Advice from freelance pros

Advice from freelance pros
First of all, add the book The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber, to your bedside table. I think Amazon has it. Also look for the Business side of Creativity (creativebusiness.com). The E-Myth will help you organize your head around your business and the Business side of creativity will help with some specific issues.

After that, I fear that you will need to learn an ugly skill that noone ever told me I would need back when I was in school. Sales! (Which is actually kind of funny. Marketing and marketing tools are so much about sales and pleasing the customer. We as creators are never taught to think about the fact that we need the same thing for our businesses!)

Pricing your services:There are various publications out there that come up with surveys every few years. Graphic artists get between $35/hr and $150/hr depending on their skills, experience and guts. My personal experience is think up the number you want to be making ($175/hr) and then say it. If the client says "okay", you know that your number could have been higher!

Why shouldn't you charge $10k for a logo? Imagine the value the company will get out of it. Isn't it worth it to them to have an Eric Logo? Won't it help them make their millions of dollars? Shouldn't you get compensated for helping them retire early to the carribean?

Remember that the client will ALWAYS want it for less, no matter how low you go, so start high. You will not get every client (heck, you don't want every client! where would you put them all?). Some will say no, some will say yes. If you ask enough clients, you will make a living.

So, getting clients means that you have to go out and start talking to people. As many as you can. Tell everyone you know what you are doing. Ask current clients who they know. Follow up every lead. Cold call a company and ask for their marketing department. When the Dir of Marketing says no, ask him for a referral.

And, if all else fails, get a sales coach.

You (and we) are in this to make money doing what we love to do. We are selling to businesses and people who need and value our services. Feed your business skills so that you can exercise your creative skills.

Good luck!