Being a Starving Graphic Artist Sucks

The deadliest person in the world to a creative freelancer

Man-eating alligators, poisonous snakes, and blood-thirsty bears--they all pale in comparison to the deadliest creature known to creative freelancers. It’s not scaly reptiles that freelancers should fear, it’s the dreaded in-house designer. They, more than a hungry alligator, can cause freelancers the most harm. Well, okay...an alligator can is something you should have a healthy respect for, but if you’re considering a project for a client that has an in-house designer or “creative” person, you need to be on your guard. 

Before we tackle why an in-house designer can cause a freelancer problems, I’d first like to share with you that I’ve been on both sides of this equation. I’ve been a freelancer working with clients who had in-house designers, and I’ve been the in-house marcom manager who worked with an outside creative agency (freelancers). I’d also point out to you that neither the freelancer, nor the in-house creative person, is right or wrong. They just have different objectives when it comes to the project, and these different objectives, coupled with their similar skill sets, and sometimes big egos, can cause a great deal of friction. 

For example, the freelancer’s objectives are to maximize the amount of revenue he makes, and at the same time reduce the amount of time, effort, and hassle he has to invest with the client. Yeah, I know, freelancing is more than making a profit. I am all about taking care of the client and broadening my creative horizons as well, but freelancing needs to be run as a business. Anyway, don’t send in hate mail. It’s not all about time and money, but freelancers need both to survive in business. 

Conversely, the in-house designer has a different agenda. She isn’t concerned with the freelancer’s time or money in the slightest. In fact, her objective is often to exhibit her expertise through the process by providing advice, creative direction, and guidance. She’s not looking to make the freelancer’s job both easy and successful. She’s looking after herself, and she wants to make sure her employer knows that she’s a valuable expert (even though a freelancer’s been brought in). At the very least, the in-house designer won’t let the freelancer get away for any shenanigans, e.g., over-billing, taking way too much time on a project, or using jargon meant to confuse the client. Beware of any of these approaches--especially when your client has an in-house designer. They will call you out. At worst, the in-house designer will actively try to sabotage the process in a selfish attempt to make the freelancer look bad, and them look good. Keep in mind that an in-house designer may feel some jealousy or may feel threatened by a freelance designer. 

In neither the freelancer nor the in-house designer’s case do I see someone at fault (unless one of them is secretly trying to undermine the other). For the most part, these are just two different creatives with naturally ulterior motives. 

From the freelancers point of view. I offer the following insider tips on working with clients who have in-house designers:

• Unless the in-house designer is the decision maker, avoid directly or solely replying, communicating or negotiating with them. Without being overly obvious, try to make your primary contact in the company the decision maker. If you email the in-house designer, always copy the decision maker.
• Avoid being overly friendly or rude with the in-house designer. Be respectful, kind, and professional. Keep your communications with them friendly, respectful, and concise. 
• Do not argue or get into a “pissing contest” with the in-house designer. If you have an issue with her/his feedback or communications towards you, speak to the decision maker. 
• In regard to creative direction, be flexible...at least a little bit. Inevitably, the in-house designer will want an opportunity to express their opinions about your project. They probably can’t wait to do it! Be respectful of their thoughts and opinions. 
• Before you send an invoice over, have a conversation with the decision maker. Let him know what will be in the invoice. Avoid overcharging, padding your time, or anything else that the in-house designer may call you out on. Charge for your time (you should always do this), but bill fairly. If you try to over charge the decision maker, the in-house designer is going to call you out. 
• Last, but most important. Have a conversation with the decision maker at the beginning of the process. Do this without the in-house designer being present. Explain to the decision maker how you work and what he/she can expect in terms of processes, revisions, etc. Be gentle, but get them to agree that while feedback (at least some) is welcome, you’ll be working on this project alone, rather than a collaborative effort with their in-house designer. Ask the decision maker if having you work on the project on your own...or even having you work on the project at all...will cause any friction with the other designer. As is true in so many other aspects of freelancing (pricing, deliverables, turnaround times, etc.) if you address and manage expectations before you begin working, you can avoid the majority of problems other freelancers right into. 

In closing, to say that I haven't met some great freelancers and in-house designers isn't true, and I don't advocate that you have a overwhelming distrust of the other party--just be careful when you're dealing with them. They probably have a different agenda than you do. 

Graphic Designers/Web Designers--How Do You Make Your Clients Feel

I passed by a run-down tuxedo shop on my way to visit a client yesterday. In faded, chipped window paint, it had a sign in the front that read “We’re your prom headquarters.” I wondered about that: really, this is where kids go for prom? I found that hard to believe. Anyway, I’ll talk more about this later. 

The shop, which was housed in a decrepit building, featured a parking lot that was in gross disrepair and shop windows that were so dirty that it was tough to see through them. To cap things off, the store plunked down cheesy-looking astroturf instead of grass, and they had a logo and brand name that is as old (maybe older) than I am. I remember this tuxedo shop when I was growing up, and it doesn’t look like they’ve done much to “get with the times” since then. The store, the logo, and the brand are dinosaurs. It was kind of sad. The store is so out of touch that I felt embarrassed for them--sort of like a fat, balding uncle that still thinks he’s cool, even though everyone else knows that he’s not. 

I know, you’re asking, “Who cares? What’s this got to do with graphic/web design freelancing?” Well, as I mentioned, the store claimed to be “your prom headquarters,” but I couldn’t help but wonder what high school student would want to get ready for his prom in a dingy, decrepit store like this. I wanted to walk into the store and declare, “You might have been prom headquarters in the 1950s, but you’re not now. This place is a dump.”

Prom’s a wonderfully exciting time for kids--it’s a time they want to feel great about themselves. For guys, in particular, they want to look cool and feel cool. However, there’s nothing about this store that’s cool. It’s a drab, boring stop on the way to something that will be cool (going to prom). It's like having to stop at a dirty, neglected gas station to fill up your car on the way to Disneyland. My ranting aside, the point is, the feeling people get during their purchasing experience is just as important as their result (at least in most cases). Sure, some high school kid could get a decent tux at this broken-down store, which is fine, but he’s missing out on a priceless experience and a memory of really enjoying himself while he’s picking out his tux. What, for example, if the store invested some money to modernize their look? Perhaps they could install widescreen tvs, a slamming sound system, offer free Red Bulls, and even hire attractive (hot) girls as salespeople. Could you imagine how many boys would visit the shop? How many of them do you think would tell their Facebook friends, “Dude, you’ve gotta go to this place. It’s unbelievable!” 

Think about this idea of customers/clients needing to get good results from working with you, but also feeling good throughout the process. Your clients don’t want to feel cool (well, maybe some of them do) the majority of them want to feel hope. They want to feel that working with you is going to bring in new and better customers, boost their confidence, and allow them to charge a premium for their products/services. As a designer, you have the power to help people turn their business around--to change how they feel, and their customers feel, about it. You might not have a store, like the tuxedo shop I’ve talked about, but everything about working with you should make your clients feel more confident and hopeful about their business. Providing exceptional design will help make you a success as a freelancer--providing exceptional design while making your clients feel like they can take on the world will make you a star. 

Graphic Designers, If You Don’t Design for Amway, Stop Hawking Their Products

To be fair, this article has nothing to do with Amway – please don’t come after me. Okay, now that’s out of the way, I’ll share something that happened to me recently (or at least recently when I wrote this). I hired a contractor, much like a client would hire you as a freelancer, to do a particular job. The guy had great reviews on Yelp, so I figured I’d give him a shot. He gave me a briefing of what he’d be doing (which is good), afterwards he casually mentioned that, “We’d better take care of business first.” 

“Oh, this means he wants to get paid,” is what I gathered, “That’s cool, it’s important that all contractors (freelancers included) make sure they get paid.” But to my surprise, instead of starting off with an invoice, he hands me an offer coupon for discounts on products and services that had nothing to do with his business. The offer/coupon required me to log on to a website and enter in personal information and a passcode. The contractor must have worked out some deal with this company (that I’d never heard of) in that he would get a kickback if someone used his passcode to buy something. 

“Uhh, what the hell is this?” I thought to myself. I hired this guy to do contract work and the first thing he does is try to get me to buy some crappy merchandise from some fly-by-night company so he can earn a few extra bucks on the side. I hired this guy to do a job, not sell me crap. Fortunately, while these thoughts ran through my mind, my mouth didn’t blurt out anything offensive. I took the coupon in stride, as most people probably would. However, just because I didn’t say something doesn’t mean that I wasn’t offended or that the contractor’s credibility didn’t take a major hit. I was mildly offended, and I wondered if I’d hired the guy by mistake. Well, to wrap this story up, the contractor didn’t mention the coupon again, which was wise. And, I have to say, he did a nice job. Having such an anti-climactic ending must have you thinking, “Who cares? The guy offended you but did a good job – so you were fine with it.” The truth is, I was fine with it: I paid the guy and was happy for his service, but because he felt it appropriate to hawk other products/services that were not related to his service, I did not feel comfortable referring him to friends or family. Yep, this guy probably lost out on two-five referrals because he thought it more important to try to make a few measly dollars by hawking cheesy merchandise from a company that couldn’t care less if he dropped dead. 

Takeaway lesson for freelancers: while you might think introducing your clients to other business ventures that you’ve gotten involved in: Amway, Avon, Juice Plus or some other venture, carefully consider that making a couple of measly dollars on commission might be costing you more than your credibility. Yeah, I know, some of these products and services might actually help your client – that’s not the point. Remember that your clients hire you for a specific reason: design. They don’t hire you to be their therapist, nutritional advisor, home organizer or anything else. If your good at design, and I bet you are – just stick to doing it.

Interviewing for a Graphic Design Job - What Interviewers Are Looking for

What the %#@! are interviewers really looking for in an applicant? If you’re looking for your next job or gig right now, it’s one of the most perplexing questions imaginable. The truth is, there is no magic formula to get inside an interviewer’s head - interviewers, like people, are all different. That said, we recently brought on board a junior designer and I’d like to share with you reasons why some applicants weren’t chosen and others continued through the interview process. As a final caveat, I just want to remind you that this was our criteria and process, so please don’t take it as gospel (every interviewer is different). Instead, use the information below as a guide as you interview for a new job or gig.   

In looking at applicants, we had the following questions in the back of our heads (even though that hadn’t been formally written down):

• Can the applicant do the job?
• Does the applicant want the job?
• Is the applicant a good fit for the team?
• Can the applicant follow directions, listen and communicate effectively?
• Is the applicant likely to leave as soon as they have another opportunity?
• Does the applicant have the right skill set and experience for the position (will they need too much help or will they be bored?)

Some of the reasons candidates were not chosen:

• Poor grammar
• Didn’t follow instructions
• Were way too overconfident (came across pompous or arrogant)
• Didn’t appear all that interested in the position
• Portfolio didn’t match the style we were looking for. Some portfolios featured strange works of art that were at the least unprofessional and would not be appreciated by our clients, at worst, the artwork was kind of scary. 
• Didn’t listen during interview. We could tell they could hear us, but they weren’t listening - they were just waiting for their chance to talk
• Talked about other opportunities during the interview
• Had issues or possible complications with their schedule
• Didn’t have an online portfolio (this immediately disqualified people)
• TMI. Some applicants didn’t know when to turn their mouth off. They provided a little too much information. 
• Arrived late to interview, or said it was "hard finding the place." Note, never tell the interviewer that their business was hard to find. Do NOT complain about the traffic, weather or having to find the business. 
• Seemed way too desperate. Yes, letting interviewers know you want the job is a good approach - looking or sounding desperate is something you need to avoid.

These aspects didn’t disqualify an applicant, but they didn’t help:

• Emailed us at odd hours (this just looked odd)
• Demonstrated and showed passion for skills that were well beyond the scope of the job. For example, fine art, 3d modeling, CAD, sculpture, etc. These are wonderful talents to have, but it made us feel that the applicant might be bored in the position that was offered. It appeared that she/he was only applying for the position because they needed the money - not because they wanted the job. There’s nothing wrong with needing money, but we wanted someone whose artistic talents fit the position. The takeaway here is that if you have talents that go beyond the job you’re applying for, you’ll want to minimize them and focus on the talents that are directly applicable.  

Why we selected who we did

• Seemed honest and upfront
• Had basic skill set, and was willing to learn
• Pleasant personality that would fit in well with the rest of the team
• Humble. Could clearly tell the applicant was not a design diva
• Could clearly tell the applicant wanted the position
• Had a respectable online portfolio that sort of matched what we were looking for. From the applicant’s portfolio we could say, “Yes, we can see that this person can probably do what we’re looking for them to do.”
• Didn’t have a lot of artistic talents outside of what we were looking for. 

I hope these points have provided a little value to you. It's a tough market out there, so if you have any specific questions about your job search, feel free to leave a comment and I'll type out a response. Best wishes,guys. 

 

You know you’re a talented graphic designer when you can work with junk

300 dpi, high-resolution, vividly sharp photos, a library of vector images, the “go-ahead” to splurge on metallic spot colors, a four-page comprehensive report on exactly what the client wants and doesn’t want included in the project, and the client is allowing us to decide how much print space we’ll need to create our masterpiece – it’s a dream project, isn’t it? With a grin from ear to ear, we self-assuredly exclaim to the client, “I am going to create something really special for you!”

Just at that moment, the Marimba tone on the iPhone goes off – the 6:30AM alarm is ringing. It was just a dream – sort of. You still have the client and project to do (both are good), but the 300 dpi photos are actually 150 dpi, and some of them are out-of-focus, others have poor exposure. The four-page client information sheet is actually a few notes the client scribbled on the back of a napkin (in English, you’re guessing). The client is a on a shoe-string budget, so there will be no metallic spot colors, and you’ll need to keep the project to an 11”x17” bifold. You sigh to yourself, try your best to put on a smile, and know that you confidently say to the client, “I am going to create something really special for you!”

While it might be different for a few of you, most of us working as freelancers are not going to have ideal materials, instructions or budgets to create something wonderful. We still have to. If being in this position has left you dejected, I have good news for you.

There are always a handful of small business clients that only hire designers that work on high-end projects. These clients don’t care as much about price – they know what they want, and they pay for it. There aren’t a lot of the folks, are there? The rest of the clients out there desperately need help, don’t have huge budgets, aren’t sure what they want, and can’t provide you much in terms of graphics, photos etc. Herein lays your opportunity. These clients need designers that can work wonders with “junk.”

Whether you’re a freelancer or a designer working for a company, management loves resourcefulness and practicality. If you’re able to create a masterpiece out of little to nothing, if you’re able to select the right creative direction with little instruction, and you’re able to scrounge around and find/take high-res images that you can use in your project, you are (or will) be in demand.

Anyone (well, most talented designers) can create a top-shelf project when everything aligns perfectly, but how many can do it when they’re not given much to work with? Over the years, I’ve learned to be resourceful in creating projects. I’ve done this not because of some great talent, but out of necessity. I had to learn to work with little because my clients didn’t have extravagant budgets. Sure, I’ve harbored jealously towards artists that consistently get a $10,000 creative budget to complete their work (dirty rat bastards), but I’ve also learned to parlay my resourcefulness into getting both clients and jobs in a challenging economy.

If you’ve learned to work with nothing, or junk, make sure you bring this to light when talking to a potential client or employer. Tell people that you can, and have been, wonderfully successful, even when conditions aren't ideal. Remember, that everyone’s looking to save money, show explain to clients how you have a history of saving clients money (and still Turing out a terrific project). Next, and more importantly, give the prospective client or employer a GENERAL* idea of how you’ll be able to save them money. In this economy, everyone’s looking to save a buck. Show people how you’re able to do it, and still create some inspired work.

* - Avoid being too specific with your ideas, at least until you’ve formally been given the gig/job. Remember, the client or employer may end up taking your ideas and end up hiring someone else. Give them a small taste of what you can do to save them money, but save the really good stuff until you’ve started to get paid. 

Design is Going Right to the Dogs – How Freelancing Clients Can Act like Puppies

We adopted two puppies a few months back. Good dogs, but if you’ve ever had puppies before, you know what you’re in for. These little guys eat, scrap, poop and destroy anything that’s less than 20” from the ground. For you dogs lovers out there, yeah I know, they are just being puppies, but they are exhausting. Mercifully, they are starting to get better. They eat a little more now, but they scrap and destroy things a little less.

When I look back to when we first got the pups, we made a critical error in bringing them into our home: we didn’t set up clear boundaries. While I can’t say I was thrilled with them chewing a hole in the wall or digging up the carpet, the most frustrating things abut adopting the dogs was that we never felt like we had any time to ourselves – they followed us everywhere. We never got a moment of peace. Whose fault was all of this? Ours.

Let’s tie all of this back to freelancing – you aren’t reading this to learn about puppy training. Adopting puppies, at least in this example, is a lot like bringing a new client on board:

• They both need to be shown who is in charge (this has to be done gently and tactfully)
• They both need clear boundaries.
• They both need to be watched so they don’t chew on the carpet.

Okay, the last bullet might not apply to both – then again, it might (I've worked with some people that acted like they might eat their own carpet, I don't know). The point in all of this is that you have to establish clear boundaries, whether you are dealing with clients or puppies. If you don’t want phone to answer client phone calls at 5AM or 10PM, tell your clients upfront what your work hours are. If you aren’t willing or in a position to work overtime or weekends on a project, let the client know that as well. If you prefer the client doesn’t visit your office unannounced…well, you get the picture, right?

Whether were referring to puppies or clients, when “people” invade our personal space and personal time we often get upset – I know I do. But when I really look at why it happened, I often find that I did not effectively communicate where my boundaries were. For puppies, I’ve found baby gates work wonders; for clients, I would suggest discussing what you’re able to do for them in your initial meeting, and summarizing some of those boundaries in your contract. 

Freelancing Advice You Won't Learn in Design School: Sorry Is Never Good Enough

Strong words aren’t they? This had to be especially unnerving if you believe that we are supposed to forgive and forget each other’s trespasses. I do believe that, but, (and it’s a BIG but), in trying to attract clients in as a freelancer, just saying, “sorry” can be disastrous. 

Take an example that my buddy in Ohio told me about recently: he was looking to hire a mortgage broker to help refinance his home. It turns out he met a broker through a friend at their church. The broker instructed him to fill out an online application, once it was completed, she would get back to him. My buddy mentioned that filled out the online application out on 3rd of the month; the broker didn’t get back to him until the 22nd. Really? It took the mortgage broker 19 days to get back to a referral from a friend.

This communication delay of course did not sit well with my friend. You might think that the broker being significantly late in responding what set my friend off; it wasn’t. What ticked him off was what the broker said in email back to him. Here’s what she wrote:

“Sorry it has taken so long to get back to you. Can you call me so I can help you? If you don't reach me, please just leave it on voicemail and I will return call.”

So, there’s the apology. And while it’s not an overly sincere one, we’re supposed to forgive and forget, right? My buddy never called her back. He told me, “That was fine that she apologized. The issue was that she was late; REALLY late, and didn’t offer any explanation or reason for it.” My buddy voiced that he was concerned (and I’d have to say legitimately) that if this broker could disappear for almost three weeks on someone who would be an ideal new client, how could he even trust that she would be there for him once he became a client. His rationale was that vendors (brokers or even freelancers) always try to do everything they can to get a new client. They put their best foot forward. However, once they get the client, their service often tends to wane.

“If she would’ve had a logical explanation for disappearing for three weeks, I could have at least considered working with her. She offered nothing but an apology, so I have no idea if this is standard behavior for her. How would I know if she does this type of stuff all of the time?” he finished.

He’s right. How would he know whether the broker felt that not responding for three weeks is acceptable behavior? Furthermore, is being “missing in action” something she often becomes? Would you have confidence working with this woman? I wouldn’t, apparently my buddy didn’t either.

Forgiveness is one thing, but forgiving and still agreeing to work with someone that doesn’t seem like they’re on top of their game is another matter. The same will hold true when it comes to you and your freelancing business. So to help you avoid the mistake this mortgage broker made, here are a few client service points to remember:

• Trust needs to be established when working with clients – especially new or potential clients. Do everything you can to show people that you are responsive, caring and client-focused (disappearing for three weeks would definitely be considered a “No, no”). You should do everything that you can to respond to clients within 24 business hours. Try to get back to a potential client (a lead) within one to three hours. 
• If you are not able to get back to a client in a reasonable period of time (which is becoming harder and harder to explain since we have mobile phones) make sure you offer an apology followed by a reasonable explanation as to why you couldn’t respond timely. This would preclude you from using outlandish excuses like, “My uncle just had his appendix taken out,” or “My bird just died,” unless they are true.
• Finally, follow your apology and explanation up with a sincere promise that the unresponsive and unavailable situation was extremely rare. Reassure the client/potential client that they should not expect it to occur again.

The market is tough out there, guys. Make sure you don’t let golden opportunities, like referrals from friends and family, slip through your fingers because you were lazy or you weren’t on your game. On the rare chance, if you were either of these things – remember that saying your sorry is a great start, but it’s not enough.

Graphic designers: You're not getting the job, you're getting the runaround

We've all heard it before, "Actions speak louder than words". And yes, I know it's a slightly tired cliché uttered way too many times when people can't come up with their own sentiments, but in the following little story it couldn't be truer.

A buddy of mine had a phone interview with a company almost two months ago; it went well enough that the company brought him in within a few days for a two hour face-to-face/technical interview. 

He calls me up and says, "Dude, I think it went really well. I felt I was a really good fit for what they're looking for, and the areas that I am not a perfect match I am sure I can pick up quickly."

"Good deal,” I responded, "So did they make you an offer yet?"

"No. They said they'll put some things together and get back to me. I think we both walked away feeling like I'd be a great fit considering my background and what I am looking to learn. I am sure I'll hear from them pretty soon."

Well, I should point out that "soon" for my buddy and the hiring personnel at this company were two very different measurements of time. He didn’t hear back from them for a while. Days turned into weeks and still my buddy didn't hear a peep out of these guys. Nevertheless, he remained optimistic that his background and passion would certainly get him a job. "I dunno dude, they told me that they were impressed with me during the interview (and I felt they were). Looking at the job requirements - I am a perfect fit," he thought.

After these few weeks passed, my buddy finally decided to call the company and check on the job status. At this point he felt the offer was coming, he just rationalized that they might have gotten busy or something else came up.* "Bureaucracies often move more slowly, so it's no big deal," he said.  Once he was finally able to connect with someone at the company (which took a while), he reported that they quickly but politely said they would get back to him in a couple of weeks.

A couple of weeks came...and went, and the phone never rang.

Sucks doesn't it? Being in limbo for so long, thinking and hoping that things will work out, only to find out that they won't. This type of thing has happened to me before, and I know it's happened (or it may happen) to just about every other freelancer out there - maybe it's happened to you. Don't beat yourself up about it and don't feel embarrassed, it's happened to us all.

So how do you keep yourself from a potential client/employer being playing you - especially if you felt you'd be a great fit, AND that they really liked you?

If we look at what the company DID rather than what they SAID or how my buddy FELT, the answer becomes a little clearer. If my buddy would have looked more at the actions (or lack of actions) the company took to hire him, rather than what was said or how he felt, he would have saved himself a lot of frustration and second-guessing.

Here are the action "warning signs" that might have given my buddy a clue that things weren't as promising as he thought:

• The company didn't immediately make a commitment or offer.
• The company didn't send a courtesy, "Thank you for meeting" follow up email, phone call or letter.
• The company didn't bother to follow up with him over the course of the next few days or weeks...even to tell him, "Hey, we're interested but we've had to deal with a few other things in the meantime." The company took NO initiative to contact him after the meeting.
• When my buddy finally did work up the courage to follow-up with the company they didn't apologize or even recognize that several weeks had passed. They didn't specifically  indicate they were still interested, and instead of getting back to him in a day or two the company said they'd get back to my buddy in, "a couple of weeks".

When you see a list all of these points laid out, it's not hard to come up with, "Duh, they're just not that in to you" is it?

To be fair, it's hard not to get caught up in what potential employers/clients may say to you (even though they may not mean it), and it's very possible that our perceptions/judgments can be way off course. 

I've found that if you're trying to get a grip on whether or not a potential client/employer is going to hire you, try to balance:

• What has been said
• How it has been said
• How you feel about the situation
• How you feel the potential client/employer feels about the situation
• What the potential client/employer has DONE or NOT DONE

Emphasis on the last bullet - it should carry the most weight when trying to figure out what the heck a potential client/employer is thinking. "Actions speak louder than words".

*Whether it’s a potential client, employer or even girlfriend, I’ve found that if they’re really interested, they will get back to you timely (unless they’re playing games, in which case, you don’t want to be associated with them anyway).

Essential Freelancing Tip for Designers: Dreamers and Hobbyists Make Bad Clients

From person to person, I think hobbyists and dreamers are great. After all, where would this world be without those that reach for the stars while the rest of us keep our feet firmly on the ground? Nevertheless, from freelancer to potential client, I can’t stand these people.

The Being a Starving Artist Sucks book goes into this subject in detail, so I won’t rehash it here. The bottom line is that hobbyists and dreamers that may contact you for a project are often a waste of time. Instead of going into details, I’d like to tell you of a disappointing encounter I had with a hobbyist and dreamer, shamefully, I was him.

Through a colleague, I contacted a developer that I  hoped could help me create a couple of mobile apps ideas I was kicking around in my head. Mind you, I already have a steady source of income, so having these apps developed was just something I was curious about. I, as much as I hate to admit it, am a hobbyist in this scenario.

I contacted the developer via email, gave him a three paragraph synopsis of what I was hoping to achieve. I then asked what his initial thoughts were. Within a day or so the guy responded, “What sort of budget are you working with? What is the time frame for the projects?  If you send me some details I would be happy to get you some estimates and if they look good to you we would look forward to working with you.” Reasonable, wouldn’t you say? The trouble is, I didn’t really have a budget – most hobbyists don’t. Rather, I had a rough idea of what I would be willing to pay for the project, which coincidentally had nothing to do with the developer’s skill level or how much time he would need to invest. This is precisely why you have to be wary of potential clients that don’t necessarily need to have a project completed, most of them aren’t all that motivated to do so and the value they place on the project isn’t what is it is truly worth but what they are willing to pay for it.

Honestly, I am not sure what I was expecting this developer to do for me, give me a rough quote based on virtually no information at all – who knows? Perhaps, like most hobbyists and dreamers, I was looking to satisfy my curiosity. To be fair, I did indicate in my first email to him: “I wasn't sure if I'd be an idea fit for you, but I figured I'd ask. If what I am looking to do does not really sound interesting or a fit for you, just let me know - no worries. If you have some very quick, initial thoughts (don't invest a load of your time, I do want to be respectful), feel free to float them over.”

It took me a few days to get back to his first email; took me longer to get back to the second. I didn’t mean any disrespect in this, I just found myself preoccupied with other priorities, again, like most hobbyists and dreamers. In the end, I’ve decided to hold off on moving forward in having the apps developed. I don’t have the time and energy to put into them right now. And while I can take some solace in recognizing that I didn’t take up much of this developer’s time, I still did (I kind of suck for doing it). And it hits home with me – something that I’ve always known but so much more clearly now that I’ve been on the other side: hobbyists and dreamers aren’t typically folks looking to screw over freelancers, but they often don’t make good clients.

In your business, have folks contacted you that were in a similar situation to the one above? Did you end up working with them? 

Audio Podcasts for Freelance Graphic Designers: Sorry Isn’t Good Enough; Dreamers Make Bad Clients

Hey guys,
Below I have posted links to check out a couple audio podcasts I recently recorded. The only thing I’d ask is that if you listen to them, take a minute and share some of your thoughts and feedback with me. 

• Was the length too long / too short / just right?
• Was the reading too fast / too slow / just right?
• What format do you think is best for this type of advice? Audio or text.
• On a 1-10 scale (1 being the lowest; 10 the highest), what did you think of them?
• Do you have any other thoughts you’d like to share about the podcasts?

http://www.jeremytuber.com/graphicdesign_podcast.mp3
http://www.jeremytuber.com/graphicdesign_podcast2.mp3 

PS – feel free to share this with other freelancers; I could use the feedback. Cheers!