Is this crap?
Out of context: Reply #13
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- exador10
I freelanced for a year...it was a very successful run, and I'm glad I did it...some of the things i learned and that might help others would be (and this is the short version, mind you lol)
a) learn to say NO
- in your quest for money / security / etc, you'll start saying yes to just about any project, even when you clearly don't have the time...only to realize one day that you're working 14 hours a day, 7 days a week....i did this to myself, and had to learn that saying 'no' is okb) put aside about 30%....do not touch this ....
- when the cash started rolling in from my fulltime freelancing, i was over the moon with joy....more money than i'd ever seen before was piling up..it was like a crack high....suddenly i saw visions of large flat screen tv's in every room....a new BMW in the garage and armani suits...lol
needless to say my wife cured me of these ideas incredibly quick....and insisted that i put ATLEAST 30% of all my new found wealth aside...for the tax man....
and boy, am i glad she did.....i was all for spending that shit as fast as i could make it....
at the end of the year, when it was time to ante up and pay the piper/tax man..i'm glad i played it safe...i had a good acct, and he found ways to save me a ton...but you can't avoid everything, and i did have to pay..and luckily i had the cash to do so...c) folks always go on and on about time management, and i won't bore you with much talk of that, other than to say, just because you're home, don't get into the habit of walking around in your pajamas and becoming a slob....take the time to get ready in the morning as if you were going to the office...schedule meetings with clients and get out of the house...it's the whole 'dress the part, be the part' kind of thing...if you lay around a dark living room with your laptop on and not much else, and you haven't shaved yet, and you kinda just feel lazy and not productive, you are on the fast track to just being a dude without a job....dress the part, be the part...get up, shave, dress nicely, and crank out the quality work...get outside and meet up with people....be active....
d) spend a little less time networking and such with other designers, and a bit more time getting outside your comfort zone and meeting different people....i used to spend a lot of time going to design seminars, and design this and design that, and blah blah blah...you kind of get in a echo chamber, ya dig?....but hang out with engineers, musicians, doctors, professors....you learn different ways of looking at things....it's refreshing, it's good for your brain, it's good to learn to see things in a new light...and it shakes you up a bit to learn that you don't know everything...and most important...you're NOT going to get leads and prospects in a room full of other designers lol....you WILL however find leads and prospects by this route....
there's a lot more, but i'm hungry, and im gonna go eat :)
cheers folks!
ex