Don't Call Me A Freelancer

Running a creative business is not rocket science (if it were, most of us would be screwed.) There are, however, some fundamentals that seem to be overlooked with far too much frequency, especially among the newly self-employed. If you plan to work for yourself, technical prowess and talent mean nothing without a passion for business.

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Transcript

1. DON’T CALL ME A FREELANCER @16toads Paul Burton • EECI New York, 2011 • @16toads • 16toads.com Saturday, October 22, 11
2. TOPICS Community Self-Employment Contracts Rights-Restrictive Clauses Pricing Saturday, October 22, 11
3. COMMUNIT-EE & YOU Saturday, October 22, 11
4. # of Pro Net Members 250 Saturday, October 22, 11
5. Under 1 Year 1 - 3 Years 4 - 9 Years 10 - 15 Years 15 + Years 0 20 40 60 80 Working as Professional Working as Self-Employed Professional Communit-ee Experience Saturday, October 22, 11
6. self-employed for 3 years or less 56.61% self-employed for 9 years or less 92.46% Communit-ee Experience Saturday, October 22, 11
7. self-employed for over 10 years 11 self-employed for over 15 years 3 Communit-ee Experience Saturday, October 22, 11
8. BUSINESS IS HARD Saturday, October 22, 11
9. YOUR CLIENTS TALK ABOUT YOU Saturday, October 22, 11
10. YOUR DECISIONS AFFECT THE COMMUNITY Saturday, October 22, 11
11. WE CREATE OUR OWN PROBLEMS Saturday, October 22, 11
12. COMMITMENT IS EVERYTHING Saturday, October 22, 11
13. FIND A JOB IF YOU CAN’T HACK IT Saturday, October 22, 11
14. FREELANCE IS NOT A BUSINESS @16toads Saturday, October 22, 11
15. A Freelancer: Is cheap Doesn’t use a contract Is not reliable Won’t be there when they need you Is not a partner is 100% expendable Saturday, October 22, 11
16. GOOD BUSINESS BEGINS WITH ETHICS Saturday, October 22, 11
17. Build An Ethical Foundation Use a contract Be honest Respect your vendors Consider the community Meet your deadlines and budgets Protect your integrity Saturday, October 22, 11
18. DEFINE SUCCESS THEN SET GOALS Saturday, October 22, 11
19. The Secret To Success DO SOMETHING KEEP WORKING Saturday, October 22, 11
20. GAIN CONFIDENCE BY MAKING DECISIONS Saturday, October 22, 11
21. INCOME IS A BY-PRODUCT Saturday, October 22, 11
22. YOUR EXPERIENCE CAN’T BE DUPLICATED Saturday, October 22, 11
23. YOUR SUCCESS IS YOURS ALONE Saturday, October 22, 11
24. “DIFFICULT” CLIENTS ARE YOUR CREATION Saturday, October 22, 11
25. “NO” ONE SYLLABLE Don’t Be A Wuss Saturday, October 22, 11
26. HOW DO I GET CLIENTS? Saturday, October 22, 11
27. PRICING YOUR WORK Saturday, October 22, 11
28. Earn Less than $60k per year 45.91% Earn Less than $80k per year 70.44% Communit-ee Experience Saturday, October 22, 11
29. 25 Communit-ee Experience # of people who earn more than $100k per year Saturday, October 22, 11
30. Communit-ee Income $10,000 - $19,999 $20,000 - $59,999 $60,000 - $79,999 $80,000 - $99,999 $100,000 - $119,999 $120,000 - $149,999 Over $150,000 0 17.5 35 52.5 70 Saturday, October 22, 11
31. Methods of Pricing Hourly Project Retainer Contract Saturday, October 22, 11
32. Calculating Your Hourly Rate BUSINESS EXPENSES PERSONAL EXPENSES + Saturday, October 22, 11
33. BILLABLE HOURS Calculating Your Hourly Rate BUSINESS EXPENSES PERSONAL EXPENSES + + Saturday, October 22, 11
34. Office Rent / Mortgage Accounting / Legal Office Supplies Hardware / Software BUSINESS EXPENSES Calculating Your Hourly Rate Communications Advertising Travel Occasional Expenses Anything Else Insurance Saturday, October 22, 11
35. PERSONAL EXPENSES Calculating Your Hourly Rate Rent / Mortgage Retirement Account Occasional Expesenses Slush Fund Beer Family Daily Expenses Saturday, October 22, 11
36. How Many Hours Can You Actually Bill? Calculating Your Hourly Rate Days Worked Per Week Sick / Personal Days National Holidays TOTAL Billable Hours per Day Vacation Days Saturday, October 22, 11
37. BILLABLE HOURS Calculating Your Hourly Rate BUSINESS EXPENSES PERSONAL EXPENSES + + YOUR BASE HOURLY RATE = Saturday, October 22, 11
38. WHAT’S MISSING? Calculating Your Hourly Rate Saturday, October 22, 11
39. Calculating Your Hourly Rate + EXPERIENCE SKILL SET Saturday, October 22, 11
40. Calculating Your Hourly Rate YOU’RE STILL FORGETTING SOMETHING Saturday, October 22, 11
41. WHAT ARE YOU IN BUSINESS FOR? Saturday, October 22, 11
42. PROFIT Saturday, October 22, 11
43. PROFIT FUNDS YOUR LIFE (And Fuels Your Dreams) Saturday, October 22, 11
44. WHAT’S THE CATCH? DAMMIT Saturday, October 22, 11
45. OVER CHARGING? UNDER CHARGING? Saturday, October 22, 11
46. KNOW YOUR LOCAL MARKET Saturday, October 22, 11
47. LOUSY TRANSITION Saturday, October 22, 11
48. WORK FOR LESS IF IT BENEFITS YOU Saturday, October 22, 11
49. WE CREATE “THE MARKET” Saturday, October 22, 11
50. CONTRACTS ARE NECESSARY Saturday, October 22, 11
51. CONTRACTS PROTECT YOU AND YOUR CLIENTS Saturday, October 22, 11
52. LEGAL THREATS ARE FUCKING SCARY Saturday, October 22, 11
53. 40% Of the EE community does not use a contract or only sometimes uses a contract. Saturday, October 22, 11
54. A CONTRACT IS YOUR FOUNDATION Saturday, October 22, 11
55. Safety Support Trust Communication Loyalty BUSINESS CONTRACT Contractually Speaking Saturday, October 22, 11
56. Safety Support Trust Communication Loyalty BUSINESS CONTRACT MARITAL CONTRACT Contractually Speaking Safety Support Trust Communication Loyalty Saturday, October 22, 11
57. Transfer of Services BUSINESS CONTRACT Legal Transactions Saturday, October 22, 11
58. Transfer of Services Transfer of Fluids BUSINESS CONTRACT MARITAL CONTRACT* *Assumes you aren’t married to a prostitute Legal Transactions Saturday, October 22, 11
59. CONTRACTS PROTECT YOU & YOUR CLIENT Saturday, October 22, 11
60. Vendor Contracts READ & UNDERSTAND BEFORE YOU SIGN ANYTHING Saturday, October 22, 11
61. COPYRIGHT AND YOU Saturday, October 22, 11
62. 28% 27% 45% Yes Sometimes / What? No Understanding of Copyright Saturday, October 22, 11
63. RIGHTS-RESTRICTIVE CLAUSES Saturday, October 22, 11
64. Primary Covenants Non-Competes Work-For-Hire Saturday, October 22, 11
65. Are designed to prevent you from working in an industry for a specified period of time. NON-COMPETES Saturday, October 22, 11
66. WORK-FOR-HIRE SPEC WORK IS NOT Saturday, October 22, 11
67. Clauses are designed to render a vendor invisible in order to steal copyright and authorship of the vendor’s work. WORK-FOR-HIRE Saturday, October 22, 11
68. “White Label” [your services] Work-For-Hire Buzz Words “Invisible” [partner] “Silent” [partner] Saturday, October 22, 11
69. YOUR SIGNATURE CAN SCREW YOU Saturday, October 22, 11
70. WALK AWAY WHEN YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO Saturday, October 22, 11
71. Who Utilizes Work-For-Hire? 1. Small business owners who download contracts and don’t understand legalese Business owners who know exactly what the clause means and use it to their extreme advantage. 2. Saturday, October 22, 11
72. CHALLENGE Tell me how each Standard Clause is different from the equivalent Non-Standard Clause. Saturday, October 22, 11
73. WFH In The Communit-ee 1 Both non-standard clause samples come from a single contract currently in use by a highly respected member of the ExpressionEngine Pro Network. Saturday, October 22, 11
74. BLACKLIST WORK-FOR-HIRE OFFENDERS Saturday, October 22, 11
75. YOU ARE NOT A PAIR OF HANDS Saturday, October 22, 11
76. PREPARE YOURSELF FOR SELF-EMPLOYMENT Saturday, October 22, 11
77. DON’T CALL YOURSELF A FREELANCER Saturday, October 22, 11
78. THANK YOU 16toads Design Paul Burton • EECI New York, 2011 • @16toads • 16toads.com Saturday, October 22, 11
79. SLIDESHOW http://speakerdeck.com/u/16toads Saturday, October 22, 11
80. SURVEY RESULTS http://16toads.wufoo.com/reports/eeci2011-communitee-survey/ Saturday, October 22, 11
81. $2 WHITE PAPER http://16toads.com/projects/freelance/ Saturday, October 22, 11
82. http://freelanceswitch.com/rates/ http://stopworkforhire.com Resources http://www.copyright.gov/title17/ http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ09.pdf http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c106:h5107.rds: Saturday, October 22, 11
83. BONUS INFO CHALLENGE Saturday, October 22, 11
84. Work-For-Hire Defined 1. A work specially ordered or commissioned for use as a contribution to a collective work (such as a newspaper, magazine, anthology, or encyclopedia) As a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work 2. As a translation 3. As a supplementary work (defined as work prepared for publication as a secondary adjunct to a work by another author, such as forewords, afterwords, pictorial illustrations, maps, charts, tables, editorial notes, musical arrangements. 4. As a compilation (defined as a new arrangement of preexisting works or data) 5. As an instructional text (defined as a literary, pictorial, or graphic work prepared for publication and with the purpose of use in systematic instructional activities.) 6. As a test 7. As answer material for a test 8. As an atlas According to the US Copyright Act: ▪ The contractor and client must sign an agreement stating that the work is work-for-hire (work made for hire). ▪ and, the work described MUST fall under one of the following nine categories as specified by the U.S. Copyright Act. Saturday, October 22, 11
85. On Back Of Paychecks WFH Appears In These Documents Contracts Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA’s) Work Agreements Saturday, October 22, 11
86. “Ownership” Look For WFH In These Sections “Rights” “Authorship” Saturday, October 22, 11
87. CHALLENGE How does each standard clause differ from the equivalent non-standard clause? Email Answers to: Feedback@16toads.com First correct answer will win a copy of The Art of Kung Fu Panda 2, a Vile Plutocrat t-shirt, and a Skee Summit pint glass. Next five runners-up will receive a t-shirt or pint glass. Saturday, October 22, 11
88. Standard Non-Compete Clause Nonsolicitation; Noncompetition. This paragraph 3 shall apply only if Contractor is engaged to perform Contractor Services for Company. During Contractor’s engagement with Company and for twenty-four (24) months after the engagement terminates for any reason whatsoever, Contractor will not, directly or indirectly, for himself or on behalf of or in conjunction with any other person, firm, or entity — (a) initiate any action (i) to solicit any Covered Customer for the purpose of providing any Covered Services for the Covered Customer or otherwise in competition with Company’s business of providing Covered Services, or (ii) to divert or attempt to divert from Company the Covered Services business of any Covered Customer; or (b) engage in the business of providing Covered Services, in any capacity that involves responsibilities the same as or similar to those undertaken by Contractor for Company, anywhere within the Territory. Contractor acknowledges that Company’s Covered Services are Internet-based and will be readily available and accessible throughout the Territory and, accordingly, protection throughout the Territory is necessary to protect Company’s legitimate business interest; that Company would be irreparably injured if Contractor engaged in any of the activities prohibited by this paragraph 3(b) anywhere within the Territory; and that the prohibitions in this paragraph 3(b) will not impair Contractor’s ability to find gainful employment. Saturday, October 22, 11
89. Non-Standard Non-Compete Clause Interference: During the course of the Agreement and for a period of 12 months immediately following the expiration or termination of the Agreement for any reason, whether with or without good cause or for any or no cause, at the option of either party, with or without notice, the Independent Contractor will not, either directly or indirectly, interfere with the Company’s contracts and relationships, or prospective contracts and relationships, including, but not limited to, the Company’s customer or client contracts and relationships. 1 Saturday, October 22, 11
90. Standard Work-For-Hire Clause Works for Hire. If Contractor is engaged to perform Contractor Services for Company, all work products of Contractor shall be work made for hire for the Company prepared in the scope of Contractor’s engagement, and all rights, title and interest therein shall be vested in the Company. Contractor agrees, upon request of the Company, to take such actions and execute such documents as necessary or appropriate to vest in the Company all right, title and interest in the work product, without payment of additional consideration to Contractor. Saturday, October 22, 11
91. Non-Standard Work-For-Hire Clause The Contractor agrees that the results of all Services provided to the Company including any and all documents, drawings, specifications, source code, object code, reports, ideas,discoveries, inventions or any improvements or enhancements to the forgoing, including all intellectual property rights thereto, whether or not capable of protection by patent, copyright, industrial design, trademark or otherwise (the "Work Product") that the Contractor or its Contractor has ever created and will create for the Company shall belong to the Company effective from the date of creation. The Contractor, on behalf of itself and the Personnel,assigns all rights, including copyright and other intellectual property rights, in or to the WorkProduct to the Company effective from the date of creation. The Contractor further agrees to, upon request and at the expense of the Company, execute all assignments and do any other acts necessary to aid the Company in enforcing the Company's intellectual property rights in and to the Work Product. 1 Saturday, October 22, 11
92. Paul Burton • EECI New York, 2011 • @16toads • 16toads.com Saturday, October 22, 11