Closer To The Ideal

A friend writes to us:

In the near future i may consider a career change & i am doing all my research now.  The biggest thing i need right now is web designer/developer contacts to bounce ideas off of.

I think i have a solid foundation.  I do have an AA in Arts, and a solid 10+ years of freelance/career design under my belt.  I am familiar with all the major software, and have just now discovered CMS & open source applications.  I still have that pit of fear that if i got a full time in-house position i would be “faking” it.  It seems like you can never keep up with all the skills out there, even when i find a niche!

As far as online & work, i have been trying to do like you said & build a portfolio.  I have been paying attention to SEO & rankings to help business.

How do you charge?   Right now i am in the middle of quoting  a price for a site & i am lost.  Also, do you work with a contract for new clients?  My biggest fear in freelance is the lack of paycheck every 2 weeks.  That being said, i am not prepared for interviews.

If i sit down for an interview, do i not need a resume?  Or do i refer them to my site.  I am sure at that point they would have seen it, but i still think i need paper.  I want to make sure i do this right.  If we move back to VB, there are not a lot of design firms so i have to nail it the first time!

Also, i currently subscribe to HOW & just started ID.  any recommendations for similar resources?

I am trying to upgrade skills.  In the world of web design/development, besides tableless site layout, what are some essential i MUST learn?

I reply:

I don’t know. I hand-code. I know HTML and CSS and knowledgeable of my programmer’s  choice languages enough to work around, and in most cases not break, his software.I recommend affiliation. It sounds like you want to be a one man band:

It is a far too diverse industry to waltz in alone.

You can get your education just by reading through Craigslist wanted ads:
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/cph/cpg/1022623341.html

But really, know your choice platform and work with it. You will know where your weaknesses are and when to ask for help. But ask for help. If a project is too big for you, it is more professional to outsource and build alliances with folks who have complementary strengths.

Your approach is as valid as any. I am more than happy to be a point of contact for you as you get started. Do know that my approach was the opposite. I threw myself into it, bluffed and learned software on jobs. Warranted I did have a degree in Photography (aka Design) and several years of exposure to the Adobe platform (namely Photoshop, but the platform gives you a huge advantage in learning like software). So my bluff wasn’t entirely unwarranted and mostly I think folks were well aware of my limited experience and I was offered opportunities at learning wages. That all changed after a few huge jobs. I’d say pick up a few gigs before you lose your solid income. That is smart.

Better than a resume at this stage in the game, is a portfolio. You’ve already got one… your website. And your site looks good. Add a resume link, called “experience” or “clients” or “jobs”   if you want. I don’t do that. My site is actually one of the most basic sites I’ve designed, since that is where I lost my training wheels. The best thing you can do is pursue gigs and provide links to your work. And… from the looks of it, you’re doing that.

So… what are your questions?

It’s a tough field, but nothing beats the flexibility and portability. It’s even worth the occasional dry spell between clients. I don’t know how I can help, but here’s one of my personal heroes:

http://www.darrenhoyt.com/

And you should check this out:

http://www.csszengarden.com/

A few things: you will need to be prepared for failure, rejection and bad clients. It’s not that people are bad, it’s just that there are no industry standards and it is up to the individual entrepreneur to define the business in their own terms. Sadly, there are also dishonest opportunists out there giving the field a bad rep. Not to mention a slew of college students who are very good and very willing to work for cheap or free. It’s a tough market and there is no such thing as “nailing it the first time”.

You’ve certainly got great experience and interest/passion. Those are a must. You’ve also got to be willing to throw yourself into it. The easy way is definitely to park your butt in a cubicle for a company. There’s nothing wrong with that. There’s security in that.

But if you think you want to live on the edge and freelance, it’s more than a romantic notion. It’s hard work. I have no doubt there are ways to be smart about it and precautions you can take and from the sounds of it, you’ve done your research. I simply mean this as a note of warning, do not think that hard work and determination alone will create a business for you. This field requires a little mojo… aka happenstance, timing, luck, connections. Again, you already know this. But knowing it and hesitating are nothing quite like taking the plunge.

One major thing to note, when you work for yourself… you are not “going to interviews”. Your site should speak for itself. If you feel more confident plugging all of your most recent and most impressive work, do so… on your website. There is absolutely no need for paper resumes with potential clients. You may instead want to bring educational materials specific to the job. The “interview” should be more of a consultation. You assume the client wants to work with you and you are educating them about how you will manage that relationship.

Does that make sense? It’s a shift in perspective.
And it’s a little hard to bluff. Mostly this level of confidence will only come with years of experience… aka bad burns. It is not untypical for a job to go unpaid for 90 days. It’s a far cry from biweekly paychecks. You’ve got to plan ahead for all types of scenarios. I’ve had regular 3 month dry spells nearly each year. I look at it as time to travel, boost my portfolio and enjoy my life. But if you haven’t prepared for it, then you panic.

The only time you will need paper resumes are to interview for the desk jobs. And for those… I am not the person to ask. I am, however, quite apt at reviewing resumes should you want an objective opinion. Otherwise, you will simply need to hear a client’s need, and explain to them how you will help them. Nobody hiring you for a 1-2 day gig really cares about your degree and years of freelance odd jobs. They just want to see your best work and know how much that cost.

You ask how we charge. You should read our post “How much do websites cost”:

http://www.teamlalala.com/blog/2008/11/12/how-much-do-websites-cost/

If you’d like to run job estimates by me, I’m happy to review anything you send. If it’s one I can’t handle, I’ll forward it to my business partner for a third opinion. We don’t do Flash and I’ve already filed you away for future work needed in that category.

And no… you can’t master all the software. You just have to pick the tools that work the best for you and be willing to learn new software as needs arise. You must like a challenge.

I don’t know HOW or ID. I read Inc and since I am also a freelance photographer I participate in ASMP.

What else…ah, contracts. sure. We don’t but it’s a good idea. We have an LLC instead. A one-way precaution, the rest is up to our good sense.

Laura Denyes

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 19th, 2009 at 10:11 pm and is filed under freelancing, teamlalala. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.