On Freelancing by Philip Kerman - Friday Sept. 21, 4:30 pm
Phillip Kerman is a teacher, writer, and programmer with a decade of professional experience.
PK: The goal is to balance money, living and work.
Don't overinvest. Money is important but basically it's about having more than somebody else, like information, you need just enough, so don't overlearn, don't over invest in the tools, get just what you need.
Find what you like to do. Ignor what's hot... look at yourself. Know what you like, know what you are good at, then find the people who want that. Design the job for yourself.
Charge for everything. But also pay people to do things for you, they will take it more seriously, even if its' not that much.
Value yourself and be valued by your client. If they don't like how much you are charging, what you are doing, that's a problem. You want to find the positive in everything you are doing.
Do not feel bad about charging for your services. As a freelancer, you are chronically unemployed so you need to be wise and careful in getting and keeping clients. Never say the price, the game is he who speaks first loses; you want to find out how much they want to spend, then that determines how much you can do for them. If they name a price range, verbalize the high number and never go to the low number. Remember the contractor multiplier: you will always think you are making more money than you actually are. It's always an illusion, no matter how much you charge. I calculate, I send them the bill, I feel good, I get paid, I feel even better. But really, the only thing that matters in terms of running your business successfully is getting paid. It's not how you feel about it. You have to keep your perspective.
So how do you make money?
Geographic offset - move to a new location where you can define yourself however you want; in your local place you are typecast; moving can eliminate stigma of your past.
If you don't have the opportunity to move, you can still help yourself by stating everything in the affirmative; I am _____, whatever it is, just state it. Do not say I am interested in _____. That communicates lack of confidence and ability.
Go where the work you want to do is and when you get there, state what you do in the affirmative.
Be a jerk. Tell your clients what they need to know. Don't mince words. Be direct, not insulting or disrespectful, but honest. It's appreciated.
Golden Ticket: informational interviews... Learn everything about the co. where you want to work, make an appointment saying you want to know more about their company; it's less stressful than a job interview, you meet with people on a different playing field and at the very least you learn something. E.g. Second Story does a "show and tell," it doesn't have to be a big performance, you just want to find out if it is the right situation for you.
Learn to say no. Avoid flakey clients and bad jobs. If there are red flags going up, just don't do it! "pro bono" "portfolio piece" "internship", these are red flags. I've made mistakes, its hard not to but you get burned and you learn. It's not hard to get 100% booked, once you start saying no, you become more attractive. Take time off, don't get overbooked.
Balance things out, flatten it out, invest in your future, study. Writing and teaching can balance out your freelance.
Maximize your free time. People are always saying they are busy, but what I'd like to be able to say I've got time for things. Take your retirement all through your life, thrive on downtime, use the downtime in productive ways, e.g., learning from your colleagues.
Call people on the phone, make an appointment, just to talk. You never know where a casual conversation not focussed on anything in particular will take you. And you learn things.
Do the math. I have 588 months to go to age 90; Charge enough for your time, while also keeping things in balance.
Just quit / get fired. You sometimes have to do stuff you don't like, everybody does... but if you don't like what you are doing, don't do it. You will be better able to look for work, although you do spend more money, movies, lunches, etc.
Update your resume every year. I write down every project I've worked on, every piece of software I'm interested in, that way when people ask you what you are doing, you have an answer. Another tip, if you write a book, figure out how to answer the question What is it about?
Avoid multi-tasking: inevitably you will do things worse... you just get more stressed.
audience question: What if your hobbies involve multi-tasking?
PK: Some people say they can work and listen to podcasts, etc. What ends up happening is you are moving quickly from one thing to another, taking turns with your brain... You probably won't really remember much about anything you are doing.
Always know you CAN do it! Break down your projects into pieces; The Big Jump... take it one step at a time, one piece at a time, do studies, tests, so when you build the real thing, you have all the pieces figured out.
Haste makes waste. Take the time to invest in the things that make you productive; if you go too fast, if you ignor the voice that says you shouldn't do something that way, then take time out and figure out how to do it properly. It is a real skill to learn what not to do... figure out which things are important.
"Selling starts with the first no." (Dale Carnegie)
Well, programming starts with the first change, don't get overwhelmed...
Don't do things in order. Sometimes you have to, but
if you need shelter you want a whole house, no matter it's condition, not just a foyer that is perfect, so get the whole thing up and then go back and fine tune.
Don't fix every bug you find. Assess them and make a decision whether it's important to the client and if it's important to them, add it to the list of things to do... maybe in version 2. Do not, ever, play hide and seek, if you find a bug, don't avoid it, don't hide it... show them the bug, put it on the list... don't let the client find it themselves.
Don't hide from your clients. Show the client your absolutely best graphic ideas, but not everything, be an editor.
Don't do weekly meetings. Figure out how much meetings cost and meet when it's worthwhile. Keep them short and efficient. Avoid conference calls, client visits only when necessary.
Avoid bad energy. Hang out with positive people; you don't want to listen to negative stuff; if there's no respect for the project then it'll bring you down. permanent link
PK: The goal is to balance money, living and work.
Don't overinvest. Money is important but basically it's about having more than somebody else, like information, you need just enough, so don't overlearn, don't over invest in the tools, get just what you need.
Find what you like to do. Ignor what's hot... look at yourself. Know what you like, know what you are good at, then find the people who want that. Design the job for yourself.
Charge for everything. But also pay people to do things for you, they will take it more seriously, even if its' not that much.
Value yourself and be valued by your client. If they don't like how much you are charging, what you are doing, that's a problem. You want to find the positive in everything you are doing.
Do not feel bad about charging for your services. As a freelancer, you are chronically unemployed so you need to be wise and careful in getting and keeping clients. Never say the price, the game is he who speaks first loses; you want to find out how much they want to spend, then that determines how much you can do for them. If they name a price range, verbalize the high number and never go to the low number. Remember the contractor multiplier: you will always think you are making more money than you actually are. It's always an illusion, no matter how much you charge. I calculate, I send them the bill, I feel good, I get paid, I feel even better. But really, the only thing that matters in terms of running your business successfully is getting paid. It's not how you feel about it. You have to keep your perspective.
So how do you make money?
Geographic offset - move to a new location where you can define yourself however you want; in your local place you are typecast; moving can eliminate stigma of your past.
If you don't have the opportunity to move, you can still help yourself by stating everything in the affirmative; I am _____, whatever it is, just state it. Do not say I am interested in _____. That communicates lack of confidence and ability.
Go where the work you want to do is and when you get there, state what you do in the affirmative.
Be a jerk. Tell your clients what they need to know. Don't mince words. Be direct, not insulting or disrespectful, but honest. It's appreciated.
Golden Ticket: informational interviews... Learn everything about the co. where you want to work, make an appointment saying you want to know more about their company; it's less stressful than a job interview, you meet with people on a different playing field and at the very least you learn something. E.g. Second Story does a "show and tell," it doesn't have to be a big performance, you just want to find out if it is the right situation for you.
Learn to say no. Avoid flakey clients and bad jobs. If there are red flags going up, just don't do it! "pro bono" "portfolio piece" "internship", these are red flags. I've made mistakes, its hard not to but you get burned and you learn. It's not hard to get 100% booked, once you start saying no, you become more attractive. Take time off, don't get overbooked.
Balance things out, flatten it out, invest in your future, study. Writing and teaching can balance out your freelance.
Maximize your free time. People are always saying they are busy, but what I'd like to be able to say I've got time for things. Take your retirement all through your life, thrive on downtime, use the downtime in productive ways, e.g., learning from your colleagues.
Call people on the phone, make an appointment, just to talk. You never know where a casual conversation not focussed on anything in particular will take you. And you learn things.
Do the math. I have 588 months to go to age 90; Charge enough for your time, while also keeping things in balance.
Just quit / get fired. You sometimes have to do stuff you don't like, everybody does... but if you don't like what you are doing, don't do it. You will be better able to look for work, although you do spend more money, movies, lunches, etc.
Update your resume every year. I write down every project I've worked on, every piece of software I'm interested in, that way when people ask you what you are doing, you have an answer. Another tip, if you write a book, figure out how to answer the question What is it about?
Avoid multi-tasking: inevitably you will do things worse... you just get more stressed.
audience question: What if your hobbies involve multi-tasking?
PK: Some people say they can work and listen to podcasts, etc. What ends up happening is you are moving quickly from one thing to another, taking turns with your brain... You probably won't really remember much about anything you are doing.
Always know you CAN do it! Break down your projects into pieces; The Big Jump... take it one step at a time, one piece at a time, do studies, tests, so when you build the real thing, you have all the pieces figured out.
Haste makes waste. Take the time to invest in the things that make you productive; if you go too fast, if you ignor the voice that says you shouldn't do something that way, then take time out and figure out how to do it properly. It is a real skill to learn what not to do... figure out which things are important.
"Selling starts with the first no." (Dale Carnegie)
Well, programming starts with the first change, don't get overwhelmed...
Don't do things in order. Sometimes you have to, but
if you need shelter you want a whole house, no matter it's condition, not just a foyer that is perfect, so get the whole thing up and then go back and fine tune.
Don't fix every bug you find. Assess them and make a decision whether it's important to the client and if it's important to them, add it to the list of things to do... maybe in version 2. Do not, ever, play hide and seek, if you find a bug, don't avoid it, don't hide it... show them the bug, put it on the list... don't let the client find it themselves.
Don't hide from your clients. Show the client your absolutely best graphic ideas, but not everything, be an editor.
Don't do weekly meetings. Figure out how much meetings cost and meet when it's worthwhile. Keep them short and efficient. Avoid conference calls, client visits only when necessary.
Avoid bad energy. Hang out with positive people; you don't want to listen to negative stuff; if there's no respect for the project then it'll bring you down. permanent link
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