Category Archives: Freelance
How to Overcome the Bad Moments of Your Career Like a Boss
Christian VasileThere are lots of web design resources out there and learning all the skills you need is not a problem anymore - everybody can do it. But some of us (or better said, most of us) encounter the same logistical problems now and then during our freelance careers. Being able to create high quality websites is not enough anymore. Freelancing is a total challenge as you also need to be able to manage yourself, your work and your problems. Even if most people consider the motivational articles a waste of time, they actually offer solutions to problems more important than color theory, typography or web usability. The inner problems can stop freelancers from finding the right balance between work and personal life and, at some point in time, can even force them to retire or change careers.
Punch Procrastination in the Face and Accomplish Your Goals
Jenna ScaglioneWorking from home or even an office as a freelancer can be very rewarding. Free time, creating your own schedule, the chance to be your own boss—the freelancing life is one that a lot of people envy. Unfortunately, without a boss or supervisor breathing down your neck, the accountability starts to decrease and freelancers can become entangled in a web of distractions and procrastination without even realizing it. Facebook, emails, Twitter, blog comments, your mother calling to gossip about the family —all of these and more vie for your attention.
How To Charge More As a Freelancer
Most freelancers out there work as a freelancer either because they are in need of a job or they want to increase their skills and improve their portfolio. But have you ever thought about the fact that all of us do it for money too? Now some of you might disagree with me and I fully encourage you to do it. Then I also encourage you to go out there and work for free, while marketing yourself as a volunteer designer. After three months come back to me and I am sure you will agree that you freelance for money. If we wouldn't need money to survive, we would probably not work at all.
1stWebDesigner’s Life #4 – This Big & Developer Client
Rochester OliveiraAnd here we are again, trying to bring you a couple of laughs. Our superhero Webster continues his pursuit for the best client, and we all know that he's quite far from it yet, right? :) We have two more short stories of Webster's life (which is kind of similar to ours, huh?) brought to life by Jamie Sale! We'll be talking about crazy measurement units and clients who want to be web designers. So, Let's rock!
Stand Out Among Freelancers by Communicating with Your Client
While the internet becomes more and more accessible to everyone, some freelancers rarely use these new technologies to improve their marketing or client relations. These incredible technologies allow us to communicate easier with people from all over the world and to even optimize the communication with someone who is living close to us. Throughout my short career I have learned that communicating with a client is crucial, because his directions might help you too. Moreover, if the product is not heading in the direction the client wants, communicating with him is going to make the product better and, let's be honest, this is what every freelancer is rated on - the quality of the projects they deliver.
6 Things To Consider For A Better Web Design Career
For most of us web design started as a passion or a part-time job. For many of us it started before we turned 18, but most of us ended up working full-time in an agency or as freelance web designers and developers and will probably continue doing so for years and years to come. But being a designer can take a great deal of time, with multiple clients to please, working in an environment that moves fast and changes even faster, where we have to learn new skills over and over again, market ourselves and even find clients on a monthly basis if we don't work in an agency. As with any other career, web design has its own challenges and they arise all the time for us, even if we are experienced or well-known. It can be a difficult client to work with, an impossible deadline or a bad example of outsourcing, it doesn't really matter. Unfortunately these things can't be avoided, but to ensure you enjoy a better career anyway I created a list with some tips for all of you.
Questions to Ask Yourself Before Becoming a Freelancer
Going freelance nowadays is a path many designers and developers take, not only because of job vacancies being on the low side, but also because there are some clear advantages to it. While working for a company is more secure and organized, going freelance is something most of us have thought about at least once. Working by yourself means you need some special skills, such as being able to work alone, to respect schedules and deadlines and to be able to market yourself better than the others. None of these is easy to do and not being able to follow some specific rules will ruin your freelance career. Therefore before going freelance, take a look at the following questions and try to ask yourself if this is indeed the right path for you to follow.
Is the University Route Right for You?
JamalWell, it's that time of year again. The time when high school seniors, some overachieving juniors as well, begin to finally see their educational journey for the upcoming fall be just right around the corner. By now probably close to a billion, if not more, college applications have been completed and processed by admission boards for this group of young individuals looking to expand their minds by pursuing higher education. At first glance this seems like a great scenario, having young people putting care and consideration into their future is what everyone loves to see. However, what if these graduating students are making the wrong choice about their educational journeys?
10 Ways to be a More Efficient Freelancer that may Affect Your WOW Career
Daniel SmithWorking as a freelancer has many benefits, you work your own hours, you don’t have to worry about a nagging boss, you can work in your underwear.. the list goes on. One area of freelancing that’s tough though is maintaining efficiency. As a freelancer, you become your own task master. This means you’re not only responsible for making sure you complete tasks, but just as importantly you need to determine which tasks are to be performed in the first place. For people who lack motivation and/or self-discipline, this can present a big problem. Combined with the numerous distractions a freelancer faces e.g. family/friends, favorite TV shows, temptation to sleep til lunch; you have a formula for incredible inefficiency. In this article we’ll look at the benefits of being more efficient and then some road tested ways of dramatically improving your efficiency.
How to be More Productive and Start Earning More as a Freelance Designer
OnibalusiBeing a freelance designer can be a great way to make money with your skills but the time will come when it seems you just can't earn more. A major fear of every freelancer is the fear of not being able to earn more money due to a limit in productivity or effectiveness of the freelancer. I have also been a victim of a situation like this and as professionals we need constant training and tools to stay ahead of the competition, and what this only means is that we need more money to keep ourselves afloat. This kind of situation is very unique and it isn't a result of lack of skills or lack of clients, but it is simply because we can't get more done. If you've been experiencing problems with making more money as a designer due to lack of time then you simply need to learn how to get things done in less than half the time it takes without having to sacrifice quality for speed. Having the right productivity tips and making effective use of them can make a whole lot of difference in how fast you succeed as a freelancer and it can mean the difference in you making four figures in a month or you making five figures in a month. Below are some of the tips that have helped double my productivity and thus increased my income over the months.
