Life As A Creative Freelancer

There are many appealing ideals when it comes to freelancing...but it's not for everyone.

Consideration #1: Personality Type

Some folks have expressed an undying desire to work from the comfort of their own homes, to stay in their jammies all day, listen to their own music, hang out with their cats, not have to field those same old "working hard or hardly working" types of inquiries from good-natured (albeit redundant) co-workers day after day, and be allowed the freedom to focus uninterrupted with no meetings or morale-boosting (yet obligatory) birthday parties to attend. (I might be one of these folks.)

Some of my friends can't begin to fathom the hermity lifestyle to which I've committed. These people would not be happy cooped up on their own anywhere from 8-12 hours a day (yes, I said 8-12 hours!) with no one but their pets to talk to. (And believe me, you DO find yourself talking to your pets.)

Ever taken a Meyers-Briggs assessment? (If you've worked in an office, chances are, you have!) If your assessment labels you as an ESFJ (Extroverted Sensing Feeling Judging), for instance, a career as a work-at-home freelancer may not be for you. Those who enjoy and thrive on interaction with others may be more productive and fulfilled working in a group setting. Interactive environments are best for those who learn best from hands-on activity and practical applications, value face-to-face contact on a regular basis, or prefer to adhere rigidly to structure and guidance in their everyday lives.

Consideration #2: Talent/Skill

To succeed in a creative field, it does help to have some talent and refined skill. Bear in mind, everyone's talents are different. Admiring the talents of your amazing peers and colleagues is a beautiful thing, as long as you don't forget to give yourself some credit for your own. One thing I've learned about talent is that it means so many different things for so many different people. Just because you admire someone else's work doesn't necessarily mean they're "better", so don't let that Green Eyed Monster called Envy impede the development of your own talent.

But if you have talent, you probably know it on some level, and it's up to you and only you to develop that talent. And what better way to develop it than to apply it to SKILL? (Riiight?)

A strong skill set that can be demonstrated by way of a solid portfolio and well-composed resume is vital to your success as a Creative Professional. I find there is plenty of demand for those with a highly specialized skill set, as well as those with a more expansive skill set.

For example, perhaps you are an Illustrator, and only an Illustrator. You may work in several mediums, from digital to watercolor, but you market yourself solely as an Illustrator. Which means you put the majority of your time and focus into developing yourself as an illustrator...which means you're pretty much an Illustration Expert Extraordinaire. Many clients will find that appealing and imperative to their particular needs.

Some Creative Professionals have a more varied skill set, which is also a tremendously valuable asset. Many clients appreciate a Graphic Artist who can illustrate, lay out their copy, design a logo, retouch their photos, design and program their website AND whip up all the written content for it. There's a lot to be said for the appeal of One Stop Shopping.

However, many of us may feel spread thin not only trying to learn and juggle all of these skills, but keeping abreast of the changes and improvements that evolve with each area of focus. It's up to you to find which areas of focus benefit you and stimulate you, and truly make the most of them!!

Consideration #3: Discipline

If you've gotten as far as developing a solid and impressive skill set, it's likely you already possess some degree of discipline. But it's imperative to remember that when you're your own boss, there is nobody around to tell you what to do. (Which is probably why you wanted to do this in the first place, right?)

But you still have clients who are counting on you! Are you a self-starter? Can you maintain a workload without putting things off till the last minute? Can you commit to putting in long hours when necessary? Can you multi-task, prioritize, and follow through with important items without getting distracted? Can you trust yourself to focus on your work without goofing off online all day?

If you have answered "yes" to all of these questions , you're probably headed in the right direction toward being your own boss.

Consideration #4: Organization

Organization is tremendously important when it comes to managing your own career. You must develop systems for keeping track of your income and expenses, deadlines, appointments, and other important dates, organizing and backing up your files, and prioritizing tasks in order of importance. Keeping a fairly tidy work space is a good idea as well.

Consideration #5: Integrity

Building a positive, trustworthy rapport with your clients is SO important. Not only do you want your clients to come back to you again and again (and refer you to others), you want to be able to take pride and fulfillment in the fact that you delivered exceptional service and value, and made your client's experience with you a pleasant and satisfying one.

Honesty and integrity is important also when it comes to your colleagues and peers. I find that most Creative Professionals are glad to lend insight, advice, and encouragement to each other, and to respect one another's intellectual property. (There are, of course, a few bad apples in every bunch, but it has been my experience that most of us in Creative fields are honest, passionate, hardworking individuals who care about the success of our clients as well as each other.)

Consideration #6: Communication

Just because you'll be working at home, doesn't mean you no longer have to communicate. Strong communication skills make SUCH an impression on prospective clients, believe me. Who wouldn't want to work with someone who is thorough, articulate, and pleasant in tone?

Whether you communicate via phone, email, or both, you've gotta know your stuff, and you've also got to be able to get a feel for the client's background and personality. The ideal objective is to be pleasant, concise, attentive, and professional!

Strong written skills are definitely a boon. A great deal of freelancing is "selling yourself"...essentially it's like "job hunting" all the time. Therefore, it is important to represent yourself as someone who is competent, independent, and easy to communicate with. We all know what a major faux-pas it is to have typos on your resume; why take everyday professional emails any less seriously? Treat all your correspondence with respect, and your clients and colleagues will surely sense that respect.

Consideration #7: Motivation

What is your motivation behind working for yourself?

Are you truly passionate about carving your own creative niche? Do you sincerely want to be responsible for providing your clients with lovingly and superbly crafted deliverables? Do you want to develop your own personal level of success, to consistently take your goals to the next level? Will you still want to hang in there when the going gets tough? Can you keep your eye on the prize?

Consideration #8: Financial Situation

There are risks involved in breaking into the freelance game, and only you can assess whether those risks are worth taking. If you are the sole breadwinner of your family with no savings and/or equipment, and a lot of debt or financial responsibilities, a reckless plunge into freelancing might not be the best idea. But don't despair; adequate planning and saving can certainly result in a great start in freelancing if you are serious!

Some of us face less financial risk. If you feel you are at a good starting point, without a lot of financial responsibilities, and perhaps a support system in your life, you may find it feasible to make that leap into self-employment.

Another viable option is to merge into freelancing while holding down another full-time or part-time job. This allows you to build up a client base and gain some experience while you're still bringing in a steady paycheck.

Don't forget...you need equipment. Starting up a home office isn't a huge investment, but if you're a technology-based Creative, you'll certainly need a fast, reliable computer, and whatever software you require to facilitate your skill set. If you've already got it, great! You're one step ahead. If not, you'll need to figure out some sort of a savings or loan plan.

Consideration #9: Experience

Many of us want to come right out of school and start working for ourselves. (I know I wanted to!) And some even do it! But I would STRONGLY recommend getting out there and working in your field for several years before embarking on your own business. I "paid my dues" for almost 8 years before going freelance, and working with other talented professionals in my field was truly an invaluable experience that I don't regret for a minute!

Consideration #10: Backbone

If you want to be a freelancer, you're gonna have to put yourself out there. Which means you are going to get rejected from time to time. Sometimes it rolls off your back, and sometimes it can really bum you out. Especially if you're going through a dry spell and you really need some work, or if it's a project you really had your heart set on.

But you've gotta be able to get through it, tough it out, and never lose heart. Because there will always be more opportunities, and always someone out there who will need and appreciate your unique brand of talents and superior service.

Lining Up Work

Finding a long-term contract gig is an ideal way to start out, if you can get it. You may find long-term, work-from-home jobs in which you work as an Independent Contractor for x-amount of hours per week, for x-amount of months, or indefinitely. Browse your local want ads, or job search forums nationally for Contract work you can do from your own home office. You can also keep an eye out on Craigslist. Bear in mind, these jobs are often highly competitive and generate a lot of response, since there are so many folks who want to work from home!

Selling Yourself

So how do you land one of these competitive, high-demand Contract jobs, or any freelance work, for that matter?

It helps to start with a great resume and portfolio, obviously. Putting your work online, as well as having a tangible portfolio and resume that can be shown (or sent) "IRL" is the smart and savvy way to go about it. If you don't know how to design your own website (or your web design skills are limited), it would behoove you to hire a professional web designer to build a simple (or complex, depending on your budget) site in which to showcase your work.



Another option is to upload your work to a free community portfolio site, such as:

Coroflot.com

Portfolio's Friend

Carbonmade

Taylor your inquiries/applications for different jobs to suit the client and show your interest in the project and specific qualifications for a job whenever possible. Have a complete, polished portfolio ready to go so that you can include a link for any company/client/job to which you are inquiring/applying. As your workload and client base grow, be sure to update your portfolio with your new work.

Printed materials, such as business cards and postcard mailers, are inexpensive ways of promoting yourself outside the bubble of the digital realm. You can upload your own designs or have a design created for you and printed for reasonable costs at sites such as gotprint.com, vistaprint.com, and overnightprints.com.



Freelance Networks

Freelance networks usually charge a membership fee to join, and some also charge a percentage per project. Most are structured so that you, the freelancer, can browse project listings and decide which you are best suited for. You then bid on the job with a reasonable rate, a proposal for how you will execute the job if hired, and samples from your portfolio.

This is a reasonable method of finding work, although I wouldn't recommend it as your only method. And it seems you get what you pay for. Those networks with higher membership rates and per-project transaction fees generally do tend to yield a greater variety of project listings, and less competition for each listing.

So far I've had the best luck with Elance.com, although I've also come in contact with some wonderful clients through ifreelance.com, which is a bit more saturated with competition, but also less expensive.

View my portfolio at ifreelance.com
Hire NNNdesign for Business Card Design, Website Design, and Logo Design


Other Methods of Getting Work/Getting Noticed

-Respond to craigslist listings.

-Advertise on craigslist!

-Send out promotional postcards to either a mailing list you've purchased, or compiling your own mailing list of targeted clients you'd like to work for.

-Word of mouth through friends, family, and clients (talk about what you do EVERYWHERE YOU GO...I'm serious. Although if you're passionate about it, you probably will anyway!) Make sure to always have those business cards on hand.

-Create a professional profile in social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.com, and really use them to network! (Keep these profiles that you plan to use for business purposes limited to professional content only! No pictures of yourself doing oyster shooters with your friends in Vegas.)

-Scope out creative resources like workbook.com or The Behance Network and create a profile or place a listing there.

-Get yourself a copy of the Artist's & Graphic Designer's Market, The Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market, and/or The Writer's Market, depending on your area(s) of focus. These books not only contain information on submitting work and inquiries to leading creative clients, they are packed with informative and insightful interviews with Successful Creative professionals.

-Join some forums and participate in discussions with other professionals in similar fields. You never know when someone will need a hand with their workload, or have a particular project that's perfect for your skill set that they'd like to subcontract to you. Also, it's a great way to learn new things about your field! Chances are, no matter how experienced you are, you can still learn something new every day by networking with other knowledgeable professionals.

-Offer incentives to your current client base. Run money-saving specials on your services from time to time, or offer referral discounts for every paying customer they send you. Your customers will feel appreciated, and they'll want to keep coming back to you again and again.

-Network, network, network!!!

Here is the part where most of us cringe. What creative person wants to be bothered by filling out forms, bookkeeping, taxes? But it's actually not that bad if you just know what to do.

Business License


To register your business with your city, simply Google the name of your city along with the words "Business License". This will usually point you in the right direction immediately. Your city's website's Treasury Division will generally have all the info you need to obtain your business license. Oftentimes the procedure consists of nothing more than filling out a form and mailing a check for a nominal fee. (For example, my city business license costs $35 a year...I get a nifty little certificate to hang on my bulletin board to make me feel like an honest-to-goodness business owner each year.)

My state also required me to go down to some building and get a Tax ID number before I could get my business license, but it really wasn't that big of a deal. All the info I needed was given to me on my city's website, and I was in and out of there in less than an hour to get my Tax ID. They also provided me with additional information for filing my state taxes, which was good, considering I walked in there completely clueless.

Taxes


Stay with me, now! Taxes are admittedly something most Creative Professionals find overwhelming and befuddling. But if you're completely confused, most cities will offer complimentary tax workshops for small business owners, and/or video tutorials online.

However, you really needn't know ALL the specifics when it comes to filing your taxes, if you hire a good accountant. (Which I strongly recommend.) It not only saves you time and headaches, but there's a reason why people do this for a living. (Meanwhile, you do something completely different for a living.)

Ask your most trusted friends and family for referrals for good accountants, if you don't have one already. My first year as an Independent Contractor, I took my taxes to the accountant my parents have gone to for years, but now I take them to my best friend's (of over twenty years) husband, who now works for an accounting firm. He is most certainly a trusted adviser, and I find he does a great job and is more attentive to my questions than my family's accountant, which is important to me. A relationship with an accountant is an important one. Find someone you trust and who you feel comfortable with.

Don't forget to put some money aside for your taxes throughout the year! Nobody's going to withhold it for you but you! If you find it manageable to make quarterly estimated payments, your accountant can come up with quarterly payment vouchers to submit to the IRS. Come April 15, you should be good to go, or at least pretty darn close.

Bookkeeping


The more prepared you are and the more organized your information, the less work your accountant will have to do. (And the less he or she will charge you, most likely.)

It's a good idea to keep a spreadsheet to track your gross and net incomes, as well as a spreadsheet to track your deductions.

To track your gross income, make a spreadsheet with columns for Invoice Number, Date, Client Name, Project Description, and Project Balance (i.e. total amount billed).

To determine net income, make columns for any fees deducted from the Project Balance (i.e. money you'll never actually see, such as PayPal transaction fees, freelance network project fees, or print costs.) You can keep to separate spreadsheets for Gross and Net Income, or if you're really Excel savvy, you can create formulas to do all this math for you in one spreadsheet.

To keep track of business expenses for write-offs, keep a spreadsheet with columns for Date, Type of Purchase, Reason for Purchase, Cost, and the Method of Payment (cash, check, credit card, etc.) MAKE SURE TO UPDATE THIS each and every time you pay for a business expense...it is really easy to forget to add it in later.

My accountant tells me it's not imperative to save receipts as long as you paid for your purchases with a check or credit card, but it is still a really good idea. Keep a file folder for receipts, and if you made a web purchase, take a moment to print the receipt and toss it into your file.

Contracts


Some clients will ask you to sign a contract when you embark on a project with them, but if not, you should have your own contract written up for new clients/projects.

This is where you may want to consider making an investment. Hiring an intellectual property or contracts lawyer could cost you a minimum of $300 to take care of your contract needs, but you'll get the benefit of a contract that's 100% fair to you, not to mention someone to explain to you what the heck it all MEANS.

If you're in a pinch, The Graphic Artists' Guild Handbook has a section outlining Standard Contracts and Business Tools. You can create your own contract based on one of the samples in this book, but you still may not fully understand all the fine print.

You can also view sample contracts and get more information at KeepYourCopyrights.org.

For more legal information and advice, check out Nolo.com

Invoicing


Invoicing is important for each project. It's a good idea to invest in some invoicing software like MacFreelance or Marketcycle Billings to keep track of your invoices and do the math for you. (These programs are not all that expensive. WORTH IT.)

You might also try FreshBooks Online Invoicing. I have not yet tried this service myself, but it looks like it has a lot of benefits, including estimates, time tracking, expense tracking, automated billing, online payments, secure data back-up, and more!

Invoices are especially helpful in itemizing more than one task per project, or for timing and reporting hourly charges. Plus, clients generally like to have them for their records.

Writing your 100th invoice is a pretty cool feeling, by the way. Like, pop-open-a-bottle-of-bubbly-worthy. Talk about feeling established...once you've made it to that 100th invoice, there's no doubt that you've ARRIVED!!! *Cheers!*

You can see my entire portfolio here!