Just make cool shit.

Your portfolio is king. By making stuff, you add to that portfolio + you're getting better. You only get better by constantly producing work, whether paid or not.

Your portfolio speaks.

If you have a portfolio full of news pages, but want to be a freelance illustrator, that's tough. If all of your stuff looks like it came out of a corporate annual report, those are the kind of jobs you're going to get.

If you can't make it, fake it.

You'd be surprised how much a deadline pushes you. Subway.

Everyone you know will, at some point, need a designer.

You'd be surprised at how often you'll get asked by friends or family for your rate. You're certainly not obligated to charge them, but most of the time, they're willing to pay because they value you and your time.

Connections are king.

If you had the chance to hire a freelancer, would you hire your friend or some rando?

Find a freelance partner.

Someone you can bounce prices off of, pass of/get work from if you're busy/they're busy, and someone to push you. Zach

Do work for non-profits.

Non-profits always need design work, and since they don't have much money, the projects are usually low stakes, and you can take some creative risks.

Side projects. Side projects. Side projects.

In your spare time, do side projects. Do things that you want to do. But them out into the world and see what happens. Who knows? People might actually like it. Awkward Ornaments. Indiana is awesome. Romney's logo is toothpaste.

Invest in yourself.

Business people put money back into their companies. You should do the same by taking classes (like at Skillshare General Assembly).

Nitty Gritty.

Portfolio Site.

Personally, I like Squarespace. But if you're going to market yourself as a web designer/coder, I'd design my own.

Banks.

You should separate your personal money, from your business money. Set up a separate business account at your local bank.

Accounting.

Use simple time-tracking/invoicing software to keep track of your projects, budgets, invoices, expenses, etc. I use Harvest.

Taxes.

If most of your money is on a job-to-job basis (as opposed to a regular gig), you won't have taxes taken out. That means you have to pay them at the end of the year. Set aside about 25-30% from each job for taxes, so you don't get slammed.For any job over about $600 you're going to be asked to fill out a W-9 form. I have a standard one that I copy and re-date for each client. They collect these forms so they can send you a 1099 at the end of the year for tax purposes. I pay a guy $100 to do my taxes. I can't figure the stuff out. He's a wizard.

Contracts.

You should get into the habit of writing a contract for every job. This isn't as complicated as it sounds. Apps like Shake help you create contacts on the fly. The Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines has a series of boilerplate contracts to help. Write in a kill fee.

Pricing.

Every job gets priced differently. Remember, once you offer a price you can never go up; the price only comes down. Consult the Graphic Artists Guild book, ask other freelancers, and try to find out the client's budget. If it's a one-off job, something like an editorial illustration, charge a flat fee. If it's a continuos job, like a website, or a branding project, charge by the hour. Always ask for half (or 1/3) up front. People expect to negotiate.

Other Resources.

Check out the Freelancer's Union. They've got awesome health benefits and a great network to tap into. Read Design is a Job by Mike Montiero. Read Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon. In it, he says, “Be boring.” Need a specialist? Try oDesk. Jessica Hische on getting freelance work.

But the main thing — Don’t be a jerk.

People like working with nice people, who meet deadlines.

Work hard. Be nice to people.

larrybuch@gmail.com

@larrbuch