freelance

Can I hire someone to get me clients?

Mon, 06 May 2013 19:25:17 +0000

I do freelance PowerPoint design. I'm very good at the work, and pretty bad at marketing myself - particularly in any kind of sustained, ongoing effort. Can I pay someone to do this for me? How? Where do I find them? Who do I look for? How do I pay them?

Thanks so much. Any help is greatly appreciated.

submitted by doctorcanteloupe
[link] [1 comment]

How do I gracefully transition from doing gratis work for a buddy to charging my usual rate? (web design)

Mon, 06 May 2013 20:32:25 +0000

About a year ago I built out a small site for a friend starting her own business. I was happy to do the work, I didn't really need the money at the time (I have a full-time job), and she would be a good reference if her business grows. There was no contract at the time; I wasn't really freelancing and it was more of a spare-time thing.

Over this year, paid freelancing has taken off a bit for me (in addition to my FT job), so my time to spare in general is pretty sparse. My friend has recently contacted me and asked if we could work on expanding her site.

I don't do discounts, and I honestly can't afford to do gratis work anymore. It would be easy for me to tell anyone else that I need money to do work, but since she is a buddy... I find the topic a little difficult to broach. Has anyone been in a similar situation? How did you deal?

As an additional note, her business is growing but I don't think she has turned a profit yet. Just something to consider since my usual rate isn't exactly peanuts. Also, her business doesn't offer any kind of a "quid pro quo" that we could exchange... I wish she had started a restaurant!

submitted by 10000_Spoons_Irony
[link] [7 comments]

Tomorrow morning, 8:00am, I leave my day job.

Sun, 05 May 2013 21:47:04 +0000

At 8:00 am I have a meeting scheduled where I will announce my plans to depart my day job.

Sundays pretty much always feel like purgatory but this one is just killing me. I have stuff to work on but I can't stop dwelling on the fact that a few sentences strung together are going to alter my life.

Anyone have any great advice for dealing with the initial stress and anxiety of my decision?

EDIT-

Just got out of my meeting and my anxiety and nervousness has subsided a bit. Thanks for the comments and encouragement! I didn't burn any bridges and left on extremely good terms and will most likely continue to do work for this place for a long time on a contractor basis.

For anyone wondering, I have planned and saved and have work lined up for this and next month. This has been in planning for six months- not a brash decision.

submitted by justanotherdesigner
[link] [10 comments]

First time freelance project

Sun, 05 May 2013 20:18:05 +0000

Hiya, I'm currently about to take on a project designing the magazine layout for an online business website. The client should call sometime next week to discuss things further, but as a Design student in my degree course taking on freelancing for the first time I had some questions that I wanted to ask.

What are the main questions I need to discuss with the client? I've heard a front payment is generally reasonable to ask for, should I be charging per hour or as a whole (and what would be a reasonable amount to ask?) I'm to be given the content and my role is to design the layout of a magazine which appears to be around the 230 page mark.
Is a contact required? What would be the main points that need to be accepted by myself and the client?
They specified "You would be freelance and it would start off with a trial period to see how you do, you would be working with the editor-in-chief and the deputy editor" Is this trial period something reasonable to ask for? Or should it require payment too, I don't want to work for free.

That's about it, but if anyone else has advice it'd be greatly appreciated.

submitted by TearEUW
[link] [8 comments]

Having trouble writing about myself and my services

Sun, 05 May 2013 18:39:11 +0000

Hi, I'm trying to revamp my website and am seemingly having the hardest time ever writing about myself and the services I offer. I'm trying not to come off as cliche and not to use catch-phrases.

Where do you guys usually start when writing copy to promote your work?

submitted by josephnicklo
[link] [2 comments]

What do you want in a Freelance-Focused book?

Sun, 05 May 2013 19:32:46 +0000

I've written a fair bit about freelancers and decided to put together a book to sell via Amazon - I'd love to know if there's anything you think should be included.

Are there any subjects you've found difficult to find a straight answer for? Any topics that nobody was willing to talk about with you?

My goal is to have a $5 book that provides huge value while providing a realistic view of freelancing. I'd like to share my experience while answering some of the questions missed by the "experts."

Not trying to be selfpromotional here - but to demonstrate my writing style and experience, you can check my articles on freelanceswitch, workawesome, and donanza (if it's bad reddiquette to have these links - let me know and I will remove them)

submitted by brandscaping
[link] [10 comments]

Client wants me to work on-site

Fri, 03 May 2013 22:53:45 +0000

I usually work with multiple clients concurrently out of my own office. I have a new prospective client, It's a pretty well known company and willing to pay what I requested for the work to be done. The problem is that they are now requesting me to work part of the time on their premises about an hour away. I find this problematic in many ways and I don't normally do this, nor would I prefer it. How should one approach the situation without losing the client?

Edit: Thanks! All great advice.

submitted by waitwaitWhet
[link] [15 comments]

Health Insurance thread round 2?

Fri, 03 May 2013 20:59:10 +0000

I checked the health insurance thread listed in the FAQ: http://www.reddit.com/r/freelance/comments/ozlm6/reddit_what_do_you_do_for_health_insurance_more/

It's pretty light on information. I'm curious what thoughts are on:

Freelancers' "Union" insurance (if you think it's a racket, why?)
Joining something like the ACM (Association of Computing Machinery, fairly up my alley as a software engineer) - what are their group rates like compared to purchasing individual insurance?
What's really going on with the Obamacare insurance co-ops debuting January 1, 2014? There are two that may cover my area, is there anything I should know before figuring out coverage until they become available?
COBRA - is there a site where it's explained (well) in English, for those transitioning from 9-to-5 to freelancing?

submitted by ImpactEventFan
[link] [9 comments]

I have a potentially awkward situation with a friend/client, who's having her boyfriend/amateur-videographer make a video of an event she's hosting, for which I've designed all marketing materials etc.

Fri, 03 May 2013 19:05:58 +0000

Awkward may not be the best word. The client and I have a great professional relationship, but I don't know the boyfriend. I've seen a couple of his videos and they're ok. Definitely amateur quality, but not something aunt Jean would slap together with windows live movie maker. I imagine the video he's putting together will be used on her Facebook fan page, she'll probably want me to put it on her website too, so it'll end up being a marketing tool.

The client is hosting a charity event for which I've created all the marketing materials- brochures, fliers, sign in sheets, business cards, banners, logos etc.

My question is this: I assume her boyfriend may elect to display some of my artwork in his video, and he may even ask for png files. Am I out of line if I preempt this situation by telling the client simply that her boyfriend will need to credit me in the video if any of my work is used in the final product?

What's the norm for this type of thing?

submitted by LogicSniper
[link] [11 comments]

Personalized email

Fri, 03 May 2013 17:00:12 +0000

I have been chatting with my freelance friends and researching the internet for advice on this subject. I am a freelance designer and instead of using an email address that is associated with a job, I'd like to have my own personalized email. I don't want rebeccasmith@gmail.com; I'd like to keep my personal mail separate from freelance clients.

Does it sound redundant to have rebecca@rebecca.com or me@rebecca.com ?

Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated!

submitted by trnga
[link] [20 comments]

Help for just starting out? I have a few questions.

Fri, 03 May 2013 17:44:30 +0000

So i have been doing little things here and there on the side, nothing serious. i'm not claiming anything for taxes or anything, i don't really know too much about taxes regarding to freelancing. One client has started coming to me with pretty much everything and has started asking for me to give them an invoice/receipt. Should i do this? and what should i include on the invoice. I appreciate the help.

submitted by big_r3d
[link] [7 comments]

4 ways to avoid choosing the wrong client

Fri, 03 May 2013 17:19:04 +0000

submitted by nothingtolookat
[link] [comment]

What to do with client that takes weeks to respond?

Fri, 03 May 2013 11:24:55 +0000

I first came in contact with this client months ago, and we discussed the details of a small web app over email for a few weeks. I eventually agreed to do it, but asked for a slightly higher price than he first offered. At that point he stopped responding, so after over a week I emailed him again and he agreed on the new price.

I began work on the project. I had no contract, which I know probably wasn't smart, but I viewed the web app as a learning opportunity if he for some reason didn't end up paying me. I finished the first half and sent him the URL to get his approval before I continued (no source code at all). Again, no response. After over a week I email him again, and he says that he's been busy and that he'd look at it and write up a payment schedule for me that night.

It's now been over a week again with no more communication from him. I'm beginning to feel like a nuisance when it takes 2+ emails to get any response from him, but he always seems to have some valid excuse. My question is, do I continue reminding him every time it's been over a week? How do I deal with this? At no point has he acted like he's no longer interested in working together, he just acts extremely busy/preoccupied.

TL;DR: client takes over a week and multiple reminders to respond or take any action, not sure how to proceed.

submitted by enkarta
[link] [7 comments]

Any freelance renderers out there?

Fri, 03 May 2013 01:19:26 +0000

Wondering if there are any freelancers here who do architectural renderings? I recently made a connection with a local firm to do renderings as the start of my freelance career, and would like some advice about pricing, process, etc. Do you charge per rendering? by the hour? some times its hard to judge just how long a particular rendering can take, especially if the client is apt to wanting a lot of changes. How do you approach new clients? any advice for a newbie would certainly be appreciated!

Heres an album of some of my renderings, if anyone could offer advice on how much it is generally acceptable to charge for these quality of images. http://imgur.com/a/CvrJO

submitted by renderfree
[link] [4 comments]

Client used ~20% of the hours they paid for in the first month of contract. Worried about long-term implications

Wed, 01 May 2013 22:12:38 +0000

So I'm on a 3-month renewable contract that stipulates I'm going to bill a minimum of 80 hours/month at a discounted rate. After 1 month, the client used around 15 hours. My invoice just says 80 h x rate = $ since they didn't exceed it, but they could ask how many hours I actually used.

Of course, I'm happy to take the checks for the next 3 months, but I'm far more interested in maintaining a long-term relationship with the client. They are a BFD.

I'm worried they're going to get pissed off they're paying me for nothing and not renew. Also, I think they grossly overestimated how long it takes me to do my job. I wanted a piecemeal rate, but they insisted on hourly.

I messaged them asking if there's anything I can do with my idle time or long-term projects they're interested in. I even gave them great suggestions! No response.

What would you do in this situation?

Update: They just asked how much time I spent on each project.

submitted by twelvis
[link] [6 comments]

Is it wrong to do Freelance on the side?

Thu, 02 May 2013 05:48:30 +0000

I live in California, and I'm attempting to transition from freelance-only to employment with freelance here or there. Supplementing my income and skills is very appealing, but I don't want to break trust (or laws) with any possible employers.

Is it wrong or illegal? Is there a stigma?

submitted by keconomou
[link] [11 comments]

Canadian Bar Association site has really good information about tracking time, contracts and billing

Wed, 01 May 2013 14:56:20 +0000

submitted by gmks
[link] [1 comment]

Ownership of Development Work While Under Agreement

Wed, 01 May 2013 19:54:10 +0000

I've been asked to sign a contract and in one of the sections it basically said, removing lawyer-speak, "Any development work you do while under agreement belongs to us. If you have development work that you would like exempted from this clause, list them in Page 10."

So on Page 10 I wrote "All development work not related to work requested by [Company]".

I think this is fine. What do you think?

submitted by floatbit
[link] [4 comments]

Client has requested more than originally agreed upon, refuses to pay for any work done (even the original agreement) and is still using my work. It's been 24 hours. What options do I have?

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:08:24 +0000

Update here

Background info:
Started communicating with a company to do PSD to theme conversion. They sent me the layout, we discussed it over the phone and in emails and agreed upon a set number of hours. We signed an agreement which specifically stated hours of operation, fees for working outside those hours, anything outside the original agreement would be billed accordingly and they do not own or have rights to use any work I've done until I've been paid in full. We also did not include a deadline. I get a deposit of 50% of the original agreement. This was about a month ago.

At the start of the project:
They requested the work to be started on a Monday and be completed on Friday. I told them I had other clients but I would do what I could. Then I get the actual designs which are obviously more than we had discussed. I make this observation known multiple times.

During (11 business days total)
Client requests immediate response to emails, calls and chat messages even though they do not respond until well after my business hours much of the time. For example, on Friday I sent out a list of questions for them to answer and I do not hear back until late (11pm) Sunday night with a request to respond by 8am the next day. Monday I wake up to multiple emails and chat messages (before my operating hours) asking if I'm working and when I'll have the project completed. This has happened multiple times.

Multiple additional changes have also been requested putting the project at about 125% more than originally estimated. The additional changes are functionality based which we had discussed would already be done by their team at the start of the project. I make these observations known.

Final straw
I tell the client that I can no longer work under these circumstances and they're taking valuable time from my existing (read: paying) clients. I tell them that our agreement did not include a deadline and that I was not on call. I also did not appreciate the communications outside my operating hours nor the numerous changes and demands beyond our agreement. This was after an email I received at 9pm requesting, yet again, a response before 8am the following day because their delivery date for the client was the 1st and I was supposed to have all of this completed before then. Which is not what I agreed upon.

He says I'm being incredibly unprofessional and my invoice was out of line. I reminded him of the terms in the agreement we both signed and the numerous things he's done that I would consider unprofessional. He refuses to pay the invoice stating that the work is not completed. I again remind him that my end of the agreement was completed at the end of the set number of hours we agreed upon.

I just checked the site and he's using my work without my permission. I sent him an email simply stating that I saw he's using my work and that he had no right to until I was paid for my work and then copied the section of the agreement that stated that. No response.

TL;DR
Client signs agreement without deadline. Turns out they wanted much more than original agreement. Work goes more than double the original estimated time. I tell them I no longer wish to work with them and send them the invoice. They refuse to pay even the original agreement balance and are now using my work without my permission.

Options?
They are located a few hours away from me in another state. I've documented everything I can. I don't want to get a lawyer involved but I will based on principal. Is it worth it or should I file with their local small claims? Is there anything else I can do to persuade them?

submitted by snowcase
[link] [51 comments]

Taxes for small contract work

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 23:00:50 +0000

I'll be filming an event soon where I'll need two other cameras operators, I'm paying them around $200 each.

When I pay them, do I have to do anything special regarding taxes of other fees? Since the amount is so small is it legal to just pay them "under the table"?

Also when I pay my taxes do I include the $400 for them under mine? Sorry if these are basic questions, I'm new at all this.

submitted by castek
[link] [5 comments]

Do you ask for more when the initial offer is within the range of what you'd hoped to get payed?

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:25:42 +0000

On principal I mean? This just occurred with a new client, my initial thought was the offer was pretty good, but now I feel I should have asked for more.

submitted by toonface
[link] [5 comments]

Processes and rules are boring but they produce happy clients

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 21:49:16 +0000

submitted by jpadilla09
[link] [1 comment]

How much should i charge for this?

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:27:09 +0000

A client has asked for a quote to setup a basic backup system on his server. He has 3x 2tb drives on the server, 2 of which are not being used. I was planning on writing some scrips that will run every day.

One will run twice a day, every 12 hours and will make a backup of every mysql database on the server and write them to .sql files on the spare drive.

Another one will backup all of the 'website files' for each site on his server, by tar'ing them up and placing them on the spare drive.

The backup files will be kept for up to 2 weeks, any backups that are older then 2 weeks will get removed.

I did plan on doing an incremental backup for the site files, but he insisted on a full backup every day "to be on the safe side". He's not overly clued up about these things, and rather stubborn when his mind is set, so i'd rather not waste time trying to change his mind. His sites only take up about 60gb so theres plenty of room for growth.

How much should i charge for this work? I'm curious as to what other people would charge for this.

Thanks Reddit!

submitted by androidFan024
[link] [1 comment]

Teaching yourself graphic design

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 21:50:03 +0000

Hi,

I'm a web developer, but I think it's time I start getting better at web design, too. I've bookmarked design inspiration places, like designspiration, but beyond a tutorial in GIMP are there resources you'd recommend? Good references on techniques, color choices, etc?

submitted by ta876
[link] [9 comments]

Question For Photographers - Concert Photography Pricing

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 17:23:08 +0000

I shot a local music festival this weekend. I was hired by the company who threw the event to take shots of the live bands. Just out of curiosity what do you charge bands to shoot a live set with minimal editing? I am am mainly a video editor/shooter but I had a ton of fun doing this.

submitted by maxwelljrj
[link] [5 comments]