Want to be a Freelancer? Freedom or...?

by Daren Guillory

Freelance graphic design is often a desirable means of employment because of schedule flexibility, the opportunity to “own your work” and the possibility of higher income. But freelance graphic design isn’t something I suggest jumping into without careful consideration. Before making the decision for myself, I spoke with a number of seasoned professionals, and their overwhelming response was that designers all too often decide to give it a go on their own before fully learning their craft. However, if you do decide to give freelancing a go, here’s an inside look at my own path, plus tips about a few things I've learned along the way.

Freelance Freedom

My Career Path

Prior to receiving my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Communications, I was involved in the design community and did an internship in a major advertising agency. After graduation, I worked at the studio of one of my professors. From there, I went on to work at an in-house design department for a large corporation. However lowly it was, it taught me how to design for e-commerce and demonstrated how the in-house design environment worked. All of these experiences were valuable and contributed to my overall awareness and general understanding of the industry.

 Experience at a Leading Design Firm

After the internship and the smaller studio and corporate design positions, I landed a permanent position at a major player in terms of branding and design. This is where I experienced the greatest opportunity to grow in all aspects of design: design and layout, typography, technical skills, presentation and communication skills, and, most importantly, the business of graphic design.

 

Absorb From Your Mentors

Larger studios have a collective depth of experience and they’ve solidified client relationships that were years in the making. They also have the client base to keep work coming in, and, to that extent, you can quickly gain momentum and learn from a variety of fields. The professionals working in a larger studio often have 10, 15 or 20 years of experience—sometimes even more. Your ability to absorb their collective knowledge and put that into practice is tantamount to your success as a freelancer.

Before You Break Out

For me, deciding to go freelance was part of the natural progression of my career path. But designers aren’t typically thrilled with the prospect of running their own business. In this regard, I am a huge advocate of getting the education (from a reputable design program or university) and experience (from a larger, seasoned design studio) you need prior to going out on your own.

Branding and Client Selection

One of the first things to consider is the direction you want to go. At this point, evaluate your portfolio—strengths and weaknesses—and decide on the types of clients you really want. Tailor your portfolio to the types of projects and clients you desire. In some cases, you will need to eliminate projects from your portfolio altogether or create something pro bono to fill a niche. As a general rule of thumb, quality outweighs quantity.

Presentation is Everything

You will need your own brand identity, website and other marketing and sales presentations that speak to your capabilities and value proposition. Keep those materials as clear and concise as possible. Some other things to keep in mind:

• Adjust your portfolio to display the most successful projects
• Leverage data to show project success (increased web traffic, etc.)
• Maintain professional standards: spelling and typographic errors matter
• Be honest: take care not to fall short of your brand promise
• Don’t over-promise: if project specifications are outside of your capabilities, be up front
• Articulate the concept of the piece in one or two succinct sentences
• Establish in yourself the thinking that graphic design is primarily a business of problem-solving: how does your solution solve the client’s problem?

Accounting

There are plenty of easy-to-use systems available like Quicken, QuickBooks, iBank, iBiz and FunctionFox, to name a few. However, chances are you will need an accountant to manage your books.

Know the Tax Laws

In addition to your general ledger, look into the tax law concerning whether or not graphic design services can be taxed. The last thing you want to do is to not charge sales tax but then come to the realization that you should have been charging it. In this worst-case scenario, you will have to retroactively collect taxes on sales. Ouch.

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