How Not to be a Freelancer

If you read enough books or blog posts about working for yourself and becoming a freelancer, you’ll begin to see some of the same advice repeated over and over again. Putting all of that into practice while trying to juggle clients, finances, marketing and actually doing the work itself isn’t always easy (or even possible!). This talk is about how I managed to systematically screw up all of that advice, sometimes doing just the opposite, and yet have been able to build a successful freelance career that in many ways is better because of my “mistakes”. I’ll give you some of the “worst” advice you can receive if you’re starting a freelance career, including how to give your company an unpronounceable name, how to ignore email, and why you shouldn’t print up business cards. Learn why it’s ok to screw up along the way and how those mistakes might just lead you to a better career in the end.

(originally given at IndieConf 2011 - http://indieconf.com)

Transcript

1. WHO AM I? Hi!
2. WHO AM I? Richard Powell Web designer living in Chapel Hill Art Major and Computer Geek
3. THAT’S NICE, BUT... Freelancer! Since April 2003 (8.666667 years for the non-math inclined)
4. WHY FREELANCE? Ability to create and control your world, work and life This is an amazing opportunity, but also a challenge You have to do it all yourself and you will make mistakes along the way
5. HOW TO BE A FREELANCER not ^
6. WHY THIS TALK?
7. BRANDING H E L L O my name is ?
8. Branding BRANDING Build a personal brand? Or start a company?
9. Branding “SAMEDIS DESIGN, LLC” Free t-shirt for the first person to correctly pronounce it* * free t-shirt offer not valid east of the Mississippi, west of the Rio Grande, north of the Tropic of Capricorn, or south of the Arctic Circle.
10. Branding “SAMEDIS DESIGN, LLC” Cons: • (very) challenging to pronounce • (almost) impossible to convey over the phone • (rather) difficult to remember how to spell ...clearly a mistake
11. Branding TIPS ON NAMING YOUR COMPANY 1. Think about what you want your company name to convey. 2. Keep the name short, simple, and easy to write and remember. 3. Avoid obscure words. 4. Avoid decisions by committee but do “test” your company name with others. (http://blog.crowdspring.com/2010/06/company-name-startup-small-business/)
12. Branding “SAMEDIS DESIGN, LLC” So... what does it mean?
13. Branding “SAMEDIS DESIGN, LLC” PROS: • When starting out, gave me opportunity to tell my story, introduce myself, give some personal background • People remembered me, if not my company name (“the guy with the weird-named company... sammy- something or other”)
14. Branding WHAT IS BRANDING REALLY? “An image is not simply a trademark, a design, a slogan or an easily remembered picture. It is a studiously crafted personality profile of an individual, institution, corporation, product or service.” - Daniel J Boorstin "Brand equity is the sum of all the hearts and minds of every single person that comes into contact with your company." - Christopher Betzter
15. Branding THE TAKEAWAY Branding is not solely about your company name or your logo As a freelancer, branding is about you, your story, your personality. Use a name or logo to establish that as a brand. Personal or Company? It’s all personal in the end.
16. Branding THE TAKEAWAY Branding is not solely about your company name or your logo As a freelancer, branding is about you, your story, your personality. Use a name or logo to establish that as a brand. Personal or Company? It’s all personal in the end. But seriously... make sure it’s in English
17. MARKETING
18. MARKETING THE BASICS At a bare minimum: a freelance web designer should have: a) Business Card b) Website
19. MARKETING THE BASICS At a bare minimum: a freelance web designer should have: a) Business Card b) Website ...right?
20. MY BUSINESS CARD
21. 2003 - 2004 MY BUSINESS CARD
22. MY BUSINESS CARD 2004 - 2007
23. MY BUSINESS CARD 2007 - 2009
24. MY BUSINESS CARD 2009 - 2011
25. MY BUSINESS CARD 2011
26. MY WEBSITE
27. MY WEBSITE 2003 - 2007
28. MY WEBSITE 2007 - 2011
29. MY WEBSITE 2011 →
30. WHAT HAPPENED IN ’07?! BUSINESS CARD WEBSITE
31. MARKETING WHAT HAPPENED IN ’07?! I changed phone numbers (making business cards out of date) I finally gave up on Flash I was fairly busy at the time and didn’t put much time into redesigning either asset
32. MARKETING WHAT HAPPENED IN ’07?! I changed phone numbers (making business cards out of date) I finally gave up on Flash I was fairly busy at the time and didn’t put much time into redesigning either asset ...oh right, I became a Dad
33. MARKETING ...BUT Business didn't stop during that time. In fact things kept growing and I kept on adding clients.
34. MARKETING HOW?
35. MARKETING HOW? Personal Referrals
36. MARKETING HOW? Personal Referrals Expanding working network
37. MARKETING HOW? Personal Referrals Expanding working network ...I started cultivating relationships, not initial contacts
38. MARKETING HOW I DID THIS Ask for referrals Give away free advice Network with your complements You don't always have to compete with the competition
39. MARKETING CAVEAT EMPTOR Not having solid business cards and a site is leaving a lot of opportunities go by.
40. MARKETING THE TAKEAWAY Marketing is ultimately an extension of the personal brand described earlier. Hard assets such as a business card and website are important, but far from the full picture. Networking and relationships are as, if not more, important. Good marketing is honest. Let your work speak for you.
41. COMMUNICATION
42. COMMUNICATION OH: “I give out my cellphone. You can always reach me.” “I answer all of my emails within half an hour”
43. COMMUNICATION I USED TO DO THIS TOO My mistake: Being too available
44. COMMUNICATION AVAILABILITY ISSUES: Broken concentration and flow Lost work/life balance Tense client relationships, setting false expectations
45. WHEN I ANSWER MY PHONE:
46. WHEN I CHECK MY EMAIL:
47. COMMUNICATION FLOW Deep, single-minded focus on the activity at hand Only possible with distractions removed Be a unitasker (http://trentwalton.com/2011/09/20/unitasking/)
48. COMMUNICATION TOOLS Command-Q on your email and twitter clients Spaces Isolator Omnifocus
49. COMMUNICATION TOOLS Command-Q on your email and twitter clients Spaces Isolator Omnifocus A door
50. COMMUNICATION TOOLS Command-Q on your email and twitter clients Spaces Isolator Omnifocus A door
51. COMMUNICATION CONS? Hard to do! Set client expectations Set personal expectations
52. COMMUNICATION THE TAKEAWAY Setup rules and times to help yourself work to the best of your ability. Working as a freelancer gives you some freedom to build your schedule and your workday according to what works best for you: use that freedom to be more productive and happier.
53. FINDING A NICHE
54. PARTIAL LIST OF MY CLIENTS Underwater Photographer Saddle Pad Vendor Eye Care Recruiting App Massage Therapy Practice Stringed Instrument Shop Energy Trading Corp. Furniture Sales Catalog Retirement Planning App Agile Training Consultant Banking Research App Law Practice Children’s Speech and OT
55. FINDING A NICHE HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN? WIFE’S CONTACT Underwater Photographer Historic Preservation Consultant Photography Magazine ↓ ↓ ↓ (Another) Underwater Photographer ↓ →
56. FINDING A NICHE HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN? Agile Training Consultant Swim Team Eye Care Recruiting App Banking Research App Retirement Planning App Meetup Contact ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓
57. FINDING A NICHE HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN? BROTHER-IN-LAW TV Marketing Displays Vendor (not completed) Psychotherapy Practice Law Firm ↓ ↓ ↓
58. FINDING A NICHE IS THIS A MISTAKE? For marketing purposes: YES Makes it hard to have a system for finding work Never get deep enough into a single industry in order to market directly to them Makes it hard to get efficient at certain types of problems
59. FINDING A NICHE ...THERE’S A “BUT”, RIGHT? Always solving new problems Decrease burn out (or how I can only look at so many corn fields) Learn to see commonalities across clients and bring novel solutions to an industry from a completely unrelated project
60. FINDING A NICHE PROFESSIONAL NICHE Are you a specialist or a generalist? or, “should designers know how to code?”
61. FINDING A NICHE PROFESSIONAL NICHE Are you a specialist or a generalist? or, “should designers know how to code?” Answer: Yes
62. FINDING A NICHE OH STEWARDESS, I SPEAK JIVE Great many good reasons, but as a freelancer, I find the following very important: Need to be able to speak the language when working with other professionals. As a designer, it’s a tremendous advantage to have a good understanding of the limits and constraints of the developer. (and vice versa)
63. FINDING A NICHE THE TAKEAWAY There are a lot of advantages to finding a niche... ...but part of the advantage of being a freelancer is not always working for the same client.
64. THE PRESENT Yes!
65. WORKSPACE
66. THE HOME OFFICE http://www.kangaroomsystems.com
67. THE HERMIT CAVE
68. THE HERMIT CAVE
69. THE PRESENT ...THERE’S NO “BUT” THIS TIME I’m still making this mistake! Personal goals: conferences & meetups Other options: nomading & coworking
70. SCHEDULING
71. THE PRESENT THE “YES” MAN It’s really hard to say “no” to a client ...especially if it means possibly losing work
72. THE PRESENT STAYING SANE Make a daily schedule Estimate everything! Be realistic and honest with yourself Contract options
73. THE BIG TAKEAWAY “I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.” - Mark Twain “We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.” - Marcel Proust