The fine balance
One of the greatest things about being a graphic designer is that no two projects are ever the same, I’ll even go so far to say that no two working days are ever the same. As a freelance designer, it’s the same only on steroids.
This post celebrates two years of me becoming a freelance designer after 20+ years of being an employee. While it’s been somewhat of a roller coaster ride, it’s been a great two years so I was thinking of you guys and in celebration I thought I’d share some of the things I’ve learned over the last two years.
Freelance etiquette
Early on I recognised the need for some essential skills that cross all areas of keeping a freelance business moving regardless of whether I’m freelancing in a studio or working from home and managing my own clients
Communication
Anyone I’m working with needs to know when I’m available, when the work is going to be completed and they should also be aware of any hiccups that occur along the way, life happens. There is a knack to knowing when to email, when to call and when to meet in person and this comes with a bit of time and experience. My ultimate goal is to maintain good relationships with clients so that they learn to trust me and keep coming back to me.
In a studio environment, I communicate my skills clearly (it’s going to be a very long and scary day if you overstate your abilities). If I’ve been booked by a studio, it’s a given that I’m there to relieve some pressure and there may not be a spare computer for me, I sometimes need to take my own if I’m working onsite. Before I get there, I turn my mobile to silent and try not to take work calls outside of breaks. While I’m there, experience tells me that nothing is going to happen if I sit quietly and wait for work to come to me so I ask plenty of annoying questions, I’m clear if I’ve got any problems and when I’ve finished a task I let people know so that I can get onto the next thing.
This happens in a totally relaxed way mind you, being friendly yet professional is a fine balance and it’s nice to become part of a team, even if it’s for just a day. It's a bonus if you bring some energy as well, a positively charged freelancer can make a stressed-out team's day.
When I’m managing my own clients, and this may seem obvious, I consider the importance of any communication. An important conversation (such as initial briefing, presenting artwork and reassuring a client of my commitment to the project) is done in person and if that’s not possible Skype and Facetime are useful. A simple phone call is another personal touch that helps clients feel they are part of the project’s journey. If the project takes a turn in direction or the brief shifts substantially, I meet in person or set aside time to call so I understand the reasons and can discuss feedback. Emails are a bit impersonal but very useful for communicating precise alterations but I make sure regular email communication is peppered with some face-to-face or phone call meetings.
No.1 rule of communication – save all correspondence. I file meeting notes and emails so they can be found quickly when I’m knee deep in the project and need to recall some info. Oh, and if the scope of a project blows out for any reason I’ll be able to back myself.
Scheduling
This one’s been a big learning curve for me because when it’s busy, it’s REALLY busy and weekends off can be scarce. Any work that comes in goes straight into my calendar and I block out time, actually I do this even if my workload is a little quiet. I like to know that if I’m talking to a client I can take a look at my calendar and then immediately give a realistic timeline for future work even before I quote the work.
The last two years have made me keenly aware of how I orchestrate my time. I know my business in still in its infancy and there’s always something to think about and my mind is always ‘on’. After talking to other bigger business owners that doesn’t change a bit over time so it makes sense to me to make sure I put some down time into that schedule.
No.1 rule of scheduling time – schedule some breaks.
Money
It’s all up to me. Quoting, invoicing, promoting myself, keeping my social media fresh, updating my skills, paying tax... It’s a long list and I still haven’t got used to all of the balls that I have in the air at any one time. After two years in I’ve realised I need to look at how I’m doing things and there’s some refining needed, things like charging a bit extra for urgent work and weekend work, things I didn’t even consider two years ago.
While I’m there I’ll look at refining my fee structure and the value I put on my time. I’ve been doing a little research into this and something this guy said made me think a bit:
‘When I just started out as a designer, I thought that time is money. That’s what everybody tells you. Time is money. So, if a project takes me 10 hours, I’ll probably do 10 hours times my hourly rate, and that’s the cost of the project.
But I very soon realised that time is not money, because what happened is that what took me 10 hours 10 years ago takes me today less than an hour, and it obviously doesn’t make any sense if I make less money the more professional I get and the better I become at my job.’
Read the full article here
That said, if you’re a newb and know you need experience, use the hourly pricing system until you’ve got some more notches on your belt.
No.1 rule of money – put tax aside.
Setting boundaries
This part doesn’t come too easily for me, if you spend some time reading other freelance design articles you’ll find that it doesn’t come easily to many people in a creative industry. We are usually more than happy to roll over and show our belly and reduce costs anytime someone asks. Commonly, when family and friends need a designer’s eye for their own business or project we agree to reduce the price and, more often than not, it ends up being a really painful process. These days I know the value of my work more and if I quote a job and then agree to reduce my rate, I understand that it’s me who is doing the devaluing.
The way that I set boundaries is mostly communicated in the early stages of a project or assignment. For example, when I quote on a project I include two rounds of amendments with a cost attributed and state that further amendments will be charged at an hourly rate and I let the client know when I’ve hit that mark. Up until now I haven’t even given value to my time spent travelling or project management, hence the need for ongoing refinement.
Funnily enough, setting boundaries is freeing and enables me to be more flexible if and when the situation requires it.
No.1 rule of setting boundaries – stick to them.
As I’ve been writing I’ve noticed that each of these things are linked. The way I communicate impacts scheduling, dealing with money, setting boundaries alike. The thing tying them all together is communication. I’m not saying I get it right all the time, this post after all is about things I’ve learned and I have no doubt I’ll need to look at more refinement in another two years.
There are some great articles online for freelance designers that are a great read, here are some I really liked:
https://due.com/blog/invoicing-etiquette-for-freelancers/
https://www.reddit.com/r/freelance/comments/3vhuer/etiquette_for_onsite_work/
https://www.creativebloq.com/advice/the-freelance-survival-guide
https://antoinereid.wordpress.com/2010/09/16/etiquette-for-graphic-designers-and-clients/
https://medium.com/@MichaelAleo/freelance-designer-bible-411e3de529c9
First published June 27, 2018