Advice for Freelance Designers

Don't assume that all freelance web workers do the same thing for their full time job. I freelance part time, but have a full time job in a completely separate field.

wow...well I think you got a point there...being a New Designer doesn't mean that being an Old one is bad or viceversa it just means you like looking at things one way or doing what you like the way you like to do it. Being one type of designer doesn't mean you can't turn into the other one without even noticing and go back whenever you want to. I think it's good that you have made clear, in this article or the other, that without the new techonologies there is no place for you in design cause it's the truth even you consider yourself of one or the other type of designers. Very nice articles, very good writer.

Yes! Skype is a GREAT tool for freelancing and online collaboration!

Another benefit of skype is it's cross-platform compatibility

very, very true - great points!

It can always be difficult to get the right balance, I've known freelancers to fail due to the lack of support they can physically give to clients. The nature of freelancing is - be in a position to accept work all the time because you never know when work is going to dry up! The trouble is there are only so many hours in a day! In situations like these it is better to raise or lower your prices in line with supply and demand, this way if your client really wants something they will pay for it and you will have the funds to outsource if need be, thus keep your client happy. Also over time you can weed out your 'not so good clients' and only work with your 'good clients'. A slightly different take on your original post I know, but I thought I'd throw it in anyway. I like your idea of a reduced rate on the next job - it gives your clients the opportunity to reclaim some of your time, it also gives them a good reason to stay loyal, that is as long as you want loyalty from that client.

I like wandering around my local public library or antique shop. you never know what inspiration will find you at these spots!

Good sound advice, any way to get a new client engaged in conversation is usually the best way to win them over and putting phone numbers or contact form on your website is a very good idea

This is among my favorite articles. I find one of the most frequent questions I face is, "You're just one person. Can you handle my project?" I'm re-designing and re-writing much of my current site, in the new model I'm going to be more transparent about the freelance process and how it involves, when necessary, hiring other freelancers and building a team around the task at hand. "My office may be a coffee shop, and my 'staff' might not be full time, but that is less overhead I have to charge you." Occasionally, I find people wary of a freelancer hiring other freelancers, though this has always been resolved when I explain that the people I'm bringing on board are not random replies I've received via Cragislist, ect., but belong to a long standing, thoroughly tested and trusted network.

There is no point in forcing a CMS on clients who only need a simple website. As their business grows and there requirements do A CMS may become appropriate. Forcing something on them that they don't need or understand is less likely to lead to repeat business in the future.

Great article. I liked that you discussed both sides. Many people forget to consider the designers point-of-view for streamlining their business. I have also found that education is key. Even though it is easy to assume clients know their options, demonstrating the product allows them to truly see the value and make educated decisions.

This is a little difficult to answer also. Sometime designers spend the time to create beautiful designs and try their best to keep their codes compliant. Once a company takes over the CMS, the italic, bold, underline and do everything under the sun to break your original design (typography) and the back-end code now looks horrendous. This is just my opinion though. Good article.

Prevention is certainly better than a cure. Here's what I do: I took the time, trouble and expense of getting an airtight contract and terms of service drawn up. With every new client/project I make time to go over these documents with the client, section by section and make sure that the terms of the contract is understood. I get it signed and sealed and I require a deposit payment of either 50% or a third, depending on the scope. I don't release source files, or completed work until all balances are paid in full and the client signs off on the deliverables. Fortunately I haven't yet had a client who did not pay me for completed work. It pays to screen your clients before-hand as well - I'm very picky in this regard.

Have them sign a contract and require 50% up front. Also specify within the contract that the 2nd payment is due on a particular date and not when the customer feels it is "finished". Some web design customers never got back to us on revisions but we still got paid in full. I've noticed a lot of customers drop the ball when they are included in the revision process and feel their site isn't finished yet. Protect yourself with a contract and require payment at specific times throughout the design process.

My client agrees to pay but never does. It is a lot of money and they always make an excuse - it has been 6 months and they keep making excuses. I have no idea what to do. I guess small claims court.

Hi, thanks for the article! I'm a freelancer last 5 years, and all described in article problems solved, so... not bad, he-he!

Love your post!! Been freelancing for 7 months and your post was spot on!

I myself couldn't have said it better.

I would also definitely add Blinksale to this list! Brandon Cotter, CEO of Blinksale, would love to chat with anyone on how easy sending invoices with Blinksale really is! Also feel free to shoot me any questions at patrick@blinksale.com. Give it a shot at www.blinksale.com!

The Simplybill link ain't workin' dude.

The Simply bill link has been fixed, dude. The link was to http://simplybill.com which had the error (they must be having stylesheet issues). Changed to http://www.simplybill.com and seems to be working fine now.

Great post! I have been shouting the point about the modern designer being business savvy and entrepreneurial to anybody who would listen for a while now. Design today is no longer an artistic indulgence, but a measurable business strategy that effects marketing, ROI, cash flow, etc. I also liked the paragraph about the New Designer having influence. That's a great point, and a modern design characteristic that I hadn't really given much thought to till now. Thanks!

What an excellent definition! I am probably, by your definition, a "New Designer" as I am a blend of "Designer, Developer, Business Owner, Blogger and teacher". I'm looking forward to keeping in touch with your blog.

Grate post!And very well said : "Old Designers don't know much about running a business, or just know the basics. They just want to design. But to be a freelance designer, you must have a business that is sustainable". Today, to get a project done, you must implement that objectivity, not only to the design itself, but to the entire project. hope to see more real articles like this, more quality and less commercial stuff.

neatly said... I ve allowed myself to grow and become New designer or maybe even older Designer. This conclusion after a chat with a construction student, others, reading this post. I think http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelo they to figured that they had many skills that could and should be joined in order to make progress. So that we in later time could divide it up again and specialize in one thing. Through all of this i did notice one thing. Lack of (art)skills u might aren't/ will or might not be needed any longer and/or shouldn't be focused upon as a new designer. My believe is that influence, the business sense and design (craftmanship) once disappear and people like who are like da vinci and michelangelo or the new designer will someday soon be old again. And focus on specialisation... Please correct me if i am wrong :) Create & enjoy mirella klas

Great reading. I found something new for self

Do you remember a few years ago, the person that looked after the web site was the web master, usually someone from the I.T department, then as the web grew Web design companies grew and took over this role. The web design companies grew each person or department had their own specialty. Things are changing again, and no doubt things will keep on changing

Good insight from yourself. And this is definitely something all designers need to start realizing. :) Entrepreneurship is very important unless you've no dream/goal to work on your own or form your own company.

This doesn't apply to design only. The idea that any business that wants to be successful needs an entrepeneur (for making business decisions and company strategy), a manager (if only to make sure everything gets planned and within time/budget) and a technician (to do the actual work) is not particularly new is it? In case of design I would add a fourth role, a creative mind, as design is more than learning JQuery. This article assumes that the new successful designer will be all these personalities in one. Hm...I wonder who will be able to pull this off? After all it are conflicting personalities, creativity is not something you can switch on from 9 to 5, yet the manager role likes to put a planning on it. And while there is a need to learn more about how to do business, the technical part in ourselves is more interested in learning JQuery (or any of the toys in the giant sandbox and doesn't wants to get bothered with marketing). It's the same old question: would you rather be a jack of all trades (different trades, that's for sure) or a master of one? If I had to choose between a small team where each role is filled by a person doing 100% his job or a freelancer who needs to be 25% entrepeneur, 25% manager, 25% JQuery-loving technician qnd 25% creative... I know which one will produce the best results. Look around you, successful companies are not 1-person companies. Succesfull projects or products are not achieved by one person, freelance or not. It's always teamwork by a large or very small team of highly engaged people doing what they do best. The Old designer is back! He/she just brought along a few friends with complementing competencies.

Responding to Jorix: Thanks for the response. I basically wrote this article based on myself. There will always be different business models to choose from in the world of design but I don't subscribe to the idea that a person must be limited. A "New Designer" as I have described pushes the boundaries which obviously makes some people feel uncomfortable - innovation always does.

nice post, i like the logo, thanks

You are completely right about the power of testimonials ! That's why our company (BBC) appealed to Our Clients (www.our-clients.com). Our-clients is an online tool that makes it easy to collect testimonials from your clients and keep them up-to-date. The testimonials are completely trustworthy thanks to the fact that not only you but also your clients have control on what is published. And testimonials have to be updated or confirmed every 12 months. So you end up with a list of testimonials that are real and recent. Only those will convince your prospects.