Juggling assignments

Over the past few days, I worked on a promotional post card, a home page for a tech company and a home page for a home improvement company, took care of my bills, and had a couple of conference calls on current and future (I hope) assignments.

To be a successful freelancer it's important to know how and when to juggle assignments. But more importantly you have to know when to say "NO" to an assignment. 

I knew that my delivery dates for these 3 assignments are well spaced out, but they all needed to see something to get the ball rolling. If I run into an assignment that has a due date that would be difficult to hit because of my current assignments, I would turn it down.

Now don't get me wrong... I hate turning down work, but I would hate to miss a deadline even more. I don't mind working late at night or on the weekends... that's the life style of a freelancer, but as a successful freelancer you have to protect your reputation. Delivering an assignment late is one of the worst things you can do. Miss a date you will lose a client.

Bottom line: Don't take an assignment if you feel you can't juggle your workload to make the date it's due. You are not doing anyone any favors if you miss a deadline. Successful freelancers are on time all the time.

Generating new business. Part 1

How do you get new business?

There are many strategies for getting new business... let's start with what I call the "sharpshooter".

You can design a fantastic mailing piece and mail it out to thousands of companies... this is what I call "buckshot". It means that you aim at your audience and hope a few hit the target.

I prefer the "sharpshooter" approach. By this, I mean I do a little research and send out a SMALL mailing to just a few people a week (via e-mail or snail mail). The beauty of doing a sharpshooter approach is that your letter to your target is very specific (because you did your homework.. you know you can help them and you can detail how and why). 

And here's the most important thing about the sharpshooter approach... you can do extensive followup. Think about it, if you send out a mailing to 1,000 people, how are you going to follow up on them? But if you send out 2 or 3 a week, it's easy! Plus it's very personal.

Bottom line: Put together a mailing piece for print and e-blast. Research who you feel you can really help... and send it out... then Follow Up!

How to negotiate higher design fees

In 1987 when I went into freelancing full time. I received as a gift a book called 'How to Negotiate Higher Design Fees".

Now I firmly believe that when you quote a price, you stick with it. But what happens when a client asks for more?

The answer is simple... re-negotiate your fee. It's fair and reasonable to do this and as long as you are up-front there will be no surprises or ill will.

To be a successful freelancer your job is made easier by return customers. Say goodbye to recurring customers if you take advantage of your client. But you don't want to be taken advantage of too.. so speak up.

I have found that my clients understand that if they are asking for more or if they have changed the scope of the project, that an adjustment of the costs is appropriate.

Bottom line: Be fair to yourself and your client. Get more if they ask for more.. but don't surprise your client.. work it out ahead of the time.

Playing games...

I just finished a web e-blast. Started it yesterday, it was approved this morning. Now why did I deliver it so fast when other designers play the "time game"?

What's the "time game" you ask? 

It's when you finish a job but you hold onto the job for a day or two before you show it to your client.

Now why would a designer do that? 

Some designers (who work by the hour.. not me, I work on a project basis) hold the project to "fudge" the numbers so they can bill more.

Some designers want their clients to think that they have spent a lot of time "thinking about and designing" their project.

And some designers hold onto the job because they don't want their clients to expect that kind of service all the time.

WRONG.

If you're like me, you have lots of experience, you're very creative and you know what you are doing... be proud of the fact that you can create and deliver fast... it makes you more valuable.

It's like this joke I heard:

A repair man with 20 years experience  is asked to fix a machine. He walks in, pulls out a hammer, stands there for 2 minutes, then hits the machine with the hammer. The machine immediately starts running. Then he hands the owner the bill for $1000. "What!!!!???" says the owner... 2 minutes, $1,000.. "I want an itemized bill" he says. The guy takes back the bill, scribbles on it and hands it back.

The owner reads it.

Hitting machine with hammer: $1.00

Knowing where to hit the machine with a hammer: $999.00

This guy was not billing by the hour.. he was billing what the project was worth... and his 20 years of experience is what the owner was buying. The owner was back in business!

As a successful freelancer you should be proud that you know what you are doing.. is it fair that someone who doesn't know what they are doing and spends a week doing the job would be paid more just because they are incompetent? You should be payed NOT for just for your time... but for your experience.

Also, who are they going to call again when they are in a real time crunch... you, the reliable freelancer or the person that takes forever? 

Bottom line: Educate your clients that they are purchasing your knowledge and experience.. not just design... you will be more valuable to them and they will call you again and again.. making you too a successful freelancer.

Everything old is new again

Many years ago when I stopped doing hand drawn comps and switched to the computer, I said good bye to pen, pencil, markers and drawing paper.

But I recently thought... there still must be a market for some hand drawn art.. like for story boards.

Now let's think about this for a moment... if there's still a small market for hand drawn art, and if you can grab a piece of that market, you can make more money!

That's what being a successful freelance artist is all about... opening up different areas to make money. If all I did was design logos, I wouldn't be doing as well as I am by doing all manner of print and web including Flash animations and banners.

Now, I will be the first to admit that after over 10 years of not drawing by hand, I've gotten a bit rusty... so every night now, I pick up my pencil and I start drawing. It might take me a year to get up to the level of art that my prospective clients will want... but it's worth the time.

I've done work for Coca-Cola, RC Cola and Pepsi Cola... and what I've learned is that some areas of the soft drink market are small niche markets... but if you can capture a big percentage of the small market... you can make a lot of money. 

It's the same thing about drawing by hand... it's a small market, but if I can grab a big percentage of the tiny market, I can earn more money.

Look at calligraphers, when the computer came along, their business died. But for some clients, the computer wouldn't do... they want real hand lettering. The market for their business shrunk, but the top calligraphers are still making money because there's still a demand for their services on the high end. And because they are so good, that there aren't that many professionals around and because they are in demand, they can charge more! 

Bottom line: Be flexible... offer a wide range of services (as long as you can do them at a top level) and you too can be a successful freelancer.

The lighter side of logo design

Every now and then I run across stories where someone's logo or slogan "turns bad". 

Case in point: in England, the Office of Government Commerce had a bold logo designed. "According to insiders, the graphic was already proudly etched on mouse-pads and pens before it was unveiled for employees who spotted the clanger within seconds"

The "clanger" was that when the logo was viewed vertically (like on the pens) it looked like a stylized man with an erection. www.telegraph.co.uk/news 1901756/OGC-unveils-new-logo-to-red-faces.html

My other favorite was when a school board handed out thousands of pencils to students with the following message embossed in big bold letters for kids: Don't Do Drugs!

Sounds harmless... but when the kids used their pencil sharpeners the message changed to "Do Drugs!" 

I did a project for a major cereal brand...

They were offering one of those animated flip books.. you know the kind you flip the pages really fast and it looks like an animated cartoon.

They asked me what I thought of the name that they were giving to their free gift inside... they were going to call it a FLICKER BOOK.

I said to them... you are in for a BIG problem if you use that name. The letters LI when spaced together look like a letter U. You might have people thinking that you are offering for free a F_CKER BOOK!

Bottom line, look at your designs up, down and inside out... to be a successful freelancer you don't want your client or yourself associated with a public relations disaster.. it could FLICK you up.

Your client spent their budget with another designer... what now?

Now my heart goes out to folks who say to me.. "I spent a lot of money on my logo (or brochure, or web site...), but I don't like it could you design one for me for a lot less than you usually charge?"

I feel really bad. 

But I would feel worse spending lots of my time helping them out for pennies. 

I don't mind working on a sliding scale and I don't mind throwing a freebie to a charitable cause... but I won't lower my price because someone spent their money with a poor designer.

These might be the same folks that asked for a quote from me and decided that it wasn't in their budget... but now to repair the work, they will be spending more money.  It's sad, but if they went with me from the beginning it probably would have been less in the long run!

Your client can buy day old bread for less... but the next day it's moldy and they will have to buy more... or they could buy it fresh ( spend a bit more ) and it will last longer and will get eaten and enjoyed. 

Tell your client that spending a little more at the beginning and getting a better product will save them money in the long run.

And one more thing.. if your client changes the scope of the project, you should re-negotiate your fee. I always inform my clients, when I give them a solid quote, that if they change the project brief, there could be an additional fee. I don't always charge them if it's simple, but if they do a 180 degree turn I have no problem getting a bit extra for the work because they weren't surprised. Remember, from my previous posts... no surprises.

Bottom line... you fee should be fair and reasonable... lowering it even more is not fair and reasonable for you.