As a freelance creative, do you focus more on your technical skills, on your creative talent, or problem-solving abilities to attract clients? In this age of AI, talent and tools aren no longer enough to be able to make a living. You’ll become obsolete. Alvalyn Lundgren shares the necessity of human-centered creative problem-solving.
Although design schools may not provide entrepreneurial courses, creatives have a wealth of options to learn critical business skills. Freelance Road Trip is one that
135. Productivity, Time, & Work-Life Integration How can you integrate your professional with your personal life to reduce stress and enjoy flexibility? How is it
Freelancers often struggle with time management and task management, project management, and getting things on time. We don’t get things done when we don’t know what to do next or where to begin. And we don’t know what to do next when there are so many urgent things we need to do. Most of us live cluttered lives. We have a lot going on. The best way to command the clutter is to put it all in order — to actually “design” your life. In this episode I share my own methods for overcoming a sense of overwhelm, including five steps to reclaim control of your tasks, projects, and calendar.
131.Professional Practices for Freelance Creatives Do how you do business and how you conduct yourself in your business make a difference in the types of
A key to your long-term success as a freelance creative is to work with the kinds of clients you’re best suited to serve. And a key approach to attracting those clients is to establish your value proposition — a statement that clearly sets you apart from your close competitors.
In this episode, Alvalyn discusses the importance of establishing and maintaining an “abundance” mindset for achieving career and creative success. She emphasizes how success is not limited by resources, but is instead created through taking action, setting goals, and plotting strategies.
Case studies help position freelance creatives as strategic problem solvers, rather than technicians or wrists.
Many freelancers in all sectors work without written contracts. They rely on verbal agreements which can be vague and incomplete. Neglecting to put project parameters and expectations in writing before you begin a project opens the door for all kinds of trouble to show up. The best way to avoid these troubles is to used contracts. In this episode I share from my own experience, and how freelancers can manage expectations with written agreements. Using contracts is good business practice and can increase your potential for long-term success.
In January 2023 a new reporting requirement affecting LLCs and s-corps — small and independent businesses legally registered with their secretary of state — took
Life is one whole thing, and a proportional approach to balancing time can relieve a lot of the distress that comes with a sense of not measuring up if you don’t achieve symmetry.
There are myriad courses, programs, and coaches available to help you learn skills to succeed in your freelance business. You have a lot of teachers, coaches, and “gurus” to choose from. Or you can choose none and learn it on your own. In this program I talk about the options, about specialists and experts, about offers of success and revenue, and what to look out for. But the main thing I set out to provide you — the one take-away you need to be aware of — is that there are no guarantees.
Negotiating skills are crucial and can make a significant difference in the success of your creative business. In this episode, we’ll address the purpose of the negotiation process, explore the dos and don’ts of effective negotiating, with tips on how to come to an agreement on price, deliverables, and schedule, so that both you and your client will benefit.
Marketing and branding are related concepts that are often used interchangeably, but they are distinct and have different purposes. Freelance designers create brand assets and identities for their clients, but fewer freelancers actually consider the necessity of building their own brands, or understand how effective branding guides marketing efforts integrates with business. This episode covers the differences between marketing and branding, how they’re related, and a short discussion about selling and advertising, all with freelance creatives in mind.
Establishing and managing a business so you can make a living from your creative work — your way — isn’t easy and probably not what most of us expected when we started out. With all the competition out there, and now with AI looming as both an asset and a threat to creative work, how will you stand out? How will you make a living? How will you continue to build your business, attract your best clients, and become know for significant work? In this episode I offer 4 ways for your consideration.
AI is disrupting the creative industries in a variety of ways that are both beneficial and detrimental. In this episode we consider the problems and advantages of using AI as a freelance creative and propose answers to these questions, among others: “Why would a client pay me when they can create a thing themself for free using AI?”, “How can I use AI tools to support my business?”, “How can I protect my work from theft?”
An effective way to attract high value clients is to sell expertise, not time. How can you sell creative services if you’re just starting and have little or no experience? Or how do you sell expertise and shift away from selling your time?
The fact is that AB5 does not provide exemptions for LLCs. Its 3-point test governs the working relationship between the client and the freelancer, not the freelancer’s legal business structure.
Communication is the foundation of every relationship. In business you want to communicate the right way for the right reasons. Keeping everything in writing is preferred, but sometimes a phone call serves the relationship better.
This episode begins with an update on AB5 (California) and the independent contractor rule being considered by the NLRB. And then why you need to define what success looks like for you.
Order is a design principle. So what does order have to do with how you price your freelance work? As a designer and
What you can do to ensure comfortable, friendly meetings and creative reviews, and avoid having things go sideways with your clients?
Not knowing how to start freelancing is what holds most people back. What are the first and most important things you need to do? Starting is simpler than you think.
If you’ve been thinking about freelancing but haven’t stepped out, or if you’ve been dabbling part time while working for someone else full time, here are 7 good reasons for you to stop thinking and dabbling, and start doing.
