It’s been roughly a year since it all began, give or take a day or two so I thought it high time to share some of my experiences taken from this wonderful world of freelance.
Originally my plan was to sit down and crank out a one shot deal, just some quick tips from my experiences. Then I sat down and actually started to think about it. I started to realize that I have learned a whole helluva lot in the last year, design, business, marketing and freelance wise, so it made more sense for me to whip up this intro and crank out a little series.
Why such a negative title, “The Pitfalls”? Because that is what this year behind me has been about, learning about the things that can go terribly wrong when you decide to go into business for yourself. Best part of it is, I am 100% ok with the fact that I ran into these little pitfalls along the way. I enjoy learning through doing, and anyone that has the same problem knows that when you prefer to learn this way you are bound to make the mistake that will teach you the right. It’s a guarantee.
Let me just make one disclaimer here before I break off into what this series might cover, and that is the fact that I am by no means an authority figure on any of the topics I am about to cover. There are a ton of folks whom have blazed the trail before me and are 100% more talented in terms of both creativity and freelancing. These are the folks that I keep tabs on and learn from, these are the folks that you should be learning from as well (the who I keep tabs one will likely be a part of the series). I do however have a unique viewpoint in all this and that is my own so I feel like I can share something worth while. Even if I only share one useful piece of information for each person that reads an article, that will make it more than worth my time.
Moving on to the topics I may cover in this little series of articles.
The Paperwork
Contracts, bids, proposals, quotes – you know the “administration stuff” and why you need to do it right.
Scope Creep
When to say enough is enough.
Client Interaction
How to handle it from day to day, from the clients you wish you could adopt to the ones you wish you never knew. How to work with your clients and give them the best experience you can possibly give.
Setting Pricing
This is a touchy one. Don’t expect a pricing guide here because I don’t have on to share. Just some thoughts on how to go about decided what your time and work is worth to you and the client.
Marketing For Now, Marketing for the Future
Why it is important to not loose focus of your marketing efforts, I don’t care how busy you are.
Growing Your Business
What does One or Two Years down the road look like for you? How about 10? What are you doing to plan now.
Making Time for Yourself
Why it is important to take time out for yourself. To learn, to engage in a personal project and to just smell the fresh air. Overbooking and overworking can leave you wondering why the hell you left your day job in a hurry.
A Review
Throughout the time I am writing the series I am also planning to dive head first into a copy of “The Unlimited Freelancer”, so why not round this out with a nice little review.
Ah, I think that about covers it. A year in review, I know I am looking forward to recapping. Chances are I am going to learn a thing or two in doing so and I hope that it might help one or two of you out a bit as well.
Stay tuned and enjoy!
In the Series:
Article 1 – Getting Started