Here’s an article I wrote for FreelanceSwitch last month. I was getting increasingly frustrated with the way clients and companies treat the freelancer working relationship. I felt it was necessary to put together a set of rules if you will, which hopefully some clients out there will read.
How much should I quote this project?
This question plagues us freelancers time and time again. How do we really come up with that $[number] we put at the bottom of the proposal? I’d be willing to bet that no freelancer quotes the same price for the same project consistently. There are always other factors that play into it.
It starts by assessing the project scope, deliverables, and time frame. But there are other variables in play that you just can’t calculate.
Among web workers, we’ve seen a rising obsession with “apps”, particularly “Getting Things Done”, a.k.a. GTD apps. Web apps, desktop apps, iPhone apps… They’re guided by the idea of being useful but simple and focused on a targeted need, or problem.
Our choices in apps are often very personal, and sometimes the tiniest detail can make or break our decision to download or purchase it. The more apps we consume, the more we continue to search that perfect app for our need, our style, our work flow.
Here are some apps I use regularly and why I’m only 99% satisfied with each.
“How do you get clients?”
I get asked that a lot. Usually from other web designers who are considering but afraid to make the plunge into self-employment. Signing clients and keeping a steady flow of business may seem like the it’s the hardest part about freelancing.
It’s not.
Client acquisition is not as hard as it seems. It’s [...]
How do you change from selling services to selling products? How do you go from serving clients to serving customers?
This freelance web design business has so many twists and turns. First you’re filled with fresh enthusiasm about quitting your job and landing your own clients. But as time goes by, satisfying all of your clients (often rediculous) requests becomes draining. You (I) start to reconsider your business model.
As a freelance web designer, you’re not left with many options if you’re hoping to embark on a mini-retirement. But I’ve been kicking around some ideas that may help to relieve some of the of stress of being overworked and bogged down with mundane website maintenance requests.
