How to Transition From Corporate America to a Freelance Designer

You can make a transition from corporate America to working as a freelance designer. Many others have done it successfully, even if they didn’t make a six figure income. Success to you may be the ability to meet your living expenses, and to have the freedom and flexibility to choose your own clients and work your own hours. Your goal may be that six figure income. Whatever your reasons, you have to plan a careful transition so that you don’t find yourself racing back to corporate America down the road. Here’s how:

Live on a Frugal Budget

You’re going to have to make some sacrifices if you’re serious about making your transition from corporate America to freelance designer a permanent one. For example, you’ll have to create a frugal budget to live on so that you can have additional monies to save up for three months’ worth of living expenses. You’ll also need to save money to launch your freelance career, such as equipment, Internet connection, web hosting and software. You can work as a freelance designer without going into debt, if you live on a frugal budget so that you can get your finances in order.

Pitch Telecommuting to Your Boss

Your boss may be your first customer, if you approach the situation with professionalism and can persuade him to allow you to work at home. Many bosses haven’t considered the possibility of making a position a telecommuting one. Many books, web and magazine articles have been written on how to approach your boss on this issue, and you should do your research before you talk to him. Your company may be looking for ways to make cuts, and your boss might welcome the idea of telecommuting if you’re willing to work part-time without benefits. The income and access to a company for resources may be just what you need until you build up enough freelance clients to design full time.

Work with Established Design Companies

There’s a difference between launching a business and working as a freelance designer. As a freelancer, you don’t have to do as much work as an entrepreneur to market, promote, sell and land your own clients. You can make a living by working as a freelance designer for established design companies that manage the business side of designing. All you would have to worry about is selling your skills to those companies to get hired, and then delivering quality work on time.  You would get paid an hourly rate in most cases, and you can work for multiple design companies at once.

Avoid Bidding Sites

The debate over whether it’s a good idea to use bidding sites to find work is a heated one. The way these sites work is that you submit a proposal with a bid amount and the person who placed the bids can review your bid along with ones made by other freelance designers. These bidding sites are global and you’re often going to be outbid by others who can charge as much as half or even more of what you bid. The work you put into each proposal and the number that you would have to submit to land one may not be worth it. It can end up costing you money, in addition to the membership fees you have to pay to these sites to bid on projects. You would be better off finding and applying for freelance jobs listed on job boards.

Living the life of a freelance designer is challenging and you can get discouraged in the beginning stages. You may face regrets in the beginning, and that’s common for many who make the transition from corporate America. Confide in your family and friends, and make sure you find supportive people that will help to motivate you along your journey.

Why Use Independent Contractors for Your Design Business?

You shouldn’t substitute the use of independent contractors for the sweat equity that’s required to launch your business. There will come a point though, when it makes economic sense to outsource some of the tasks you take on in your business. If you have so much client work that you find yourself neglecting some of your clients or important business tasks, then you should consider outsourcing.

Avoid the Legalities of Hiring Employees

Be prepared to jump through a lot of legal hoops if you hire part-time or full time employees. Whether it’s keeping up with the tax requirements, paying for health benefits, or following laws and regulations for treating employees, you’ll soon find out that taking on employees is a huge responsibility. You could end up losing or making less money in the process. You don’t face those challenges when you work with independent contractors. They are responsible for paying their own taxes, acquiring their own benefits and you are not subject to employment laws. The one requirement that is imposed on you is to report their annual income on Form 1099 to the Internal Revenue Service once it reaches a certain amount, and provide them with a copy of it. You also have to make sure that you’re not treating them as an employee. It’s important to sign an independent contract agreement with them, but also follow the guidelines provided by the IRS in Publication 1779 (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1779.pdf).

Bill More Hours

Whether you charge a flat fee or by the hour, independent contractors can free up your hours so that you can do more work. You can utilize some contractors to work on sales and marketing for your business, so that you can do more web design and graphic work for clients. You can use other graphic artists and web designers as subcontractors to complete some or all aspects of your projects, so that you can get more work. In the beginning stages of your business, it might be better to do all the work yourself and not lose money to independent contractors. The exception to that rule is if you’re working with an independent contractor on a commission basis. For example, a sales independent contractor who is willing to earn a commission for pay is worth hiring from the start.  Once your business starts to grow, the use of independent contractors in order to complete more work is a great move for your business.

Achieve Work-Life Balance

If you can’t get everything done in your business and meet your personal responsibilities at the same time, then you should consider making changes. One change you should consider is delegating work to independent contractors. It sounds simpler in theory than in practice, especially if you’re the type who prefers to retain as much control as possible over your business. The right individual can help free up your time to spend with your family and friends or to pursue your hobbies. If delegating your work scares you, start small. Delegate mundane and routine tasks that you don’t like to do anyway, and test out the idea of outsourcing for a short period. Once you build trust with one independent contractor, you can give them more duties and responsibilities. Before you know it, you may be working with additional independent contractors to help you grow your business.

Before you enter into relationships with independent contractors, you should sign an agreement. It should state in plain English that the person is coming on board as an independent contractor and not as an employee.

5 Good Reasons to Take a Break at Work

Every once in a while, you need to be reminded to take a break at work. Freelancers and entrepreneurs have one thing in common: They tend to be workaholics. Working hard to perfect your craft and making sure that you’re earning enough money to pay your bills is a good thing. You’ll do yourself, your family and your clients a favor, though, if you take breaks.  You can experience great benefits as a result. Here are five good reasons to stop working and take a break:

Reason #1 – Produce High Quality Work

Looking at your work with “fresh eyes” can make all the difference in landing a gig, outbidding competitors and delivering quality work to clients. When you take a break at work, your brain functions better and you think clearer.  You may think that you’re maximizing your time by not taking breaks, but what might be happening is that you’re wasting more time. For example, it’s easy to zone out while you’re working on a design for long hours. Your brain is ready to take a break even if you’re unwilling. Rather than waste that time, and bill your clients for it, do what your mind wants you to do. Take a short break.  You will produce higher quality work as a result.

Reason #2 – Relieve Stress

A simple way to relieve stress is to take a break at work. If you don’t remove yourself from the work, at least mentally if not physically, then the stress will pile up like your workload. Find things to do that you enjoy that can be done in a short amount of time.  Checking your email or engaging in more online activities is not really considered a break when you’re working on web design or graphics work. Take a real break. Play with your kids, your pets, go and check the mail, or play your favorite song. It will help to diffuse some of the stress you’re experiencing. The truth is, stress does impact your profitability because it impacts the quality of work you produce. If nothing else, think of it as part of being a successful freelancer or entrepreneur.

Reason #3 – Shorten the Work Day

Your work hours may remain the same when you take a break at work, but it’s going to feel shorter.  Your body and your mind can feel the difference when you work for long hours without a break. Short spurts of 10 or 15 minute breaks refresh the body and you won’t feel the mental or physical pressure as much. However, you don’t want to overdo your breaks and end up with too little time to complete all of your work. One break every three or four hours is often enough to get you through a work day.

Reason # 4 – Take Time to Eat

Don’t forget to take a lunch break, and there may be times when you need a snack as well. Working while hungry is difficult and can be counterproductive. A good reason to take a break at work is to eat a healthy snack. You should avoid high sugars if possible; you don’t want to slow down your work by having to metabolize all the sugar you ate.

Reason # 5 – Have More Energy for Other Things

You should do all that you can to minimize the habit of ending work every day exhausted. It can take a toll on your family and loved ones, your personal activities and other business pursuits. You’ll feel less pain from a heavy workload when you take breaks than if you don’t. You’ll have that much more energy to accomplish all of your other duties and responsibilities.

Don’t expect a life makeover when you take a break at work, but it will have a great impact on your physical, mental and emotional health. Your business will improve, and the results will pay dividends.

How to Get a DBA for Your Graphic Design or Web Design Business

It’s a New Year and your resolutions may include starting your own graphic design business or web design business. Before you take the plunge, it’s important to get a few legalities out of the way. You’ll be glad you did because of the tax savings, and you can protect your personal assets as a result. The good news is that you don’t need to hire an attorney to take care of the basics, although it doesn’t hurt to get to know one early on in case you have questions or run into more complex issues. One important legal aspect of launching your own business is to get your DBA, also referred to as “doing business as” or a fictitious business name.  It’s a way to register your business with your state. Here’s how:

Step # 1 – Figure out Whether You Need It

You may not need to register your business.  Some states don’t require you to get a DBA if your business name includes your first and last name. For example, a business called “Jane Doe Graphics” does not need to be registered. If you decide to incorporate your business, then you don’t need to get a DBA. The exception to that rule is if you conduct business under a different name in the state.

Step #2 – Contact the Right Government Agency

Each state registers DBAs differently. You may have to register your graphic design business or web design business with your county or with the state through the Secretary of State’s office.  You can find out which office is the right one by searching the state and county websites. Once you figure out who to register your DBA with, you can proceed with the registration process.

Step # 3 – Fill out a Statement or Buy a Business Certificate

The rules for how to get a DBA also vary from state to state. It may be as simple as filling out a fictitious business name statement. The statement is usually one page that asks for your contact information, the contact information of any business co-owners, your business structure (ex: sole proprietorship, limited liability company), and a declaration which states that the information you’re providing is true and correct. Some states require you to buy a business certificate. You’ll have to provide the same information, except you’ll need to get it notarized.

Step # 4 – Pay the Fees

Whatever the procedure, you can expect to pay filing fees to get a DBA for your graphic design business or web design business.  The fees are listed on the fictitious business name statement. You may have to research the fee for a certificate on your county or state’s website.  Paying the fee can be worth it, because when you get your DBA you can legally enforce contracts that you sign during the course of your business activities, and it puts the public on notice that you are using the name.  You’ll also have an easier time dealing with financial institutions, such as opening a business bank account.

Getting a DBA for your graphic design business or web design business is a simple process. Choosing a name for your business that will lead to a memorable brand is the tough part.

Business & Professional Services Texas

I stumbled accross this site while doing some tax work and for those of you that live in Texas where I do, you can find some great resources for your business online at texas.gov.

Checkout the Business and Professional section:
http://www.texas.gov/en/Discover/Pages/topic.aspx?topicid=/business

RIP to RFPs: Why You Should Stop Chasing Bids for Business

This is a great article on RFPs. As I have mentioned in my video on CreativePublic, they seem to be more of a waiste of time to work on and 99% of the time you never get the job anyway.

Checkout the link below for details on the article:

View Article

Chamber of Commerce Networking

I recently joined the chamber of commerce a few months ago and have been planning on networking with local businesses in my area. I have put it off and put it off, but I finally went to my first networking meeting last week. It was an early morning 7:30am meeting, so it was hard for me to get up and get motivated, but I did it anyway (plus I was very nervous too). I figured if I don’t give it a try at least once, not only did I waste money for my chamber membership, I would also never find out if joining the chamber was even worth it.

With that said, the meeting was quite fun and beneficial and the first 5 minutes I was there, I landed a blog design prospect. Then throughout the meeting, we introduced our businesses and got an opportunity to chat with one another. Surprisingly, it went really well and I landed 5 leads just that morning. Now with that said, I have not landed any work, but the entire purpose of going to these network meetings is to get to know local business leaders and get your face out there. Leads should always be followed up on, you never know which one will decide to hire you.

What is really strange about all this to me, is for the last 10 years of my business, I really never networked like this or at all. Basically, 70% of my business came from online searches while the remainder came from referrals. So, I was not really used to getting back in the game of networking, but being stuck in my home office, this has given me an opportunity to get out of the box and go see some new faces. Even if I don’t land business right away, I am at least getting out of the office, making new friends and working on the prospect of getting new business.

Even if you don’t want to join your local chamber or don’t have the budget, many times, you can still attend these network meetings for a small fee. For now, it seems like a good way for me to get in touch with local business in my area. I hope it works out the same for your business.

Marketing Secrets of 6-Figure Freelance Design Business

By Jeanna Pool
Founder & President of the Freelance Design Marketing Association

Would you like to hit the 6-figure, $100,000 mark in your freelance design business?

Doing so gives you a lot more income (obviously) and a lot more freedom (a huge bonus). But, the most successful freelance designers don’t soar to the top magically overnight and it doesn’t happen by luck or some magic pill (although that would be nice). It does take work. Anyone who tells you otherwise is “pulling your leg” (as we say in Texas).

A designer becomes a 6-figure designer because they apply marketing strategies that work. Unfortunately most freelance designers don’t come anywhere near the $100,000 mark because they focus on the wrong things or try to copy what every one else in the design industry is doing for marketing — which is usually wrong and just creates a lot of “me too”, “copy cat” marketing.

If you want to reach the magic 6-figure income level, here are the secrets you must put into practice in order to maximize your earning potential and set your business up for success.

How do I know these are the secrets and they work?

Read the rest of this entry »

Your Competition Is NOT Who You Think It Is

By Jeanna Pool
Founder & President of the Freelance Design Marketing Association

As freelance graphic designers or web designers, competition seems to be all around us.

If others “do what we do” and “offer what we offer.” How do you compete? How do you get more clients? How do you leave your competition in the dust. Yes, competing with other designers in your industry can be a challenge at times.

But…

This is not the competition I am speaking of. In fact, your competition is NOT who you think it is. Your competition is NOT the thousands of others in your industry or the hundreds of others located in the same area of town in which you work. Nope.

Your competition is something you may not have even thought of. In fact, your competition may be eating your lunch and costing you thousands of dollars and you don’t even realize it!

Who is this competition you say…your competition is YOU.

Surprised?

There are way too many designers out there who would be so much more successful if they would just get out of their own way. They’re holding themselves back and they’re hindering their business from growing. They blame the economy, they blame clients, they blame competition, when really they should blamed themselves.

How about you? Are you your own worse competition?

Here are some things to think about…

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New Business Videos

Checkout some of the new business videos on CreativePublic.com

http://www.creativepublic.com/business-videos.php