Project Management for Freelancers

How do you handle life as a freelancer? How do you deal with clients? How much should you charge?
Are you thinking about becoming a freelancer? Or are you already one? This session will offer you some hard-learned advice, some tips and tricks from the trenches and some insights into the life of a freelancer.

Transcript

1. Project Management for Freelancers Jarne W. Beutnagel ( jwb@eaaa.dk) Business Academy Aarhus, IT-Days March 2013
2. Why are you here?
3. I can has freelance?
7. Why freelance?
8.  Freedom?  Power?  Fame?  Fortune?
9. Disadvantages
10.  Full financial obligation  Insurance  Retirement  Holiday fund  Sick days  Taxes
11.  Full responsibility for  Getting new projects  Running projects  Handling clients  All of the product
12. The difficult part
13.  Balance between work and personal life  Workflow of projects  Dependency on clients (avoid being bound by a few key clients)  Getting started
14. Getting the first job
16.  Work for friends or family  Find a small project  Non-profit projects always look good and you feel less bad about not getting paid much
17.  Finish one of the prototypes you build for a client here at school  Arrange a small fee for finalizing a school project so that the client can use it
18.  Make use of referrals  Ask people to refer you to their network  Focus on problem solving, not on tools or techniques. Say “I make small web sites that are simple to use”, instead of “I do HTML5, CSS3 and awesome jQuery effects”
19.  Go out there and make friends  Go to conferences, talks, events  E.g. Startup Weekend, Creative Mornings, Goto  Have quality business cards
20.  Write about stuff  Get a voice and start participating in discussions  Have a blog  Use social media
21. How to get more work
22. You need to realize what you are and how you are perceived
23. YOU are the product
24. Freelancing is a business (making you a business owner)
25.  Be sure to take on each role with responsibility  Become competent in many areas
27.  Hang out where the other cool kids hang out  Put in bids on freelance sites  Speak to your network
28. For most freelancers 80% of work comes from the network
30. Selling yourself The all important portfolio
32.  You can’t afford not to have one  Can’t build it? Buy it.  Can’t design it? Buy it.  Get inspired
33. Running Projects
34. Be clever about it Understand what a project is
35. THE PROJECT COMPONENTS Understanding what a project consists of
36. Control Environment Goals Production Valida- tion
37. THE PROJECT STRUCTURE The composition of a project in phases
38. Simplified Uniform Project Environment for Results ‘SUPER’ PROJECTS
39. THE 4 PHASES 1 Initiation 2 Plan 3 Production 4 Completion
40. • Divided into 4 phases 1) Initiation (project setup) 2) Plan (research, ideas & concept) 3) Production (design & development) 4) Completion (hand-in & delivery) OVERVIEW
41. 1 INITIATION 1 Initiation 2 Plan 3 Production 4 Completion
42. • Communicate terms and conditions • Know what the client wants, not what they say they want • What are the client’s expectations? • No contract, no project • Use a standard contract • Set up payment terms
43. • Have a separate project description • Define success criteria • Identify project stakeholders • Determine number of revisions • Set up online project management services (not per email)
44. 2 PLAN 1 Initiation 2 Plan 3 Production 4 Completion
45. • Ensure you know what to build and the client agrees • Lets the client see what goes into a project • Control the amount of client feedback involved • Get sign off before production
46. 3 PRODUCTION 1 Initiation 2 Plan 3 Production 4 Completion
47. • Separate overall plan from detail focus • Ensure early planning and assignment of resources • Put focus on the confirmation of each task
48. DEFINE Backlog PLAN Worksheet 1) MANAGE TASKS
49. Prepare THINK Make SPRINT Confirm Finish 2) SPRINTS
50. 4 COMPLETION 1 Initiation 2 Plan 3 Production 4 Completion
51. • Prepare a high quality delivery • Get the final approval from the client • Give the client a chance to see it through, find mistakes and for you to correct them • Ensure that success criteria achieved
52. Know what you did Time Tracking
53.  Use time tracking software. Always  Lets you communicate with the client  On the invoice so the client can see what you did and what he is paying for  You will know how effective you are  Improves your future estimates
54. Try to categorize Types of Projects
55.  Group projects together, so that you get a better overview  Find common attributes  Length  Complexity  Type
56.  Which ones do you value the most?  How much of your time would you like to spend on this?  How profitable are these types of projects?  Map them out
57. Try to categorize Types of Clients
58.  Group them together to identify  Profitability  Need for support  Amount of “friction”  Level of quality expectations  Size  Portfolio fitness
59. Organize it all The Project Pipeline
60.  Put all this info together in a visual representation  See which type of projects you currently have  See what is coming down the line  Plan accordingly  Tip: Use some services for this (e.g. salesforce.com)
61.  Use this to identify dependencies upon companies  E.g. if 40% of all your income is from one client, you are too dependent on this client
62. Handling Clients
64. Rule nr 1: The Client is always right
65. Rule nr 2: The Client is often wrong
66.  Don’t look at what the client says he wants  Look at what goal he is trying to achieve  Work towards that goal together
67. Rule nr 3: You are a professional (so behave like one)
68.  Always communicate politely  Be proactive  Be confirmative  Have good email manners
69. The clients writes you:
70. Hi there, This is what I want for the website. It should be simple to use and very light in color, no heavy. There are going to be many subpages which also need to have the same look. I would like our logo to be in the upper left corner in all pages (except on firstpage). Don’t use moody colors and don’t clutter the pages. Visual look is important. Also, if I go to the page I want to know where I am.
71. You write:
72.  What you write: Hi Mr Client, Thank you for your email, it was very informative. From this I suggest to include the following in the project: • Implementation in a CMS system that is easy to use when updating the site • Consistent look between all of the pages • A design that is light in look, not too heavy and with a minimal of elements However I do have a few questions: • What do you mean by “I want to know where I am”? I was thinking about implementing a breadcrumb style navigation. Would that be sufficient? • Do you have any existing design guides (such as colors, fonts, etc.) that you use for your current visual look?
73. Rule nr 4: You are only as good as your last project
74.  Coming from a great project is energizing  You are more confident during negotiations  You know that you rock!
75.  You mentally feel bad when you do a bad project  It leaves a dark cloud after it  Your approach to new clients and projects is less passionate
76. S#!T Clients say
77.  “It’s just a small thing, won’t take long at all”  “We will give a reference and more jobs down the line. Think of this as an investment.”  “Normally my [random family member] does this, but he is busy right now.”  Meaning: Do it cheap
78.  “I’m not sure what exactly we are looking for, so could you come with a few suggestions?”  “Submit a design and we will choose the best one.”  “We would like to test it for a few weeks before we make a final decision.”  Meaning: We don’t want to commit and we see your product as a commodity
80. Don’t burn any bridges
81. Handling Money
82. Mmmm money
83. What to charge 1) Know your costs
84.  Direct costs are the amount of hours that go into a project  This is typically what the client is expecting to pay for  These could include project handling & support
85.  Indirect cost are all the work you do for a project, which is not included in the actual bill for the project  These costs can be a substantial part of your costs  Indirect costs could be:  Negotiating with the client  Support  Shopping for new projects  Learning new things  Finding solutions
86.  Overhead costs are all the bill you have to pay, regardless if you work or not  These include  Rent  Utilities & bills  Food & Beers
87. What to charge 2) Set your normal rate
88.  What is your desired profit per month?  (remember taxes)  How many work hours do you have available?  Calculate your normal rate
89. What to charge 3) Set your minimum rate
90.  What is the minimum you need to have as income each month?  You must always have this income to survive
91. What to charge 4) Set your discount rates
92.  When can you afford to give discounts?  Who should get it and why?  How much discount are you comfortable giving?
93. What to charge 5) Calculate your rates
94.  For a particular project, look into  How much income do you have scheduled the coming period?  How many hours are left?  Which benefit will a discount give you?
95. Are you cheap or expensive Compare your rates to other freelancers
96.  Find their rates online  Maybe write them and ask?  Be a mystery shopper
97.  Compare your rates  If you are cheaper, is that a benefit for you or can you raise your rate?  If you are more expensive, is there a good reason for this?  Else try to decrease your costs or increase the perceived value
98. What you are worth depends on your Perceived Value
99.  How are you creating value for your clients?  What do they value in doing business with you?
100. Getting your money Handling payments
101.  Divide the payment into sub-payments  Get a sub-payment at mile stones in the project  Could be a 25%|25%|50% split  Or 50%|50%  Find natural payment point in the project (e.g. design approval)
102. NEVER hand over the project before the last payment has received
103. It all comes down to this Cash flow
104.  How to balance out payments to reduce reliance upon clients paying in due time  They often do not pay on time  Trick: Offer a discount (e.g. 5%) if they pay within 3 days
105. Questions?
106. Good luck!