Some tips for beginners and not so much

Some water
Let me introduce myself - a freelance designer with experience as a pure freelancer for a month and a half.
Professional experience in the web - more than 6 years. It was these six years that allowed me to now become who I am and finally choose the vector of my movement.

When one and a half months ago I embarked on this path, I thought that in the beginning it would be insanely hard, especially since there are so many experienced colleagues around the shop with whom it would be impossible for me to go on.
')
But as it turned out, I was wrong. That is why at least 50% of freelancers simply do not understand some common truths, which I want to tell about further.


How to build a portfolio
Again, returning to my person, I want to note that I have been working as a designer for only 5 months. That is, quite a ridiculous term. All the rest of the time I worked as a PM, but, for several reasons, I decided to change the profile of activity. Moreover, I always liked to draw pictures. Experience designer in the agency - 3 months in one company. After that, pure freelancing began. I say this to the fact that people do not think that I am a champion in design with a huge spectacular portfolio. There is even quite the opposite.

So, after working for 3 months, I realized that it wasn’t at all mine - to arrive at 10 am in a dull office, do what you are told, and not what you want, draw some govno designs for nevmozyny customers who are still live in the late 90s with a complete absence of the inner plank of the beautiful (special thanks to the Soviet education in the field of art, or rather, its absence, the destruction of monuments and churches, the Stalinist skyscrapers and the Khrushchev five-storey buildings).

Draw sad banners, debility booklets, signs on the door and crooked business cards (saytiki quickly ended), and all this for fucking 30-40K - sorry, but not for me.

Without thinking twice, he slapped the resignation letter to the director on the table and left satisfied and free.
Out, to put it mildly, almost with nothing. There were two designs in store that could be shown in the portfolio and that's it. I hid the rest of the “creativity” in the farthest folder and I never admit that it was me who painted it.

Naturally, the question arose - how to sell yourself?
The answer came very quickly - to draw a few designs for fictional companies.
Three weeks, without looking up from Photoshop, I worked on designs. In this case, there is a huge bonus - there are no real customers with delusional ideas. As you drew - so be it. Therefore, the designs turned out pretty decent.

That's all, the portfolio is ready. Albeit small, but pretty cute. We load on freelance exchanges and go.


How to submit yourself
While still working as a PM, talking to freelancers, I was surprised that 90% of candidates did not even bother to read the text of the project. When asked to send suggestions only to private messages and immediately announce the cost, I received 50 answers to myself in the project with the phrases “Hello! I'll do it! ”Or“ Hello! We are a studio such and such. Prices such and such. Works such and such. Write! Guys, I already wrote. Personally, I will not describe each task, sorry. There is no time for that. But all in the drum. For all, the self is much more important than the customer (violation of one of the most basic rules of marketing services).

Accordingly, after analyzing my past work experience with PM, I began to unsubscribe exactly what they are asking customers. Terms / cost, load similar work within the project, call the customer by name. If you are asked to write to the mail - I am writing to the mail. If in ICQ - I write in ICQ. And nothing else. But, having looked at the offers of other freelancers, I was surprised - not much had changed since my PM. On a specific question about the price, people write "Write to icq, discuss ...". Let no one write there. Is it incomprehensible? It is easier for a customer to communicate with candidates either in a project or in a drug, but not to write for 30 years and try to understand who is who.

Or it happened that they send messages like “More important?” To the drug. Fucking good Goodbye.
No "hello", no suggestions, nothing. Meaning I write a similar message?

This is a very serious mistake. I know, because for a long time I was on the other side. You can beat off 50 projects a day with your retarded “write, discuss,” and not get a single answer. And you can write a normal offer once and get the order. It's simple.

How to and should not communicate with customers
Imagine that the order is received. Everything suits everyone and you can get to work.
Here at this stage, freelancers somehow forget that customers love politeness and keeping promises.

Just recently, I made a turnkey website and hired a programmer into the project.
For me, it was a kind of shock to receive messages from him “Well, there ...” the next day, after I sent his work for approval by the customer. Again - no hello, nothing. I told him that it was only a day and the customer had not yet looked. In response, he received a "Nun ....". Well, this gut, I'm sorry. Especially when you consider that he has a few professional dates.

As a result, I will no longer work with this person for any price. And I will not advise it to anyone. Although I have orders for programming really often - I can feed the programmer all month.

In short - be polite. If you did not switch to "you", call the customer for you. Communicate carefully, think what you write. Be interested in his life / work. Be a pleasant conversationalist. Even in ICQ - it does not matter. People love the service. And the customer for you - everything. You are serving it, not a favor.

Well, follow the deadlines. This is really important. If you say that you will make the project in 3 days, then please do so. If something does not work - write to the customer. No need to hide from him. Honesty and openness more than interrupt any overlays in work. No one will resent your mistakes if you keep the customer informed. Strange, but many people, even those who have reached the age of 25+, do not understand this. And it’s easier for them to lie than to tell the truth. It is strange.

Well, a great plus to you in karma will be if you apply a simple rule - write to the customer in a week or two with the question - “Is everything okay with the site?”. It is not difficult at all. I write to people. Someone says everything is fine. Someone is really showing jigs, which I am correcting. Time for this - 10 minutes. But I am sure that my rating in the eyes of the customer has grown significantly. And sooner or later he will return to me. Or advise me to other people.

Better 100 bucks than nothing
Very, very, very many freelancers sin because they masturbate their pride and wait for manna from heaven.
These people will wait a month for an order with their unreasonably overpriced price and most likely will not wait.

I took for myself the rule of one simple thing - if I have several free hours, but there is no order of my price level, but at the same time I have offers to make for a lower price - I will definitely take it. It's simple. It’s better for these few hours I’ll earn a hundred bucks, gain experience, maybe expand my portfolio, get a customer who can give me a normal order later, and a positive feedback in my profile than nothing. Agree - you do not need to be a mathematician to understand the benefits of my approach and do so, and not wipe your pants and wait until the unrecognized professional is appreciated.

It really is. And this is what my observations tell me. Sometimes posts appear on freelance sites “I haven't been able to find an order for 2 months already.” Man, have you tried to lower the price a bit lower and communicate normally? Finding an order on freelancing is a matter of hours. Another story from practice is one of days after a sleepless night, I didn’t want to work at all, so I decided to just drop it on the freelance website and look for customers. I spent about 3-4 hours on the site. During this time I agreed with the three customers about the project (I scored the next week for myself) and after that two more reactors I have recently finished working with them for my offers. 3 hours - 5 customers. And someone cannot find one for two months. Maybe it's not about competition and dumping? (By the way, my prices are quite average. To say that the low can not).

Conclusion
I am not going to stay for a long time as a freelancer. Just freelancing is a great way to build a customer base, gain experience in dealing with customers, learn self-discipline, develop your own style and subsequently sell it. Moreover, having worked for just a month, I already began to receive orders for turnkey websites with a budget equal to the average budget at agencies in Moscow. This is the first step to big business.

Guys, and do not forget to develop. Because that is the only way to keep afloat. Many people left in freelancing, as they were 2 years ago on their level, remained. This is a dead end. If you want to be a freelancer all your life, then it doesn't matter. But if you want something more - study, work, try. Only hard work, coupled with an analysis of their actions, can lead to more outstanding results. This also applies to professionalism and the amount of money earned.

Well, money, yes. During this month I earned as much as any Moscow agency can offer me purely physically. And I can’t say that I am processing. The real work hours are 6-8 per day. There are, of course, 24 hours of work, but this is an exception.

If you have a head on your shoulders, then you can earn freelancing as a top manager of an average company. It really is.

Sorry for the sheet, but just want to have around as many professionals as possible and as few unimpaired people as possible. Because Saitics is something without which I can’t imagine myself. And I want to have the same people around.

Well - with the Coming :) I hope the New Year will be successful for everyone, productive, fun and joyful!
Good luck everyone!