Every once in a while a client will ask, “So how did you get started in design and graphics?”

Or, “So how did you come to be a freelancer?”

Most clients wont’t ask. Which is fine.

But those who do ask, they seem to be the more desirable clients.

They are worth wooing and courting. They care who they’re working with. They’re looking for allies and co-conspirators. They are long-termers with a mission. They care who you are.

All you need is a few lines. Your origin story.

“In college I used to ghost-write term papers for a little extra money. Highly unethical, of course, but I liked it and was surprisingly good at it. Never brought in less a ‘B’.”

“I love working on design problems. Really hate working on boss and office problems.”

“In third grade, I was the only bilingual kid in my class. So I became the unofficial translator for the new kids and their parents. It felt good to be a bridge across languages and cultures. Been doing it ever since.”

“Every boss I ever had was a bit of a disappointment. But every client I have is something of a genius.”

“I somehow do much better work as a freelancer. And much more of it.”

“Illustrating is the only thing I can do eight hours a day. And still want to do it again tomorrow.”

“My boss once old me. ‘We love your work. But perhaps you could do it for us from afar, at a distance, on a freelance basis so you wouldn’t actually have to come in here?'”

“I started out doing all phases of marketing: graphics, media, strategy, copywriting. Clients said, ”The writing we like a lot. The other stuff, eh, not so much.’ So I stuck with the writing.”

“Love clients, hated bosses.”

Note: the above are also useful mantras, for those days when you wonder:  “Wait, why I’m doing this?”

 

 


Good ideas you can use today by 4:30: Smarter Freelancing.