the top 10 must haves & must dos for creative freelancers how to become a sought after...
TRANSCRIPT
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The Top 10 Must Haves & Must Dos
for Creative Freelancers
How to become a sought after freelancer in today’s competitive market & the best resources to help you along the
way
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Top 10 Must HavesRecommended resources for keeping freelancers efficient,
effective & excited about business
1. Business Fundamentals
2. Timing3. Invoicing4. Scheduling &
Meetings5. Project Management6. File Management7. Creative Resources8. Web Tools9. Legal Services10.Co-working Solutions
Business Fundamentals
Whether you are just starting to freelance or looking for answers to questions as they arise in your business, these sites offer many of the answers you seek when running your own business:
Graphic Design Blender – Blog for freelance designers running their own business
The Self Employed – Resources for the self-employed (from taxes to money to marketing)
Creative Public – Business resources for Creative Professionals
http://finance.lacity.org - Ensure your business complies with city, state & federal requirements
Timing
These resources track & manage your most valuable asset – time! Some tools are connected to invoicing or project management programs. Others are independent:
SlimTimer – Stopwatch that tracks jobs through web app
Tick – Time-tracking app to keep on budget
Functionfox – Time tracker tool for creatives
Breaktime – App that reminds you to take a break
Invoicing
When you don’t invoice, you don’t get paid, so it literally pays to stay on top of your billing. Find a program that’s easy to use and maintain:
Billings – Professional time billing app
Freshbooks – Tracks time & sends invoice by email or mail
Simply Bill – Creates, sends & tracks invoices
Expensify – Expense Reports that don’t suck
Scheduling & Meetings
Trying to set up a meeting or call with clients, vendors or teams? Try these tools to save time:
Doodle – Easy Scheduling & Appointment setting
GoTo Meeting – Web Conferencing and Online Meetings
Project Management
These resources will help you stay organized and manage both projects and clients:
Basecamp – Leading web-based collaboration tool
Trello – Collaboration tool that organizes projects on boards
ConceptShare – Share, communicate and collaborate on creative work
Asana – Free task management for teams
File Management
Sending and receiving large files from clients – especially when no project management software is in place – is vital in this business. These are just a few of the file storage and delivery tools we’ve used:
Box – Secure content sharing Dropbox – Access and share files from anywhere We Transfer – Free service to send files YouSendIt – Send, sync and share large files from any device Google Drive – 5GB of free file storage Microsoft SkyDrive – 7GB of free cloud storage eFax – Internet fax to email services TurboScan – App for scanning & sending PDFs NeatReceipts – Mobile scanner & digital filing system
Creative Resources
New apps and tools are always being developed to help Creatives stay creative. Here are just a few of our favorites right now:
Adobe Creative Cloud – Access to Adobe’s Creative suite of desktop-application, including:
Designers Toolbox – Variety of print and web resources
Color Schemer – Several color tools
Kuler - Select color palettes with a built in color wheel or your phone’s camera
Web Tools
When it comes to having your own website, there are several choices about the platform on which to create it and how to host it:
Adobe Business Catalyst – Hosted CMS with all-in-one management dashboard
Wordpress – A CMS-based Blogging and Publishing tool
PSD2HTML – Build websites in HTML from PSD files
Dreamhost – Shared and cloud-based web hosting
Legal Services
Protect yourself and your work:
My New Company – Legal Info for your new business
AIGA Form of Agreement – Template for Design Services
Contract Creator – Creates custom contracts for work
Copyright – Everything about US Copyright law
LegalZoom – Online legal document services
Lawyers for the Creative Arts – Pro Bono Legal for the Creative Arts
LegalGrind – Coffee & Legal Counsel in a casual environment
Co-working Solutions
Co-working offers Community, Collaboration & Professional Amenities/Environments – not to mention a place to Network and grow your Business:
BLANKSPACES – Mid-Wilshire
IndieDesk - Downtown
Cross Campus – Santa Monica
Working Village – Santa Monica
Coloft – Santa Monica
Nextspace – Culver City
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Top 10 Must DosThe best ways for Freelancers to
market, network & maintain a constant pipeline of work
1. Design your Brand2. Perfect Your Portfolio3. Be Specific4. Become an Expert5. Fill the Downtime6. Network7. Get Listed8. Work with Recruiters9. Befriend Creatives10.Never Stop Selling
Design Your Brand
DON'T Be Generic – Let your personal style guide the color palette, font treatments & images used to create your brand/logo
DO Be Consistent – Utilize the same design, mission statement, service offerings & profile pictures across all print collateral & the web Business Cards Portfolio / Portfolio sites Social Media Platforms Directory Listings / Advertisements
Perfect Your Portfolio
Keep work relevant Test links and refresh
work at least every 3 months
Less is More Best pieces first Only include work similar
to what you WANT to do Offer additional samples
via PDF
Organize your work Keep design clean,
interface simple & navigation friendly
Include descriptions
Introduce Yourself Let your personality shine
Broadcast your brand Include URL on everything
you do with your brand
Be Specific
Focus your expertise on 1 – 2 areas only Resume & portfolio should clearly state your job
functions Skills should be complimentary
Most clients look for specialists - not generalists Resumes and cover letters should not include
irrelevant or outdated work experience
Become an Expert
Join the online discussion – Read, Like, Share & Comment Articles, Blogs, Tweets, Posts & LinkedIn Groups
Start a regular blog, podcast or webinar to commend on industry news, trends and practices
Write & submit articles, blog posts or quotes to publications
Volunteer with local industry organizations
Fill the Downtime
Work on exploratory or concept pieces for your portfolio
Take a class, attend a conference or complete tutorials on new software, upgrades or shortcuts
Volunteer for an organization that can benefit from your services
Network – Online & In Person
Social Media Networking Create Personal and/or Business Pages
across Social Platforms (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Google+)
Join & Interact with Social Media Groups Ask for endorsements
Face-to-Face Networking Local Business Events Creative Industry Meetings Conferences Classes Co-Working Spaces
Get Listed
Directories Freelance Switch, Dexigner, Freelancer.com,
DesignDirectory.com, TopDesignFirms.com, DesignFirms.org
Portfolio Sites Behance, Krop, Coroflot, Dribbble, Creative Hot List,
Carbonmade, Codepen, Dice
Resume Portals Monster, CareerBuilder, Indeed
Local organization websites
Register with Specialist Recruiters
Working with recruiters expands your sales team exponentially – teams of people trying to get you more work
Recruiters have access to opportunities not listed on job boards
Resumes/Portfolios from recruiters go to the top of the pile
Working with a recruiter who has a reputation for representing outstanding talent adds value to your brand
Befriend Like-Minded & Equally Skilled Creatives
Counterparts to hold you accountable, keep your skills up to date and challenge you to think differently
Friends to serve as your “team” when consultation is required
Partners for projects requiring additional resources
Referrals for clients when your project load is full
Never Stop Selling
Everyone you meet is a potential client (or knows someone who could be a client)
Don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation with a stranger
Always be professional when conducting business in public places
Perfect your elevator pitch
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Thank you!
For more information, to register with our agency or to receive a copy of this presentation, please contact us:
Jamie Douraghy – [email protected] Bedford - [email protected]
310.312.2062 @artisanupdates | facebook.com/artisancreative