Ultimate Guide to Freelancing - Part 9: Advice

Client Relationships

• Try to maintain several clients to diversify your income streams

• Remain professional and easy to work with

• You can always say to your client, “I’ll think about it and get back to you.”

• Under promise and over deliver

• Confirm verbal conversations in a follow-up email

Best Practices & General Advice

• Keep your expenses low

• Spell check twice

• Calculate twice

• Refer to experts and other freelancers to help you

• Take your job seriously, become an expert at the product/service you sell

• Take advantage of the freedom you’ve acquired

• If something’s not working, change it up

• Over time you’ll master it all, just check one thing off on your to-do list and carry on

• When you feel comfortable consider becoming a “digital nomad,” which is the hip term for working remotely from anywhere around the globe with an internet connection (See: our friends at Pack Hacker!)

• Talk to an insurance agent to see if you need insurance (find one near you via a quick google search) 

• In general, the more I share with others, the more they share with me. There is enough room at the table for all designers to succeed. Open up to your network! You might be surprised at the help you receive 

Jump to:

• Introduction: Ultimate Guide to Creative Freelancing

• Part 1: Starting: Part-time vs. Full-time, Contractor vs. Freelancer

• Part 2: Finding Work: Online Job Search, Recruiters, Staffing Agencies, & Networking

• Part 3: Marketing: Portfolio Website & Social Media

• Part 4: Taxes

• Part 5: Determining your Rate

• Part 6: Paperwork: Contracts, Non-Disclosures, Quotes, Estimates, & Invoicing

• Part 7: Motivation: Schedules, Deliverables, & File Organization

• Part 8: Administration: Healthcare, Retirement, & Savings

• Part 9: Advice: Client Relationships, Best Practices, & General Advice

Love,

Paul

For snarky design commentary follow @gpaulbenson on Twitter

And see our previous blog post: “Tools & Resources for Designers” for additional advice. 

Best of luck! And please send your tips or questions my way by commenting below! Also, would you be interested in video tutorials? Let me know!

Special Thanks to:

Channing Ritter (Freelance Advisor)

Brendan Bergen (Copywriter & Social Media Advisor)

Hana Sato (Creative Recruiting Advisor)

Aliza Adam (Freelance Advisor)

Selwyn Rocha (Graphic Design Advisor)

Anna Lu (Professional Feedback)

Tero Honkala (Marketing & Creative Media Feedback)

Chrissy Raftery (Professional Feedback)