Pros and Cons of Outsourcing

Published February 2nd, 2012 in Business - 3 Comments

Running a design business, either as a freelancer or a small agency, is a big challenge. Getting the most efficiency out of your time is essential, but it’s also very difficult for those who wear many different hats, like freelancers. One of the most common ways of dealing with this challenge for efficiency is to outsource work to others. It could be anything from design work, front-end development, back-end development, marketing, to anything else that needs to be done.

There are some very strong reasons for outsourcing, and likewise the are some equally strong reasons against outsourcing. In this article we’ll look at those pros and cons, which will hopefully prove to be helpful to those who are trying to decide on whether or not to outsource.

Pros of Outsourcing

1. Leverage Your Efforts

Whether you are a part-time freelancer, full-time freelancer, or you run a design agency, the business aspect of your work is just as critical to your success as is your ability to design and/or code. One of the principles that is key to growing a business is that you need to be able to leverage your time and efforts. As a one-man operation you will only be able to earn money for the services that you can provide to clients yourself. But by expanding your business, in this case through outsourcing, you can leverage your efforts and make money based on the work of other people as well.

This makes an assumption that one of your priorities is to maximize income and profits, which may not be the case with all designers. Some designers prefer working on every aspect of client projects rather than outsourcing or hiring employees, even if it means reduced potential for business growth.

7 Common Mistakes Made by New Freelancers

Published January 5th, 2012 in Business - 20 Comments

Making a transition from employed designer to freelance designer can be intimidating for even the most talented of designers because there is so much more involved with being successful as a freelancer. As a freelancer you’ll be responsible for every aspect of your own business, and it’s those aspects aside from the actual design work that typically create the most significant challenges. While the transition is rarely easy, if you take a look at the mistakes that are commonly made by other new freelancers you can prepare yourself and avoid those potential pitfalls.

In this article we’ll take a look at 7 mistakes that many new freelancers make. The purpose is to help those of you who are in the process of moving into the world of freelancing, or considering it. By knowing these challenges ahead of time you’ll be better prepared to avoid them in your own business.

Free Download: Interactive Portfolio PDF (InDesign Template)

Published January 4th, 2012 in Business - 11 Comments

If you find yourself frequently exchanging emails with potential clients, you may be interested in sending them a PDF file that shows off your work. This free InDesign file will allow you to do just that. You can customize the file to include your own details and samples from your own portfolio, save it as an interactive PDF and email it to potential clients.

Keys to On-Going Work for Freelance Designers

Published December 15th, 2011 in Business - 11 Comments

The biggest challenge that most freelance web designers face is the constant need to find new projects. Having enough work from paying clients on a consistent basis is of course necessary in order to earn a living as a freelancer, but many designers struggle in this area.

One of the most effective ways to work towards a more consistent income with less of a need for relying on new projects is to focus on providing on-going services to your clients. Instead of designing a website for a client and parting ways, if you are able to offer on-going services that will provide some value to those clients, you can continue to work with them and reduce your reliance on new projects and new clients.

If you provide services for even a small number of clients for just a few hours each week it can easily result in a small but stable income stream, more time working for those clients, and less time searching for new work. For example, having 5 on-going clients to whom you provide 2 hours of work each week would total 10 hours of work per week, or 25% of a 40 hour work week. It may not seem like much individually, but having that 10 hours of work each week in addition to new client projects can make a big difference for many freelance designers.

The purpose of this article is to look at some ways to retain more of your clients for on-going services. If you’re looking for more stability in your income as a freelance designer it is highly recommended that you take a look at your process and see what you can do to convert more of your one-time clients into long-term clients. Here are a few keys.

Making a Positive First Impression with Clients

Published December 1st, 2011 in Business - 18 Comments

When it comes to landing clients for design projects, the first impression is extremely important. With so many web and graphic designers out there, clients have a lot of choices about who to contact and ultimately who to hire. The first impression can be the difference in a client contacting you to get a quote or moving on to the next designer. And the first impression after personal contact can be the difference in the client hiring you for the project or choosing another designer who seemed like a better fit.

Most clients are a little uneasy about the process of hiring a web designer. Many are intimidated because they don’t feel like they know enough about the industry to have confidence that they are hiring the right person. Some are unsure of how much they should expect to pay for the services that they need. If you’re able to make a positive first impression with these clients and put them at ease that their project will be in capable hands by hiring you, you will be much more likely to land the project.

In addition to converting more leads into paying clients, making a positive first impression can also help designers by reducing the amount of time and effort that is needed to secure the work. It’s inevitable that you’ll need to dedicate some time to communicating with potential clients before they decide to hire you, but it can also be very frustrating when you spend a significant amount of time and then they choose to hire someone else or to put the project on hold. The less time that you spend before getting a commitment from the client the more time you will have for working on the projects of those clients who have hired you. If you’re able to make a strong first impression and the client doesn’t need a lot of time to decide to hire you, that is an ideal situation.

5 Communication Tips for Freelancers and Designers

Published November 17th, 2011 in Business - 13 Comments

Communication skills are absolutely critical to designers, and really to any type of client work. Regardless of how skilled you are as a designer you will need to be able to communicate effectively with clients in order to do the best job possible with their projects. And if you are a freelancer or an independent designer, communication is of the utmost importance to the success of your business.

In this article we’ll take a look at 5 quick tips that can help in your own communication with clients.

Facts About Marketing for Freelance Designers

Published November 10th, 2011 in Business - 13 Comments

When most designers consider making the move to freelance work they typically consider things like their specific skills and the potential freedom and flexibility that comes with freelancing. While those things are important it’s also critical that freelancers are able to find enough work to stay busy and to earn a living, and that usually requires some effort in marketing.

In this post we’ll take a look at some facts about marketing for freelance designers. If you’re considering moving to the freelance world hopefully this information will help in your preparation. If you’re already freelancing and looking to get more out of your marketing efforts the article should be a help to you as well.

10 Signs That You Are Ready for Full-Time Freelancing

Published November 3rd, 2011 in Business - 11 Comments

Knowing when to make the move to full-time freelancing can be a difficult decision. Making the move too soon can lead to added risk that most people would prefer to avoid. On the other hand, a fear of taking that risk often leads to waiting longer than necessary. With that in mind, this article discusses 10 signs that you are ready to make the move to full-time freelancing.

The information in this article assumes that you are currently working a full-time job. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case, especially with the current economic conditions. If you’re without a job and you’re looking into freelancing as a possible way to earn a living you may be forced into full-time freelancing earlier than you would otherwise prefer. But for the purpose of this article we will be looking at a situation where you are able to dictate when you give up the full-time job and move to freelancing.

If you’re struggling with the decision of when to move to full-time freelancing, these ten signs may be indicating that you are ready.

Tips for Using Design Freebies to Promote Yourself

Published October 27th, 2011 in Business - 6 Comments

An increasing number of web and graphic designers are turning to free resources in effort to promote their services and products. In an industry that can be highly competitive any means of standing out and gaining exposure can go a long way. The method of gaining exposure from freebies is being used by designers for promoting their services for clients, as well as for promoting their own products, such as WordPress themes and PSD files. A few months ago we looked at some real world examples in Designers Using Freebies to Grow Their Business, and today we’ll explore the topic further by providing some tips for those who would like to try this method for themselves.

The freebie promotional method includes a great deal of flexibility, so it can be used by designers and developers in a number of different ways. As was already mentioned, freebies can be used to gain exposure in attempt to land more client work or to sell more files and resources. In addition, freebies can be distributed from your existing website or blog, from a website or blog owned by someone else, or you can set up a site specifically for distributing freebies. We’ve all seen freebies being distributed from blogs, but an example of a site whose primary function is distributing freebies is Allur. They also sell WordPress themes, which the freebies help to promote.

We have some experience of our own using freebies on this blog as well as on many other design blogs, mostly to promote our design resource membership site, Vandelay Premier. The post is written based on our own experience, observing what other designers are doing, and from talking to other designers about their experiences with freebies.

Keys to Effective Web Design Proposals

Published September 29th, 2011 in Business - 9 Comments

Being able to draft an effective proposal is an essential part of staying busy and keeping money coming in as a freelance designer. In order to land client work you will need to be able to break down what you have to offer. Working on proposals is often an intimidating part of the process for new freelancers, so we’ll take a look at some things that you can do to improve the effectiveness of your own proposals for client projects.

Here are some keys to proposals that will help you to land the client’s business.

Meets the Needs and Wants of the Client

Before submitting a proposal to the client you should take the time to get to know their project and specifically what they want and need. A proposal that matches up with what the client wants will obviously be the most effective in terms of landing the business, but some designers tend to rush the initial stages of getting familiar with the client and project. This often leads to a proposal that doesn’t really fit with what the client wants, and it results in lost business and missed opportunities.

In addition to covering the things that the client wants, if you have identified some things that the client really needs you should include them in your proposal, and explain to the client why it is in their best interest. This will help the project to be more successful for the client, and if they choose not to follow your advice at least you have done your part by advising.