Convince me not to go freelance
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- baseline_shift0
Have you clients?
- ********0
only do it if you want to be, not only designer, but project manager, administrator, accountant, receptionist, account manager and janitor.
- plash0
looks like a lot of out of work/over worked designers.
i say as long as there is a second source of income and you have at least three to six months of work booked. why jump into freelance without a plan of attack. if you find yourself in the rare position of having too much work; outsource. look at how many are desperate for work.
I've been lucky to have referrals skate me by this recession but you're starting fresh so you may need to build on your business for a while. good luck.
- must_dash0
- is that a glow stick? balloon boy is a raver?scarabin
- God this is the most retarded news story in the history of retarded news stories...IRNlun6
- hahakrokdesign
- kld0
long hours, but you get to invoice every hour. Which means big $$$.
- Don't forget about all the hours which you can't invoice for too. That part sucks!nocomply
- not sure which hours your talking about. Unless youre talking about the 9-5 jobby w/ no OTkld
- Pretty much guarentee you won'yt get hourly rate most of the timebabaganush
- indeedjanne76
- some freelance gigs have a day rate cap.Kaleb242
- GeorgesII0
- I owe €2500 to the tax office because I ended up in a Kafkaesque situation, I have no other way then to pay it, yeaahhhhh
dont go freelance if you're not sure to make enough cash,
my 2ct- You turned into an Insect?babaganush
- ahahah I wish I couldGeorgesII
- gramme0
Not technically freelance here based on my tax status (LLC) and the fact that I don't work on-site for other agencies or studios. Besides that there's no real difference.
I was basically forced to start on my own, as many here already know. It's what I've always wanted to do, just happened sooner and much more abruptly than I expected. My former employer gave me a couple months severance (before events transpired to burn that bridge). I had a client waiting in the wings who said "I'll just keep giving you projects until you tell me to stop." Eight months later, they've provided over 60% of my client income and are on the verge of placing me on retainer as their agency of record. If I get much more work from them, I'll need to start hiring freelancers in order to maintain autonomy as Metagramme—not to mention the simple fact that I don't want a single client to totally monopolize my time. I'd get bored fast.
So anyway, this is the most terrifying thing I've ever done; but it's also been the most fulfilling career move I've ever made.
- Where are you finding work? cold calling? and are you working with your own clients or agency overflow?marcostill
- hellogoodbye0
hahaha you guys just made my day with this post.
- marcostill0
there must be plenty of freelance from agencies out there.
- Iggyboo0
Seriously it requires balls, a good cpa and a business plan. Market yourself well enough that you can find clients at ease. You may not want all the work you do the first year but if your looking to change your lifestyle it takes work just like anything else and their is work out there.
- Seanbot0
It is alot more work than you are thinking. And while rewarding, work will become your life in the immediate future.
- marcostill0
maybe i should just keep collecting my cushy pay check.
- hektor9110
don't do it.... we have enough freelancers
- gramme0
marcostill asks: "Where are you finding work? cold calling? and are you working with your own clients or agency overflow?"
The client I mentioned above came to me via word of mouth. They're a non-profit news & publishing organization. Their headquarters is in another part of the country, but their publisher lives here in St. Louis and goes to my church. He's an excellent writer and collaborated with me on the style guide for my church, so we got to know each other pretty well before he ever hired me. I've actually gotten a couple other clients in similar ways. Additionally, I took out an ad in their publication (never done that before) since they offered me the space for free. I got a bunch of calls and emails, and one legit project from that ad alone. Might do that again if things slow down for me.
Beyond that, it's about finding who your friends know, and who those people know, and then getting in touch with those prospects (preferably via direct, qualified referral or at least a legit segway, e.g. "I was speaking with our mutual friend X, and he referred me to you...").
I tried cold calling for a couple weeks back in the spring, and it proved to be 100% useless. The only cold-calling I do is to find out (a) who the marketing contact is at various companies, and (b) whether they outsource work or not. Armed with this information, I then send that person a studio brochure with a letter crafted specifically for them. So far I've only sent out a handful of these packets, no idea yet if it's working or if I just wasted a bunch of money on my books.
Most of my work to date has been through direct client relationships, although I've just recently started to pick up some agency overflow around town. I maintain autonomy by positioning myself as a one-man studio, rather than a freelancer. I have no interest in working on-site at some agency for days or weeks on end.
One little thing that I think helps is to write a credit for yourself on both printed and web projects—but only if the finished product is something you're proud of. Put it somewhere that's legible and likely to be found, without being too intrusive or encroaching on your clients brand. This will help generate recognition for you.
- babaganush0
Do it. If it doesn't work out,you WILL survive and at least you can speak from experience to the multitude that never have the balls to...
- Meeklo0
here is dinner
- capn_ron0
If you're young and don't have too many responsibilities I would say go for it. What do you have to lose? I am jealous that you are even thinking it. I am tied to a mortgage and can't take the leap of faith.
- Douglas0
Taking on your own projects directly from a client and doing everything from home (or small studio, etc) is very fulfilling, though a lot of admin work... but in the end your really "own" the project. Doing freelance through other agencies or design shops a lot of the time just means that you are a monkey brought in to execute a part of an idea already in the works. I like to commit to a project from start-finish or shape things over longer periods of time and have working relationships with coworkers and clients. Being able to get steady work as freelancer shouldn't be an issue if you know your shit though.
- janne760
re: knowing your shit:
http://www.douglasfiliak.com/;)
- + seizuredoesnotexist
- never said that I was one to "know my shit". :)Douglas
- and my work is sooo beyond having a web portfolio. ;pDouglas
- jesus my eyesbigtrick