Being a Starving Graphic Artist Sucks

It's Not Just Spec Work That's Taking Business from Freelancers

While spec work and spec work/contest sites like 99designs and crowdspring receive most of the ire from the graphic design community (by the way, whether they deserve it or not is beyond the scope of this post...check out some of my older posts for my take on them), I wanted to quickly share an email that I received yesterday, see below.

NEWSFLASH: Spec work web sites aren't the only ones that are taking a portion of the freelancing work out there, check out this tactic:

I would like to redevelop your website. I will create a concept that is not template based and that fits your firm perfectly. There is no charge for this. This will prove we can build a site that fits your needs without obligating you.

If you would like to view your site on some of our other designs, please use this link: http://www.only-website-design.com/concepts/. You will simply be asked for the name of your firm for confirmation.
Sincerely,
Mallory Vesilo
Only Websites, Sales Manager
1432 E 840 N, Orem, UT 84097
(800) 932-6030

If you are concerned about the growing amount of design competition out there, this is probably disconcerting but it does't have to be.

Whether it's spec work sites, people offering free stuff like in the email above or the kid down the block that will do a web site for a ball of lint and a bus pass - you can compete with all of them as a freelancer without cutting your costs to nothing.

If the goal of your design is to just look good or in above email, "it will fit your firm perfectly" but it doesn't help the client accomplish their goals, and you're going to have to resort to things like giving away freebies or charging close to nothing. I cover this at length in the Being a Starving Artist Sucks book, for now focus on this one truth that will always be true in freelancing - "If you can help your clients bring in more money and customers, you'll be able to find work and you won't have to give everything away to get it."

This type of stuff's always going to exist guys, no matter how mad you get or how many people in the industry you rally - you can't stop people from doing this unless it becomes illegal (and it never will). But that's okay, you don't have to fight, you just need to learn to compete.

PS - If you haven't checked out what freelancers are saying about BASAS and VKFU, click here...there are some big names and nice endorsements in there.

What You Need to Know When Deciding to Charge or Not Charge for Your Time and Talent

There's always been a notable discrepancy between what one freelancer will charge versus another. Freelancers often email in and ask, "Would you charge for this?" All things considered, really there is no one answer that works for everyone. I know that can be frustrating especially if you're new to freelancing, I felt the same way when I first started (don't worry, I'll hook you up with some ideas - keep reading).

Getting advice from other designers in the field isn't a bad idea but I'll warn you to expect to get A LOT  of different responses - freelancers just have different ways of handling this, and that's fine.

In the end, the key to remember is that it's your decision, you have to be comfortable on how you charge clients and when you charge them. If you're on the fence, or if you really need some ideas on how and when to charge, here are a few ideas that may help you...

If You're In Doubt Whether to Charge or Not, Consider the Following:

1. How long did it or will it take you?
2. How many hours did it take you to learn/master this skill?
3. How technically specialized is what you’re being asked to do?
4. How much time, money and energy will you be saving the client?
5. How many other people can do this skill?
6. Is what you’re being asked to do enjoyable or mind-numbing?
7. Do you like the client; do you enjoy working with her/him?
8. Does the client provide you with referrals?
9. Does the client either frequently ask for freebies or hint she/he wants one?
10. Does the client understand and respect the time and expertise that will go into what’s being asked?

My Personal Philosophy:
I typically give clients a 15 minute grace period whereby I’ll make changes, fixes or help them out however I can without charging them. This however is contingent on a few unwritten rules...

The Client:

1. Is actively working with me, has worked with me recently or has occasionally referred business over to me.
2. Isn’t asking something that is incredibly time consuming, technically challenging or mind-numbingly brutal to do.
3.  Doesn’t abuse my generosity. 
4. Respects and understands what goes into the task(s) I am being asked to do.
5. Asks politely and respectfully.
6. Isn’t expecting but hoping I will help her/him.
7. Isn’t expecting me to drop what I am working on and help them asap – they are patient.
8. Knows that if she/he has additional work/revisions, I will bill them.

Don’t expect clients to volunteer to pay you. In my over 10 years as a freelance graphic designer, I’ve NEVER had a client volunteer to pay me for work if they thought they could get for free - they're not going to do it for you either.

It's not that these clients are horribly nasty people, they just want to get as much out of me or you as their freelancer as they can. It's OUR own responsibility as freelancers to learn how to stand up and defend our interests (even if we're new to the industry or shy) - that's what I developed with Verbal Kung Fu for Freelancers.

PS - If you're tired of clients taking advantage of you or you just want to develop more confidence in dealing with them, pop on over to Jacob Cass' Blog "Just Creative Design" - you can read his review on the Verbal Kung Fu for Freelancers and score BIG with sweet discounts on all Being a Starving Artists Sucks products.

Seth Godin Hit's It Right on the Head - Why Some Freelancers Get Paid, Others Don't

Yesterday in his post, "What do you need me to do?" Seth Godin had quick thought regarding how this question defines the person asking it. I'd take this further and say it defines how much this person...consultant or freelancer is going to be paid.

When you work with clients do you ask them, "What do you need me to do?" or are you saying, "Here's what I think we should be doing?"

I touch on this in the Being a Starving Artist Sucks book - it's the difference between being an order taker who asks, "What should I do now?" versus a consultant who guides the client by saying, "Based on what we've talked about, I am recommending we do ____________ now."

Consultants guide their clients, look for opportunities and have their client's best interests at heart, and produce results while order takers just wait for instructions. Consultants rely on their expertise, order takers rely on the client's. And finally...and most importantly, if you are perceived as a consultant you can easily charge double, triple or quadruple what order takers are charging, and client WILL be happy to pay for your services and expertise.

So which are you, a consultant or an order taker?

PS - (Friday, 8:30 MST) Wanted to add a quick note and thanks to Jill, she just emailed me this, "...48 hours after studying your products, I was able to get a client who usually takes weeks to get back to me to not only respond immediately, but enthusiastically. I successfully turned it into an upsell at the same time!  I am definitely much more aware of how clearly my e-mails can be worded and used the techniques in Verbal Kung Fu for Freelancers and From Zero to Graphic Design Hero to help him transform from unsure about the upcoming project to enthusiastic." Rock on Jill, rock on!

Why Some Clients Think Your Way too Expensive While Other's Don't

Went to the dentist today, shamefully it's been a little while since I've seen one. I am talking several years, so I am expecting some severe damage to both my mouth and my wallet.

After going through the scraping, poking and drooling the dentist finished up and sent me back to the receptionist to receive an estimate for the future work that would have to be done on my choppers. The gal at the desk was very sweet, she carefully explained each line item, which items insurance would pay and which I would be responsible for. I am politely listening but my attention is immediately averted to the bottom right corner of the statement, which lists the total - $275.

After 2-3 minutes the receptionist finishes her explanation and seems to be nervously awaiting my approval/disapproval on the estimated total due.

"Fine...let's do it", I responded. No arguing, no anguish, just do it.

As freelancers we run into this very same situation almost daily: clients sizing up the work we'll be doing and deciding if they want to move ahead. The interesting point about this story isn't the amount or that I moved forward, it's that why it was so easy for me to say, "yes".

Sure, my teeth would fall out if I didn't (not so good), but if you noticed in my first sentence, I expressed that I thought my wallet would take a huge it...and $275 wasn't a huge hit, so this decision was easy. I was expecting to have to pay about $1500. I am not sure how I came up with $1500, I don't anything about dentistry but I some how had that figure in my mind - when the total was much lower, I was very pleased.

The same goes for our clients guys, MANY of them have no idea how much design costs, they just have some random figured rolling around in their brain. During the sales process, your job will be to identify if they do have a figure, if they do you'll need to figure out how they got it. Patients/clients that are pricing things out when they have no idea what they're considering can be helpful to you (as it was to this dentist), but more often than not, people can freak out when the total is more than they thought.

PS - Mom was right, brush your teeth and go see the dentist.

PPS - Hey for you regular readers, I really do appreciate you guys forwarding these posts along on Twitter, and design blogs. Even if it's not the right time to pick up one of the books I have, this is a nice way to help me out, and I'd appreciate it if you're getting some value out of regularly reading what's on my mind.

What to Think When a Client Tells You, "It shouldn't cost that much since it won't take you much time..."

My Wife, tired of having me use my brief case to use as a food tray (as well as a laptop desk) while watching sports on the weekend decided to buy me one of those folding trays on TV called, "The Table Mate".

It sells for about $30 depending on were you shop for it online...darn thing probably costs about $5 to make (and they probably crank out hundreds a day), but I like it and it works pretty well. This got me thinking about when clients say, "It shouldn't cost that much", or, "It won't take you that long to do". I guess what this product teaches us is that cost isn't always driven by effort or amount of time it takes - if it did this product would be $5 and not $30.

So what am I paying for? The ingenuity, the creativity and research to come up with this product/design. Does that sound familiar to what you do for clients? It should...while it may only take you 10 minutes to provide 3 updates to their web site, think about how long it took you to gain the expertise to know how to make those updates that quickly. Should your client have to pay for 10 minutes of your time?

Just something to keep in mind the next time your clients tell you that you shouldn't charge so much for projects that THEY FEEL don't take a lot of time. Should they be paying for just your time, or your expertise as well (the time that it took you the skill to do their request quickly)?

I know my answer, what do you think?

PS - Hey I've gotten a lot of good feedback lately that this blog has been helpful especially in a bad economy (at least here in the States). I appreciate you guys letting me know.

If you receive a feed or read this blog regularly would you consider helping me by sharing this with message boards, instructors/students (if you're in school) or other bloggers that might like to check this out? I know not everyone's going to spring for a book or contract package, but if you help me get the word out there - well, that would be cool.

Going from an Hourly to Fixed Rate: Higher Risk/Higher Reward, and What Seth Godin Said

I jumped on Seth Godin's blog today to see what he's writing about in the New Year and he's got an insightful post on changing pricing structure.

Most individual (or small firm) creative freelancers operate under a variable cost model whereby they bill the client on an hourly basis. The advantage to this approach is that even if you run into the indecisive, finicky "client from hell", you know you're still going to get paid.

So why would you ever go with a fixed rate?

Godin hits it right on the head by pointing out that you can find a whole new class of customers/clients. How would that improve things for the New Year? Nice, huh?

I can hear you groaning, "Fixed pricing, are you crazy?!?!"

Sure, there are inherent dangers to quoting clients a fixed rate, but think of how many clients out there are apprehensive about hiring a creative freelancer because she/he feels like they're handing out a blank check. By offering a fixed cost approach you'll be helping business owners accomplish one of their main goals - identify, plan for and control costs. You're minimizing the risk a client needs to accept to work with you - making it much more attractive to work with you over another firm.

In addition to allowing clients to pay in installments, I've found this approach has opened the door to a tremendous amount of business that might not previously been available.  

Just like anything else there are some caveats to be aware of:

• In order for this approach to work you'll need a fairly accurate idea of how long a project will take.
• Under this approach you're rewarded for efficiency (getting your project done faster), and penalized for going slower. If you take a long time to finish projects, a fixed rate might not be a good fit.
• You don't have to offer a fixed rate to ALL of your clients; just the select few that you feel you can accurately predict how long they'll take on a project.
• You may want to avoid offering this method of payment to noticeably indecisive or overly finicky clients.
• Make sure you have concrete processes and procedures.
• If you underestimate the number of hours, you may be forced to work for less than you typically make.

If you've never considered changing your pricing structure, give it some thought today. You may find there's a whole new segment of people you can target by shifting things around. In going this direction you're placing more of the risk on yourself (since your revenue is fixed and you're forced to accurately estimate costs), but the rewards of getting more clients certainly makes it worth a thought or two.

PS - If you don't subscribe to Godin's blog, do it today.

Dealing with Cut-Rate Hacks and Clients that Won't Pay Your Rate

Not that it's a surprise, but developers, like graphic designers seem to have the same problem in being able to effectively deal with cut-rate hacks out there and clients not paying them what they feel they deserve. In response to several of them ranting on blog, I wrote this:

"I posted early in this thread about developers complaining that their talents were being cheapened by hacks that were offering bargain prices. I can understand their frustration (it's like that in the graphic design world).

 

Since that post I've also noticed that several additional developers write a "me too" post, reminding readers that they offer services in this area. For example:

 

Turnaround - # of days

Starting price - $Cost

Additional pages - $Cost 

www.somedeveloperswebsite.com

 

The trouble with this approach is the developer is not giving designers ANY other way to evaluate their firm other than price and speed. That's make them a commodity...that drives down the price. If you only compete on price, you can expect not to be paid well.

 

How not to compete on price:

Developers, take a look at what designers are complaining about in these posts...

 

* Missing delivery dates

* Inconsiderate, rude responses

* Canceling projects

* No phone support

* Not responsive

* No consistency when it comes to who is working on the project

 

Developers - this is a golden opportunity for someone to come in, address these issues and make a butt-load of money, who wants to step up? Best of luck, the one who addresses these issues the best, wins the game." - end of my post...

By the way, below I've included one of the 2-3 developer's posts that came in after mine - turns out they didn't read or want to take my advice on how to make a lot of money, and instead stuck with the status quo:

"Hi, I would appreciate it if you could add my site:
http://www.htmlboringwebcompany.com
Turnaround - 2 day
Starting price - $79
Additional pages - $40."

Looking at this information we have no way of knowing if this company is good or bad, do we? Instead of a memorable marketing message (addressing what designers really want), this developer blandly blends into the 50+ developers scrounging just to be heard/seen on this web site. Since she/he only addresses price and turnaround they will only get business if they are by far the fastest or the cheapest - they're neither so I fear they aren't going to get any business at all. 

Some creative freelancers just insist on competing on price and making no money for their talents. o, it's not something to poke fun at; I feel badly for these guys, they are frustrated that they're getting paid beans, but they don't feel they need any marketing advice...and it's a shame, I address this challenge in the Being a Starving Artist Sucks book.

If you're tired of competing on price and can't figure out why clients don't pay you want you deserve, take a look at what you say to your clients, do you address their issues or just compete on price?

PS - Getting pissed at freelancers that cut their rate just to get business shouldn't bother you - besides, you're never going to be able to stop them. Your goal is to differentiate yourself in your clients' minds so they can clearly see you're a better choice.

You Did the Work but the Client Won't Pay - How Freelance Graphic Designers Can Avoid Getting Ripped Off

Of all of the responsibilities I have as a freelance designer: talking with long winded-clients, searching through code to find out why the HTML isn't rendering correctly or dealing with computer crashes and data loss, there's one thing I despise more than anything else - having to deal with or being ripped off by a delinquent client.

I hate having to chase clients for money they promised to pay me. If of course you've been freelancing for a while, this has happened to you as well...and I can't imagine you like it anymore than I do. We're creative people, not collection agencies. Still, if you talk to anyone that's been in the business long, you've heard a story of how they got burned.

While in the long run, it's not entirely possible to avoid delinquent clients or getting involved with a lawyer or collection agency, you can certainly make it so you're not walking around with a bull eye on your back or a sign around your neck that says, "I am an easy mark".

I got tired of clients jerking me around, so I got both tough and smart in dealing with them - here are a few points I thought would help you as well:

DON'T

1. Be the super nice person that wants to believe your client has YOUR best interests at heart
2. Be led to feel guilty for wanting money that was promised you
3. Let clients pay in cash
4. Deliver the final files before you get paid
5. Accept sob stories from clients
6. Get sucked into the client's problems or situations. For example, "I'll pay you as soon as this one guy pays me, which should be in a few days after his wife gets money from her work as a tattoo artist." I like what Sylvester Stallone said in Rocky I, "Hey, I ain't emotionally involved..."
7. Pretend not paying you isn't a big deal - tell clients that they can pay you, "Whenever they have the money..."
8. Be a jackass about the situation - sure the client may be delinquent, or may they may not intend to pay you at all, but avoid jumping to conclusions or making yourself look foolish. You can avoid being walked on and not come off like a jerk
9. Feel that you have to keep on chasing the client that won't communicate with you or that keeps giving you excuses - consider bringing in a legal adviser to help you decide what your options are

DO

1. Understand that you can be compassionate yet not get walked all over - remember that you are running a business
2. Give clients a discount for prepaying
3. Allow clients to pay with a check before the project starts, but if you are billing in payments, be leery of them using checks in the future - they have a tendency of not getting mailed, getting lost, "insert your own excuse here"
4. Take a credit card on file (make sure you take credit cards)
5. Run the client's credit if that's available
6. Address non-payment after the client has decided to work with you but before they've signed the contract
7. Have a good relationship with a business attorney/collection agency before you even start doing work with clients
8. Make certain you keep all communications from the client
9. For heaven's sake, use a frickin' contract AT ALL TIMES. No contract = no real chance of seeing that money

This is a tough issue, I've had challenges in this area myself over the years - heck, I've seen first-hand how not keeping these points in mind can cause freelancers to burn out and close their doors from exhaustion and aggravation.

 Keeping these points in mind have definitely helped me avoid disaster, if you think these would benefit others, feel free to pass this post on to colleagues, message boards, etc...I appreciate it, and we all should have some knowledge in this area so we're protected from being taken advantage of.

PS - With Apple's iPhone opening its doors to developers, we're developing a terrific mobile version of Being a Starving Artist Sucks - in fact, I've been amazed at how well the book looks on the iPhone. This version contains all 500 pages content and 150+ illustrations and graphics found in the original eBook. You'll be able to purchase the book in the next month for the great intro price of around just $10. I'll have updates as our release date approaches.

Sending Freelancing Clients a Surprise Invoice or Wrestling with a Grizzly - Two Ideas that Aren't Going to Go Over Well for You

Sorry I've been a little slow in posting this week, I am heading in for surgery which has got me busy running around a lot - I am paying them yet I have to do all of this running around.

I received a call from the hospital yesterday, the woman left a professional yet brusque message on my voice mail, "This is Kathy from the hospital, I've run your benefits and you'll need to bring in $2000 to handle your deducible before we operate tomorrow, if you have any questions please call me at..."

Wow, in addition to the toiletries they told me to bring over 2 months ago, I now want to bring an extra $2000 in my carry bag - no problem.

Look, I don't have any problem paying the deductible - that's cool; I guess I was a little put off that they informed me less than 24 hours before the surgery - almost like it wasn't a big deal. I suppose it could have been worse, they could have hit me for it while I was on the operating table. My point in sharing this with you is that while the hospital can get away with this shotgun billing approach - we as freelancers shouldn't.

Even if your clients owe you money, if you spring a bill on them unexpectedly they probably won't respond well. People...clients like to clearly know in advance what is expected of them, that especially includes invoices. When you're handling your billing, make sure you are clear with your clients, and give them plenty of notice that a bill will be do.

PS - Hey thanks for continuing to pass this blog along to other freelancers - readership is going up, which means we're helping more people - especially during a slower economy (especially here in the States). If you're digging the info on this blog, consider letting other creatives know about it, or recommend it on another design blog or message board.

The Truth About How Freelance Graphic Designers Should Price Their Services

I meandered into the Art/Design section of a Barnes and Noble out here and I looked at some of the other business graphic design books that were available. As I went through a few of these books, I couldn’t escape the nagging feeling that these “business design” books just seemed to provide a lot of theory and not much else. Here are a few direct quotes I took from what I read:

• Learn to negotiate effective with clients to create a win-win situation...
• The most important thing about taking time away from your freelance business is just that – taking time AWAY.
• If you decide to embark on a freelance career, the most important person to make a complete commitment to is yourself.

In all fairness, I’ve taken these out of context, but I read these and thought, “Duh, thank you for telling me things I already know. How in the heck will these things help me bring in clients or make more money?!?!”

Putting aside my frustration that most of these books just tell me things I already knew, one of my major gripes I had with these books is how they advised designers on how to price their services.

Designers often find it hard to price their services - perhaps you might be in that boat as well. Well, these “design/business experts” have come up with complicated algebraic formulas, voodoo chants, long forms that you enter in a bunch of variables and other odd methods for calculating how to price design services. But all of the books I'd checked out they failed to look at reality of how a free market economy works, and how freelancers ultimately price their services.

Here’s the reality about pricing your design services: you can do all of these algebraic formulas you want, or key in calculations to find how much you should charge per hour until your fingers to raw, but in the end your clients and the marketplace decide how much you will get paid. For example, if clients feel that your price is reasonable and that they are getting value out of working with you, you'll get more clients. If your price is too high for the value you provide, you'll start to see you have less clients. Price isn't something that should be created in a vacuum or by some silly formula. Price/cost is how 2 people compare the value of an item or service, if your clients feel that the value of your services is at or below the level your charging, they'll buy. Conversely, if clients feel the value of your services is less than the amount you charge, they won't buy unless you can convince them otherwise. Does that make sense?

Bottom line is that I walked away befuddled and disappointed at some of the advice these experts were giving new designers on how to price services. You can price your services without considering the market and your clients - formulas may serve as a crude guide but just because your formula points out that you should charge $250/hr. doesn't mean you could or should do it. Ultimately, we as freelance designers do not set our prices, our clients do.

Pricing your services has much more to do with what your clients perceive your value is rather than punching in arbitrary numbers your calculator. You’ll find it’s covered in-depth in my Being a Starving Artist Sucks book from pages 483-494.

PS - You'll want to check back next week for some ground-breaking announcements: a new audio cd will be available for purchase on the web site (there's over 2 hours of content on there!), you'll find out how you can apply for a free copy of my second book called, "Verbal Kung Fu for Freelancers".