Creative Design

I am going to enlighten you with information that sometimes may not be what you want to hear about the freelance world you are anxious to pursue, there are times when money is scarce because you haven't been able to find any freelance gigs, and there are other times when your plate is so loaded that it may slow your drive to get tasks taken care of.

The Beauty of Being your own Boss.

You call the shots. When you are your own boss your word is the bottom line, there is not hierarchy of authority to request approval. If you have an idea you can instantly put it to practice and either reap the the rewards or suffer the consequences. You choose your salary. There is no one above you that gets to determine how much your being paid. Now its not like you will be jumping right into 7 figure income, but with hard work and the right marketing the sky is truley the limit. No one complaining that the way your dress isn't professional enough. You get to sit in your underwear reading blog posts and updating your facebook status all while working hard on your current projects on hand. You get the privilege of choosing your hours. No more being tardy to work and no more driving like a maniac to the office just to get your head chewed off because the goody two shoes Brian in the corner gets to work 15 minutes early each day. No more public restooms! Lets face it, sometimes public bathrooms at the workplace are a scary site. You wonder in wondering why it smells like a skunks tail. Being a freelance designer means your own personal throne is just that, at least if its not clean (which I hope it is for your sake) its your own filth your sitting in.

The Ugly of Being Your Own Boss.

You have to find work. You can't claim you have a home office if you don't have work to do in that home. It is not always easy and chances are you will never have what is considered 'steady' work coming in as a freelancer. At times work is piling up so quick you have to decline work when only 2 weeks later there is no work in sight. Income is anything but steady. I have come to find that some weeks I feel like I am raking it in. I will get a few checks from clients all pour in at once and then I can go a whole month without a single check. You are at the mercy of your deadlines. Deadlines are tough in the design world. Mentioned above is working your own hours, but that means you may be putting in 60-80 hour work weeks when you have 3-4 projects approaching their deadlines. You have to deal with the small stuff. Every business has the nity gritty details, whether it be taxes, payroll or anything like that. Its up to you to take care of all the small business details.

Plan on Ups and Downs.

Much like the roller coaster at Disney Land there are going to be highs and lows when it comes to freelancing. From what I have experienced and what I have learned about other freelancers is the fact that there is not much that is stable in the freelance world. Imagine work like the waves of the oceans, it will come in quickly and swamp you only to disappear back into its abyss just as fast. This requires some strategical planning if you want to have constant work (which I have failed to achieve thus far in my freelance career). This means that when work is somewhat scarce be sure to take time to do the things you love, spend a little extra time with your loved ones or your boys at the bar, because you don't know when the next wave is coming in to swamp you for 2 weeks.

The same principles apply to revenue created from freelancing. You must be smart with your money. I have had weeks where I get 3 checks from clients come in and am sitting happy because that week I made $2,000 dollars. Then the next month I won't see a check at all. Just because you made $2,000 dollars that week you can't start spending money like you make $100,000 a year. Creating budgets and planning ahead of time is a must, this will help you avoid falling into financial trouble.

Clients can make or break you.

Now that you are a freelancer its up to you to find your own stream of income. This means you will have to be going out there, marketing yourself, and making contacts with people. You have to realize ahead of time that the future of your freelance business has a lot to do with how you interact with your clients. If you make the client comfortable and enjoy working with you then they may be able to feed more work your way as well as come back for repeat work. If you are constantly impossible to get a hold of, ignore what the client wants and are not reasonable then you are not only hurting your reputation with that client, but the reputation of the business you are trying to grow. Friends and family will most likely be your first few customers and then word to mouth will begin to market your services, make sure there is only good to say.

There are certain clients that are great to work with, while other clients may try to make your life hell. For more information the profiling of clients there is a great article over at the FreelanceSwitch called 12 breeds of Client and how to work with them..

Be Patient

You can't expect to be a good snowboarder if you've never seen snow. Freelanceing, like everything else in life, will require time, dedication, drive, persistence and the right attitude. Put quality time into projects. Dedicate yourself to your clients. Let the feeling of being your own boss drive you to a freelance career. Be persistent and don't give up when everything is not going the way you want.

I hope this information can help you understand what it takes to be a freelancer. Use it as you may and keep chugging on for another day. Have your own experiences that you would like to share? Have you thought about jumping into freelance design yourself? Please share thoughts in the comments below.