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Few jobs embody the essence of creativity as aptly as design. And yet, in-house roles and corporate trend-chasing can make even a design job feel rote or uninspiring. Striking out on your own and becoming a freelancer might just be the change you need to reignite that creative spark and elevate your career. Want to know how? Then keep reading.
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You’ll be expected to wear many hats, no matter which role you pursue. Even so, it’s always better to focus on a niche and master all the tools and skills needed to excel at it. You might specialize in making logos, or perhaps package design is your thing. Either way, you’ll want to have a firm grasp of trends and tools along with a portfolio that demonstrates your proficiency.
A great portfolio site speaks for itself and will help bring in clients even if you lack paid experience. A dedicated portfolio site is the ideal place to showcase your understanding of design fundamentals like layouts, color theory, and typography, not to mention the premier virtual gallery for your projects.
The portfolio should include 5-10 of your strongest pieces, together with an overview of your vision, approach, and process for each. It’s perfectly fine to use work you’ve done in college or unpaid personal projects you’re proud of until you find your first clients. Be sure to update the portfolio as your skills and client base grow.
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Landing that first client can be hard, especially if you’re transitioning from a different field. Friends and family may be able to help, especially if you know someone who’s opened a business of their own recently and could use an eye-catching digital storefront.
Part of being a freelancer is knowing how to market yourself. While growing a social media following will help you gain exposure and maybe even a few clients, it’s not a substitute for growing your professional network.
New freelancers commonly make the mistake of selling themselves short or allowing an unreasonable client to string them along with endless revisions. You are good enough to do this job. You are providing a service. Your time and efforts are valuable, and the earlier you approach your freelancing career with self-respect, the sooner you’ll find quality clients who won’t drag on with payments or have unreasonable expectations.
Communication is crucial. Never take on a project before hammering out its scope, a reasonable completion timeframe, the number of revisions you’re willing to entertain, and your rates. This sets expectations from the outset and helps work proceed smoothly.
As a freelancer, you need to be conscious of the dangers of doing business online and how these may impact your clients and reputation. Companies usually have dedicated private networks to dodge the dangers of cyberspace. However, you alone have to rely on your precautions.
Let’s say you need to work on webpage redesigns or create marketing campaigns for upcoming products. In that case, protecting the integrity and security of any related files and client messages is paramount.
These, along with any personal information you share or passwords you type in, are particularly vulnerable when you access the internet through an unsafe connection like public Wi-Fi. Always use the best VPN available in such cases. The VPN will encrypt the connection and prevent your inputs, conversations, and the contents of your files from being exposed.
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Freelancing can be much more turbulent than a conventional 9-5. Prepare to experience both lean periods and ones during which you’ll get swamped with work. Remember, lack of supervision is great for a sense of personal freedom. However, it can also cause you to take on too much work, only to end up burnt out and frustrated.
Eventually, you’ll understand that it’s OK to say no to clients while always keeping your options open.
If you found this post useful you might like to read these post about Graphic Design Inspiration.
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