Okay, before you get the wrong idea:  Andrea Mignolo does not literally design for beer. (Not anymore, anyway.)

She is not hurting for clients, nor does she work cheap. If you want her to design your web site or software front end, it will cost you way more than a case of some amber-bottled beverage.

Andrea Mignolo, Designer: "Paddling one's own canoe can be very rewarding even if it feels, at first, like you don't have a paddle, let alone a canoe."

The beer reference is just a line on her website (which she no doubt regrets by now).  “If the project is right, I’ve also been known to work for beer. Good beer.”

It’s simply Andrea’s way of saying she loves design.  She aches to do it.

Which is precisely why she ended up a freelance.

Her story. After a few years doing design and sysadmin work for Free Speech TV, Andrea moved with her husband to Japan, where she took a job teaching English to executives at Japanese corporations like Yamaha and Suzuki. She was, apparently, masterful at it.

But to pass the time on the long drives between company campuses — long drives on the left side of the road, no less — she took to listening to podcasts on design.

After a while, the siren call of design got to her. She itched to get elbow-deep into front ends and interfaces again. But in Japan, design jobs for expatriate English teachers were scarce.

So, with her husband’s encouragement she quit the itinerant English teaching and created her own design job, internationally.

From Japan, she began chasing freelance work for clients back in the States and the UK.

By the time she relocated to Vancouver, B.C, she was 100% freelance, 100% busy.  And loving it.

She has now moved 3,170 miles to New York, and is still 100% busy. Still loving it.  (And understandably, after the wrong-side-of-the-road driving thing, finds safer ways to get around. )

I chased her down for an interview. This is what she said.

Your work? Your clients?

AM: My typical freelance work ranges from discovery and wireframing to visual design to front-end implementation and CMS integration. Clients tend to be small companies, artists, non-profits, and individuals, with a good balance of repeat clients and new ones (the ongoing clients are great for cash flow).

I’m also working full-time for East Media in NYC, a kick-ass Rails team that can implement anything we or anybody can dream up.

What do you like about the freelance life?

AM:  It’s the independence and the ability to work from anywhere, be it my couch or another country.

There is a strong sense of accomplishment and ownership in freelance work  successes (and failures) are directly yours and reflect the effort and focus you’ve put in.

Everything that has happened (or hasn’t) is because of my own merits and shortcomings, and gives me the perspective analyze both sides of the spectrum and adjust accordingly.

The parenthetical nod to failures or non-happenings was thrown in because I like that side of freelance as well; it’s a litmus test to show howfar you’ve come, and how far you need to go.

If you aren’t failing, you aren’t reaching far enough.

Of all the avenues you’ve tried, what has been most productive in landing work?

AM: Mostly, word of mouth. Doing good work and making clients happy begets more clients.  In the last year 90% of my work has come from referrals from previous clients, and 10% through my website.

Getting out and meeting people, not in a schmoozy false way, but genuinely connecting with people in your industry, and people in general, is a good way to lay some groundwork and get your name out there.

Frustrations? Challenges?

AM: Managing both work and cash flow.  When you are taking on client projects that range in timeline and price, payments come in irregular bursts so you have to make sure you’ve balanced and budgeted correctly.

The most difficult thing is taking time off.  It’s hard for me to stop working. If my laptop is in view it’s tempting to just do a little more work (and I often do).

Which segues into another difficult aspect of freelance: the ability to say no — either to projects that aren’t a good fit, or that can’t fit on top of my workload, no matter how awesome of a project it might be.

Best type of client?

AM:  The most enjoyable client is one that is excited about the project and can put their trust in you to do the job.

Clients that think they know best and try to micro-manage every stage of the project are more difficult, but are good because they are clearly invested.

The most difficult client is one that doesn’t really care one way or the other, and can’t be bothered to be involved in the project.  Sometimes you can tell which are which before the project kicks off, and sometimes you are knee-deep before you realize what is going on.

Your ultimate career fantasy?

AM:  My holy grails: to design and develop a product that could be a long-term source of income.  And to to teach.  Write a book.

You have worked in Japan, Vancouver, New York. How has location affected your freelance potential?

AM:  Overall I’ve found location hasn’t been an issue when working, though there are clients who prefer being able to have face-to-face or in-office workdays with freelancers.  Some of my Vancouver-based freelancing will come to an end, but other than that, things should stay pretty much the same.

You have a flair for photography. Have you ever considered that as an income source? As part of your freelance repertoire?

AM: Photography is just something I do for fun.  I’ve pretty much ditched my SLR for my iPhone with a couple of filter apps.  I love snapping photos with the iPhone because it’s both discreet and basic; I’m unencumbered by the form factor and the simplicity/convenience keeps me from over-thinking a shot.  I see something, I take a picture.

More Andrea Mignolo:

Her design site:  AndreaMignolo.com

Her blog, Protocol 7

On Twitter, she is pnts.

Her free downloadable WordPress Themes:  Oulipo,  Ocular Professor, Zack 990, Hanami.

And for Tumblr: Wakalixes

——

Post-game commentary

- What Andrea Mignolo does — about as well as anyone I’ve seen — is  come across as supremely competent in the nitty-gritty of her craft, while still infusing everything with personality.

She talks stuff like CMS integration and javascript, while mentioning she’s fond of windmills. You see someone who knows the intricacies and technology, and incidentally, someone you like.

It is devilishly hard to strike this balance, especially if you’re calculating it.

I’m guessing — and only guessing — that Andrea pulled this off simply because she isn’t trying to.  She is being herself.  I’m reluctant to recommend this, because it is so easy to screw it up.  But Andrea doesn’t.

- Andrea puts stuff out there. As of this afternoon, her free WordPress themes have been downloaded some 43,264 times. Is that huge for WordPress themes?  I have no idea. The point is, they are out there, with her name on them.  And every one, somehow, looks and feels exactly like Andrea Mignolo.  There is no mistaking her stuff for someone else’s.

- Andrea also puts herself out there, in person. The web, Twitter and LinkedIn can’t come close to getting out there in person, where the people are. Face-to-face is so retro, but it sure works.  Andrea gets that.

#

When you’re sitting there in a cubicle, daydreaming about breaking out on your own, the wish list usually goes something like this:

Laura Silverman, Writer: "Take the leap. I believe the universe rewards risk."

Chuck the job and flee all the noise and nonsense. Maybe to a serene place in ski country. Check.

Work for big-name clients who want you. And on relatively classy projects. Yes.

Take a lot of vacations. Places like, oh, Iceland, Italy, Morocco. Okay.

Have the spare time to write a book, build a blog, go hiking whenever. Check.

Oh, and have a spouse who is also freelance, and also has time for all of the above. Double check.

That, a tad over-simplified, describes the life that Laura Silverman has crafted for herself, as a self-employed writer in creative marketing.

She works out of a 1935 cedar-shingle cottage in woodsy Sullivan County, New York (picture ‘Last of the Mohicans’ landscapes) two hours above New York City, with her husband, independent producer and cinematographer George Billard, who, says Laura, has never held a conventional ‘job’ in his life.

Throughout her career, she has alternated between freelance copywriting, and stints as an employee at companies like Bergdorf Goodman, Coach Leatherware and Saks Fifth Avenue. She only succumbed to the staff jobs when clients seduced her with things like benefits, bonuses and regular paychecks.

But always, within a year or so, the work would get stale, the office politics would suck the energy out of her, and she’d pack up to go freelancing again.

This time Laura says she has gone independent for good.

I was so intrigued I pestered her for an interview by email. (Which she delayed for a week because, well, she was on vacation in LA. Lucky stiff.)

Your mix of writing work?  Clients?

LS: I work in the fashion and retail worlds quite a bit. Current clients include Target, Cole Haan, Sephora, and Interface/FLOR. Projects range from print and TV advertising to brand positioning and online content.

I also do a lot of work on naming and positioning projects for start-ups. [See samples of her work here.]

What draws you to working on your own?

LS: I’d say it’s the “free” in freelance that’s most appealing. And, as a writer, I work best when I can go back to my cave and ruminate. Also, I can really make the most of my time, working when I choose.

Not to mention that two or three weeks of vacation annually does not suffice for me.

Compared to working in staff jobs, are you better off freelancing? Or not?

LS: Overall, I have done as well or better financially when working freelance. And I’ve been better off both creatively and psychologically, without a doubt.

How does it work to have two freelancers, two die-hard independents under the same roof?

LS: It means we can travel a lot together. In the last four years we’ve been to Iceland, Morocco, Italy, Turkey, India, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

We’ve discovered that it works best for us to have separate work spaces. Working together at home can lead to a lot of naps!

You say that freelancing enabled your life in the woods. How so?

LS:  Had we been tethered to jobs in the city, we could never have moved to our place in the country, plain and simple. We still make the two-hour drive into New York at least once a week, but up here we get to live in nature, our cost of living is lower, and it affords us an isolation that really supports our work.

What is a typical work day?

LS: I work a lot. I’m a morning person, so I’m up early. My day is a mix of working on my novel, working on my blog, and working for clients. Plus snowshoeing or hiking, cooking, gardening and other domestic projects.

Laura Silverman in Venice. She works a lot. Vacations a lot.

Any downsides to working solo? Any irritations?

LS: This past year, cash flow was a challenge. Clients seemed to think it was perfectly OK to wait 90 days before sending payment. I used to hate dunning people, but now I don’t have a problem with it.

I work for MONEY, so why should I feel ashamed to ask for payment? As for doing work I’d rather not do, one of the best things about being freelance is that you can always say no.

Side projects?

LS: I am actually working on my first novel right now. I hope to finish it this year. Who knows where that will take me? I would like to think that it will lead to more.

And I just launched my blog — gluttonforlife — in December (although I was accruing posts for several months prior), so I’m not really sure where it’s going yet. It’s truly a labor of love, a way for me to share my passions with others. Initially, it took quite a bit of work to set up, but now it has an easy rhythm although I’m trying to post every day. It’s really a joy.

As a ‘serial freelancer’ what would you suggest to those thinking about going out on their own?

LS: Have a clear idea of how you’re going to support yourself. Really envision the life you want to have; write it out on paper even. Then put together a little nest egg, enough to get through a couple of months, should you need it. This is a psychological bolster for you, too.

Then take the leap. It may sound hokey, but I believe that the universe rewards risk. Getting through hard times means really accessing your creativity: find new clients, discover new avenues for your work, maybe even create an additional revenue stream by exploiting something else you do well.

Where to find Laura Silverman

Web: bylaurasilverman.com

Blog: Glutton for Life

——

Post-game commentary

- As idyllic as this all sounds (well, it’s idyllic to me, anyway) I’d bet Laura would admit there are days when things ain’t so pretty. Clients want the moon, the words won’t come, a check is late, the internet is down. Whatever. The key is, when you can see a pond out your front window, and you’re in charge of your own fate, the crap is a whole lot easier to take.

- Laura Silverman is good at what she does. She writes enviably well.  Check out her work. She has a touch for the world of Tiffany and Sephora. She isn’t trying to be all things to all clients. She does what she does.

- She has built a network of people who know her, trust her, understand what she does. You don’t accomplish that overnight. But you can always start today.

- Laura Silverman works. And hard. What she creates doesn’t spring full-blown from the spigot.

- She devotes time to side projects that may or may not result in anything, but do lift the soul.  That is always a good thing.

All photos by George Billard.

#

If there’s a book that should be wedged into every freelancer’s toolbox, it’s this one:  The War of Art.

Steven Pressfield: Imparting a little starch and inspiration to creative freelancers

It’s by Steven Pressfield, novelist and screenwriter who wrote The Legend of Bagger Vance, Gates of Fire, The Last of the Amazons, The Afghan Campaign,The Virtues of War, and most recently Killing Rommel. This guy produces.

In the War of Art he has much to say to us creatives and freelancers and entrepreneurial types who have stacks of daydream projects and works laying around undone.  Or even untouched.

Why we don’t do

How come we don’t ‘get around’ to writing that symphony, or building that web venture? We’re spending our days designing user manuals, which we detest, yet we still don’t sit down to do the scary hard work that could break us into the big time.  Why the hell not?

Or maybe we’ve lucked into the all-time juicy dream assignment from the best client ever.  And it’s laying there undone because we’re so freaking scared of blowing it, we don’t even start.  (Where I am this very day.)

How to get off your ass

Mr. Pressfield names the demon ‘Resistance’, that anti-force that keeps us from sitting down and doing our work.  And by ‘work’ he means that thing we were born to do, that calling that tugs at our soul. The thing we should be doing.

You should read this book

In the War of Art, he exposes the tricks and subterfuges that Resistance employs to make sure we keep dicking around and not doing.

And then he shows us the miraculous things will happen when we shut up, buck up and get to work.

The best part:  Mr. Pressfield writes as a guy who’s been personally slapped around by Resistance.  (See his story about the night in a cheap New York apartment on page 49.)

He doesn’t scold from a lofty perch like some overachiever gurus out there. Mr. Pressfield has done hand-to-hand battle with Resistance.  (And still does, apparently.) He comes back with muddy boots and a gashed chin to give us the intel.  It rings true.  I believe him.

I first read this book three years ago, and go through it afresh every few months for much-needed ‘starch and inspiration’ as he calls it.  I have bought at least seven of these to give away.  Above is a picture of my tattered and sweat-stained copy.  Buy your own here.

Three questions

Anyway.  By dumb luck, I recently had the chance to do a quick Q&A with Steven Pressfield on the War of Art, particularly as it applies to us freelancers.

Talk about stage fright. I re-wrote my questions nine times, afraid of sounding like a boob.

Mr. Pressfield was gracious and complete pro.  Here’s the exchange.

Q: One passage from WoA that often echoes in my head is The Definition of a Hack.  I agree with the thought entirely. Enduring and powerful work doesn’t come from trying to outguess the market, reviewers, the public. That’s not why you did Gates of Fire.

But the question that nags at me (and every other artist/designer/photographer freelancer I commiserate with) is ‘how do we remain authentic while still trying to satisfy clients?’

Some say “Work the way you want, and let the right people find you or not.”  Others say “As a pro, you should be skillful and disciplined enough to show up and solve any problem, whether the solution delights your soul, or not.”

Where do you land here?

PRESSFIELD: Walt, I come down for #2.  But that’s assuming that the artist/designer/photographer/freelancer we’re talking about is in business as a commercial enterprise and not doing “pure art.”

If you’re in business, you’re there to serve your client.  On the other hand, #1 has a lot of validity too. A photographer, say, has his own style – and that’s why clients come to him and not to other photographers.  They want his look, his emotion, what he and only he brings to the table.

So now that I think about it, I would say it’s a combo of #1 and #2.  Do you remember the actress Tina Louise, who was on Gilligan’s Island?  A real sexpot.  I had a boss once who hired her to do a commercial.  When the camera rolled, she kept giving him her sexy Tina Louise takes, which he kept trying to tone down.  Finally she just snapped.  “If you wanted Florence Henderson, you should have cast Florence Henderson!”

Q: I first read WoA as a writer, but I’m continually struck by how the principles apply in spades to the business world. Resistance shows up as endless tinkering with spreadsheets instead doing the hard stuff like trying to sell something, or actually building the damn product.

What reactions and feedback have you heard from the business and entrepreneurial worlds?  Is there War of Art for business in the works?

PRESSFIELD: You’re right on there, Walt.  I didn’t think WOA applied to entrepreneurs either when I wrote it.  But to my amazement, that group has written in the most and been the most enthusiastic.

I never knew Resistance applied to business but it sure does!  Donald Trump put WOA as #2 on his “summer reading list” for his business seminars; Robert Kiyosaki recommends it; and I’ve bunches of copies for David Allen (“Getting Things Done.”)

Maybe I should do a business version. Thanks!

Q: Where does blogging fit into your overall work day now?  (StevenPressfield.com) Is it a warm-up before the day’s hard slog?  A little cool-out jam session after the tough pages are done?  Maybe a distraction?  What has your experience been so far?

PRESSFIELD: Blogging has really devoured my time.  I’ve got to stop it.  It’s fun and I’m enthusiastic about the cause, but it’s real work, it’s full time stuff.  I intend to keep it up for a while, as the issues are “hot,” but by early next year I’ll have to really scale it back.  It requires too much time and effort.  It’s just as hard, I find, to write a good blog piece as to do real work.

As far as how it fits into the day, I’ll do a blog piece first, as you sussed out, as a warm-up.  It takes about two hours.  Then two hours of real writing.  Then I’m pooped.  But I’ve lost two hours of serious writing time, so that’s not so good.

Unfortunately these days, a writer if he wants to survive has to have some way of “getting the word out.”  You can’t count on your publisher at all and there are no more book reviews.  It’s like everything else in this tough economy.  The old days are over.  It’s tough out there!

—

Post-game commentary:

-I was heartened to see that it took Steven Pressfield — world-class productive writer– two full hours to write a blog post.  Makes me feel better about pecking at this one for 90 minutes, even with 60% of it already written by Steve.

- It’s interesting to see that even established, pure-pro guys with a built-in audience still have to be out there pitching and networking and handshaking.  Your work can do some of the talking for you. But not all of it.  Steve does it well, and with class.

- Steven didn’t single me out for this Q&A just because I’m an A-list mover and shaker.  He does this as a matter of course, I think, to offer a leg up to other creatives out there struggling in the trenches every day.  Even Z-listers like me.

Here’s a stack of other Q&As Steve offered to freelancers and creatives. (Many of whom had way better questions than mine.)  This guy is generous, tireless.

Boxing the Octopus

Buon Viaggio

Craig Fergson Images

Cyberward

Echoes of a Forgotten Age

Grokdotcom

Inspiration Location

Karine’s Blog

Mobilizing Students Mission

Red Fish Circle

Running Down A Dream

The Dreaming Cafe

The Dreaming Cafe 2

The Great Work Blog

The New York Screenwriting Life

Thesy Surface in Los Angeles

Write It Down

Writer  Shelves

Oh, and if you ever need a savvy and refreshingly human advocate for your book project, I would recommend Callie Oettinger. She gets it.