the elite freelancing method -...

The Elite Freelancing Method KILLER STRATEGIES FOR FREELANCE WEB DESIGNERS

By Daniel Vivarelli

www.EliteFreelancing.com

Copyright Notice ...................................................................................................................... V

Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1

Who is the Elite Freelancing Method for? .................................................................................. 1

Goals the Elite Freelancing Method will help you accomplish ................................................... 1

What you can expect from the Elite Freelancing Method.......................................................... 2

Background & Caveats ................................................................................................................ 2

About Best Practices ................................................................................................................... 3

Using the EFM ............................................................................................................................. 4

Chapter 1: First Steps of an Elite Freelancer ............................................................................. 5

Before you leave your job, school, Etc. ...................................................................................... 5

Naming your business with a long eye on the future ................................................................. 5

Chapter 2: Create a Killer Portfolio .......................................................................................... 6

Use brand studies to attract attention ....................................................................................... 7

Why brand studies rock .............................................................................................................. 7

Keep Your portfolio simple & accessible .................................................................................... 8

Chapter 3: Use Freelance Marketplaces to Establish Your Client Base ................................... 10

Choosing a freelance marketplace ........................................................................................... 10

Freelance marketplaces: pros & cons ....................................................................................... 11

Pitching for clients within freelance marketplaces .................................................................. 11

Making it to the shortlist with personalized, canned bids ....................................................... 12

Ops Doc: Personalized Canned Bid .......................................................................................... 13

Dig in and keep your eye on the big picture ............................................................................. 14

What most freelancers do ........................................................................................................ 14

The Elite Freelancing Method. Copyright © 2008 The Jumba Group. II

What the Elite Freelancer does ................................................................................................ 15

Chapter 4: Use Testimonials & Referrals to Expand Your Client Base ..................................... 16

Why referrals rule & why you should ask for them ................................................................. 16

Always get feedback/testimonials ............................................................................................ 16

Ops Doc: Testimonial Request Letter ....................................................................................... 17

Asking for referrals .................................................................................................................... 17

Ops Doc: Referral Request Letter ............................................................................................. 17

Approaching your referrals ....................................................................................................... 18

Ops Doc: Letter of Introduction ................................................................................................ 18

Keeping referrals alive with the Radar Letter ........................................................................... 19

Ops Doc: Radar Letter ............................................................................................................... 19

Chapter 5: Make More Profit from “Non‐Marketplace” Clients ............................................. 21

Multiply your referrals .............................................................................................................. 22

Chapter 6: Be Remarkable with Superior Customer Service ................................................... 23

Keep your clients stoked ........................................................................................................... 23

Attitude & tone ......................................................................................................................... 23

Tools .......................................................................................................................................... 24

Notes on communicating via e‐mail ......................................................................................... 24

How to piss off your clients ...................................................................................................... 26

Keeping your clients happy in two minutes or less .................................................................. 26

Chapter 7: Profit from Offshore Outsourcing ......................................................................... 28

Buy low, sell high ...................................................................................................................... 28

Simple 20 Page Website Case Study ......................................................................................... 29

The Elite Freelancing Method. Copyright © 2008 The Jumba Group. III

Do what you love. Outsource the rest. ..................................................................................... 31

Outsourcing: The sweet & the sour .......................................................................................... 31

Inducting your offshore freelancers ......................................................................................... 32

Ops Doc: Contractor Guidelines ............................................................................................... 32

Chapter 8: Production Best Practices ..................................................................................... 34

Use a Production Notice to move projects toward completion ............................................... 34

Ops Doc: Production Notice ...................................................................................................... 35

Save time with personalized canned correspondence ............................................................. 37

Have easy payment terms ready to roll .................................................................................... 38

Invoicing & accepting payments ............................................................................................... 39

Accepting & requesting content ............................................................................................... 40

Ops Doc: Content Request Letter ............................................................................................. 41

Say “No” to mock‐ups ............................................................................................................... 42

Ops Doc: Mock Up Declined Letter ........................................................................................... 42

Offer a “Money Back Guarantee” ............................................................................................. 43

Ops Doc: Money Back Guarantee ............................................................................................. 43

Indentifying Red Flag Clients..................................................................................................... 44

Charge a Red Flag Client Tax ..................................................................................................... 45

Letting go of a Client ................................................................................................................. 46

Chapter 9: Be Patient. Be Consistent. Succeed. ...................................................................... 47

Chapter 10: The Elite Freelancing Method: Review & Overview ............................................ 48

Chapter 11: Protecting Your Income, Your Gear and Your Data ............................................. 49

Insuring yourself & your gear ................................................................................................... 49

The Elite Freelancing Method. Copyright © 2008 The Jumba Group. IV

Protecting your data: Love your RAID array ............................................................................. 49

Protecting your data: Offsite back‐ups ..................................................................................... 50

Chapter 12: The Tax Man & You ............................................................................................ 52

Getting savvy about the tax you pay ........................................................................................ 52

More on tracking expenses ....................................................................................................... 53

Setting up bank accounts .......................................................................................................... 54

Get a bookkeeper & accountant ............................................................................................... 54

All Done ................................................................................................................................. 55

Help me improve the EFM ........................................................................................................ 55

Kiva.org – loans that change lives ............................................................................................. 55

Knowledge is Power .................................................................................................................. 55

And Lastly… .................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

The Elite Freelancing Method. Copyright © 2008 The Jumba Group. V

Copyright Notice Copyright © 2008 The Jumba Group Published by The Jumba Group All rights reserved. All trademarks copyright of their respective owners.

Disclaimer

I assume no responsibility for the use and/or misuse of this information. The user of this information does so at their own risk. I make no guarantee as to a specific level of income. I assume no responsibility for any errors, omissions, or contradictory statements/interpretations within this program. In no event shall I, nor any suppliers of this program, be held liable for damages of any kind, including but not limited to, incidental, direct, indirect, compensatory, punitive, or consequential damages, loss of data, loss of income, loss of profit, or loss/damage of property.

The Elite Freelancing Method. Copyright © 2008 The Jumba Group. 1

Introduction For ten years, I worked from home running my own freelance web design and development business. I took life and business casually in the early days, and it wasn’t until a few years ago that I got serious about wanting to improve my cash flow.

During those serious years, I learned some tough and valuable lessons. Many of those lessons turned into strategies that enabled me to stop struggling and start making the kind of money I wanted.

Mind you, I didn’t want much, but I didn’t want to work long hours for it either. So over time, I perfected my processes in order to make them more efficient, allowing me to make more in less time.

In 2006, I made about $90,000 working 25 hours a week (5 hours per day) for my clients. Then in 2007, my little freelance business was acquired by the venture capitalist firm, WashingtonVC, and I went on to co‐found and become the President of Graphics.net.

This guide outlines the techniques I used to run my freelance business. These are practical strategies that I acquired, developed and fine‐tuned over my years of remote freelancing for clients worldwide.

By employing these strategies, you can learn to do exactly what I did: work a lot less while making a lot more.

WHO IS THE ELITE FREELANCING METHOD FOR?

Overall, the strategies contained within The Elite Freelancing Method (EFM) can be applied to many different freelance professions. However, the EFM has been created specifically for freelance web designers and web developers.

GOALS THE ELITE FREELANCING METHOD WILL HELP YOU ACCOMPLISH

I never intended to be a millionaire. On the contrary, my goals were relatively humble and achievable. If your goals are similar to mine, the EFM will allow you to achieve those goals faster.

Specifically, my goals were to


• Work as a freelancer

• Own, operate and build my own business

• Make an above average income

• Work approximately 25 hours per week (5 hours per day)

• Work for remote clients, eliminating face‐to‐face meetings

• Work from home and thus not commute

• Gain a lot more free time

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM THE ELITE FREELANCING METHOD

The EFM will show you how to

• Work from home and generate an above average income

• Stand out from the pack by operating your business in a competitive manner

• Attain projects from domestic and international clients who you will not have to meet face‐to‐face

• Use your satisfied clients to acquire more clients

• Keep your existing clients coming back for more

• Find, select and work with offshore service providers

• Streamline your processes to make more profits in a shorter amount of time

• Reduce the amount of income tax you pay

I will show you the methods that worked for me, and I will touch on the mistakes I made so that you can avoid making them yourself.

BACKGROUND & CAVEATS

Before we get started, I want to make a few things clear:


My background

I’m a self‐taught graphic designer with a decent grasp on modern HTML/CSS development techniques. With this modest skill set, I went on to build my small business, develop websites and manage design projects for clients worldwide: all from my house and often in just my underpants. My clients ranged from small to medium companies from around the world who compete in a multitude of different industries.

It’s worth mentioning, I chose not to be involved in the adult web industry or any skin sites; Even though the EFM will work just fine for adult web designers and developers, it wasn’t my focus.

Why share the secrets?

The global market is a huge place. One only needs an absurdly miniscule percentage of that global market to make a comfortable living. In my opinion, there’s enough room for everyone.

ABOUT BEST PRACTICES

Chances are many of you already have best practices in place. For those of you unaware, Best Practices is a term given to the procedures, namely in business, that are applied to best handle any given situation. It’s important to understand what they are since this guide is predominantly a compilation of my own best practices.

Examples of best practices include

• Using a canned reply to answer common questions such as “What are your services and rates?” (Versus manually typing the same answer, every time)

• Using online invoicing software to handle your invoicing (Versus manually drafting invoices, every time)

• Declining to submit mockups to clients and informing them why with a quick, personalized canned e‐mail

The benefit of establishing your own best practices is to save time when it comes to performing repetitive tasks, therefore, freeing yourself for other more profitable tasks.

As you go through the EFM, you will be introduced to different best practices that are recommended to deal with different scenarios. Use these best practices as they are or modify them to suit your day‐to‐day business operations.


USING THE EFM

The EFM is by no means the only way to run a successful, remote freelance business. It’s just my way. The EFM contains strategies, tools and processes I found worked well for me.

There are always better ways to make any business more efficient and profitable. And when you discover new methods, analyze them for their worth and evolve your best practices as you see fit.

You can choose to follow the EFM verbatim or simply take the strategies and techniques that are of value to you. I’m confident that if you use this manual as a rudder to steer you in the right direction, you’ll make more money, work less hours and have more free time to spend as you wish.

All right, let’s get started on your path to becoming an Elite Freelancer.


Chapter 1: First Steps of an Elite Freelancer This short chapter is for those of you who aren’t currently freelancing but are considering doing so. And since the EFM is about building your business (versus setting it up), I only touch on these setup topics lightly.

BEFORE YOU LEAVE YOUR JOB, SCHOOL, ETC.

1. Start up cash: Have at least three months worth of living expenses. This is your insurance policy. If you can’t make enough from freelancing alone, you’ll have some funds to survive on while you improve your game.

2. Business name and domain: Make sure you can get a domain name that accurately reflects your business name. Once you find a domain name that works best for you, register your business name with your local government as a sole trader (or whatever they call it in your neck of the woods). Do not incorporate, if that is an option; you don’t need to right now.

3. Start up equipment: You probably already have everything you need, but if you don’t, then get it before you start. Computers, phones, scanners, stuffed mascots, etc. Get all this stuff after you register your business name so that you can write off the expense as a tax deduction. Don’t worry; we’ll talk more about tax issues later.

4. Start up website: Get your company website in place before you begin. You don’t want to spend a month getting your website looking pixel perfect while you eat into your start up cash. Make sure your portfolio rocks, and your contact information is easily accessible. Everything else on your website should be secondary to those two things.

NAMING YOUR BUSINESS WITH A LONG EYE ON THE FUTURE

I strongly recommend that you do not build your business under your own name. For example, I would avoid “Dave Brown Design” at www.Davebrown.com as your domain name.

You want to be able to sell your business, whether it is in two months or forty years from now. It can be awkward for someone else to continue business operations with your name still attached to it. Choose something memorable, simple and relevant that can be sold to and operated by anyone else: e.g. “Fireweed Studios,” “Delicious Dev,” “Level 7 Design,” etc.


Chapter 2: Create a Killer Portfolio

Featured trademarks are copyright of their respective owners.

o one will care all that much if you’ve developed a website for Gertrude’s Homemade Candles or designed banners for Joe’s Landscaping. What’s more impressive is if you’ve

created work for Ford, Motorola, Sprint, Burger King, and so on.

Client’s are like moths to a flame when it comes to portfolios. As a freelance designer, you compete in an industry where a picture is worth a helluva lot more than a thousand words.

The first key in the Elite Freelancing Method is this:

Key 1: Make sure your portfolio is nothing short of killer. And if it isn’t, buff it up using brand studies.

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Now, if you have a lot of good quality work to populate your portfolio, you’re off to a great start. If you don’t, here’s what you can do to buff up your ‘folio and create yourself a client magnet.

USE BRAND STUDIES TO ATTRACT ATTENTION

Artists use the term “study” when they explore different subjects and techniques. For example, a painter might use a photograph of a forest and practice their skills by painting a work entitled “Study of Pine Trees.”

The Elite Freelancer uses a similar technique. Use brand studies to practice your craft and get people interested in your portfolio. Here’s how:

1. Pick a handful of multinational brands to use as studies, such as Nike, American Airlines, Dell, Coca‐cola, etc. These are simply suggestions; pick whichever high profile brands you like.

2. Next up, select one of your chosen brands and draft yourself a creative brief for your study. The brief can be anything you want. Here are some examples to get you thinking: “Magazine Ad for Adidas DLX Running Shoe” “Web Banner Campaign for Dell Winter Laptop Promotion” “Email Newsletter Design for Coca‐Cola ‘My Coke Rewards’ Give‐away”

3. Execute the brief. Go ahead and create the work! You want a finished piece worthy of your portfolio.

4. Add the new brand study to your portfolio with a caption, like “Study of Web Banner Ad Campaign for Dell Winter Laptop Promotion,” or whatever is relevant to your piece.

5. Enjoy the benefits of practicing your craft and slipstreaming behind all kinds of powerful brand names.

WHY BRAND STUDIES ROCK

Here’s why brand studies are awesome:


• Brand Awareness: Multinational brands have spent billions of dollars in advertising their company’s names. We all associate immediately with these brands, including your potential clients.

• Social Proof: Having these items in your portfolio not only showcases your style and skill, it significantly reduces concerns that new clients might have about hiring you. They serve as talking points: “Wow, check out what she did for IBM!” or “We love the piece you did for Nokia, we want something like that.”

• Ahead of the Pack: While your competitors are showing ‘folios full of work for unknown clients, your portfolio is buffed by the presence of legendary brands.

• Practicing Ups Your Game: Yup, practice makes perfect, and in creating these studies, you’ve improved your skill set that much more.

By marking each of these new portfolio items as a “study,” you are clearly stating your intent for each piece. On the plus side, many potential customers will simply assume you created the work for the client.

Not a single client ever questioned me about my studies of Pepsi, Mobil, Honda and Levis, yet each of these studies helped me land more and more work for many years. If anyone would have bothered to inquire about them, I would have responded that the study items are a product of me exploring and practicing my craft, like artists and designers do the world over.

KEEP YOUR PORTFOLIO SIMPLE & ACCESSIBLE

Assume your potential clients are busy people and execute the design of your portfolio accordingly by making it

1. Fast loading 2. Super easy to access and browse 3. Easy to reference in conversation

Potential clients come to your site for two primary reasons: 1) Check out your work and 2) Make contact with you if they dig your stuff.

Consider using your home page as your portfolio to make it that much faster for them to screen you. Many designers use this technique. It’s a smart strategy because it lets visitors to your site accomplish what they came to do, faster.


Remember, keep things clean and simple; and for now, forget about writing persuasive marketing copy for your business. Instead, focus on executing a killer ‘folio that shows rather tells people what you are capable of doing.

OK, so your website and portfolio are in place. Now it’s time to start expanding your client base.

Section Summary

Get a killer portfolio online

Make your portfolio the focus of your website

Use Brand Studies to buff up your ‘folio and generate customer confidence


Chapter 3: Use Freelance Marketplaces to Establish Your Client Base Note: If you already have a good list of clients, you might want to move on to Key 3.

Freelance Marketplaces are highly competitive environments thriving with clients and competitors of all kinds. We’re going to spend some time covering how to compete in these arenas.

Key 2: The Elite Freelancer uses their Freelance Marketplace to build a client base outside of the Freelance Marketplace.

That’s right. You will start within a freelance marketplace with an eye on exiting that marketplace as quickly as possible. Put another way, I started marketing myself through a service called Elance, www.elance.com. After awhile, I was getting so much work from my referral clients that I didn’t need to use Elance anymore.

Hands down, the best lead you can ever get is a direct referral from an existing client. If you complete a project, big or small, for a client who is satisfied with your work, you’ve got yourself a friend and ally in the fight to win more clients. What you want are direct referrals from your freelance marketplace clients.

First up, you’ll need to get established within a freelance marketplace or two.

CHOOSING A FREELANCE MARKETPLACE

There are many freelance marketplaces you can use to start building your client base:

• Guru: www.guru.com

• iFreelance.com: www.ifreelance.com

• Elance.com: www.elance.com

• GetAFreelancer.com: www.getafreelancer.com

• GetACoder.com: www.getacoder.com

• RentACoder.com: www.rentacoder.com


Join one of these marketplaces, or cruise Google to find one that works best for you ‐ there are plenty of them. I started on Elance, but you could use any freelance marketplace you like.

Section Summary

Pick a Freelance Community or two and subscribe to their service(s) Set up your profile

FREELANCE MARKETPLACES: PROS & CONS

At a glance, here are some things you should be aware of regarding freelance communities.

Freelance Marketplace Pros

1. They provide superb exposure to buyers who are interested in your services

2. Relatively cheap membership and subscription fees

3. Allows you to attain clients from around the world that you otherwise may not have had a chance to work with

Freelance Marketplace Cons

1. Very competitive environments

2. Time consuming to review available projects and submit bids on available projects

3. Did I mention they are very competitive environments?

PITCHING FOR CLIENTS WITHIN FREELANCE MARKETPLACES

As a noob to your freelance community, you have a distinct disadvantage: you have no track record. Much like eBay’s marketplace, customers are more inclined to buy products and services from people with a proven track record of successfully completing transactions. eBay calls these people “Power Sellers,” and they have more positive feedback than the Dalai Lama.


So, given you don’t have any history or feedback from past clients, the most important factors in landing your first few clients will be:

• Your bid: The wording of your bid has an enormous impact on whether or not a potential customer takes a closer look at you.

• Your competitive price: Keep your pricing ultra competitive. This is simply because you will have no track record and no feedback from previous clients, which makes it more difficult for potential clients to trust you. You have to give buyers a reason to risk hiring you.

• Your portfolio: The quality (and style) of workmanship will naturally be a major deciding factor in whether a buyer selects you for their project. Again, make sure your ‘folio looks awesome and is quick and easy to review.

As an Elite Freelancer, you must understand the mentality of your potential buyers: they are busy people trying to review up to 80 bids from you and your competitors. You need to catch their attention within 20 seconds or less and make it to their shortlist.

MAKING IT TO THE SHORTLIST WITH PERSONALIZED, CANNED BIDS

Potential clients will screen the bids they get and narrow down the best ones to their shortlist. When bidding on projects within a freelance marketplace, the Elite Freelancer increases the odds of being shortlisted by using a personalized canned bid, which can be quickly customized for each potential buyer.

Why Personalized Canned Bids Rule

1. It engages the buyer, your potential new client, can see that you have read and understood their requirements.

2. You’ll stand out from your competition by addressing your client by their name and specific industry.

Sample of a Personalized Canned Bid

The canned bid I used took me months to tweak to satisfaction and yielded more than acceptable results. It can be copied and pasted into a web browser at speed, or set as a default bid, and customized to the individual client.


This is your first Operations Document (Ops Doc) in your new arsenal of best practices.

Ops Doc: Personalized Canned Bid

Use this canned bid verbatim or customize to suit your needs:

Hello Dave.

After reviewing your brief, my bid for your project is as follows:

• BID: $2200 for the completed design and delivery of your Real Estate website

• INCLUDES:

(1) Your website completed to your satisfaction and specification

(2) Initial design concept submissions

(3) Unlimited revisions [within reason] to the chosen concepts to ensure you end up with a design that meets your requirements

(4) One custom homepage and one custom content page

(5) WC3 Standards compliant HTML and CSS

(6) And lastly, includes a no-fuss, Money Back Guarantee and all copyright of all artwork transferred to you.

• DELIVERY: Your completed project can be delivered via e-mail, uploaded to your server, or the Elance Project Workspace.

• REQUIREMENTS: I will need you to specify final delivery date, and naturally, provide any other preferences, content or technical specifications you might have for your project.

• SPEED: I can generally submit at least one version of your project every 24-48 hours for your review.

• WHY CHOOSE ME:

(1) TRUST: I am a low risk choice as I have successfully completed many similar projects for past clients which you can view in my portfolio.

(2) VALUE: I provide a lot of value for your money

(3) DISCOUNTING: I offer volume discounting to select clients.

• IN CLOSING: Get a cheap site from my competitors, or get a great site at a competitive rate from me. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I will respond ASAP.


Sincerely, YOUR NAME, TITLE, URL & CONTACT DETAILS

Naturally, the items in red are the variables that would be personalized for each different bid.

DIG IN AND KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BIG PICTURE

We’ve established that freelance marketplaces are highly competitive environments. In the beginning, you’re going to miss out on a lot of projects, and you will be working for cheap. I know how challenging that can be so understand one important thing before we continue:

The Elite Freelancer always remembers that competing in their freelance marketplace is temporary.

In the end, you will have established a base of well‐paying, non‐freelance marketplace clients for your business, so dig your heels in and keep your eye on the big picture. Also keep in mind that as you become more established within your chosen marketplace, your track record will improve; as such, you will land more projects with less effort, and you will be able to increase your rates.

For now, let’s learn more about freelance marketplaces and using these highly competitive communities to your unique advantage.

WHAT MOST FREELANCERS DO

Much of your competition will look to freelance marketplaces as their sole way to connect with clients. Fortunately, freelance marketplaces are just one piece of the entire Elite Freelancing Method. It is good to know what a typical freelancer does, so we can avoid getting stuck on the same treadmill as them.

What a typical freelancer does:

• Checks the boards for projects

• Makes their bids on the projects of interest

• Waits to be awarded any projects

• Completes the work on any landed projects

• Gets paid


• Repeats the cycle

This horrible, low‐paying cycle is what many people on freelance marketplaces perform, over and over again. Cripes, who wants to be up against a guy in India who can design a decent logo for $90 or a designer in the Czech Republic who can design and build an entire 20‐page website for $800. Not I… and I hope not you either.

WHAT THE ELITE FREELANCER DOES

To an Elite Freelancer with a long‐term goal of working less hours and making more money, the procedure is totally different. To the Elite Freelancer, landing a client using a freelance marketplace is a sweet opportunity to land new clients outside the freelance marketplace.

In comparison to a typical freelancer, the Elite Freelancer

• Lands a client at her Freelance Community

• Completes the work

• Gets paid

• Asks for feedback/testimonial

• Thanks the client for the testimonial and simultaneously asks for referrals

• Contacts the referrals and builds a client base outside the freelance marketplace

• Leaves the suckers on the freelance marketplace to forever compete amongst themselves for lower paying projects

Section Summary

Join a freelance marketplace or two

Use personalized canned bids to speed up your bidding process and stand out from your competitors

Politely persist clients for feedback and testimonials

Remember that freelance marketplaces are just a means to grow your client base, and you won’t be competing there for long


Chapter 4: Use Testimonials & Referrals to Expand Your Client Base K, let’s assume you’ve landed a few projects within your freelance marketplace. To do so, you offered a price way below what you’d like. But in the end, you got the work,

completed the project, and your client is satisfied. By doing so, you made yourself a friend in the world of business.

Key 3: The Elite Freelancer gets ahead by always asking for testimonials & referrals from existing satisfied clients.

WHY REFERRALS RULE & WHY YOU SHOULD ASK FOR THEM

Aside from the quality of your work and your pricing, the next reason why a client will hire you is trust. When a client feels they can trust you, your odds in landing projects go through the roof. This is true at street level, and it’s doubly true when working remotely.

Referrals and Introductions are hands‐down the most powerful method for lowering the defenses of a potential new client. When you approach a potential client from a position of having a business associate in common, you dramatically increase your chances of being well received. No magic, no smoke and mirrors, just simple human psychology at work.

ALWAYS GET FEEDBACK/TESTIMONIALS

An Elite Freelancer always asks for feedback once they have successfully finished a project. Feedback within your freelance marketplace is very valuable for attracting more clients and can be used as testimonials wherever you see fit.

“Applesauce Web Design completed our project ahead of time. They listened to everything we wanted and delivered more than we expected. We would use them again any time” – Susan Simonov, Marketing Director, Freaky Furniture.

Become a collector of these valuable testimonials. If your client doesn’t leave you any feedback, politely remind them once a week until they do, using a Testimonial Request Letter.

O


Ops Doc: Testimonial Request Letter

Here’s an example of a Testimonial Request Letter, which you can send via e‐mail to your client in order to solicit some positive feedback:

Hello Susan,

I hope you are happy with the result of your project.

Can you please take a minute to leave me a testimonial?

It’s been great working with you and let me know if I can help you with anything else.

Regards,

YOUR NAME, TITLE, URL & CONTACT DETAILS

ASKING FOR REFERRALS

Once you have a testimonial from your client, you need to take the next important step and ask for some referrals or introductions. Someone a lot wiser than me said, “Ask and you shall receive.” Well, I think that’s partly true. A more accurate proverb in this case is, “If you don’t ask, you definitely won’t receive. So just freakin’ ask already.”

At this stage, you can ask your client for referrals or introductions, both are equally awesome. Introductions are better, but require more effort from your client. We want to make it easy on them, so we’ll focus on referrals.

This is your next Operations Document: the Referral Request Letter, which is just one way to solicit referrals from your clients.

Ops Doc: Referral Request Letter

Dear Susan,

Thank you for the kind words and favorable review that you left on Elance.com for me!

I’m glad you are satisfied with the completed project. As a small business, you can imagine that every client counts for us, and it was a pleasure working with you.

Since you are happy with our services, I have a small favor to ask of you. Can you please help me by recommending a few of your associates who you think might also benefit from my services?


I would greatly appreciate it if you take a few minutes to help me grow my small company.

Thank you!

Sincerely,


It’s important not to be shy here, and understand the majority of your satisfied clients will be happy to help you and share their positive experience of you with others. Chances are Susan will either

• Not respond • Provide you with referrals via email • Proactively introduce you to some of her contacts via email

APPROACHING YOUR REFERRALS

When it comes time to approach these referrals, you want to get off on the right foot. You can do so by using the next EFM Ops Document.

Ops Doc: Letter of Introduction

Important: CC your client (in this case, Susan) when you approach your referral (Dave) for the first time with the Letter of Introduction.

Dear Dave,

Allow me to introduce myself; I am Your Name from Your Company Name.

I recently completed a project for Susan at Freaky Furniture Inc. She was so happy with the work I did for her that she recommended I get in touch with you to see if you need help with anything.

I see that your business competes in the {whatever line of business they are in} industry and that your business might benefit from my specialized {web development, hosting, branding etc.} services.

You can view my portfolio of past projects at www.mysite.com/portfolio and the kind words my past clients have left me at www.mysite.com/feedback.


Feel free to contact me if you need any assistance with any of your projects in the future. I’d be happy to discuss how I can help further your interests. My details are below.

Sincerely,


This is a great way to introduce yourself to a potential new client, who will receive you more positively because you both know Susan.

KEEPING REFERRALS ALIVE WITH THE RADAR LETTER

Do not discard referrals if you don’t get a response right away. Keep their name and contact information—keep trying. The goal here is to stay on Dave’s radar, so when he does have work, you will be at the forefront of his mind. Send a short and polite reminder every 3 to 6 weeks. If you want them as a client, send the radar letter until you get work, or they tell you to stop.

If you really want to gain traction with Dave even faster, offer him an hour or two of your time for free. Seriously, two hours is nothing in the grand scheme of things, and it’s a small price to pay to land a new client.

Ops Doc: Radar Letter

Something like this will do the trick to keep you on a potential client’s radar:

Hi Dave,

A quick note to say hello and to keep in touch.

Since we both know Susan over at Freaky Furniture, I’m happy to extend you a special offer of two hours of my time at no cost. That way you can try me out with absolutely no risk and no obligation.

Get in touch any time if you need any assistance with your projects.

Regards,



Section Summary

Referrals and Introductions rule because they significantly lower barriers

Always ask clients for referrals immediately after they leave you feedback or provide you with a testimonial

Understand that most clients will be happy to share their positive experience of you with others

Don’t discard referrals if you don’t get a response right away. Keep sending them Radar Letters via e‐mail every 3 to 6 weeks to stay in their minds

Fast track your referral response by offering your potential new client a free hour or two


Chapter 5: Make More Profit from “Non-Marketplace” Clients So far, the meat of the EFM has focused on operating in a freelance marketplace to

1. Get freelance marketplace clients, which then

2. Allows you to start creating a client base outside your freelance marketplace through referrals and introductions

This is the next key in the EFM:

Key 4: More often than not, referral clients deal directly with you and will not engage your freelance marketplace.

Here’s a typical response from a referral client to illustrate Key 4 of the EFM.

Hi,

Thanks for keeping in touch. Sorry I didn’t reply sooner. It has been hectic around here lately. Anyway, we have a project coming up that we’d like you to look at. Get in touch with me when you get a moment, so we can go over what we need.

Thanks,

Dave

In the referral scenario in the previous chapter, you connected with Dave through your mutual business contact, Susan. Because you politely introduced yourself weeks ago and stayed on Dave’s radar, he’s now requesting your services.

Marginalize your competition

If Dave came directly to you, where is your competition!? Where are the 30 to 60 competitors you are normally up against when you try and win a project on your freelance marketplace? I’ll tell you where your competition is: they’re back at the marketplace fighting like rabid hyenas to land yet another low paying project.

You my friend are now in direct negotiations with a non‐marketplace client and have a much higher chance of charging realistic, professional rates.


Sweet huh? This is how I went from working my butt off for peanuts to working 25 hours a week and earning over $90k a year.

MULTIPLY YOUR REFERRALS

When you complete your project for Dave, and he’s happy with the work you did for him, what are you going to do?

Request a testimonial, send him your referral request letter, and start the process all again.

Welcome aboard the good ship Elite Freelancer. You now know the keys to using your freelance marketplace to attain better paying, non‐marketplace clients.

Section Summary

Building a strong base of non‐marketplace clients is your ultimate goal

More often than not, non‐marketplace clients will come directly to you instead of engaging freelance marketplaces

Dealing with non‐marketplace clients increases your odds of marginalizing your competition and getting paid professional rates

Always ask your non‐marketplace clients for testimonials and referrals/introductions


Chapter 6: Be Remarkable with Superior Customer Service

KEEP YOUR CLIENTS STOKED

any people out there understand visual communication better than you do and design more effectively than you ever could. I bet the same is true for most of us. After all, there

can only be a handful of superstars: that’s just the natural order of things.

But I'll tell you another secret; it doesn't matter.

Key 5: The Elite Freelancer understands that what matters more than good design is great customer service.

Even the best designer in the world is going to lose clients if he keeps them consistently waiting for a reply to a simple query. It's much easier to differentiate yourself from your competition with great customer service than it is with great design. So what if you aren’t the best designer around? All that matters is your work satisfies your clients, and you know how to keep them happy.

One important asset that you have going for you as a small‐business is your speed, so leverage that and try to provide rapid response times to any queries that your clients submit. Naturally, you still need to be able to deliver quality product, but the Elite Freelancer knows that all things being equal, Customer Service is King. Consistently replying to your clients at light speed defines yourself (and your business) as trustworthy, reliable and remarkable.

Clients who receive quick answers to their questions are happy clients, and happy clients will keep coming back for more and provide you with a steady stream of referrals.

ATTITUDE & TONE

The Elite Freelancer keeps a “can‐do,” “no problem” type attitude at all times. Your clients are hiring you to solve problems for them. You want to provide confident, concrete answers to their questions.

M


If you don’t know an answer to a client query, however, don’t wing it. Tell them you aren’t sure and that you will look into it for them and then promptly get back to them when you do have an answer.

TOOLS

By implementing the strategies contained within the EFM, you’ll find you can get by primarily using e‐mail and the occasional phone call. A successful Elite Freelancer will naturally employ a mix of the following communication tools:

• E‐mail

• Telephone and/or cell phone

• Fax

• Instant messenger applications

• VOIP

NOTES ON COMMUNICATING VIA E-MAIL

Communicating via e‐mail is an ongoing process of learning to become a more articulate and effective communicator.

Save time by avoiding misunderstandings before they happen

It’s important to get in the habit of noticing when your e‐mails are too vague or cryptic before you hit send. Let’s take a quick look at weak and strong ways to communicate via e‐mail with a very basic example.

Example of weak e‐mail communication

Hey Dave,

Can you look at the graphic on the site and let me know if that’s what you wanted?

Thanks!


Now Dave might very well know what’s up when he reads this. Nevertheless, this kind of vague communication will often result in e‐mails back in your inbox asking for clarification like “which graphic?” or “which page on the site?” etc. Let’s look at a stronger way to liaise with Dave.

Example of strong e‐mail communication

Dear Dave,

Can you take a look at the blue header graphic above the main menu at http://www.yoursite.com/products and let me know if that’s what you wanted?

Thanks!

This second example clearly states what we are asking of Dave. By taking a little extra time to be clear, we ensure that our communication stays professional, and the margin for misunderstanding and wasted time is minimized. You have better things to do than retype e‐mails; Dave has better things to do than decipher the intent of the e‐mail.

Tone

The Elite Freelancer will be cautious of tone in e‐mails. Trying to be funny or clever can easily be read the wrong way. Be especially careful about using sarcasm, as it’s the one form of humor most easily misinterpreted via e‐mail. Be professional before being funny. Once you get to know your clients this isn’t a big deal, but it is especially important with new clients.

Spell Check

This is a no brainer and goes without saying. Do not send e‐mails before spell checking them. Your e‐mail software should automatically prompt you about possible spelling mistakes prior to you sending an e‐mail. We all make mistakes; do your best to keep your e‐mails free of typos.

E-mail Signature

The Elite Freelancer always uses an e‐mail signature, which is automatically attached to the bottom of every e‐mail sent. At the very least, include

• First and Last name

• Title

• Phone number


• Web Address

HOW TO PISS OFF YOUR CLIENTS

Seriously, it’s pretty easy to keep most clients happy. Yet in all the years I’ve been freelancing, it never ceases to amaze me how many freelancers just don’t seem to care about their reputation and their clients.

That’s fine by me though, because the fact that there are so many unprofessional freelancers around though makes it easier for the rest of us to shine. Anyway, if you didn’t already know, the quickest ways to piss off your clients when it comes to customer service are

• Being late on deliveries • Taking a long time to reply to queries • Going missing for days or vanishing completely • Not providing regular updates on the status of their project

KEEPING YOUR CLIENTS HAPPY IN TWO MINUTES OR LESS

• Project Updates: Clients hate not knowing the status of their project. Quick email updates informing them, “It’ll be ready shortly” or “I’ll be presenting concepts on Monday” take very little time on your part and go a long way.

• Missed Deadlines & Lateness: Clients are more forgiving of missed deadlines than you might think ‐ but only if you inform them you are going to be late. “Dave, these changes have taken longer than expected. I wanted to let you know that I’ll be a little late in getting the next round of changes over to you. My apologies for the delay. I’ll be in touch soon with an update.” Dave will appreciate that you kept him informed. Conversely, if you don’t send this email, Dave will be wondering where his stuff is, and his respect for you will take a dive. Going missing is the absolute worst thing you can do when you are late or behind schedule. Suck it up, and let your client know what’s up with his project.

• Send Your Own Referrals & Introductions: You can generate lots of goodwill by making introductions of your own. “Dave I’d like you to meet Mason. Mason’s company provides professional copywriting


services, and I think his skills might be of benefit to you. I’ll let you two connect from here. Thanks!”

These are all super easy, 2‐minute techniques that can be applied repeatedly to boost your reputation as a trustworthy, reliable, courteous professional.

Section Summary

Providing helpful, rapid customer service is one of the single most valuable activities you can perform in your business

Great customer service is not difficult to provide and will make your clients love you

Avoid generalizing, being vague or cryptic in your emails

Be descriptive in your email correspondence to avoid clarifying misunderstandings

Make sure you spell check all your e‐mails

Have your signature on all your e‐mails

Frequently update clients

Always update clients if you are going to miss a deadline


Chapter 7: Profit from Offshore Outsourcing Note: In this chapter, we will be using the terms offshore contractor, freelancer, outsourcer or variations of these terms. For simplicity, consider them to be interchangeable and generally mean the same thing.

Unless you have spent a lot of time acquiring all different kinds of web design and development skills, then chances are you only have one or a few the skills, which you can perform at a professional level.

The Internet has proven to be a great equalizer in many industries, and web development is no exception. We have been competing against offshore developers in our industry ever since websites like Elance opened their doors. This is the next key in the EFM:

Key 6: When you start to get really busy, use freelance marketplaces as a buyer, not a seller.

BUY LOW, SELL HIGH

I know, I know. Buy low and sell high is a cliché so old and tired that it wants to do nothing but go down to the Bingo Hall.

Buying low and selling high is one of the fundamentals to any profitable business. Let’s look at what your costs might be. These costs are your base rate, what it costs you to operate on an hourly, daily, weekly, etc basis.

Factors contributing to your base rate would include expenses, such as

• Your rent or mortgage

• Your software and hardware

• Your power, Internet and phone bills

Now compare that to the theoretical base rate of a developer in India, Chile or Brazil. If you live in a North American or European nation, chances are your base rate is going to be significantly higher than developers from many countries in Asia, South America and Africa purely because the cost of living in these countries are much lower.


You can try to compete against these overseas service providers, or you can use the same strategy that Fortune 500 companies use: Ally yourself with offshore manpower and profit from the relationship.

Let’s run through an example so you can see this key of the EFM in action with some sample numbers.

SIMPLE 20 PAGE WEBSITE CASE STUDY

Say a client wants a site built for their small business. Here’s a typical request for a small website:

1. A homepage layout

2. A content page layout (based on the home page design)

3. A site that weighs in at about 20 pages

4. A contact form

For me to deliver JPEG proofs designed in Photoshop, slice and dice the site into W3C standards compliant HTML and CSS, and then build the site with 20 pages of provided content means that I’d charge my client approximately $3500 to make it worthwhile.

Let’s look at a basic cost breakdown.

Sample Website Development Project Development Estimate

Web design (Photoshop file): $1500

HTML/CSS splicing: $500

Addition of Contact form: $150

Addition of small flash movie: $350

Build out 20 content pages: $1000

Total: $3500


Estimated development time for a project like this is approximately two to four weeks. In the meantime, I'm busy producing the site hands‐on, which means I have less time to focus on other things (like getting new clients).

Now that you’ve been multiplying your client base with referrals, you should be dealing with many more clients who don’t know about, or don’t care about freelance marketplaces. You can use your now intimate knowledge of these environments to your competitive advantage. Let’s go back there, but this time as a buyer of services.

Same Scenario: Outsourced

Now consider that you can hire a freelance designer to deliver a completed front‐end design as a Photoshop file. Then pass on that PSD to a freelance HTML/CSS programmer for splicing. Finally have the 20 pages of content and the contact form added, proofed and tested.

Here’s an example breakdown of approximate development costs using offshore outsourcers.

Small Website Development Project: Approximate Development Costs Using Offshore Developers

Web design (Photoshop file): $300

HTML/CSS splicing: $150

Addition of Contact form: $50

Addition of small flash movie: $75

Addition of 20 content pages: $200

Total: $775

The monetary cost to build that site is approximately $775; I say “monetary cost” because that does not include your role (time) in the process.

Unless you want to hire a project manager, then chances are you will play that role, which means it’s up to you to liaise with and update the client every step of the way. You might also wish to design the site, but not develop it, or vice versa.


This technique proves to be cheaper and faster than if you spent the time building the website yourself. On a cost basis, there is no way you can compete against a developer in India, Chile, etc. So why should you? Instead, align yourself with competent outsourcers, and everyone wins: The offshore developers get good paying projects to work on, your client gets a fast result on a great site, and you get to take on more projects at a much better margin.

DO WHAT YOU LOVE. OUTSOURCE THE REST.

Some people love splicing sites into HTML/CSS but hate designing in Photoshop. Other people love Photoshop but hate splicing or programming PHP.

Do what you love. Outsource the rest.

OUTSOURCING: THE SWEET & THE SOUR

Working with offshore providers isn’t all honey and roses. You should be aware of the pitfalls.

Fake Portfolios

Look out for freelancers that bait and switch with portfolios of work that was not created by them. You might award a project to an offshore contractor based on the merits of that portfolio only to discover the work they showed you was a classic bait and switch.

A typical example of this shady trick is the contractor shows you a good‐looking website he or she only spliced into HTML/CSS, failing to disclose that the front‐end design was performed by someone else.

Language Barriers

You’ll find that some freelancers produce great work but lack passable English skills. This ends up hindering communication and leads to misunderstandings and wasted time. If you are concerned about their grasp on the English language, it’s best to move on and find someone else.


Poor Customer Service

This isn’t offshore specific, but you’ll find some contractors are professional in the starting blocks, only to end up being consistently late, rude, poor communicators and otherwise unprofessional. You have clients to answer to and deadlines to meet; an Elite Freelancer doesn’t settle for people who don’t provide good customer service.

Time Zone Issues

Outsourcing offshore means juggling and coordinating different time zones, so factor this into your production schedules.

Bottom Line

Finding good freelancers is like panning for gold. When you find a good offshore contractor, be sure to treat them well. Pay them a little extra now and then for a job well done and give them praise when praise is due. Conversely, break out your inner badass and express your anger if it’s deserved. Being nice all the time will just get you steamrolled.

INDUCTING YOUR OFFSHORE FREELANCERS

Start your relationship with your offshore staff on a solid footing by being upfront about what you expect from them – and what they can expect from you.

When screening offshore providers, there is only so much you can do to sort the good from the bad. An Elite Freelancer will get his contractor to review and accept some specific guidelines before letting them join the team. For this, use another time saving best practice Operations Document.

Ops Doc: Contractor Guidelines

Send an email containing your Contractor Guidelines to your potential freelance team members. Have your freelancers review these guidelines before they commence work:

Working with YOUR COMPANY NAME

Contractor Guidelines


Thanks for considering working with YOUR COMPANY NAME. Before you begin, there are some things you should know about.

What you can expect from us:

- Requests to complete specific tasks - Consultation with you to define the project brief and timeline - Prompt payment in full of your pre-agreed fee upon completion and delivery of work. - Dedicated online workspace (for larger projects)

What we expect from you:

- Good quality workmanship - Prompt delivery - Timely responses to queries from your project manager

Regular progress updates: You are required to take the initiative to keep your project manager updated on the status of your work, and it’s your responsibility to update your project manager before you “sign-off” for the day.

We have clients to answer to, so we demand a certain level of professionalism and maturity from our freelancers.

If have read and agree to above guidelines, reply to this e-mail with “Purple Penguin” in the subject line.

We look forward to working with you.

If you don’t get “Purple Penguin” in your inbox, then it shows right off the bat that the contractor in question doesn’t have an eye for details or want to follow simple instructions.

This technique is by no means fail safe, but it does serve to screen lamers and establish an environment where everyone understands each other from the start. As with all the Ops Docs, modify it to suit your needs.

Section Summary

When you get busy enough, consider outsourcing projects or components of projects to offshore service providers

Do what you love. Outsource the rest

Be aware of the pros and cons of outsourcing

Induct and screen your offshore freelancers with a Contractor Guidelines Ops Doc


Chapter 8: Production Best Practices By now, you know that employing best practices into your business saves you time with more efficient operations.

Key 7: An Elite Freelancer always establishes, uses and improves their best practices.

Below are the best practices you should consider using regularly in your operations. Let’s move on to the first one (and my favorite): the Production Notice.

USE A PRODUCTION NOTICE TO MOVE PROJECTS TOWARD COMPLETION

Web design and development projects are typically broken into phases or stages. Typical stages include

• Stage 1: Design • Stage 2: Development • Stage 3: Deployment

The completion of any given stage in your design and development process should represent a production milestone, and it is up to the client to decide when each milestone has been reached by giving their approval.

But how do you (officially) get your client’s approval? How do you get them to sign off on a milestone? Do you ask them “Hi Bob, Have we reached this milestone yet?” No sir.

Instead, give them the opportunity to provide their approval by using a Production Notice. This prompts your client into action and serves as a way for your client to officially sign off on any given stage of their project.

This is paramount to you for two very important reasons:

1. The Production Notice serves as a mechanism to protect you should your client change their mind at a later stage.

2. The Production Notice serves as a mechanism to move the project towards completion (and your paycheck!)


The EFM Production Notice is your next Ops Doc to use when you feel you are approaching a production milestone. Copy and paste the Production Notice text into an e‐mail and send it to your client along with an attachment or a web address for them to review.

Ops Doc: Production Notice

Your Production Notice should be sent via e‐mail and look something like this:

E-mail subject: PRODUCTION NOTICE – ACTION REQUIRED

E-mail attachment: {attach JPEG screenshot of the client’s website}

E-mail message:

Dear Dave,

Attached are the preliminary design concepts for your website. Please take a moment to review these and get back to me when you get a chance.

As part of our production process, please make sure to follow the instructions below.

-------------------------------------------------------------

PRODUCTION NOTICE: ACTION REQUIRED

-------------------------------------------------------------

Please review the included email attachment(s) and reply to this email with either

1) "Approved" in the subject line to indicate your approval, and we will proceed to the next step of your project.

OR

2) "Edits" in the subject line to indicate that you wish to request changes. If you do desire edits, please also provide a description of the desired changes.

Please note that by approving the artwork in this email you are giving us permission to proceed to the next stage of your project. Any edits requested after giving us your approval can possibly incur an added studio fee depending on the nature of those edits. Contact us if you need any clarification regarding this process.

Thanks!


As you can see, the client is instructed to make one of two very clear choices. Either of these choices will help move your project closer to completion, which can only be a good thing.


Also you will notice that the last paragraph contains educational language that serves to further remind the client of their responsibilities in the design and development process you are guiding them through.

It may look and sound simplistic, but no other single technique in the Elite Freelancer Method has contributed more to reducing headaches, minimizing misunderstandings and reduced scope creep than the Production Notice.

The Production Notice and Scope Creep

This Production Notice also serves to cover you from dreaded scope creep.

You know the drill: your client keeps insisting on making change after change for free, and by the time it’s all said and done, you might as well be wearing a funny hat asking people if they “want fries with that?”

By using the Production Notice, if your client sends his approval to then decide he wants the PSD changed after you’ve already proceeded to splice into HTML, then no problem. You simply inform them that you are glad to make the change for them, but there will be an added fee since they already approved the design.

If you aren’t already using a similar technique, you’ll quickly see how using a simple Production Notice in your development process not only makes you more professional in the eyes of your client but also serves to protect you in many different ways when un‐foreseen issues arise. And they will always arise.

Production Notice Non-compliance

Non‐compliance is when a client does not follow the instructions contained within the Production E‐mail, giving vague or indirect approval. For example, clients who will give approval to submitted concepts by replying with “looks good” or “I like it.”

Replies like this are not approvals; they are opinions.

If a non‐compliance situation arises, the Elite Freelancer will decide whether to

1. Simply resend the Production Notice along and include a polite request for the client to please adhere to the process, as it exists to protect everyone from any potential misunderstandings that may arise. Or you can

2. Let it slide and proceed


Personally, I like option 1 better. If you stick to your guns, firmly and politely, it generally only takes a single polite reminder, and once the client knows the drill, they will gladly adhere to the process correctly from thereon in.

Should You Always Charge for Backtracking?

If the client requests a small change, do it for free. Let the client know that there is usually a charge but you are willing to “soak up the cost as a show of good faith.”

If it’s a large change that will take significant time to complete, you can either

• Complete the edit for free • Charge the full amount • Offer to split the difference with the client.

Section Summary

Production Notices are your friend, so get in the habit of always using them

Avoid Production Notice non‐compliance by politely enforcing your own processes when you need to

SAVE TIME WITH PERSONALIZED CANNED CORRESPONDENCE

As a best practice, consider placing an easily accessible shortcut on your computer that links to a text file containing all your personalized canned replies. That way you can

• Access the text file quickly • Copy the canned reply you need • Paste it where you need to • Customize it, if applicable • Send it

Remember, these canned replies are supposed to save you time by quickly dealing with repetitive tasks. You’ll find your list of canned replies will evolve as the needs of your day‐to‐day operations dictate. Keep them tuned and ready to roll.


HAVE EASY PAYMENT TERMS READY TO ROLL

Payment terms are an important component to any project. Without payment terms established at the outset of a project, collecting your money can prove challenging. For simplicity and protection, consider using two basic payment terms.

30-30-40 split

The total cost of the project is broken down into three payments of 30%, 30% and 40% of the total project value. You can use these payment terms for any type of project. The following example is for web design and development projects:

1. Design deposit: The first 30% is a production deposit, which is required before any work commences. I’ll say that again: Get the deposit BEFORE you do any work.

2. Splice milestone: The second 30% deposit is required when the client approves the static Photoshop design concepts of their website and prior to splicing their site into HTML. Request this payment after they approve and sign off on Stage 1.

3. Project balance: The remaining 40% is required upon completion of the project prior to final delivery. Or put another way: get the balance of the project before you deliver the final files.

50-50 split

This model is simpler. The first 50% is required as a production deposit before any work commences. The final 50% is required upon successful completion (but prior to delivery) of the project. You get more money upfront, and there is less paperwork.

Which of the two models is best to use?

I recommend that you use the 30‐30‐40 split with new clients, as there is less risk on their part as they get to know you. Consider switching 50‐50 payment terms with clients you know and trust (and who know and trust you). The 50‐50 model saves some administrative overhead for everyone, as there is one less round of paperwork and invoicing to be done.

These are only two of many ways to slice the payment terms for any deal. If you are meeting with resistance and you want the gig, ask the client to propose the payment terms, which would be comfortable and acceptable to them.


INVOICING & ACCEPTING PAYMENTS

There are a few ways you can deal with invoicing and accepting payments.

Invoicing

The cheapest way to invoice clients is to use an invoice template created in some kind of software, like Microsoft Excel, Word or Open Office. It’s fast enough and an inexpensive way to solve your invoicing requirements.

There are accounting programs like QuickBooks and Simply Accounting. If you can justify the expense and the time to set up (and learn) these full featured accounting programs, they offer many more benefits to your business than just invoicing. I only recommend this path for people who actually find bookkeeping fun.

There is a relative recent emergence of online web‐based invoicing tools, too. Once set up, they make invoicing about as easy as it gets.

• Fresh Books: www.freshbooks.com

• Blink Sale: www.blinksale.com

.

Accepting Payments

When it comes to accepting payments, the Elite Freelancer offers his clients a choice.

1. PayPal (www.paypal.com ): If you haven’t already done so, look into setting up a PayPal account. PayPal is an efficient solution for any kind of business and will quickly prove to be an invaluable tool, not only for accepting payments from clients, but also when paying your contractors. There is no cheaper or faster way to send and receive cash that I know of.

2. Wire transfer: The second method you should offer your clients is a bank‐to‐bank wire transfer. If the client does not wish to use PayPal, simply provide them with your bank account details along with their invoice. Have your bank account information ready so you can just copy, paste and email it to your client.

3. Check in the mail: The third method is a good old check from a bank. However, the EFM discourages clients to pay by check because it’s slow. You’ll generally have to wait for the check in the mail, then wait for the funds to clear.


Section Summary

Excel, Work and Open Office are good enough for low volume invoicing

Consider professional accounting programs if you can afford the expense and time to learn them

Use online invoicing solutions that you don’t mind the small expense and time to set up

PayPal rules

Wire transfers are almost as cool as PayPal

Checks suck

ACCEPTING & REQUESTING CONTENT

Once a client agrees to hire you for their project, you’ll want to send an e‐mail prompt for them to start getting their content together.

When receiving content, you want to avoid

1. Content trickling in small dribbles; you want it to come in all at once 2. Frequent requests from the client to update the development site with the “new

content”

A client who revises their content or copy over and over again is going to cost you time and money.

Let’s look at a quick example:

A client provides you with a draft version of their copy. This turns out to be enough text to fill approximately 150 to 300 words per page across 20 pages on their website. Now throughout the build phase, the client insists on sending revised website copy (multiple times), asking that you update the development site with this revised copy, so their marketing department can proof it.

Now you’re making copy changes daily as trickles of new copy comes in from marketing, the CEO, the secretary and everyone else. Accommodating these requests can start to become quite time‐consuming—and that means losing money. Now is the time to get guerilla and prevent that situation from even arising in the first place.

When a client agrees to hire your team, send the Content Request Letter via e‐mail.


Ops Doc: Content Request Letter

E-mail subject: CONTENT REQUEST – Project Name

E-mail attachment: None.

E-mail message:

Hi Dave,

So it looks like we will be working together. We’re looking forward to developing a website that you'll be thoroughly happy with.

In order to help us get started, can you proceed to gather your draft website content. This includes any photographs, images, copy (text) that you wish for us to include or keep in mind during the development of your site.

* Note: As part of our production process, we offer two free content changes to your site.

For example, this allows you to submit a draft version of your website copy for us to use during development - and – in the meantime, allows you to finalize everything on your end and provide us with the final content before your site goes live.

It’s important to note that any content changes above and beyond the two free content changes will require additional production time and may incur an added fee.

PROCESS FOR PROVIDING YOUR CONTENT --------------------------------------------------------------

1. Take your time getting you draft copy, photos, graphics etc. together

2. Compress them into a single .ZIP file and e-mail directly to me. Please avoid sending individual content items as e-mail attachments

Let me know if you have any questions about this process or need a hand setting up the delivery of exceptionally large files.

Thank you,


This Content Request e‐mail serves as a reasonable way to prompt clients for their content and clearly informs them that you won’t be soaking up excessive content changes.

Section Summary

Copy and content changes can bite into your bottom line


Cover your butt from the start with a formal Content Request Letter that outlines your preferred process for accepting draft and final copy

SAY “NO” TO MOCK-UPS

Now and then, you’ll get a client asking you for mockups as a condition before they agree to hire you. Are you going to provide a mockup!? No way. Mock ups suck for a couple of reasons.

1. Not Accurate: Mockups are generally “quickies,” and there's no way that you can accurately represent the final quality of work by whipping up a quick design. Mockups misrepresent what you (or your team) are capable of. If you do a quickie, you risk the very real possibility your potential client will get the wrong idea about the quality of work you are able to deliver.

2. No Guarantees: Secondly, there is no guarantee that having spent the time creating a mockup that the client will like the design enough to award you the project, which means you just wasted your time.

Ops Doc: Mock Up Declined Letter

When a client requests mockups, you can politely decline by explaining the following:

Dear Ed,

In regards to your request for a mock up, please understand that good design takes time to develop. Creating a mockup that is just a “quickie” will not accurately represent what you can expect from me.

I would encourage you to take a few moments to browse my portfolio of past projects in order to gauge the quality of my work. Also check out the positive feedback from my current and past clients.

I’ve put a smile on the face of all my clients, and I’m sure I can do the same for you should you decide to work with me. I can also provide you with references from satisfied clients if that would be of any help.

Thank you,


If a client isn't willing to hire you on the merits of your past work, testimonials and references, then quite honestly you may have encountered a Red Flag Client. It's probably best to let them go anyway.


Section Summary

Mock ups are a waste of time and offer no guarantees. Don’t do them

When a client asks for them, save time while you politely explain why you don’t provide free mock ups by using the Mock Up Declined Letter

OFFER A “MONEY BACK GUARANTEE”

Honestly. Do it.

You’re probably wondering how the heck you can safely offer a money back guarantee, right? The Elite Freelancer understands that a money back guarantee is unmatched for generating trust and good will, which is especially valuable when it comes to landing new clients.

The guarantee I used to offer covered the client’s production deposit up to the splicing phase. Like this:

• Phase 1: Design – Money Back Guarantee applies to this phase • Phase 2: Development – Not this phase • Phase 3: Deployment – Or this phase

Ops Doc: Money Back Guarantee

Money Back Guarantee:

Dear Client,

During the Phase 1 Design stage of your project, I will work until you are 100% happy with your Website Design Concepts.

Should you be so unsatisfied with the Website Design Concepts you are provided with in Phase 1, you may exercise your right to request revisions OR you may terminate the project and we will refund your production deposit in full.

Structure your money back guarantee in a way that shows you are serious about your work and making clients happy—but not in a way that over exposes you. In offering a money back guarantee, you instill TONS of confidence and trust in your potential new clients.

Use the guarantee wherever you see fit. I’d sometimes use it during the bidding process or other times as the final sweetener to land a project. It sounds cheesy, but these kinds of “outside the box” strategies like a money back guarantee are what get you ahead of the pack.


Making Good on the Guarantee

A reader asked me how I go about refunding unsatisfied clients. That’s a trick question for me because I started offering my money back guarantee in early 2004; since that time, no one has ever claimed it.

Every single one of my clients has signed up with the confidence and reassurance of getting their production deposit back should things not work out. Think about that for a second: in four years, it has cost me nothing to stand behind my work with a guarantee, which is almost unheard of in our industry.

To answer the question though, here’s how I would handle a client who wants to claim the guarantee:

1. Ask the client for a time extension in order to give their project “another shot,” failing at that, I would

2. Offer to “rollover” their production deposit as a “studio credit” should they like to retain my services for a different project. Failing at that I would

3. Ask them for their bank account details, PayPal account information, etc. and send their money back to them

Section Summary

Money Back Guarantees are a powerful technique for generating trust and securing new clients

If your work and customer service skills are solid, chances are no one will ever need to claim the Money Back Guarantee

INDENTIFYING RED FLAG CLIENTS

It’s an excellent fact that the majority of clients who you end up working for will be nice, reasonable and articulate people. It’s a not so excellent fact that a small percentage of the clients you end up working for will be insane. These clients are called Red Flag Clients or RFCs.

Although not always possible, the Elite Freelancer tries to identify an RFC before starting work with them. Learn to identify the signs (red flags!) that help spot potential RFCs.


Potential red flags:

• Promises of “lots of work in the near future” for a discount on their current quote

• Client is not willing or “too busy” to respond with sufficient effort to your questions

• Client is not willing to provide you with their complete contact details

• Excessive delays in sending production deposit

• Client communicates in unclear, short and/or cryptic e‐mails

• Client is not willing to provide intelligent feedback about why they aren’t happy with the work you are doing for them

Now, I do say these are “potential” red flags because there are no hard, fast rules. Use your best judgment when trying to discern whether a client is shaping up to be more trouble than they are worth, or whether they’re super busy, and you are just one more thing on their plate.

CHARGE A RED FLAG CLIENT TAX

It’s bound to happen. You’ll get a Red Flag Client who will make you move heaven and earth before they are happy. Do whatever you need to in order to complete their project in a professional manner.

If they come back for more of your services, then charge the client a Red Flag Tax: an additional surcharge high enough to make you happy to work for them again. Something like this works fine:

“Dear Sir/Madam,

The demand for my services has been escalating dramatically; as such, my rates have gone up to $XX per hour. If this new rate works for you I’ll happily squeeze you in next week. I understand otherwise, and I wish you all the best in finding another service provider.”

With difficult clients, I would simply triple or quadruple my rates, which meant I was thrilled to put up with their freaky weirdness and work with them again.


LETTING GO OF A CLIENT

The Elite Freelancers know when to work for client satisfaction and, equally important, when to let go of an existing or potential new client. Once you’ve concluded that you’re dealing with a Red Flag Client, you have a few options, depending on what stage of the game you are in.

Handling RFCs pre-project

See “Red Flag Client Tax” above.

Handling RFCs mid project

If you’re already working for the client and they pull a Jekyll and Hyde routine on you, then simply give them a refund and let them go.

Honestly, your time is worth more than getting bogged down by a problematic client. As a successful Elite Freelancer, you’ll need to identify when it’s in your best interest to cut your losses and move onto better things.

Section Summary

Not all red flags are actually red, use your judgment

Try to see projects through with difficult clients and charge them the RFC Tax next time around

If a client is really “breaking your balls,” cut your losses, politely refund their money and move on to better things


Chapter 9: Be Patient. Be Consistent. Succeed. All right fellow geek, you are almost done with the core of the Elite Freelancing Method. Here is one last key:

Key 8: Your success as a freelancer will come from applying your evolving best practices in a consistent manner over time.

To build a profitable business with a valuable client base takes time. How much time it takes depends on how smart and how hard you feel like working. One thing is for sure: by using your evolving best practices consistently over time, you will accelerate your journey towards whatever goals you set for yourself.


Chapter 10: The Elite Freelancing Method: Review & Overview You’ve covered a lot of ground so far, and you’ll be glad to know you’re all done with the core techniques in the EFM. Beyond this point are best practices that have worked well for me. I recommend you check them out.

Before we move on, let’s recap with a simple breakdown of the most important techniques in the EFM:

1. Killer portfolio: Make sure your ‘folio is awesome, and use brand studies to buff it up if need be

2. Freelance Marketplace membership: Sign up for an account with a freelance marketplace or two, so you can connect with clients

3. Bid for projects using Personalized Canned Bids: Find projects within your freelance marketplace and stand out when bidding on them with personalized canned bids

4. Land marketplace clients: Get new clients and complete their projects 5. Send the Testimonial Request letter: Get testimonial/feedback from your client. When

they provide it, thank them and 6. Send the Referral Request letter: Ask them to help out your small business by

introducing or referring you to some of their contacts who would benefit from your services

7. Send the Letter of Introduction: Contact your referrals with your Letter of Introduction; if you don’t get a response right away,

8. Send the Radar Letter: Stay on your referrals mind with the Radar Letter. Send one every 3 to 6 weeks. Don’t give up on a referral unless they specifically tell you to never contact them again.

9. Build and expand your base of non‐marketplace clients: Perform steps 6 to 9 and continue to building your base of non‐marketplace clients

10. Provide superior customer service: Respond quickly and professionally to queries from your clients

11. Learn to outsource: Once you start getting really busy, outsource specific tasks or complete projects to offshore contractors

12. Be consistent: Don’t be distracted from your goals. You will succeed by consistently applying your ever‐improving best practices over time.


Chapter 11: Protecting Your Income, Your Gear and Your Data ike a good Scout, the Elite Freelancer takes reasonable precautions to prepare for the unknown. I’m talking about covering yourself in case you suffer from a nasty hard drive

failure, or you get robbed, or crash your mountain bike into a goat.

INSURING YOURSELF & YOUR GEAR

Disability Insurance

Being self‐employed generally means that if you can’t work, the money stops flowing. If that happens, you could be hooped, so the Elite Freelancer covers their butt with an affordable disability insurance policy.

Look for disability coverage that insures you for any accident, injury and illness – incurred at work and/or at play. The important thing is to avoid a policy that covers you for accident or injury incurred only at your place of work. You want a policy that provides an ongoing income if something unfortunate occurs to you anywhere.

There are many ways to “design” a disability insurance policy, so sit down with a couple of insurance brokers and get a feel for the kind of cover you want. However, do not over insure yourself. You want to be able to easily afford your insurance policy.

Home and Content Insurance

If you don’t already have Home and Content Insurance, then get some. If your house happens to burn down, get sucked up by a twister, get flooded, robbed or stomped on by Godzilla, then you’ll be able to replace all your hardware quickly without having worry about it.

PROTECTING YOUR DATA: LOVE YOUR RAID ARRAY

One common disaster for us geeks is hard drive failure.

If you’ve ever been around a dying or dead hard drive, you’ll be familiar with the clicking, whirring and popping noises they make. If your data happens to be on said malfunctioning hard drive, you’ll also know firsthand the sheer terror this death rattle can strike into your very soul.

L


Many modern motherboards support a technology called RAID, or Redundant Array of Independent Disks. RAID is sweet because it allows you to use multiple hard drives to share or replicate data among the drives. There are many different ways to configure a RAID array; the only configuration we’re interested in is RAID 1, also known as mirroring.

A computer configured with a mirrored RAID array sports two hard drives of the same capacity. Any data written to one HD is automatically written to the second HD. This means that if one of your hard drives takes a dive, you’ll have a second (completely up‐to‐date) HD as insurance.

The Elite Freelancer doesn’t make the mistake of assuming hard drives will perform faithfully forever. They will die; it’s just a matter of when. If you don’t have RAID 1, the question the Grim Reaper of Gigabytes will have you asking is, “When was my last backup!?”

PROTECTING YOUR DATA: OFFSITE BACK-UPS

Since your work is all about data, backing up that data on a frequent and regular basis is a good habit to get into. But what about after you do a backup, then what? The Elite Freelancer will ensure that she keeps an up‐to‐date backup onsite and offsite. Onsite is easy enough to work out, so I won’t get into that. Let’s look at some offsite backup solutions.

Online Backup Services

If you don’t have too much data (and have a high‐speed internet connection) than an online file storage solution will do the trick. Google “offsite data backup” and you’ll get loads of options to choose from. Personally, I don’t use an online backup service because I need to backup a lot of data and my ISP is stingy on bandwidth.

The Safety Deposit Box Method

Barring an online solution, one of the best, most secure and surprisingly inexpensive ways to store your offsite back up is in the vault of a bank. Yup, the classic safety deposit box is one affordable, bombproof solution, for real. My safety deposit box costs only $40 a year and helps me sleep well at night.

How It Works

• Get a couple of external hard drive enclosures and two large capacity hard drives • Mount the HDs into the enclosures


• Mark one of the enclosures “Drive 1” and the other “Drive 2” • Perform your back up on Drive 1 and put it in your safety deposit box • Next time you run a backup, use Drive 2 • When done, take Drive 2 to your bank box and take Drive1 back home with you

This way you can rotate the two hard drives and always have one backup of your data at home and one in the safety deposit box at the bank.

True, it’s not perfect but trust me. It’s easier than it sounds and if you suffer some major disaster like a fire or robbery then you’ll still have a life. Plus you get to feel like a movie star or secret agent every time you go to your safety deposit box. Booya.

Choosing Backup HDs and Enclosures

A reader asked me about the gear I use for my rotating backups. For those of you unaware, bank boxes come in many different sizes. The bigger the box you rent, the more you will have to pay.

The way I get around renting a larger bank box is by using laptop hardware. I purchased two aluminum Bytec 2.5” Hotdrive enclosures and mounted an 80GB hard drive into each one. These little enclosures are sweet for a few of reasons.

• Firstly, they are designed for 2.5 inch laptop hard drives, so they are smaller than their desktop PC HD enclosures

• Secondly, (and this is a big issue for me because I hate power cords) they are powered by the USB cable that is used to transfer the data. This means no power supply to lug around, no extra plug in my power bar and one less freakin’ power cord behind my desk

• Lastly, these Bytec enclosures look great, they are highly portable, and they come in a great little vinyl case with USB cable included. The enclosure themselves are very affordable, and you can mount any 2.5” hard drive in it. Highly recommended

Section Summary

Try and get a computer that can run a mirrored RAID array

Perform backups regularly

Look into an offsite back‐up solution

Bank boxes are great for storing backups, important documents and making you feel like a secret agent


Chapter 12: The Tax Man & You

GETTING SAVVY ABOUT THE TAX YOU PAY

he Elite Freelancer does his taxation homework to pay as little tax as possible. For those of you who are unaware, tax deductions are expenses deducted from your gross yearly

income, therefore, reducing the amount of tax you are required to pay. You’ve probably also heard of Tax deductions being referred to as “write offs.”

One of the biggest advantages of running your own business (versus being an employee) is that you can write off many of your daily expenses.

Let's say you gross $60,000 per year as an employee versus grossing $60,000 per year as a business owner. The employee is going to pay a lot more tax than the business owner does because the employee does not have the opportunity to write off expenses.

For example, because I run my own business, I generate tax deductions throughout the year, so that come tax time, I'm in a lower tax bracket due to these expenses being deducted from my total taxable income. Because of those expenses, I get to enjoy a better lifestyle, which is essentially indirectly paid for by the government.

Let’s run through a quick example of some typical tax‐deductible expenses incurred by a web designer:

• High speed Internet connection: $49

• Telephone line: $25

• Cell phone connection: $24

• Toner and printer: $54

• Lease payments on vehicle: $290

• Insurance on vehicle: $180

• Fuel for vehicle: $120

• Screw driver and screws to hang up whiteboard: $9

• Portion of monthly rent/mortgage dedicated to home office space: $240

T


As you can see, there is a certain amount of money going out every month related to business expenses. The expenses are, for the most part, tax deductible; that is, they directly reduce your taxable income, which is a good thing.

Now the rules and numbers are going to be different, depending on the tax laws in your country and state/province. Generally, most governments allow tax deductions for the majority of business expenses. For example, the lease and insurance on my car are all 100% tax deductible, so I can spend the money on a sweet vehicle, rather than giving it to the government as tax.

Part of learning all this tax mumbo is a matter of learning what applies to your business. Arrange to sit down with a good accountant who can advise you how to best protect your hard‐earned dollars.

Section Summary

Invest a little time learning some simple tax basics

Keep all your receipts for expenses incurred by your business

Find and speak to a good accountant about the deductible expenses

MORE ON TRACKING EXPENSES

Get in the habit of keeping track of every business expense no matter how small.

At the end of the year, you want receipts showing all the money spent on behalf of operating your business. If you buy pens, keep the receipt. If you pay a contractor via PayPal, print out a record of the transaction. I use a simple process:

• I keep a manila folder close by and mark it “June” (or whatever month it is) • Every business receipt I get in June goes into that folder • Every three months I take a trip to my bookkeepers with my manila folders in hand and

let them work their magic

The bottom line is the more cash you can show that has flowed out of your pocket, the better off you’ll be at tax time.


SETTING UP BANK ACCOUNTS

It’s advisable to set up a separate bank account for your business. You want to keep your business and personal accounts separate, as it makes it easier to keep a track of your cash flows. When it comes time to do the books, you’ll be glad you did.

Note: Try not to purchase or pay for business related transactions with your personal account. It defeats the whole purpose of having a business bank account.

GET A BOOKKEEPER & ACCOUNTANT

Bookkeeping

Hire a bookkeeper and arrange to see them every three months. When your meeting comes up, take in all the receipts and invoices you’ve been collecting. I wouldn’t bother trying to keep your own books unless you really enjoy doing so.

Accounting

An Elite Freelancer does not try to save money by filing his own taxes. When it comes tax time, take the records provided by your bookkeeper to your accountant. Doing it yourself is time consuming. Plus you will miss all sorts of tax deductions that a qualified accountant will know about.

You want to hire a professional to handle and advise you in these matters. If you find it challenging to select a good bookkeeper and accountant, ask friends or family who run small business for recommendations.


All Done Congratulations! You’ve made it through the Elite Freelancing Method. You now have all the same knowledge and methods I used to go from struggling, stressed out freelancer to working a lot less and making a lot more. I wish you the best in using these techniques to design the lifestyle you want for yourself.

HELP ME IMPROVE THE EFM

I always want to make this a better guide. If you have any comments about the EFM, then let me know at www.elitefreelancing.com/feedback. I welcome all kinds of feedback, negative and positive like

Suggestions for improvement Criticism of all kinds Spotting of typos and grammar errors Testimonials (of course) Anything!

Swing by and let me know your thoughts!

KIVA.ORG – LOANS THAT CHANGE LIVES

Kiva.org – The best part about doing well for yourself is being able to give back and help others. If you are feeling charitable, Kiva is one of my favorite non‐profits that I recommend you check out. Kiva provides microloans to entrepreneurs around the world. For example, you can lend $25 to a farmer in Uganda, so he can buy more seed for his crops; or to a grocery store owner in Cambodia, so she can purchase more stock. Kiva has millions of dollars in loans out from people like you and me. The repayment rate is awesome, people hardly ever default, and it’s a great way to directly help people who are doing their best to get out of poverty.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

Make Millions and Make Change – This is a free, downloadable eBook written by Mike Mann, founder of the hugely successful BuyDomains.com, WashingtonVC and Grassroots.org. I recommend you (at the very least) read the introduction to this free book. It’s packed with


many insights and wisdom from a man who dominated the aftermarket domain name game for many years. Make Millions and Make Change is essential reading for any serious entrepreneur.

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