Freelance By Design

What's the end result of our creative efforts? What responsibility do we as creative professionals have toward the end user? What responsibility do we have to uphold the public good? What do you do when your ethics and your client's ethics clash? Creative work involves more than proper function, ease of use and visual appeal. There's a bigger horizon we can't lost sight of, both in the work we create and in how we serve our clients.

To realize success as an independent creative, we need to move forward consistently, even if we think we're not yet ready. Forward motion jump starts us into an ongoing cycle of increasing capability and confidence. Taking action often takes courage. In this episode I explain a process I call the "Four Cs of Acceleration": Courage, Commitment, Competence, and Confidence. Understanding how this operates can help us take charge of our creative and material growth. We build our futures one step at a time, but we have to step out.

AB5 took effect in California in January 2020. It narrows the definition of independent contractor, and the type and amount of work a person can do for a client without being classified as an employee. While freelancers in CA battle to pass Proposition 22 and overturn AB5, HR2474, threatens to restrict freelancing. In this episode, we break down what these all mean for freelance creatives, and what you can do to ensure you meet the criteria to remain an independent contractor.

There are good and poor approaches to how you work with clients. In this episode I answer questions from freelancers, both of them graphic designers, about working with clients. We're talking about how to be sure a client doesn't run off with your work without paying, what to do when your client won't give you ideas, and how to gracefully end a working relationship that's not working out. Not that we ever want that to happen, but it does.

Freelancers, are you getting paid what you're worth? Are you working with the right kinds of clients? Your pricing strategy attracts either low-value or high-value clients. This is the final in a 3-part series on pricing creative work. We compare tactics for negotiating with low value and high value clients, why high-value clients are easier to work with, and how hourly rates prevent having the value conversation.

If you're a freelance creative who's in it to make a living and especially if you're in it full time, and for the long-term, you must have a strategy for how you set your creative fees. Here are 5 hard truths about valuing your work, pricing and negotiating.

Pricing creative services is one of the most common conundrums freelancers experience. In this episode I share 5 popular approaches to setting your fees: by the hour, by the project, retainer, package, and value. Take the guesswork out of pricing by standardizing your approach. This the first of a series of pricing discussions.

When creatives put business first, they alleviate myriad problems typically experienced by freelancers. In this episode I share some of my story, what I learned, and how the way you think about your work and purpose directly impacts your ability to thrive, and why your creativity has a larger purpose than self-expression.

In this Q&A session, I respond to 4 freelancing conundrums about communicating with clients, enforcing business policies, working on site, and steps to launch a freelance business. I also share how what's "under the hood" at Freelance Road Trip helps creativepreneurs become confident owners of their independent businesses.

How will clients find you? If you want to work with a certain type of client, you'll need to define who they are and why you matter to them. You need a marketing plan, and an effective marketing hub that communicates What, Who, and How. I present 3 key strategic questions dealing with promotion, positioning, portfolio, and prospecting that you need to answer to attract your ideal clients. Why is right now the time to design or revise your marketing plan.? Because new opportunities are waiting for you.