Freelancing For Agencies

Creative Pulse Talk + Social - Oct 26, 2017

Transcript

1. FREELANCING FOR AGENCIES How to Become a Successful Agency Sub-Contractor
2. MARK FROMSON Digital Project Manager and User Experience Architect 20 years agency experience in the US and Canada Owned a boutique agency since 2003. Just started a new one, ThirdPerson Clients include: Starbucks, Sony, Nike, Adobe, Microsoft, Disney, Telus, Time Warner, AT&T and CBS Startup CoFounder and CEO of LocalSolo.com
3. 14 YEARS OF AGENCY FREELANCING
4. MY FREELANCE LIFESTYLE
5. LOCALSOLO.COM IS A CURATED NETWORK OF OVER 26,000 TOP LOCAL FREELANCERS IN 90 CITIES WORLDWIDE
6. MY FREELANCE LIFESTYLE No full-time job for 15 years Yearly Freelance Income: 130-200K 80% of my freelance income comes from agency sub- contracting I’m incorporated so I pay 10.5% corp tax and low dividends tax on my personal income. I deduct everything I legally can. 6-8 weeks vacation every year I take 6 months to a full year off about every 5 years. 47 countries so far.
7. 5 Main Types of Freelancing Onsite Client Contract Direct Client Project Offsite Agency Sub-Contract Onsite Agency Sub-Contract Offsite Client Contract
8. So What’s the Best Way?
9. MOST COMMON - BUT UNSTABLE Offsite Client Contract Direct Client Projects Offsite Agency Sub-Contract Onsite Agency Sub-Contract Onsite Client Contract
10. MAXIMIZE STABLILITY Offsite Client Contract Direct Client Project Offsite Agency Sub-Contract Onsite Agency Sub-Contract Onsite Client Contract
11. LEARN THE MOST / DO CUTTING EDGE WORK Offsite Client Contract Direct Client Project Offsite Agency Sub-Contract Onsite Agency Sub-Contract Onsite Client Contract
12. MAXIMIZE INCOME - DO ALL 5! Offsite Client Contract Direct Client Project Offsite Agency Sub-Contract Onsite Agency Sub-Contract Onsite Client Contract
13. HOW DO I GET AGENCY WORK?
14. Create a Personal Brand, Or, a Company Brand That Emphasizes You
15. Call Yourself Roles that Agencies Have on Their Teams PRODUCTION DESIGNER PRINT DESIGNER UI DESIGNER ART DIRECTOR ILLUSTRATOR MOTION GRAPHICS DESIGNER SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER SEO/SEM MEDIA MANAGER DIGITAL PROJECT MANGER PRODUCER BUSINESS/FUNCTIONAL ANALYST USER EXPERIENCE ARCHITECT CONTENT STRATEGIST COPYWRITER FRONT-END DEVELOPER FULL STACK DEVELOPER GOOD BAD CREATIVE DIRECTOR BRANDING SPECIALIST CREATIVE TECHNOLOGIST JAVASCRIPT NINJA ONLINE MARKETING GURU SOCIAL MEDIA MAVEN
16. Be a Unicorn to Maximize Your Earnings The more skills you have, the more roles you can play, the more you can bill!
17. Have a Killer Online Portfolio
18. Know Your Tools My PM/UX Tool Stack This Past Year
19. Identify The Agencies You Want to Work For VendorDB.com is a great tool, over 5000 agencies are listed all over the world.
20. AGENCY SCENE BIG INTEGRATED ADVERTISING AGENCIES BIG DIGITAL AGENCIES MEDIUM SIZE AD & MARKETING AGENCIES MEDIUM SIZE DIGITAL AGENCIES BOUTIQUE DIGITAL/MOBILE BOUTIQUE MARKETING/SOCIAL MEDIA BOUTIQUE BRANDING/CREATIVE SERVICE-ORIENTED STARTUPS
21. Get to Know Agency People • Follow agencies social media pages and be on their newsletters. • Go to Meetups and networking events - Hit up meet ups for your skillset and go to Individual Agency Parties. Get on their mailing lists. • Join the Digital Project Management meet ups. The agency PM is a good friend to have if you’re an agency freelancer. • If you’re a creative, get to know the Creative Directors at every agency in town. They are the ones who ultimately hire you. Connect on Linkedin, Send them your new work, compliment their work, let them know you want to work with them. • Same thing for all the skill-sets, find your tribe and embrace them all! • Do a direct email campaign to agencies. • Don’t just limit yourself to your own city, look for remote agencies like Modern Tribe - tri.be
22. Be A Connector Grow your own network of freelancers! You come to an agency with a rolodex of awesome. You aren’t just a project team member, you become a recruiter for that agency. You can refer people in to agencies when you are busy, karma in freelancing is huge. Your freelancer friends will then being you in on projects. You also have people to team up with when your direct clients have needs that outstrip your skill-set
23. SOME THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND Have a killer portfolio Connect with people on LinkedIn Get on direct curated platforms like LocalSolo or WorkingNotWorking Always be positive Make the agency feel like they are your top priority Provide a fair market hourly rate or flat bid Accept their 30-day net payment terms Be plug & play - Know and have the tools Be Switzerland, don’t get involved in company gossip Help the agencies find talent Make friends and have fun DO GREAT WORK!!!
24. Thank you Mark Fromson mark@thirdperson.co mark@localsolo.com