5 ugly truths about becoming a freelance designer

5 ugly truths about becoming a freelance designer

When I first decided to become a freelance designer, I had big dreams about what it would be like. At the time, I worked a boring 9-5 job that didn't fulfill me creatively in the slightest, so the thought of being paid to design and do what I love filled me with SO much joy. 

I followed lots of design bloggers and I was always in awe of the pretty moodboards they had created, the beautiful Instagram profiles they had curated, and the wonderful testimonials from wonderful clients about how wonderful the design experience was. The life of a freelance designer looked beautiful. But that's probably because I was looking at it through rose-tinted glasses.

I know there are lot of people in my community who want to quit their jobs and become freelance designers (or start other kinds of businesses), so I wanted to take the opportunity today to share a few truths with you.

How to get clients from Twitter

How to get clients from Twitter

Twitter has recently become one of my favorite social media platforms. 

It’s the perfect place to connect with likeminded creatives, build friendships and share your work. 

The mistake a lot of business owners make when promoting their business on Twitter is only tweeting their content, services and products.

That’s not going to work on Twitter. 

Have you heard of the 80/20 rule? You can apply this rule to ANYTHING in life, but we're going to apply it to the wonderful world of Twitter. Here’s what it comes down to: 

Use 20% of your content to promote your brand, and dedicate 80% to content that really interests your audience and engages them in conversation.

Should you switch from freelancing to selling products?

Should you switch from freelancing to selling products?

One of my coaching clients recently asked me, ‘Should I switch from selling services to selling info products? I’ve seen you and a lot of other service-based entrepreneurs do this and I’m worried that services are dying out and that the real money is in infoproducts.’

I was so shocked by this that I asked if I could turn my answer into an email for my entire community to see. If you’ve ever asked yourself if you should start selling products instead of services, this email is for you.

First, I want to let you in on a little secret:

I haven’t stopped selling services.

Even though I sell ebooks and courses for brand & web designers, I’m still working one-on-one with clients and I still sell my design services- I’ve just temporarily removed them from my website because I’m booked for the rest of the year and my soonest availability is February 2017. There’s no point advertising design services that aren’t available at the moment, so I removed them from my site for now.

10 Things Designers Need To Streamline

10 Things Designers Need To Streamline

When I first started my design business, I thought the only thing I had to do was design (and be good at it).

Boy was I surprised when I realized everything else I had to do to keep my clients happy and keep myself sane. I couldn't just design- I needed to have a smooth client onboarding process, create intro packets, welcome packets and goodbye packets, use a project management tool, streamline my project wrap-up process and more.

And then there's the mundane tasks that ALL business owners have to deal with like organizing paperwork and desktop files, scheduling social media and email marketing.

My Step By Step Web & Graphic Design Process

My Step By Step Web & Graphic Design Process

Sometimes, designers, artists and makers like to create freely and not follow a system. 

If you're painting something for your bedroom wall then sure, go ahead. Don't stick to a process, just go with the flow!

But if you're running a business and working with clients, you need a process. 

WITHOUT a clever design process in place:

  • Clients become confused because they don't know what's coming up next or what their designer needs from them.
  • The projects goes on much longer than the designer anticipated.
  • The client gets frustrated with the designer.
  • The designer becomes frustrated with his/her work and kiiiiinda wishes they were back at their day job.
  • The client never works with the designer again because the whole process was exhausting and unorganized.

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