employed --> freelance
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- kerus
ive gotten to the point where i am finally thinking about making the leap. couldnt come at a worse time too: im getting married in the next year or so and trying to buy a house. hopefully we can find a house before i quit this place..
basically the company i work for is the only place in the world it seems that cant turn a profit on interactive/web jobs and ive been thrown under the bus as the scapegoat. the projects get to me to code up, theyre already 20% over budget, and i get blamed for it being a loss. nevermind the fact that we dont charge clients for ANY revisions ever, so its perfectly fine and normal for a client to change the design for a site WHILE im already doing the html for it.
ive never been a "freelancer" before and its scares the hell out of me. i have a few friends who are mostly print oriented and are going to take me under their wing a bit and use me for web junk. but still, scary stuff.
generic thread #213123421:
any suggestions? haha
- Mimio0
Look into the The Creative Group to supplement your clients.
- kerus0
nice, thank you for the input
ive always had side projects and clients before. but this is really foreign to me.. scary!!
- rson0
get an office working from home seems great but it gets old really fast. GL
- rson0
get an office working from home seems great but it gets old really fast. GL
- seed0
In the meantime try to be a big influence in the design and requirements process of the company. It can't hurt if you're going to leave anyway.
- kerus0
ive tried, they basicly shoot everyone down and treat you like you're insignificant. plus ive tried to be productive and step up to take more responsibility and they told me they were not interested.
i was hired as a web designer, got the gasface, and did print production. and thats where i have stayed with the promise of bigger things on the horizon for the past 6 years. id gladly even create concepts in my free time but they leave me completely out of that loop. i literally dont know about anything until it arrives in my lap already over budget.ive tried my hardest to care, to give a shit, to fix the problems, to make things run smoother.. and it ended up with me under a bus, so fuck it..
- designvandal0
Here are a couple of lessons I've learnt since recently becoming a freelancer.
1. Get any documents from your current company proposals/contracts etc.
2. Deposits. Have in your contract that work will not commence until you have recieved a deposit.
3. Amendmants. Charge charge charge. Its were designers get screwed over one quick free change usually leads to alot more...
4. Office
I rented a studio with 4 other people in the creatvie industrie. Its an awsome space and rent divided by 4 means rent is less than a tank of gas. It was getting to hard to work at home with my daughter around :D. Getting the studio improved productivity 4xAs you can see you could write a book on this stuff. Hope it was slightly helpfull
- kerus0
designvandal thank you very much. i understand what you guys are saying about having an office but i'm going to be buying a house so i'm making an office there. cant really afford any more monthly fees if ya dig
--
3. Amendmants. Charge charge charge. Its were designers get screwed over one quick free change usually leads to alot more...
--AMEN to that.. and thats where *I* got screwed over. my employer lets clients walk all over them. the bosses insist we need to "start charging for every change" but when it comes time to do the billing the bosses say "oh we cant charge them THAT!" ...... and i get to be the scapegoat
deposits is a great idea, wouldn't have even though of that.
- monNom0
do we work in the same office?
J/K, I think it's not unusual in the industry, especially since so may studios are started by designers... which are, essentially, people-pleasers.
6 years is a long time. You might want to stretch your legs and see if there's another studio around that could offer you more.
- edd-e0
freelancing can earn great rewards financially. be smart with your earnings and take care of your receipts. collect everyone you can for everything you purchase and that means even going to the movies, every receipt.
in the beginning it can be a rough learning curve in figuring how and what ou must now accomplish.
getting new clientele and keeping them not only happy but excited to see whaere and what you come withh next.
networking as much as possible.
get everything in writing, be professional.
Time Sheet Templates
http://office.microsoft.com/en-u…Invoice Templates
http://office.microsoft.com/en-u…Freelancing Templates
for Starting new
http://office.microsoft.com/en-u…save all your work on disk at the end of everyday. you never know when the client ends a job. be smart, its your work and you may never get a second chance to retrieve it.
create contracts, get an accountant, basic first thing you must have.
ask that account all the ins and outs of freelancing "LOOP HOLES" yes there are quite a few in your favour if you are smart.
learn to estimate your future earnings quarterly and pay your taxes. if you under estimate you will be penalized...dont fall under that position. if you msut always over estimate, its always dope to get money back rather than struggling tryingto figure it out on how to paay it off.
as a freelancer try to take out 40+% per pay check you receive for the taxes. it higher than it should be but it will keep your base more solid than being on a smaller points scale.
keep a record of every penny you spend and try to really come up with a balance plan just in case work does not happen, do you have a plan b or c or d?? look forward to these obsticals as they will happen.
good luck!! new years means new opportunities!!! take them and work it in your favour!!!
:)
- edd-e0
oh yes the #1 rule of freelancing i have learned is to constaantly ask more and more questions with other designers, you never know when someone gives info such as here...
freelancers are usually helpful with other freelancers like to help their own learning grow.
best of luck!!
:)
- fusionpixel0
Dont be afraid, a lot of people have gone freelance (me included) and have survived, I started freelancing mostly because of the situations.
Now I work a lot less, have a house, happily married and have a baby. So can it be done? of couse it can be done you only have to be smart and dont be afraid. fear only will take you so far.
- kerus0
my biggest worry was benefits but my fiance is in nursing school so that works out well :)
thank you all for the great links and advice. and yes ive definitely worn out my welcome here. definitely going to shop around a bit.. but in the meantime im trying to fake a smile here, and crank the side projects up a few notches.
thanks again