You and me, as freelancers. Are we entrepreneurs? I say no. We’re different. In one important way, freelancers and entrepreneurs are carved from the same timber. We are both fiercely and genetically independent. We recoil at the thought of being someone’s employee. Richard Branson would no sooner take a ‘job’ than Pablo Picasso would. John […]
Being a writer and all, I like to think that clients pay me for my silken prose, my clever insights, and my slightly irreverent yet endearing writing style. Not so. They don’t care that much about the writing per se. And they’re not paying for years of experience, either. And not for how many hours […]
Just for the record, I have never tried this, exactly. But ever since I heard it from a veteran freelancer ages ago, it has stuck in my head. When talking to a potential client, they always have plenty of questions for us. “Have you ever done any work with [biomedical, e-commerce, user interface, mens fashion […]
This idea seems vaguely unfair to me. Things shouldn’t work this way. But I have seen it hold true at least 264 times. Here it is: The person who cares less about a project, or cares less about a relationship, is the one who has control over it. They determine how it goes. Or when […]
Q: From Amy, a freelance translator: “I definitely need a smarter, more compelling sales pitch. “I struggle with clients who see translators as interchangeable, or think that one translation is as good as another. Some are even okay with having ‘bilingual’ employees do their translations in-house. “It’s especially frustrating when they don’t realize that […]
I used to think that a ‘fair price’ was whatever the client was willing to pay. I had always heard, “If they pay, they must consider it fair.” So I made it a practice to shoot for the ‘whistle price’. (Except when I chickened out.) That’s the fee where the client says, “Whew. That sounds […]
I’ve seen this happen over and over with the freelancers I know. Especially with me. I kick myself for it. Consider: When you’re new to freelancing, when you’re finding your way, your fees are modest. You may be skillful in your chosen craft, but you are not so sure-footed in this freelance thing. You worry about […]
Do those swell testimonials on your website do any good? I have no idea. Do clients even read them? Do clients know what they say even before they read them? Does it help if testimonials have many exclamation points? I don’t know. I know it gives us a warm feeling to have those customer […]
A friend Diana writes: “Please understand that I am going through a dry spell here, so I may be overstating this. “But I’m beginning to feel hopeless, as if I’m just one more designer/illustrator bobbing in a sea of 8 jillion other designer/illustrators who are all smart and talented and more famous than me. […]
How should you charge for your work? This is an age-old question. Should it be by the pound, by the day, by the project? What’s the framework? Then, how much should you charge? Is there a formula? A rationale? Do you even need a rationale? There are plenty of ways to think about all […]