Lessons for freelancers
STAYING CREATIVE
My name is Eoghan McCabe
(@eoghanmccabe)
HI THERE
EOGHAN
Freelancing for 5 years
Founded Contrast in 2008
Lessons for freelancers
STAYING CREATIVE
EVERYTHINGright
Just do
“Overall advantage or disadvantage
results from all a company’s activities,
not only a few.”
— Michael E. Porter, What is Strategy?
These creative ideas are food for
thought for smart freelancers “a prince who is not himself wise
cannot be well advised”
— Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
@eoghanmccabe
Some thoughts on the economics of freelancing
CHEAP, EASY, D ISPOSABLE
THE ECONOMICS
is the key to success
understanding
Economics “represents
how [the world] does
actually work”
— Levitt & Dubner
in Freakonomics
(rather than how
we want it to work)
Freelancers are like foot
soldiers in drug gangs
Let’s explore some
uncomfortable truths...
WHY HIRE A FREELANCER?
Nopedesign skills? best
practice prowess?
NahChance to work with an
industry rock star
No
They’re low risk,
dependable?
So the answer is...
BECAUSE FREELANCERS ARE. . .
Cheap
Easy to manipulate
Easy to fuck over
Why?
BECAUSE FREELANCERS ARE. . .
but this is
great news
Naive about their
specific value
Very new to the real
world of business
Nice, unassuming people
THE ECONOMICS
You can become
very successful
You can stand out
from the masses
You can learn life-
lasting business lessons
sometimes, It's Not How Good You
Are, It's How Good You Want To Be
If you understand
.
Let’s talk about marketing
DECENT EXPOSURE
GREAT MARKET ING
When an Apple product speaks for itself,
they let it speak for itself
is all about exposing great products
EXPOSED, NAKED, NUDE
EXPOSE YOUR PRODUCT
Let your awesomeness shine
Be up-front about your priceBe transparent, approachable
2005 2010
#naive #harmless #angry #fucker
BE SOMEBODY
Be a genuine Purple Cow
Nobody wants Johnny Freelancer
(sorry, Johnny)
Be the web design guy
SEO, Social Media marketing...
it’s not your thing—leave it
to the other guys
.
And there’s a wrong way
THERE’S A R IGHT WAY
WORK PRACTICES
Freelancers are terrible at this
because it comes from experience
An easier life requires specific
aka, professionalism
There are some rules of
thumb that will help you
CL IENTS
Not all
are created equal
“The [project] in hand
is the opportunity”
— Paul Arden
...but “avoid clients whose ethos
is incompatible with yours”
— David Ogilvy, Ogilvy on Advertising
start small with all clients,
steer clear of big
commitments
“erosion of moral is expensive”
You are nobody’s bitch
FRIENDS
A friendship is a
relationship with no terms
Business relationships should
have very specific terms
Always set clear expectations
Always exactly meet
expectations
Let’s be
GROW UP
We are not
children in a
school yard
We write clearly,
concisely and
proper-like???!? LOL
We never get
personal in
disagreements
We always avoid
confrontations
and arguments
“Let the other person save face”
— Dale Carnegie, How to Win
Friends and Influence People
.
Some business lessons for freelancers
MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS
You are not going to sue anyone
Your clients aren’t going to
sue youWrite your own, short,
plain-speaking contracts
I ’M NOT A LAWYER BUT. . .
RATE AND HOURS
Work backwards
from cost
increase rate to
control demand
To grow your income, increase your
Let’s assume
people want to
work with you!
Practice Pricing
on Purpose
CREDIT
Who do you trust
enough to lend $1,000?
Always keep your
exposure low—be
consistent
Give me some
Encourage clients to
assume risk—discounts
for up-front payment
.
Some notes on being a great web designer
BEING AWESOME IS AWESOME
WHY SHOULD I BE AWESOME?
Stupid question, but...
You only get one shot at this life
—why do anything half-assed?
If you really suck,
nothing else matters
“There is no substitute for talent.
Industry and all its virtues are of
no avail.” — Aldous Huxley
BE AWESOME
So you want to
John Cleese said...
TORTOISE ENCLOSURE
You must create a
with boundaries of space and time
http://bit.ly/f8Tql
BE AWESOME
So you want to
John Cleese said...
kill interruptions
Actively produce new ideas—
there’s actually A Technique for
Producing Ideas
“Excellence is not an act but a habit” — Aristotle
You’re a shark—if you stop, you’ll die
Ignore trends
Study the Universal Principles
of Design
THE VALUE OF AWESOME
A quick note on
Most of it you do for you
Some of it you do for me
The rest you do for your clients
.
So what I was trying to say is...
IN CONCLUSION
@eoghanmccabe
THANKS!