So you want to be a freelancer, now what?

Despite the glamorous reputation, freelance design is no walk in the park. It takes an incredible work ethic, significant entrepreneurial prowess, and a little bit of insanity to pull it off effectively. This article will discuss how to effectively make a living as a freelancer (designer or otherwise). Since we are in fact a design blog, I’ll scatter in some well-designed freelancer sites along the way for inspiration.

David Jonsson

It Takes One to Know One

Before launching into my thoughts on being a freelancer, I should tell you that I am in fact a freelance designer. I’ve made my living for the past six years solely as a freelancer and plan on continuing to do so for years to come. This by no means makes me any sort of guru on the subject, but it does mean that I’ve experienced many of the joys and disasters that come with the territory. Therefore, today I’ll be speaking not as a supreme authority, but merely as someone who is eager to share what I’ve learned along the way.

Robert Ablan

Reality Check

If you’re thinking about getting into freelancing, let me burst your bubble a bit. When I talk to people about what I do, I often get the feeling that they imagine that I have the easiest job on Earth. Surely I must sleep in, sit in my boxers all day, work whenever I want, go on three hour lunches, take 15 sick days a month and still somehow manage to rake in exorbitant amounts of money. Unfortunately, all of these things couldn’t be further from the truth.

The key consideration that these assumptions leave out? Clients. You might work for yourself in a sense, but in reality, you work for your clients, which can be like having several competing bosses instead of just one. Being a freelancer means initiating and answering endless calls and emails, managing several projects simultaneously, and working all night to meet impossible deadlines that didn’t exist that morning. Most freelancers I know, strike that, all of the freelancers I know long ago gave up notions of working normal hours (forget 9-5, Monday through Friday).

Deciding what you want to do for a living is the biggest vocational decision you can make, the second is deciding how you’ll do it. Becoming a freelancer is a serious lifestyle decision that should not be made lightly. Think about all the perks of a “real job” such as a steady pay check, health insurance benefits, tax breaks, and paid vacations and kiss them goodbye. Suddenly you’ll be paying nearly double the taxes you used to, health insurance will cost a fortune, your paychecks will be uncertain from one month to the next, your yearly income will fluctuate immensely, and your vacations will be spent income-free.

Still want to be a freelancer? Excellent. Despite all the scary stuff above, I still think it’s one of the best jobs ever. Let’s dive into how to go about becoming a freelancer.

Rejected Robot

Getting Started: Tread Carefully

My best advice: go slow. Don’t go quitting your day job just yet (unless you don’t have one, then by all means jump in with both feet). Before telling your boss you can’t stand the site of his face, you need to get a feel for how much work you’ll be able to drum up on your own. To accomplish this, start a few side projects that you work on after hours. It’ll be stressful to search for extra work while working a full-time job but it’ll provide you with a much-needed glimpse into the freelancing lifestyle. The question then becomes, “Where Do I Get Freelance Work?” We’ll address that next.

Where to Find Work

Mega job sites like Monster and Hot Jobs are great places to begin, but I’ve had a pretty poor experience with them overall. Definitely give them a shot, but don’t put too much stock into them as a consistent source of income. Here are a few more sources that I’ve had some personal success with or know to yield good results. Remember, don’t think in either/or terms. Use these tools in conjunction with each other to ensure success.

Craigslist

This one is a bit obvious for some, but I want to stress that it’s among the best sources I’ve come across for finding and contacting potential employers. Most job boards will charge you or at the very least make you register, Craigslist just puts it all out there for anyone to see. If you’re interested in a job, just shoot an email to the provided email address. No hoops to jump through whatsoever.

I recommend creating a standard reply email that you can send out to all of the listings you’re interested in. Be sure to include your resume and a link to your online portfolio. Remember that each employer that puts a job out there will literally receive hundreds of replies. Try to stand out in any way that you can!

Google

This one seems incredibly obvious, but I want to be sure you know how to take full advantage of Google as a way to find work. Obviously, a great place to begin is to run a basic search looking for freelance jobs either in your area or that have a flexible location requirement. Something you might not have thought of though is using Google Maps. This technique occurred to me recently and has actually turned up some legitimate work.

Using Google Maps, search for businesses in your area that could possibly use your services. I searched for marketing agencies, printers, design firms, etc. When you click on a business, go to their website and locate their contact information. Then send them a brief but friendly email that introduces yourself and your work. Tell them you’re looking for freelance work and would be thrilled to work with their company. As with Craigslist, I encourage you to make a standard email that you can just send to all the businesses you find. Spend an afternoon doing this and you could be surprised how many leads you’ll snag. Don’t expect them to pour in all at once. The goal is to make a connection. It could literally be months before they need a freelancer, but your email might put you at the top of their list of potentials. Don’t necessarily stop at emails either, if you’re the personable sort, pick up the phone and make some calls. People are much more likely to hire a “real person” that they’ve actually spoken to than a mystery email man (or woman).

Twitter

Before you roll your eyes, hear me out. There is a thriving and remarkably active design community on Twitter. Making lasting connections on Twitter can open up a lot of opportunities down the road. But even better than connecting to all those designers, at least for our purposes, is the simple, built-in Twitter search feature. There are millions of people tweeting every day. Naturally, several of these people are mentioning that they are in the market for a freelancer. You need only find them and make contact. It’s a really personal way to connect with potential clients that actually works. Give it shot and you could be pleasantly surprised.

Smaller Job Boards

Small job boards may have fewer listings than the mega sites, but that can actually work to your advantage. Smaller sites will attract less traffic, meaning competition is likely to be greatly reduced. Here’s a few to check out:

• Freelance Switch
• Elance
• Krop
• oDesk

Anton Peck

Be Prepared

The steps outlined above already assume that you’ve taken significant steps towards preparing to be a freelancer. In case you haven’t let’s discuss those now.

Update Your Resume

Before heading out into the no man’s land of freelancing, update your resume to reflect that you’re not so much looking for a job as looking for more work (there’s a difference). You should come across as a confident professional actively seeking to increase your client base on a per job or long-term basis. Check out The Graphic Design Resume Guide for more information on how to stand out to potential clients.

Get Your Portfolio Out There

This comes in two forms. First, build yourself a custom website similar to those you see scattered throughout this article. A website is an unbeatably easy way to tell potential clients about who you are and what kind of work you do. It provides a convenient place to send people you meet as well as an easy way for clients to find you on their own. Before you start, check out our article on 10 Expert Tips for Designing a One Page Portfolio.

The second way of getting your portfolio out for the world to see is to sign up for all the free portfolio sites you can find. The more content on the web about you the better and these sites can provide a great way to boost your search-ability online. I have accounts on Coroflot, Krop, Sortfolio, Carbonmade and several more that I can’t even remember!

Work Out Billing and Invoicing

Before you take a single job you should know how you will be billing that client. Setup an invoicing system through Curdbee, Ballpark, Freshbooks, PayPal or any number of online alternatives. These tools take the pain out of the paperwork and are either free or very affordable.

Billy Tamplin

Form a Co-Op

If you know other freelancers, there’s no need to go it alone. Form a small alliance to share clients, contacts and resources with. The nature of freelancing is such that there will probably be times that you have more work than you can handle and other times when you’re playing on Facebook all day for lack of anything better to do. Working with a few other freelancers can create a mutually beneficial system where the involved parties help each other through these times.

Another thing that’s great about working with other people is… working with other people. Sitting in an office all day alone can get insanely boring after a few years. I drive 15 minutes every day just to work with another freelancer I know. Sometimes we work on the same project, sometimes not. Either way, it’s nice to have someone to complain to about that annoying client who keeps asking if you know how to use “Adobe.”

Diversify Your Skill Set

I found out the hard way that being a print-only freelancer doesn’t make it easy to pay the bills. As a result I’ve invested significant amounts of time expanding my skill set to include web design, 3D modeling, photography and writing. Even with that broad range I’m not finished. I try to set time aside every single week to work on improving a current skill or learning a new one. As your body of work expands to new areas, your potential client base will increase exponentially as you search for jobs in multiple related fields.

Like College, Only Free

If you can make the time, learning new creative skills is both easy and free. The internet presents you with an unending stream of quality tutorials for every skill you can dream up. Here’s a few sites (of hundreds) to get you on the path to becoming a bona-fide Renaissance man of freelance services.

• TutsPlus: Unmatched Photoshop, Web Design, Illustration, Photography, CG, Flash, After-Effects, and Audio Tutorials
• Fuel Brand Network: Articles and tutorials on branding, creativity, interface design, coding, blogging, writing, photography, motionography and more.
• Tutorialzine: Excellent web design tutorials
• Computer Arts: Tutorials on all things digital

If you want serious professional training, head over to Lynda and purchase a membership. It’ll cost you a few bucks but trust me it’s completely worth it. Their video tutorials will take you step-by-step through learning entire applications and disciplines inside and out (Photoshop, AfterEffects, LightRoom, DreamWeaver, Flash, etc).

Brian Hoff

Work Your Butt Off

My final piece of advice for making money as a freelancer is to work like you’ve never worked before on all of the above. If you don’t have any clients, don’t spend your days complaining about it. It drives me nuts to hear freelancers talk about being out of work and reaching new heights of awesomeness on Halo 3 in the same conversation. If this is you, your friends are too afraid to say it so I will: stop being lazy. You won’t find an ounce of work on your Xbox (unless you’re browsing job sites, but let’s face it, you aren’t). If you desperately need more income, spend every waking moment trying to get it. Take a break to battle your friends on remote planets when you’ve earned it.

If you land a few clients, the same advice applies. Work your tail off to convince them that you’re the best freelancer on the planet. Make it your mission to be so good that they tell all their friends about you and actively seek projects on your behalf (satisfied clients will do this!). One of the things my clients repeatedly tell me is that they can’t believe how “available” I am. What they mean by this is that when they call, I answer. When they email, I reply. Even if only to tell them that I’m swamped and will get back to them in a few days. Make it your primary goal to please the people who can provide you with a decent living. Draw stern boundaries and never take abuse, but bend over backwards when the situation calls for it.

The worst part about working like a maniac is figuring out how to manage all of this and still have a life. Can you be a good freelancer and still be a good husband/wife/mother/father/friend? Absolutely, but that’s another article.

Conclusion

I could fill a book with the things I’ve learned about freelancing in the past few years. However, the above information is at the heart of it all. It all boils down to a profound juggling act where you split your time between finding new work and managing current work. The perfect balance is different for everyone. Use the comments to let me know how you stay afloat as a freelancer. As I said before, I’m no authority on the subject and am as eager to learn from you as you are from me. Feel free to ask any specific questions you might have as well. I’ll try to help out in any way I can.

Apple's Human Interface Guidelines for the iPad outline how to create user interfaces optimized for the iPad device. According to Apple, the best iPad applications: downplay application UI so that the focus is on content; present content in beautiful, often realistic ways; and take full advantage of device capabilities to enable enhanced interaction.

The overview of iPad user experience guidelines listed below is © 2010 Apple Inc.

Support All Orientations

Your application should encourage people to interact with iPad from any side by providing a great experience in all orientations. The reason is that people don’t view the device as having a default orientation, because they don’t pay much attention to the minimal device frame and they’re unconcerned with the location of the Home button.

Enhance Interactivity (Don’t Just Add Features)

The best iPad applications give people innovative ways to interact with content while they perform a clearly defined, finite task. Resist the temptation to fill the large screen with features that are not directly related to the main task. In particular, you should not view the large iPad screen as an invitation to bring back all the functionality you pruned from your iPhone application.

Flatten Your Information Hierarchy

Although you don’t want to pack too much information into one screen, you also want to prevent people from feeling that they must visit many different screens to find what they want. In general, focus the main screen on the primary content and provide additional information or tools in an auxiliary view, such as a popover.

Reduce Full-Screen Transitions

Instead of swapping in a whole new screen when some embedded information changes, update only the areas of the user interface that need it. When you perform fewer full-screen transitions, your application has greater visual stability, which helps people keep track of where they are in their task.

Enable Collaboration and Connectedness

Think of ways people might want to use your application with others. Expand your thinking to include both the physical sharing of a single device and the virtual sharing of data.

Add Physicality and Heightened Realism

Whenever possible, add a realistic, physical dimension to your application. The more true to life your application looks and behaves, the easier it is for people to understand how it works and the more they enjoy using it.

Delight People with Stunning Graphics

The high-resolution iPad screen supports rich, beautiful, engaging graphics that draw people into an application and make the simplest task rewarding.

De-emphasize User Interface Controls

Help people focus on the content by designing your application UI as a subtle frame for the information they’re interested in. Downplay application controls by minimizing their number and prominence. Consider creating custom controls that subtly integrate with your application’s graphical style. In this way, controls are discoverable, but not too conspicuous.

Minimize Modality

iPad applications should allow people to interact with them in nonlinear ways. Modality prevents this freedom by interrupting people’s workflow and forcing them to choose a particular path.

Rethink Your Lists

Consider a more real-world vision of your application. For example, on iPhone, Contacts is a streamlined list, but on iPad, Contacts is an address book with a beautifully tangible look and feel.

Consider Multifinger Gestures

The large iPad screen provides great scope for multifinger gestures, including gestures made by more than one person.

Consider Popovers for Some Modal Tasks

If you use modal views to enable self-contained tasks in your iPhone application, you might be able to use popovers instead.

Restrict Complexity in Modal Tasks

People appreciate being able to accomplish a self-contained subtask in a modal view, because the context shift is clear and temporary. But if the subtask is too complex, people can lose sight of the main task they suspended when they entered the modal view.

Downplay File-Handling Operations

Although iPad applications can allow people to create and manipulate files and share them with a computer (when the device is docked), this does not mean that people should have a sense of the file system on iPad.

Ask People to Save Only When Necessary

People should have confidence that their work is always preserved unless they explicitly cancel or delete it. If your application helps people create and edit documents, make sure they do not have to take an explicit save action.

Start Instantly

iPad applications should start as quickly as possible so that people can begin using them without delay.

Always Be Prepared to Stop

Like iPhone applications, iPad applications stop when people press the Home button to open another application.

More details on these guidelines and further information on developing for the iPad can be found in Apple's Human Interface Guidelines for the iPad.

Read more articles about the iPad by Luke Wroblewski at lukew.com.

Got a job that’s totally boring but pays the bills? Hold onto it. But don’t use it as an excuse NOT to go after your dream of being self-employed doing something you love.

A common misconception about successful independent workers is that one day, in dramatic fashion, they quit their dayjob, hung a shingle and lived happily ever after. The truth is, most freelancers start off moonlighting, volunteering, interning, and doing client work at night and on weekends in addition to a nine-to-five gig. If you fantasise about living the freelancer life, you can do the same — even in a recession, starting now. Let’s turn some of your free time into a new career without giving up the steady pay.

Freelancing in a Recession: Inroads and Safety Nets

Armies of employees have gotten laid off in the past year, and when you’re one of the survivors still on payroll, the natural instinct is to feel grateful you were spared, hunker down and not make a peep. The idea of looking for contract work when the unemployment rate is so high may seem ludicrous. However, there are contracts to be had. Freelancers cost companies less than full-time employees, and major waves of layoffs often create opportunities for contractors to fill in the gaps.

Doing freelance work in a time of job insecurity benefits you in two ways. First, it diversifies your income stream. When you freelance on the side, you don’t depend on a single check to pay your bills. If you do get let go or have to take a salary cut or furlough, the side income softens the blow to your bank account. Secondly, freelancing for clients is the best way to show off what you can do to potential employers. When you freelance you’re in constant “interview” mode, hoping to get re-hired or recommended to other clients. If you lose your job or decide to leave, you’ve essentially already interviewed for your next gig.

The point here is that even in a recession, freelancing is far from impossible — in fact, it’s downright smart.

Put Yourself on the Market

The tough part about becoming a freelancer — especially for introverts — is putting your name out there and having to hustle to sell your services. In addition to whatever work you do, being a freelancer means you also have to be a salesperson.

How you should put yourself on the market and showcase your offerings depends on your field. If you have no idea where to start, find some great freelancers that do what you do, and follow their example. It’s probably safe to say you’ll need some kind of website, business card, and a portfolio or CV. Don’t skimp on this stuff: Instead of settling for a free hosting account somewhere, spend the $US20 to register a domain name and put together at least a one-page website describing who you are, what you offer, and contact information. If you’re a photographer, include a gallery of your best photos; a programmer, a list of projects you’ve contributed to; a project manager, a list of companies you’ve worked for. If showing off actual work you’ve completed isn’t possible, gather together some testimonials from folks you’ve worked for that get across your best skills.

Don’t do anything crazy like advertise your services in the newspaper or on the internet right away. The best way to find work is through people you know and referrals from happy clients.

How to Find Contracts — and When to Work Pro Bono

Once you’re officially on the market, it’s time to get some clients. Remember that old saying about who you know versus what you know? It’s so true. In my experience, referrals from people you know — the most vague acquaintances, even — yield the best business opportunities. Let your friends, business associates, former co-workers, fellow book club members and the guy sitting next to you at the barber shop know you’re available to do freelance work. Don’t be annoying, but don’t be shy, either. People are much more likely to hire someone recommended by someone they trust, so it’s up to you to work your network. When you do, remember that other freelancers are not your competition — they’re your friends. Knowing other contractors who do the same or similar work just widens your pool of contacts and potential clients. Be generous and send referrals their way, and they’ll return the favour.

When you’ve exhausted referrals from folks you know in person, you can try advertising your services more broadly, but use the right outlets. The key is to find your audience. Figure out where your ideal clients look for contractors and get yourself listed there.

If you’re just starting out and need to fill in your portfolio AND kickstart potential referrals, consider doing pro bono work for a non-profit or deeply-discounted work for a desirable client. I hate advising fellow freelancers to charge anything less than what they’re worth, but the reality is that sometimes you have to give something away to prove yourself and earn opportunities down the road. (In fact, I was in the right place at the right time to start Lifehacker precisely because of a barely-paying internship.) You don’t have to work for free on an ongoing basis to use this strategy: try speaking at a local event for free (and mention that you’re for hire), or offer a free trial of your services for potential clients. But remember: Only give these freebies to good prospects.

Pricing Yourself: When Time Really Is Money

Even after seven years of freelancing part and full-time, answering the question “What’s your rate?” is still a challenge for me. Your hourly rate will depend on the project, your industry, market, location, the economy, your experience and how deep-pocketed your client is. Pricing conversations can be a scary game of chicken that take pluck, confidence and a strong sense of self-worth to navigate. As a general rule, when you’re quoting an hourly rate, overestimate both time and money.

When you’re just starting out, the tendency is to underprice yourself because you really want to score the contract and you’re optimistic about the number of hours it’ll take to complete. However, you’ll forget to take into account things like taxes and time for administrative tasks. As you get more experience, you’ll adjust your prices, learn how to read different types of clients and what their budget range will be, and have enough confidence to walk away from contracts that aren’t worth taking. I’m much more likely to do interesting work for lower prices, but I’ll only take on tedious stuff that’s well-paid. When it’s time to ask for the upper range, I use an unscientific method: I quote the highest rate I can while still keeping a straight face.

When it comes to scheduling, don’t forget that you’ll be doing this work at night and on weekends, and things almost always take longer than your initial gut estimate. So, overestimate the number of hours a job will take. It’s always better to set expectations and deliver early than have to pull an all-nighter and barely break even.

The Financial Life

Sending out invoices and chasing down unpaid ones, filing activity statements, itemising tax deductions, managing your own retirement fund — these are all necessary parts of a freelancer’s financial life. Do yourself a favour and put a good system in place for making sure 1) that you’re getting paid for the work you do by invoicing promptly and following up and 2) that you’re putting aside money to pay estimated taxes on that money. Once you get that system down — and it should be easier with the cushion of a day job’s steady pay — you’ll be ready to face the “feast or famine” state that is a full-time freelancer’s financial reality later on. I use a simple “Waiting for payment.txt” file and schedule calendar reminders to check that list once a month and do my activity statement each quarter. Start slow, see how your side gigs affect your financial picture, and work from there.

With your day job in hand, you can start your freelance career with less pressure to make loads of money right away; you’ll be able to get the word out, establish a client base, build a portfolio, and set your prices on your own time. Do you moonlight as a freelancer? What’s your best piece of advice for those just starting out? Let us know in the comments.