Creative, Inc.

The Ultimate Guide to Running a Successful Freelance Business

Joy Deangdeelert Cho, Meg Mateo Ilasco

• Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC
• Year: 2010
• ISBN:
  9780811879842
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Small Business
• Index: Business

As the hipster classic Craft, Inc. did for crafters, this book will teach all types of creatives illustrators, photographers, graphic designers, animators, and more how to build a successful business doing what they love. Freelancing pros Meg Mateo Ilasco and Joy Deangdeelert Cho explain everything from creating a standout portfolio to navigating the legal issues of starting a business. Accessible, spunky, and packed with practical advice, Creative, Inc. is an essential for anyone ready to strike out on their own.

Chapter 1: Introduction to Creative Freelancing

Do you ever wonder where your talents would take you if you put just as much effort (if not more) into working for yourself as you do working for someone else? If testing your creative potential has crossed your mind, it’s likely that freelancing could be that change you’ve been searching for. Freelancing offers you the opportunity to shape your career however you like. You can choose your clients, how much you want to work, what type of work to do, and how much to charge. Freelancing means you’ll no longer be clocking in hours for the Man; you’ll be turning your art into a full-time career and working for the best boss of all, You. In this chapter you’ll find out the qualities you need to succeed and determine whether the creative freelancing lifestyle is for you.

What Is Creative Freelancing?

We define creative freelancer as someone who is a self-employed subcontractor offering her creative services to buyers. Typically a solitary practice, creative freelancing can be a group effort as well: whether a group of colleagues or a husband-and-wife team, freelancers can band together as a collective or form a partnership. However you do it, creative freelancing requires you to step up to the dual challenge of producing effective visual communications and managing a business. Remember, just because you are embarking on an artistic career without suits and ties, or even walls, that doesn’t mean you should use your newly found freedom to operate your venture on the fly. To succeed, you have to manage your freelance business with the same level of seriousness as that of a corporate CEO. You simply can’t rely on your talents alone. You need to know as much about managing a business as you do about your art. Luckily, you’ll find everything you need to get started here.

Nine Qualities of a Successful Freelancer

How do you know if you’re freelance material? It’s a vocation that’s not for everyone. You need to be self-motivated, self-reliant, organized, confident, and an effective communicator. You may not possess all these characteristics right now, but with practice and a little discipline you can certainly develop them and be on your way to freelance success.

01 Strong business sense

Creative freelancing is not just about producing good work. It’s essential to develop a strong business acumen as well. There’s enough ego and talent coursing through the creative world for even the most gifted artist to get lost in the crowd. The ones who flex their business muscle become the most identifiable and successful. Even though you’ll have more freedom than the typical nine-to-fiver, freelancing carries all the responsibilities of an independent business, including marketing, accounting, and office management. When you’re running a business, you’ll find yourself having to make many solo decisions at any given point, so you’ll have to be a confident decision maker. You will also need self-motivation and resourcefulness to maintain your own schedule and provide structure to your workday—qualities that will come in handy when you’re chasing down payments from clients!

02 A love of your art

Maybe your career has been moving along briskly at a motion-graphics firm, but the road ahead holds little appeal and autonomy is the only move that makes sense. Maybe you took illustration gigs during college, and with graduation around the corner you’re ready to make a full-time go of it. Or maybe you were laid off, and this misfortune has presented an opportunity to make an exciting change. However you came to the decision to freelance, one thing is certain: you have to be passionate about what you do. Ask yourself these questions: Would freelancing excite you enough to get you out of bed in the morning? Would you mind sometimes burning the midnight oil to finish a project? Could you be happy turning your creative outlet into your main source of income? If you’re drawn to freelancing mainly because of the lifestyle, the lure of authorship, or the potential for fame, you’ll likely become frustrated and burn out quickly when success doesn’t happen overnight. A successful freelancer is passionate about his art and seeks inspiration to fuel it—even in his off-duty hours—simply for the sake of generating work that he loves.

03 Curiosity

Because you’re a visual auteur and an idea person, your curiosity has probably gotten you to where you are right now. Curiosity keeps your mind primed as a creative tool, keeps you open to new ways of working and looking at things. Truth be told, though, the more you become an expert in your field, the less time you’ll have to step outside it and engage with the rest of the world. This disconnect can affect how you deal with people or approach problems. That’s why you need to continue to make an effort to stay curious and connected: read newspapers and books, watch documentaries and movies, and attend cultural events, to name a few. Whether you’re a film director or graphic designer, at some point you’ll probably be assigned a project dealing with subject matter you’re not familiar with. If you’re an illustrator hoping to land your artwork in the New York Times or any other news outlet, you should be fully aware of current events so that you can tackle a news-related illustration with ease. The more diverse your experiences and interests, the stronger your ability to come up with ideas and translate your client’s needs into a successful piece of work.

04 Confidence and a strong vision

A strong freelancer does much more than simply execute the instructions of an editor or art director. If you let the client dictate the entire project through a paint-by-numbers program, you’ll feel like a trained art monkey. You must have the confidence to suggest your own ideas and bring your voice into the conversation. This type of creative bravura doesn’t mean that an in-your-face personal style should dominate every project. Success will most likely come with a fine balance between articulating your vision and taking into account your client’s needs. To earn a living, you won’t always get to pick and choose commissions that allow you to express 100 percent of your creative vision. And that’s okay. When you need an outlet for that self-possessed creative energy, take it upon yourself to initiate personal projects that reflect your particular style. As you add more of these personal designs to your portfolio, you’ll start attracting clients eager for your specific point of view.

05 Good listening and observational skills

In the service world, the customer is king. Though you may have a strong vision, operating on the credo “Do whatever you want, when you want” will do nothing to serve your client. Remember that, to stay in business, you’ll need to please your client before pleasing yourself. But, as we outlined in the preceding section, you’ll need to be receptive to your client’s needs without letting the client run all over you. With keen observational and listening skills, you’ll find a vision that satisfies both you and your client. The more you understand the client’s point of view and what they’re hoping to achieve, the wider the net you can cast to solve the problem. In fact, creative epiphanies are more likely to happen when there is complete understanding. Plus, clients will respect you more when they feel you clearly understand their needs, and that is key to developing a strong relationship. Despite the surplus of talent available, buyers like working with freelancers they know and trust. If you are talented, and you’re a good listener and an agreeable person, it’s likely you will be commissioned for future jobs.

06 Good communication skills

When it comes to working with clients, you cannot rely on visuals as your sole mode of communication. In the ideation phase, before proper visuals are available, it’s essential for you to inspire and persuade your client with words, whether written or in conversation. The same goes for working with clients who may not be visually literate in your field. Oftentimes, clients don’t know exactly what they are buying or what they want until it’s delivered. So you’ll need to be able to articulate your artistic vision and direction. Throughout the process, it is critical to understand and explain why you took a certain approach. If a customer questions your approach, you should be able to say, “I feel that this is the right direction, and here’s why.”

07 An ability to handle criticism and rejection

It happens to all of us. Even the most established creative freelancers have produced work that doesn’t quite meet their client’s expectations. Your work won’t always be a slam-dunk, so be ready to digest less-than-enthusiastic reviews sometimes. In an intensely competitive arena, all freelancers are bound to encounter rejection—from agents, clients, and even peers they may turn to for feedback. Hearing criticism isn’t always easy. You’ll need to thicken your skin and remember that it’s business—not a personal attack. Your client needs to put his or her business agenda first. It may take some time, but a successful freelancer eventually learns to take criticism and turn it into a result that pleases the client. Getting to that point in your career may require some sweat and tears, but it will make each victory all the more meaningful.

08 A positive attitude and professional demeanor

A good attitude is priceless when you are running your own business. It’s important to handle every job, whether small or large, with joie de vivre. Whether you’re interacting with clients or vendors or simply reflecting on a challenge, a negative attitude won’t make anything any better. Clients don’t respond well to people who get easily upset or let unexpected situations ruin their day. And remember, mistakes are part of the discovery process. So do your best to stay positive, no matter what unexpected problems arise.

09 Good work habits

Good work habits lead to better work, and better work leads to more projects and more clients. If organization has never been your strong point, it’s time for a change. If you work from home, turn off the TV and keep personal interests like surfing the Internet, listening to the news, or reading magazines to a minimum. Stay focused on business by making a list of tasks to accomplish every day. And clients appreciate quality work that is done quickly, so challenge your efficiency: try to beat the deadline by completing a job in five days instead of eight. As a freelancer, you have to be self-motivated, because only you can set the bar for your skill and output.

NO DEGREE? NO WORRIES!

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If you’re worried because you don’t have an art degree, fret not. There’s no doubt you’ll need a sharp creative eye and training in mechanical skills—whether that means learning your way around a 3-D modeling program, mastering a digital SLR camera, or tackling Adobe Premiere Pro—to become a creative freelancer. But how you acquire those skills is not as important as your talent and execution. So whether your education comes from a well-known art school or online camera tutorials, it should have no bearing on your success as a freelancer. Many successful freelancers, including a few profiled in this book, are self-taught. Your artistic portfolio is the equalizer, and it counts for far more than pedigree does. Certainly there are benefits to enrolling in a structured academic program, such as a well-rounded education, not to mention contacts and recommendations from your fellow students and professors. However, with an accurate assessment of your strengths and weaknesses, you can educate yourself in your field, taking classes or reading books in the areas where you need to improve. You can also duplicate the camaraderie found at school by immersing yourself in online communities of like-minded creatives through blogs, forums, and social networking sites.

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Preparing for Freelancing

Once you make the decision to freelance, it’s likely you’ll want to start immediately. But before you march into your boss’s office with a resignation letter, it’s essential that you gather as much information as possible to set yourself up for success. Preparation is everything. There are plenty of things you can do to lay the groundwork while you’re still holding down your day job or finishing up with school.

• Actively research and get to know your industry. Scan through books, trade publications, and Web sites to find companies you’d be interested in working with and whose style matches your own. If you’re not sure whether they hire freelancers, you may have to contact them directly. Pay close attention to the types of talent businesses seek out and take note of the companies you think would be most interested in your work.
• Find out which events, such as conferences, your ideal clients or practitioners attend. Go to these events to make connections. Collect information to establish a network of colleagues and set up a database of potential clients.
• Read up on the lives and work of other creative freelancers in your field. Start here with the freelancers profiled in this book. Did they go to school, or are they self-taught? Which clients are they working with? What was critical to their success? As you discover the answers to these questions, that will help inspire and prepare you for the path ahead.

As you begin this endeavor, embrace your newness to the free-lance game. Don’t get discouraged by how green you are, and don’t let the achievements of others deflate you. As you flip through design annuals, scan through photography blogs, or check out online reels, you may envy established freelancers working with big-name clients or ogle work and wonder, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Remember that at one time all these creatives were in your shoes. Take their success stories as inspiration. As a new freelancer, you’ll probably have to pay your dues—possibly by compromising your vision or accepting uninspiring projects just to pay the bills. The road to a profitable freelance career doing cutting-edge work may not always be the swiftest, but if you keep building your body of work with an emphasis on quality, prized clients with meaningful commissions will soon be knocking on your door.

Andrew Bannecker

Illustrator | Bethesda, MD

PROFILE No 01

Andrew Bannecker’s story has all the makings of a freelancer’s fairy tale. In 2001, soon after graduating from Wichita State University with a degree in communications, he realized that his calling was in art and design. In true underdog style, he created his own artistic education, building a body of artwork that was purely self-taught and self-initiated. Eight years, six cities, and umpteen art and non-art jobs later, Andrew is now a full-time freelance illustrator represented by agencies in Europe and the United States, with commissions from clients such as Starbucks, HarperCollins, and Target under his belt. Not bad for a Kansas native who dabbled in graphic design and started undergrad with the belief that he was going to be a zookeeper. Andrew’s story is a lesson in the benefits of a go-getter mentality, proving that your trajectory can only head skyward when hard work, momentum, and serendipity are on your side.

Before you were an illustrator, you were a graphic designer.
How did you get design jobs without a degree in graphic design?

I enrolled in one graphic design class in college, which on the first day required me to draw circles. I was young and ignorant and found the exercise boring, so I dropped out of the class. I decided that graphic design wasn’t for me, and I ended up with a degree in communications. A few years after graduation, I moved back to Wichita with a renewed interest in graphic design. I didn’t have any training, so I started teaching myself how to do logos and layouts—and did it all in Photoshop. I fell in love with graphic design. I started a Web site with a portfolio of these self-initiated projects I had been playing around with. It caught the attention of a local design and branding agency called the Greteman Group. I was very surprised and excited when they offered me my first salaried design job.

How did you get into illustration?

I had a fantastic job in Washington, D.C., working for Arnold Worldwide, a multimillion dollar advertising agency. It was a job I got completely by accident when a friend offered to drop off my portfolio and they later hired me as a designer. On a project we were doing for Amacai, they needed a poster made, ...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Introduction to Creative Freelancing
• Chapter 2: Setting Up Shop
• Chapter 3: Getting the Word Out
• Chapter 4: Working with Clients
• Chapter 5: Getting Paid
• Chapter 6: Agents
• Chapter 7: Balancing Your Business and Personal Lives
• Chapter 8: Next Steps
• Resources
• Index
• Acknowledgments
• Copyright Page