Freelancing certainly isn’t for everyone but for some, it can be the solution for improving work/life balance or becoming one’s own boss. Whether you’re thinking about freelancing, just getting started, or have been working on your own, here are 6 tips that every freelancer should employ:
- Know your rates
As a freelance designer, your time is very important. This is why you should know how to properly charge your clients so that you’ll be able to manage your time and your jobs without being burned out.
Here’s a simple calculation: Your basic hourly rate = (annual salary + annual expenses + annual profit) / annual billable work hours
But, is an hourly rate going to be the best choice for you, or should you go for jobs by project basis? The best thing to do is to research the pros and cons of charging hourly or by project fees, day rates, or pricing packages and see which one is more suitable for your workload and rates.
- Always prepare a contract
As a freelance designer, you should always have a contract ready in order to set some things in stone. This includes the rate negotiated between you and the client, the parameters and scope of the project, deadlines, revisions or project cancellations, and payment timelines. Having a contract also helps to protect you from any potential legal issues, disagreements, and they ensure you are paid for your work.
- Deposit first
Before beginning any work for your client, secure a deposit. This is to protect yourself in the long run, as you may encounter clients who are not prompt in their payment schedules. This can be done in a few ways;
- ⅓ basis, where you receive ⅓ upfront, ⅓ halfway through the project, and the final ⅓ upon completion
- 50% upfront payment upon job confirmation, and 50% upon completion of the job.
- Maintain a regular schedule
One of the things that plagues freelance designers is often time management issues. While working on your own time and schedule seems easy to manage, it's important to plan your schedule and stick to it. Scheduling your time properly allows you to:
- Meet important deadlines
- Give each client the attention they deserve
- Create work/life balance
Here are some of the free tools you can use to keep yourself engaged throughout.
Freedom, Cold Turkey, Focus Booster.
- Use technology to your advantage
Keeping yourself updated with the latest design softwares can help to build up your repertoire and skillset that can help you build up a better client base. There are also other technologies that you can use, like Rtist for example, where we match you with clients looking for designers.
- Find your niche
Finding clients and getting noticed may seem difficult at first, but you’ve got to position yourself as an expert in design space and skillset and share your knowledge with people. This is a great way to stand out from the crowd and market yourself and your specialized skills for little to no cost.
Are you new to freelancing or considering going full-time? Reach out to us by joining our Rtist Creative Club on Facebook. If you’re still not sure where to start your freelancing journey, why not check out Rtist? We have one of the biggest creative talent communities in Malaysia that matches you with your clients.
