Wendy,
Lots of good advice here. Ron's suggestion about finding a partner is
a good one, however a partnership is like a marriage -- not to be
undertaken lightly. Make sure that any prospective partner is
someone you can live with every day and who shares your philosophy of
work.
I think the most important thing about freelancing in the creative
services industry is that you have to think of yourself as a
consultant, and charge accordingly. There is absolutely nothing to be
gained by having low rates, no matter what the current economic
climate is like. In my experience, women have more trouble charging
what they are worth than men, so keep that in mind. Begin as you mean
to go on and you'll be much happier. Running your own business
requires a lot of overhead time -- in a 40-hour work week you might
bill as few as 25 hours, so it's important to factor that in.
For calculating project costs, I'd refer you to Andy Rutledge's matrix:
http://www.andyrutledge.com/calculating-hours.php
At least 90% of your business will come from referrals. This means
that traditional marketing -- advertising, cold calls, direct mail --
is largely a waste of time and money. You will see the most bang for
your buck by marketing to existing clients. Here's a quick list I put
together for myself:
- Get to know clients personally
- Face time counts, take them out to lunch
- Keep them informed—documentation
- Keep abreast of their business & industry—Google alerts, business news
- Up-sell your services
- Tell them what you're up to lately—completed projects, new hires,
new competencies
- Ask them for referrals
Other good sources of referrals are friends and family. The hard part
with these folks is they often have no idea what you do for a living,
so they can't describe it to others. So, make sure you have a snappy
elevator pitch and that you can clearly and specifically articulate to
others who your ideal client is.
I don't know if this needs to be said, but professionalism is the key
to success. Keep regular business hours, return calls and emails in a
timely manner, keep your work and private lives separate, create
standard processes and documentation, manage expectations with clients
through frequent and clear communications.
Good luck!
-- Kim
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Kim Bieler Graphic Design
www.kbgd.com
Office: 301-588-8555
Mobile: 240-476-3129
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