a crash course on the freelance experience
DESCRIPTION
My talk on my experience of freelancing during my first year. From how to find clients, maintaining them and then moving forward. Originally shown at The Business of Web Design Roadshow in BrightonTRANSCRIPT
A CRASH COURSE ON THEFREELANCE EXPERIENCE
JO PETTYCOPYWRITER AND CONTENT STRATEGIST
- jopetty.co.uk @joapet
HOW I GOT STARTED
Working full time and got made redundant... booThe jobs available didn't match what I wanted to doThrough places like I was encouraged togo freelance
The Farm
PUTTING MYSELF OUTTHERE
Set up a website and email addressRefreshed my social profilesBusiness cardsNetworking
FINDING CLIENTS
Started to compile a list of potential clientsDeveloped a template emailHad about a 20% success rateSet up Twitter and LinkedIn searchesSuccess finally came!
MAINTAINING CLIENTS
Try some traditional marketingCheck back in with them during your down periodsAsk for recommendations
WHEN CLIENTS GET INTOUCH WITH YOU
Don't feel obliged to talkPhone calls and chains of emails are disruptiveCreate a filter, like a questionnaire
REMEMBER TO CHARGEFOR EVERYTHING
Sometimes you may not even realise you're doingwork for freeTrue story timeLesson is, if you spend more than an hour or twothinking about a project, you should probablycharge for something
MY WAY OF INVOICING
Consider doing your own accounting: it's easier thanyou thinkSet terms and ask for a percentage up frontAlways quote slightly higher than what you'recomfortable with
DON'T BE AFRAID TOCHASE UP
This is your actual real jobYou can kick assYou don't have to be everyone's friend
ALWAYS AIM HIGHERBUT DON'T FORGET ABOUT YOUR
EXISTING CLIENTS
As a business it's important to growBut carry on nurturing small and existing clients:they are your bread and butter
ENJOY YOURSELF!
Don't let the pressure get you downTake a day off every once in a while
Don't give upTime is money
Look at the bigger picture
TO SUMMARISE
