Some Great Advice from Design Pros
I ran across this article titled I Wish I Would Have Known: Answers From 11 Top Freelancers, where several design professionals share their hardest lessons learned. Here are a few of my favorites:
From Steven Snell:
I wish I would have known that clients tend to not take a project veryseriously if they are paying low rates. When I started out I knew thatlearning and getting experience was more important than making money atthat stage, so I did some very cheap projects. I worked with severalpeople who wanted a website, but it seemed that since they wereinvesting very little into it financially, they just didn’t take itseriously and put in the effort on their end that is needed to have asuccessful web presence. Not only did that make it more difficult forme to do a good job, but it really did a dis-service to their businessbecause their websites weren’t as effective as they could have been.
From Sean Baker:
You’re closing up your meeting with a potential client. Everything wentsmoothly and you think you’re about to land the job. Said client asksfor your hourly rate, in which you give and explain. Unless you’reunderselling your talents greatly, their next question will almostalways be: “Great, and how long will it take you?” Suddenly you’re in acorner… and you’re panicked. You don’t want to scare them away, so youfeel implied to answer immediately, usually shorting yourself on timesimply to appease. Congratulations, you’ve just pigeonholed thisproject. From here you’ll either be doing some free work or you’ll runthe client off once they see a higher rate than you originally gave.
From Brian Yerkes:
You have to ensure that you don’t take it personally, ever. This is thebiggest thing that I personally struggle with. When a client emails totell me that they aren’t happy with a design, it puts me in a bad moodfor a few hours. It’s the number one thing that I try to deal withbetter every time it happens. Fortunately, 99% of the time, my clientsare happy with my work, but you can never win them all.
From Kostandinos:
Don’t be afraid to say “no” to a project. If I could only pass alongone small piece of advice to kids starting out, and even to thosewho’ve been at it for a while, that’s it. Sometimes it’s really notworth it… in more ways than one. Have a bad feeling about a client?Trust your gut and walk away. One more thing: Sometimes the most important and best projects arethe ones you do for yourself, including working on your portfolio andre-branding yourself. The devil is in the details… get out yourpitchforks.
This advice could have just as easily be given by (and to) lawyers. Remember, your clients, peers and friends often face the exact same challenges in their (non-legal) businesses. Engage them, learn from them, and don't make the same mistakes they have.