff would be clipart, bad fonts, and strange effects.

That’s just not what I’m about, and I would wager that’s really just not what most freelance designers are about. Or, at least, not what they WANT to do.

So – I’m going to take that $20 a month, buy extra coffee, and work on polishing my illustration skills late into the night. I’m going to take that few hours a week I’d spend perusing the “want ads” on Elance and use it to further my business, cultivate leads and take care of the paying clients I already have.

I think it’s a better investment.

Now – for you, intrepid reader: Are you spending money and time trying to land semi-paying gigs? Would that time and money be better spent doing something – anything – better? Examine your workflow and billables and compare those to what your dream freelance business is.

Does it match? Are you just spinning wheels, wasting time? Are you generating a legitimate return on investment from Elance, iFreelance, Guru, Odesk, etc? Or – are you just wasting time – hoping that you’ll land a great gig?

Sure, those great gigs might be out there, hidden in the weeds, on job bid sites, but from my (and other designers’) experience, 95%+ of the gigs that are out there on those sites are there for one reason: PEOPLE WANT CHEAP. They don’t necessarily want great design, and they sure as hell don’t want to pay for a real professional. They just want cheap.

I don’t want to work cheap. I want to work, mind you – and if you NEED one of these job sites to keep afloat, I certainly understand. But – unless used judiciously, such sites and projects accomplish only cheapening your work, making your time less than valuable, and makes your work and your career less than it should be.

Ask yourself if the return is worth the investment, and if that return is really a “return.” It might not be.

The other issue is that you can become associated with the cheap guy. They clipart guy. Is that what you want to be known for? Cheap work? I’d doubt it. Maybe I’m wrong, but I’d say that most freelance designers, illustrators and creative types didn’t step out of the 40-hour-a-week world to pursue sub-par, cheap stuff.

I wanted to produce better design for EVERYONE. I didn’t want cheap. I don’t want cheap – and my clients don’t either.

So – examine where you’re at, whether these job sites are worth it – and possibly most importantly – is it the type of work you want?

I want bigger and better. I’d wager you do too.

So long, Elance, it’s been real…

Sort of.

Freelance 101: Going Green

By Mister Freelance • April 24, 2009 • advice, freelance • 1 Comment

littleloo1 Being stuck behind my monitors, I can often forget that there is a whole big, green, nice world out there. Leaves and grass and bugs and all that kind of stuff. I live in a beautiful part of the USA, and spring has sprung.

And that started me thinking about going green.

No – I don’t mean recycling my email printouts and cycling down the monitors to a lower brightness (although I do a little bit of that anyway.) I mean going green OUTSIDE. I know – scary thought for some of us…

So: Get outside. Get some fresh air. Open the windows and let the sun shine in.

Going green is good for the soul, and it’s a good way to kind of press the reset button in your brain. If you sit too long in one place, you have a tendency to get into this kind of circular thinking – doing the same thing over and over. You have a tendency to kind of melt into your chair and get loopy. Work can suffer – and your demeanor along with it.

If you get out, you can make friends with the animals and bugs, talk to the trees, see designs in the ants attacking a popsicle stick. Even if you don’t get a tremendous amount of inspiration in walking in nature, you will benefit by getting a little sun on your cheeks and some non-CPU-fan-pushed air in your lungs.

Do this: Take three five minute trips outside today. Breathe in deep, squint at the sun, listen to the quiet of nature (actually, the din of nature) and press reset in your mind. Your work will be better for it…

(All this said by a guy sitting in a darkened office, pecking away at a blog. That’s it. I’m going to go look at our strawberry plants…)

Pleasing Your Freelance Clients is Not #1

By Mister Freelance • October 1, 2007 • advice, freelance • 1 Comment

When I first started as a freelance designer, I really thought that I should be able to please everyone. I would work extra, unbilled time on projects and put in far more hours than I should have. My number one aim was pleasing the client – and I’ve found out that I was wrong.

I want all my clients to be happy – and by and large, they are – but I’ve come to discover that dedication to the design has to be my number one priority. If you’re just looking to make the client happy, you have a tendency to let things out the door that are not of the quality that you want to display, or that the project deserves.

Clients are fickle, and they all approach their projects with something in mind. Many will say “I’ll leave it all up to you,” but far, far fewer actually mean that. They have a notion of what their project should look like when it’s finalized. It’s up to you to pick that information out of their brain, shape it, polish it and give it back to them in a form that meets their needs and expectations – but is also a piece that you’re happy with.

If you approach a project with your only goal being to please the client, that’s as far as it will get. You are the designer, and they’ve come to you to have their ideas codified in a slick, beautiful and professional manner. That’s what they’re paying you for, and that’s what you owe them – and more importantly, it’s what you owe the world of design.

I submit that pleasing the client, while still important, needs to be a secondary concern.

If you do your best work, staying true to your abilities and vision, the client will be pleased. If they’re only looking for customer service, there are a number of clipart packages and pre-made templates out there that will make them happy. They shouldn’t be paying you to do something that they can do themselves.

Design first – and the rest will follow.

Tips for Free Freelance Designer Promotion

By Mister Freelance • September 25, 2007 • advice, freelance • Leave a comment

There are so many ways to promote yourself as a freelance designer.

Advertising, both online and in analog, is great – but it can get expensive. A simple newspaper ad can run you $1200. That’s a lot of logo work.

Link exchanges, are – at best a crap shoot. You never really know how effective they are or how targeted they get.

Traditional media (TV, radio, billboards, direct mail) can be really, really effective – but again, you’ve got to lay out big bucks to make a splash.

But there are plenty of free things you can do to promote yourself and your business. They all take a little footwork, but they’re effective – and every little bit helps out. Check out some of these:

1. Free Work
When I started out as a freelancer, I would give work away. There are so many charities staging events who are looking for cheap or free design work – and you can often trade out some advertising or logo placement in return for your time. And the best part? These places remember you and could become a valued client a little down the line. If nothing else, they WILL recommend you. Do a good job, treat them as a paying client, and the promotional return can be huge.

2. Contact Everyone You Know
Tell your family, friends and colleagues. Let them know you’re out there and precisely what you’re up to. I can’t tell you how many jobs I’ve landed because a friend or family member was in a casual conversation with someone and that someone just happened to mention that they needed a design job or website done. You cannot over-estimate the value of networking – even if it’s amongst people you know. Every little bit helps!

3. Blog
I know I keep saying this – but you need a blog. Let people know what you’re up to. Rant and rave and talk about good (and bad) design. Search engines love blogs (WordPress is GREAT) and they’re free and easy. Don’t use it just as an engine for getting key words out there – make it real and fun and interesting, and people will come back. You can link it back to your portfolio (or use it as a portfolio) and you’ll build a great search engine rank before you know it.

4. Cold Calls
This one takes some chutzpah, but it can pay off big. Call ad agencies and screen printers, television stations, promotional product manufacturers, industrial establishments – nearly anyone in the business section of the phone book. Don’t call up and say “Hi, I’d like to talk to your manager and see if you have any design work for me to do, please.” Call in, ask to speak to someone in charge of marketing and promotion and simply introduce yourself, ask if it would be appropriate if you sent in a few business cards and a cover letter. Mention your site (I’m sure they’ll ask) and see if they’d like to meet in person to discuss the possibilities. There will be a bunch that shoot you down, but you might just wind up with a bunch of clients before you even get out of the “A’s.” So many businesses out there are afraid to approach a traditional agency for fear of cost – and they’ll be excited to hear that there is an alternative.

5. Partnerships
Partner up with local businesses, agencies and other freelancers. You don’t have to go it alone all the time. There are plenty of freelance copywriters out there who will know of people who are looking for design work – and plenty of I.T. professionals that can build the perfect website, but it won’t look good. Get in touch with those people who are in the ancillary businesses to yours, and beautiful (and profitable) music can be made.

There are a lot more, and I’ll be rambling on about those, too. The big key to promoting yourself as a freelance designer is persistence. Keep going, keep putting yourself out there, and the ball will be rolling before you know it.

Tips on Getting Started as a Freelance Designer

By Mister Freelance • September 24, 2007 • advice, freelance • Leave a comment

I’ve had plenty of folks ask me what it takes to start a freelance design business – and I’ve seen all sorts of tips and pages and responses about that question.

“Get 2 years of salary in the bank before you start.” Yeah. That’s easy to do, right?

“Build your client base before you leave your full time job.” A little more realistic – but also difficult if you’re working full time.

“Build a name for yourself in the industry before you start out on your own.” Again, do-able, but hardly probable. If you build a name for yourself before you go out on your own, you’re really only building a name for yourself as a proxy for the company you’re leaving.

So – my advice? Easy.

Step 1: JUST DO IT.

If you’re passionate about great design and you really want to have control over your career and your opportunities as an artist* just step out on faith.

When I started (oh, so many moons ago) I had 2 consistent clients within the first 2 weeks of my decision to be a freelancer. 1 was production work (with very little creativity) and the other was for a client that strung me along for way, way less than my market value. Neither one was terribly fun, and in the long run, I wound up distancing myself from both.

But, I didn’t have a boatload of work, and I didn’t have a clue as to what I was doing – I just knew there was something better than the 9 to 5 I was pulling as a creative director in Corporate America (cue Darth Vader music.)

If you do good work, and you’re willing to put in the hours and start on some projects that are not neccessarily the best stuff in the world, you’ll make it over that initial hump. It might take some peanut butter sandwiches and ramen-noodle filled weeks, but you can make it. The sacrifice is well worth the reward.

Step 2: HAVE FUN
You’ve been given a gift. You see the design in the mundane and everyday objects. You see the world through different eyes. Not a lot of people approach life like that, and you’re pursuing that as a career. It has to be fun if you’re going to last. How bad is life if you can sit around, not shaving, wearing bad shoes and listening to whatever music you want – as loud as you want it? That’s a sweet gig – and a lot of people would kill to have a job like that. Fun and easy, however, are two different things. Don’t expect the latter – but bank on the former.

Step 3: NETWORK
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Seek out the local agencies, the local freelance designers, and the local people in the creative arts. Introduce yourself (this would be a good time to shave and wear nice shoes) and keep in contact. It might not lead to anything work-wise, but more often that not, it will. Plus, keeping yourself immersed and surrounded by creativity will keep you inspired. That’s key.

Step 4: DO IT FOR THE RIGHT REASONS
Do it for the art. Do it for passion. Do it for adventure. Do it for being able to wake up to a new job every day. Don’t do it for the money. Don’t do it to thumb your nose at the corporate world. Don’t do it for the ability to sleep late. Those are nice, but they’re a by-product of the karma you generate by doing the job the right way.

Step 5: FOCUS
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.

Step 6: DON’T PANIC
I keep saying this with this blog, but the most important thing you can do as a freelancer is to stay calm. It will work, and you’ll be better for it…

I’ll be adding some more concrete things you can do later (and as sub-pages on this site,) so keep checking back. Yeah, it’s a shameless way of begging for repeat traffic. Sue me.

(*Which, by the way – you are. You are first and foremost an artist. Don’t be fooled by your tools, and don’t let anyone tell you differently)

Blogging for Freelancers…

By Mister Freelance • September 18, 2007 • blogging, design, freelance • 2 Comments

I’m in the process of setting up a free blogging community built specifically for freelance designers. It’ll be a simple WordPress-style setup, and it’ll be fully searchable and tied into a HUGE community of artists. Free blogs and websites (set up as subdomains) and a lot of great features that will help us all have a little bit of connectivity and another way of generating some passive income.

Which brings me to my point today. If you’re a freelance designer and you’re not blogging – WHY? It’s a great way to boost your visibility, and it’s a helluva lot more fun than message boards.

Plus, while the blog community might be a little saturated with weird and worthless sites, the opportunity to network with the few, the proud, the freelancers is real and really cool. I’ve gathered a lot of inspiration and some great tools that I use every day from blogs. There’s a tremendous amout of great content out there waiting to be discovered – and I know that there is even more out there just waiting to be published.

So – get out and do it!

As soon as the front end is ready, I’ll release the new site, and we can all start building an even better future for all things freelance!

Free Contract for Freelance Designers

By Mister Freelance • September 14, 2007 • free stuff, freelance • 1 Comment

Well, I’m finally getting around to putting up some free downloads for designers. Joy!

First up is a general contract. If you’re not using an online service that offers built-in contract protection(Guru, Elance, etc,) you MUST have a contract before you start any work. It not only protects you, but it gives your clients peace of mind that they will get precisely what they pay for.

The more detailed you can be (and you can get as minute with the project details as you want – just add more paper) the better off you’ll be, and it’ll be less likely that you run into the dreaded doing-more-than-I-agreed-to syndrome that seems to haunt us all.

The contract that’s here is, by no means, iron clad and leakproof – but it’s been good enough to get me out of more than one pinch, and usually, the signing of a contract is enough to guarantee that your client isn’t going to bail on you.

One word of advice for all freelancers – and I’ve learned this the hard way: If your client won’t sign a contract, DO NOT DO WORK FOR THEM. It’s not worth it. You might not get burned, but the possibility is increased exponentially if your client is not willing to sign on the dotted line.

Click here to download a zip file with the general contract. It’s saved as a PDF, EPS and AI file. Done on a Mac, but portable and reconfigurable. If you dig it and use it, all I ask is for a “thanks.” Links would be nice, a donation would be even better, but – that’s up to you and your conscious. Don’t sell it for profit. Cool?

Free Painting Software

By Mister Freelance • September 13, 2007 • computer stuff, design, free stuff, freelance, funny • 1 Comment

Software is expensive, and as a freelance graphic designer, the latest version of the big name software might be a little out of reach at times. So, I present you with a real – and FREE – alternative to some of the really expensive stuff.

ArtRage 2.5 is a really cool program. Very natural, nice tools, pressure sensitive if you have a tablet, and it works on all platforms. And it runs smoothly without a ton of ram or the latest processor. Works on laptops and little machines. Sweet! Free!

Well – the started edition is free. The full version is $25. But the starter edition is really pretty stinking cool. It’s not Photoshop – but then again, what is? It’s got lots of tools and feels pretty natural. If you’re into painting and illustration (like I am) you’ll appreciate the ability to be fluid. I think I’m going to pony up and get the full version – just to have a little bit of fun. It’s cheaper than canvas.

Here’s a screen grab of a self-portrait in progress – click for full resolution:

And here’s a little detail. There’s almost as many brush strokes as wrinkles:

Again – you can download it by clicking here.

As a freelance graphic designer, you can never have too many tools (especially free ones) and it can really be cathartic to push a little bit of paint around. It’s much more fun than pixels. Although I guess this is pixels. Praising painting while complaining about pixels while painting with pixels…

Man, now I’m confused.

Finding Work Online…

By Mister Freelance • September 13, 2007 • design, finding work, freelance • 2 Comments

There are a lot of great services for freelance graphic designers out there – and a lot of junk. I’ve worked with some of the best, and I’ve even dipped my toe into the pool of piranhas. Be careful of the services you align with, as you can spend a lot of dough on something that just won’t work – or worse yet – take up a lot of your time and actuall cost you more money than you make.

I’ll outline a couple here, and when I get the rest of this little site actually done, I’ll have a page with many. I’ve done a lot of footwork on a lot of sites, and I’ve fallen flat on my face on some of them. Now, you can learn from my bumps and bruises.

By the way – I don’t make a penny from endorsing or slamming any of these.

First up – my favorite – Guru.com. Really nice system that’s not over-saturated like some of the big boys. They’ve got it broken down into nice categories like graphic design, illustration, web design, copy writing, etc, and they break those categories down even further, so you can really narrow your search and find the jobs that interest you or utilize your strong suits. It costs $75 per quarter to get 100 bids monthly (you can buy more – called BidPax if you run out) and the jobs are varied and from all over the world. I’ve worked for Swedes and for people 1 town over. There’s plenty of competition, but if you bid appropriately, you get lots of work – and repeat business, which is ALWAYS good. Billing protection, 1099 service, etc make this well worth the investment.

Secondly – one of the lesser-known and less traveled – iFreelance.com. At only $10 a month, it’s really affordable, and there are a fair few jobs. Not huge, but growing. You have to handle your billing outside the system (PayPal, anyone) so there’s not a lot of protection for either party – but a good contract system (I’ll eventually put some sample contracts on this site) will keep you in the swim.

More later – but really, get out and check out some of the lesser-traveled freelance job sites. The less traffic they have, the better your chances. Plus, it’s kind of nice to design bottled water packages for a manufacturer in Belize…

The Other 90%

By Mister Freelance • September 11, 2007 • design, freelance, inspiration • 1 Comment

I am, by admission, a little hard-hearted. Generally, I don’t see much outside my world and my client list. But, I was doing some research on Wolfgang Weingart, and I ran across this site – and it got me to thinking…

Check out “Design for the Other 90%.” Food for thought.

“The majority of the world’s designers focus all their efforts on developing products and services exclusively for the richest 10% of the world’s customers. Nothing less than a revolution in design is needed to reach the other 90%.”
—Dr. Paul Polak, International Development Enterprises

The vast majority of what I do is done for the high-brows of the world – and that’s kind of sad. Why should the rich be the only ones who live with objects and products with thought and soul? Why must the poor be saddled with the purely utilitarian?

I don’t know. I’m not sure where I was going with this – but I know that we all deserve a little design in our lives. Something nice to look at. It doesn’t help all that much, but every little bit helps, right?

Sometimes, You Have to Laugh

By Mister Freelance • September 10, 2007 • advice, design, fonts, freelance, funny, Rants & Raves • Leave a comment

I’ve found that the freelance life requires me to laugh. A LOT.

I think I’ll create a list (lists are a good way to keep track of things – there, that’ll serve as my info for today) to keep track of the things I should do when stresses set in.

Cable Modem Dead: Read an Al Jaffee comic.
Bad Customer Interaction: Big Lebowski
Hard Drive Malfunction: The Young Ones Box set in it’s entirety.
Losing Out on a Bid: Seinfeld or Simpsons
Client Requesting Comic Sans:

Seriously, people – we’ve got to do away with Comic Sans. I wish we had one of those Men In Black memory eraser things so we could roam the globe and eliminate every copy of Comic Sans, then wipe free the memory of such an offending font.

Sadly, I have more than 5 copies installed. Just in case…

Hmm – maybe tomorrow we talk font management.

The Zen of Freelance Design…

By Mister Freelance • September 9, 2007 • advice, design, freelance • Leave a comment

I’ve come to realize that making it as a freelance graphic designer is more about being calm than it is about being a good businessman and having a lot of work. You need both – but really, you need to be at peace more than anything. After all, worrying is counter-productive.

There have been times where I’ve lived fat, and there have been times that things have been very, very lean – but the one constant has been that I’ve always made it and that there has never really been a constant. There have been times when I’ve worked under market value, and times that I’ve made more money per hour than a lawyer.

As a freelancer, you have to get into the ebb and flow of the work and the lifestyle. You have to search, and you have to stretch – but you have to keep moving. If you’re flush with work, you have to squirrel away some dough for later down the line, and if you’ve got nothing to do, don’t go out and sleep on the interstate. When things are slow, work on your own business and your own abilities. Don’t stop moving, and don’t give up.

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.

Work (and money and fame and fast cars) will come if you’re dedicated and work hard. But how you handle yourself in the lean or stressful times is going to determine whether you make it. Panic is not an option – nor is apathy. The work will come. It’s not going to be a constant, and if that’s the life you’re looking for, freelancing might not be for you. But it’s always interesting, and it’s a new job every day.

Keeping Records

By Mister Freelance • September 5, 2007 • advice, design, freelance • Leave a comment

This might be a little base for some of you, but bear with me. This is important.

KEEP RECORDS OF EVERYTHING.

There. That’s all I have to say. Well, not really…

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.

When you’ve done that – do it again. Take all those digital files, print them and put them in a real folder. Next, print out the emails about the job. Keep the records and keep the actual paper. That way, if you’re without electricity, you can still do business. If you have a hard drive failure, you can still work. If you lose something (and you WILL!) you can still work.

Staying organized and having informational backup are the most important things for a freelance graphic designer. If that’s not your strong suit (it’s not mine) you really need to make a habit of at least starting projects with organization.

A little due dilligence to begin with will go a long, long way.

Now, I gotta go and clean up the stacks of paper and the empty Red Bull cans. Like I said – organization is not my strong suit.

Inspiration and Challenges

By Mister Freelance • September 4, 2007 • design, freelance, inspiration • Leave a comment

There are a lot of great logo designers out there, and putting your work up for public scrutiny (especially for other designers to see,) can be a little scary. But – it’s also a great way to judge where you are in the grand scheme of things.

LogoPond.com lets you post your logo and get comments from fellow designers. They discuss everything from color to layout to feel to effectiveness. Comments can be quite candid and at times, kind of rough. But, it’s designers from around the world and from all walks of life – freelance and otherwise.

If you’re like me, you have a tendency to get caught up in the work and it’s difficult to step back and look at what you’re doing without coloring it with your own opinions and feelings about the project. This site lets you get a totally fresh take on your work from people completely detached from the project.

Plus, there are a lot of great pieces to check out and get inspiration from. Don’t knock anything off, of course – but as Picasso said, “All art is theft.”

Enjoy!

Facing Negativity

By Mister Freelance • September 3, 2007 • advice, freelance • Leave a comment

There’s a somewhat negative connotation to being a freelance designer. I’ve worked hard to gain credibility as a designer, and I’ve had corporate gigs – but I’ve never had the creativity and lust for my work life that I have now as an independent.

A common misconception is that being a freelancer means that you’re either unemployed or unemployable. Truthfully, I’ve had more job offers (and some really good ones) as a freelancer than I ever had when I had a straight job. I know, however, that as soon as I pigeonhole myself into a job or a genre or a style, I’ll lose some modicum of my creativity – and that’s something I’m not willing to part with. No matter how good a steady paycheck and 3 weeks paid vacation might sound.

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 freelancers (designers, writers, programmers,) we’ve really got to work hard to keep our credibility. We’re outside the traditional thought, and that can make people – including potential clients – a little uncomfortable. As freelancers, our work has to be better, more creative and in the upper eschelons of goodness. We must do what we say we’re going to do – and when we say we’ll get it done.

If we don’t, we fail. People won’t come back, and our reputation will suffer – and that’ll always catch up with us.

The best way to face the (seemingly inevitable) negative vibe associated with being a freelancer is to be excellent. In everything.

We have more to lose than the traditional employee. We have more to gain, too.

Blogs and Business

By Mister Freelance • September 2, 2007 • advice, design, freelance • Leave a comment

As I start this blog, I have a few things in mind. Bear with me as I run down my list.

1. Have Fun: I wanted to have a place to rant and rave and be stupid.

2. Get Info Out There: There’s a lot of great stuff out there – and I wanted to give it a home. An easy, one-stop place for all your freelance graphic design info and resources.

3. Be Honest: A LOT of the other freelance sites out there (blogs included) are either scams or just out to turn a buck. I want to give relevant info, tricks, tips and resources away – FREE. I can make some money, but that’s just not the sole intent here..

4. Promote My Insane Agenda: I am passionate about design, freelancing, the lifestyle of the self-employed artist and all things arty and stupid and fun. I want a place to talk about it, complain about it, be sad, be happy, yadda yadda yadda.

5. Make a Little Bit of Dough: If you’re a freelance designer, you know that having supplemental income is a good thing. I won’t make a lot here, but every little bit helps. Plus, I figure that by helping you make some cash (or giving you tools to help your business,) the great cosmic laws of karma (or whatever) will smile upon me and help me out, too. Win-win, you know.

So there – I’ve said it. Not that anyone is all that interested in why I’m doing this, but when you write it down and put it out there for the world to see, you are kind of bound to what you’ve said.

Now – get out there and make something cool. I’ m going to have another cup of coffee.

ELVIS! DESIGN! ELVIS!!!

By Mister Freelance • September 1, 2007 • advice, design, freelance, funny, Rants & Raves • Leave a comment

Honestly – this guy had to be the greatest performer ever. When you have millions of people imitating you, you’ve obviously done something right.

I’d love to be imitated. Seems like a lot of designers and design ideology runs on parallel tracks, but I want to be imitated.

Ah – but check out Design Is Kinky. Lots of great stuff, lots of art and illustration. Very cool. Very inspirational. I think that’s what Elvis had – a lot of inspiration. Keeps you fresh.

Plus, having people write songs for you to swivel your hips to ain’t bad, either. Still trying to figure out how that works in the design field…

Freelance Design for Fun, Profit and Chicks

By Mister Freelance • September 1, 2007 • advice, design, freelance • Leave a comment

Welcome!

With this site, I hope to impart some wisdom gained (and lost) as a freelance graphic and web designer. I’ll offer tips, tricks and resources geared exclusively for freelancers. Here, you’ll find forms that I’ve used for billing and time tracking, general contracts, links to sites that offer real resources for all your freelance needs.

There are plenty of great sources for information out there – but it seems like they’re all written for a different crowd. Freelance graphic design is a different beast from most other freelance professions, so if you’ve never lived it, you can’t really write about it. I’ve seen the peak and the valleys that every freelance designer goes through. I’ve lived it for many, many moons now – and I have some advice, some tools, and some things that will help you on your way to success.

Along the way, I’ll offer some for-pay resources. Hey – I gotta make a living, you know.

Read a little bit about what I’ve done – learn from my mistakes, and let me help you on your way to a (somewhat) lucrative career as a freelance designer.

Enjoy!

Jim