Rijeka Freelancers Meetup – Gradska knjižnica Rijeka, 4.2.2020. https://gkr.hr/Magazin/Najave/Prijavi-se-i-navrati-Rijeka-Freelancers-Meetup-u-Poslovnom-kutku-kako-krenuti-u-freelancing
How to startfreelancingDražen Lučanin
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About me• Freelancing for the last 5 years• https://punkrockdev.com/• Web development & data analysis• (Co-)organiser of various meetups• Freelancing in Vienna• Zagreb Freelancers• Rijeka Freelancers
What is freelancing?• Freelancer – a person who pursues aprofession without a long-termcommitment to any one employer• Key aspects:• A professional• A business• Basically, the smallest possiblecompany – just the owner
A professional• Has a certain set of skills• … that people are willing to pay money for
Education• Formal education• Self-taught• Lots of my successful colleagues freelancers are self-taught• A wealth of resources online• Invest in paid courses & books• Usually much more affordable than bootcamps and can giveyou good results if you are disciplined• Your skills are your craft, you need to keep improving them
Market research• Who would want to hire someone with your skills?• Really worth looking into this before you start• If you wanted to hire someone with your skills what would your options be?• Where would you look? Send some inquiries• What if you were looking from somewhere else in Europe / US / elsewhere?• Maybe slightly pivoting from your core comfort zone can make you more attractive topotential customers• Is there a certain niche you can fill• e.g. I specialise in developing applications with data analytics• Maybe a food photographer is more sought-after than a wedding photographer?
A business• Legal entity• Provides services at a certain price
Legal entity• For smaller amounts and to test the water you could probably just take the money ordelay issuing an invoice• Autorski ugovor• No risk to get started with• More serious towards your customers • ~40% taxes & social insurance and not meant for the long run• Some professions (e.g. chamber of graphic designers) can get reduced fees• Paušalni obrt• < €40k annually ~15% taxes & social insurance• Great option to get started! One of the best in the EU
Setting the price• Talk to your peers • Search around the web• e.g. https://n26.com/en-eu/blog/how-much-do-freelancers-make• Search for salaries• Usually more data• Some countries (e.g. Austria) publish legal minimum salaries (Kollektivvertrag)• Don’t be afraid to have higher rates than “what is expected”• Don’t forget to convert to gross amounts, as taxes are calculated differently• Freelancer bills ~1000 h vs. an employee ~2000 h / year• Time spent on other activities, no sick leave, …• Gradual increase• Bump the rate every time you have a new lead• Only when you get 3 rejections go back to the previous amount• Value-based pricing
Is that enough?• Well, not really…• There are certain other skills & activities one needs to besuccessful at freelancing as well
Accounting• Find a good accountant• Not strictly needed (for e.g. an obrt)• Can be very helpful – especially in the beginning• Separate business bank account!• My accounting template (for Austria)• https://punkrockdev.com/accounting-austria• Try to get accounting and administration out of the way!
Sales• Marketing – how to promote our services?• Negotiation – what if the customer’s expectation don’tmatch up with our wishes?
Marketing• Start building a brand• Your reputation is everything• Personal connections• Try to be good to everyone you encounter, don’t burn bridges• Personal referrals are by far the best marketing technique• In-person events are the best way of making personal connections• Conferences• Meetups• Invest in attending events abroad. You can combine a professional trip with avacation plan.
Negotiation• We don’t always get what we want• Compromise, but don’t go below your minimum• Have a safety buffer• “No, thanks” money – the option to walk away• Learn about anchoring & other negotiation techniques• https://haseebq.com/my-ten-rules-for-negotiating-a-job-offer/
Project management• All about the process• The customer doesn’t necessarily know what to do• The freelancer’s job to educate the customer if necessary• Look at what some larger agencies have online• e.g. for software development• https://thoughtbot.com/playbook• Sometimes can be adapted to suit you
Disputes• They can come up• If you’re unlucky, already while you’re not experienced• Consult professional legal advisors if necessary• For smaller amounts maybe the distraction is not worth it• Retrospective analysis – tweak your process
Communication• Over-communicate• Have empathy• Invest in language skills• Immerse yourself in professional communication• Podcasts• Audio books• Read books
Growth• If business is going well, it can usually go even better• However:• Be careful that you don’t try to scale too quickly• Things can take a downwards turn as well• Remember to keep that savings buffer• Keep your life expenses as low as you can• Investing in your own knowledge always a good idea• Sub-contracting• Delegate work to freelancers better than you at certain things• In the future people might return the favour
So how to start?• Build up a savings buffer• Set yourself some tangible goals• Have a plan B• E.g. I had 3 monthly salaries saved, gave myself 2 monthsto find a customer and left the last month as backup tofind a “normal job” if necessary.
Minimising risk• Apply for grants• http://mjere.hr/• National and local city grants can be obtained• EU funds
Is it really sooverwhelming?• No• It looks harder than it is• Once you split things into tasks, they are manageable• Surprising how much you can do in 8 h when you don’thave a boss and you focus on individual tasks
Work-life balance?• Challenging, but can be achieved• Important to set boundaries with your customers• Over-communicate!• Set deadlines and be transparent if you bump into obstacles• No radio silence!• Helps to have a different work space• A library? • A coworking space?• RiHub – https://rijeka2020.eu/projekti/rihub/
Support• Look for community help• Freelancers Croatia• https://www.facebook.com/groups/freelancers.croatia/• Rijeka Freelancers • http://bit.ly/rijekafreelancers• Look for education and professional guidance• http://www.porin.hr/ in Rijeka• https://plaviured.hr/ in Zagreb• Maybe someone here has other suggestions?
Thanks!Dražen Lučanin@metakermithttps://metakermit.com/talks/
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