DISQUS

PG · 2 years ago

Nice article. Very informative for any freelance designer out there. Thanks.

Matthew · 2 years ago

Very nice write up. I think one thing to emphasize is it's hard enough to make it in this industry. All you have is your name and reputation, so be truthful. The right clients will respect you more for it.

Jeremy · 2 years ago

It's always nice to get real information from someone who's in the industry...what seems like a no-brainer or common sense sometimes isn't. Thanks Jeff!

Shawn · 2 years ago

Another great article Jeff! You guys are definitely the real deal. I look forward to more articles like this in the future. Thanks!

keith · 2 years ago

love it! one of the best article and very practical!

Mike Smith · 2 years ago

I like the map and phone number idea. I wonder if there is a way to purchase numbers in these cities but have them forwarded to your house/cell phone? Something like vonage, but different area codes.

You can also use www.kall8.com or another 1-800 service so you don't give out your personal number but also appear larger because "hey, they have an 1800 number".

Great article.

Mike

matt · 2 years ago

Thanks for the great article Jeff. It really helps to know that not everyone is completely out for themselves in this industry.

You GoMedia people are awesome.

Matt

bryan · 2 years ago

Excellent article Jeff. It's great that you guys are willing to share your experiences with the little guys trying to make their way up the ladder.

thanks...B

Laurence Dabek · 2 years ago

A very insightful article. It certainly hits on a number of do's and don'ts that every designer should be aware of.
It is good to have solid, positive information allowing people to avoid some pitfalls that can befall someone new in the business.
Nice job!

barton damer · 2 years ago

great advice... i have often thought about offering a cut to friends of mine who get clients for me as an incentive to drum up freelance work (sort of like the map idea)

maybe offer % of the the final project the client pays me for... any thoughts on that or what a fair percentage is? obviously it's not a huge incentive to someone and i don't expect someone to go nuts trying to send clients my way... but maybe it'll spark enough interest to pass my info along next time they think of it???

Jeff · 2 years ago

I think a good percentage is 20% - 30%

barton damer · 2 years ago

DANG! Jeff... i'm gonna send people your way from now on so i can get the 20-30% cut. i was thinking like... 10%

for real though, that seems pretty high considering all the overhead that would need to be covered if you are in business for your self. by the time you cover cost of office space, equipment, insurance, personnel... you probably barely profit 30% for doing all the work, no?

just curious, you would know way more about this than i do, i've just been freelancing and haven't had to really cover a lot of those costs that i mentioned.

Water · 2 years ago

Good stuff, I just wanted to add as a freelance designer, the skill of BEING ON TIME!. It may sound obvious, but because everyone is busy, deadlines may get pushed back nonchalantly. So delivering when you INITIALY say is one of the constantly looked over things but perhaps the most important. I found even if your designs aren't up to par (like my own) people, especially clients with big money appreciate on time delivery more than anything.

Frokem · 2 years ago

I have to agree with Jeff on the appearing bigger part about having friends act as your marketing team. I personally live in Kenya and I have friends in different parts of Africa as well as the UK sourcing out work for me.

In order to make it even more professional, I offer to provide my friends with business cards, e-mail address accounts and an opportunity to design any of the products in line with my work. Although it does not work like magic, it brings in work that you would not have had otherwise. It will also be a good idea to e-mail them with updates on new projects that you have completed and possibly share with them some of the new skills that you keep bagging.

To answer Barton Damer, I normally offer a % of between 10% and 15%. Sometimes I have no qualms offering a 20% commission depending on the final cost of the project. This usually acts as an encouragement to the sales team (my pals) and would either get them to be more active or just sit and wait for an opportunity.

All in all, this was a good read Jeff, keep em coming......

NINJA · 2 years ago

oh domo aregato , i was needed this informations to do may design works.
here, in brazil , the things are very complicated in this area!

G.B.Y
sorry for the grammatical errors.