Getting your "In" to freelance
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- rbroady
Hey Guys,
Im sorry if this has been discussed before, I did a search to see if my question could be answered, with no strong results coming back.My switch to freelance comes soon, been working at an agency in NYC for a little over a year.
Instead if the boring "How do you get work" question...
I want to know how you guys got YOUR "In" for freelancing?
Thanks!
-Rob
- akrok0
when i freelanced, i worked with other studios/agencies.
- akrok0
don't forget. you need to cover "benefits" and "taxes".
- bjladams0
i went out on my own because my freelancing was starting to cut into my day job. i'd imagine that just starting out from step 1 as a freelancer would be a little difficult.
- akrok0
well, i graduate summer of '01. the market was below zero. so, freelance was the only way. no one was hiring.
- akrok0
rob, are you being lay-off or thinking of quitting?
- bjladams0
true, freelancing out of necessity is also a good way to get going.
- bjladams0
i freelanced for the first 6-9 months after i graduated... had no clue what i was doing. would get big projects then nothing, which was quite scary as i was trying to convince the future in-laws that i was a good deal... then i got a contract job with an print company, which quickly led to a full-time spot. learned production, printing, and business for a number of years and then started freelancing again nights and weekends. after 2 years of that i was more interested in working on my own- and had developed enough clients to pay the mortgage, from there it grew.
- dibec0
woke up one day. said "i want to be my own boss". told the wife. made a plan. executed. never looked back.
- rbroady0
akrok...my full answer got cut off. 'soon' is more like a year and a half, two years. My plan has always just been to move out west to SF when the time is right. Thats where some friends are, girlfriend will be, and love for snowboarding can be greatly fulfilled. I thought that would be the time I make my freelance switch.
- akrok0
hah...way to go. so you know what the question the ny:ers has now. hey, what about the apartment? lol.
- rbroady0
Seems like its good that the freelance switch will be 'forced' by my location switch. I could always fall back on a full time gig, but then snowboarding takes a big hit ;).
I also have a friend who is an accountant, which really takes a burden off. I know how important that is from when I freelanced in college.
Any of you use creative recruiter's? Thats how I got my full time nyc gig, and I know they handle lots of freelancers as well.
- woodyBatts0
Like akrok I also couldn't get a job in '01 and have been freelancing ever since. I started writing about my experiences and my system here : http://blog.thisfreelancelife.co…
basically the idea is to stack one technique on top of each other so if one fails you have another system in which to get clients. Over 10 years I now have many clients from small jobs that have gotten me bigger and bigger jobs.
- mcmillions0
I graduated in Spring '09—I was doing weak elance-type work for awhile just for the money, while looking for freelance gigs or internship (so not quite the same as your situation).
But quite honestly, a lot of cold calling and e-mailing me got me in for interviews, which finally led to freelance work—that was it.
- mcmillions0
I graduated in Spring '09—I was doing weak elance-type work for awhile just for the money, while looking for freelance gigs or internship (so not quite the same as your situation).
But quite honestly, a lot of cold calling and e-mailing me got me in for interviews, which finally led to freelance work—that was it.