There’s no denying that freelance, no matter the field, requires a certain type of personality. You must be willing to take risks (after all, you never would be freelancing for a living if at some point you didn’t have the guts to quit that full-time job!), but that’s only the beginning. What follows is a list of lessons I’ve learned in 2008. Hopefully they will help you as you begin your new freelance career, or continue your existing one.
- Save All Receipts – Trust me, you’ll be thankful come tax season. Most items you buy, from pens to computers, and even a new HDTV (depending on your field) can be written off as a business expense on your taxes. When year-end rolls around, you’ll need all the write offs you can get. Just don’t fall into the trap of using the write off as a justification for buying that shiny new iPhone. Remember, you can only write off a portion of the total purchase price.
- ALWAYS Choose Mobile over Stationary – A very wise man (who just so happens to be a client of mine) is always telling me “Good things happen when you leave the house.” As good as it might feel to take the 3-second commute and work in your PJs all day, eventually cabin fever will always kick in. I made the mistake this year of buying an iMac over a Macbook pro, and was kicking myself during the warm summer months, when I was really craving the socialization I used to have in the office.
- Free Wifi isn’t REALLY Free – I know. One of the great draws of the local coffee house is that you can take that mobile laptop you so wisely purchased and connect to their wifi and still work. But remember, they are providing a service to you with the expectation that you will be a paying customer. Standard fare is a cup of coffee every 2 hours- it’s still the cheapest rent you’ll find- and in line with tip number one, save your receipts! That coffee is considered a business expense!
- Always be Open to Learning New Things – When I first started freelancing, I turned down many jobs, thinking I couldn’t handle them. It wasn’t until I found clients that were willing to work with me while I learned that I realized there’s nothing I can’t do with the proper motivation. If you asked me a year ago to create a site that integrates PHP, mySQL, Javascript, and Flash in one massive application, I never would have thought I could do it. But with a supportive client, the right motivation, and the entire Internet at my disposal, it somehow happened, and everyone involved is better for it.
- Don’t be Afraid to Let Others Know You’re an Expert – We’ve all been there. You disagree with everything your client asks you to do. They absolutely MUST have Comic Sans as their primary font. They think they absolutely MUST show their (artificially inflated) visitor count. Or they just can’t live without a lengthy Flash intro. As much as you disagree, you don’t want to disagree with your client- after all, they’re paying your rent next month! Don’t be afraid to voice your concern. Remember: they hired you because you know more about what they want than they do, and sometimes it doesn’t hurt to remind them of this. Make sure the client knows you share the same interests- you want them to have a killer website (or brochure, poster, business card, etc.), and they want to get their message across in the most effective way possible. Just politely let them know why you think it’s a bad idea, and if they still insist, go along with it. You can always modify a copy of it for your portfolio.
- Recognize When You Are NOT the Expert – While you WERE hired as the expert in your field, chances are your client is somewhat of an expert in theirs. Whether they know more about effective copy writing, conversion rates or development, listen to their side, and don’t immediately look at their opposing view as an attack on your skills or expertise. None of us are experts at everything, and the best team will work together on a project.
- Be a Tough Boss – You’re living the Dream. You wake up when you want, work when you want, and never have the boss breathing down your neck, right? Wrong. By switching to freelance, you traded in the 9-5 for a schedule that is constantly changing. Your one boss has been replaced by a handful of them, and none of them are ever in contact with one another. Every client you have is your new boss. While you are ultimately in control of your own schedule, a successful freelancer will realize that their clients decide their schedule. You have 4 clients breathing down your neck for progress by tomorrow, it’s 11:30 at night, and your significant other is begging you to come to bed. Doesn’t matter. If you want any of those clients next week, you get the job done. Don’t worry. As hectic as it is now, it WILL be slow eventually. And when that time comes, you’ll be glad you worked your ass off today.
- Never Stop Learning – This is usually the first piece of advice I give budding Freelancers. When you work by and for yourself, you lose the benefit of learning from your co-workers. Learn to visit the book stores often. If you are a designer, learn the web- it’s becoming more and more necessary. And not just HTML. The web is more and more about dynamic content. PHP, mySQL, Flash, AJAX, JavaScript. Learn the DOM. If you are a developer, learn design. And not just UI design. Learn color theory and typography. Study print layouts. Saturate yourself with retro design- the oldest styles and techniques are the ones that have proven themselves to be powerful and effective- the trends will disappear, but the classics will have impact forever. Long gone are the days where it’s acceptable to do one or the other- to be effective in the modern design world, you MUST know development. Print just isn’t enough any more.
These are just some of the lessons I learned in 2008 and plan to pay more attention to in 2009. If you have any tips you’d like to share for other freelancers out there, let us hear them in the comments below!
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