Pull up a chair, let's dish πͺ
When I first went full-time freelance, I decided I was going to make it and be wildly successful.
I was just going to dominate the freelance biz, have client work constantly out the wazoo, fully booked and busy.
*spoiler alert* it didn't exactly go to plan.
For the first year or so freelancing, I was just making ends meet.
I was taking on almost any job I could to make sure I was earning that ramen profit number with my super low hourly rate.
I had a tiny little studio that had terrible lighting, super tiny at 6mΒ², and it was so cold I had to wear multiple jumpers to stop my hands from cramping while I sketched logos and layouts.
A few years in and I started to add new skills to my belt and build a little confidence in my craft.
I began reaching out to new clients, creating connections and networking, as well as building on the relationships I had and making them work for me. I also started to include things like white-labeling and beef-ing out my services (pun absolutely intended).
Not long after that, I really started switching gears into pricing my work based on project rates and away from hourly.
When I was faced with projects that I didn't know how long it would take me or wasn't confident in the process, I did still charge hourly. BUT instead of counting hours and charging at the end, I sold time blocks instead, and this really helped move me away from swapping time for money.
Slowly but surely, I've grown my creative offering to my clients into a 6 figure business (profit) that I truly love.
This didn't happen overnight, or over a year, but 15 years as a designer, 8 of those freelancing full time and the last 3 of them teaching others how to do it for themselves.
I'm not going to tell you its easy to be a freelancer. Because it's not. It takes bravery to choose to be a creative.
But it can be simpler than how I got here, and I now know that looking from the other side, having made the mistakes and learned the lessons so I can pass them on to you.
Had I had someone to tell me not just that I needed to charge more, but how and why I needed to, I don't think I'd be in a different place now, but I know I would have gotten here way sooner.
I baked up Creative Business Kitchen for the freelancer I was at the start of my career, with no idea how to charge or what to do when a client wanted to work with me.
For the creative that burnt out hard from getting caught up in client expectations and left hungry when I inevitably undercharged to get the job.
For the designer who has dealt with rejection more than a few times to get to the place I am today; running a successful freelance business that feeds my family, my bank account, and my creativity.
And bought us our first home #freelancerscanbuyproperty.
I want to be that for you.
β So let's be brave together. β