About two weeks ago I posed my question sheet for clients as a resource for thise who might find it useful. Today’s resouces comes from Smashing Magazine, who posted a list for 45 Lists and Questionnaires for web designers. They range from client focused stuff like the question sheet I posted to checklists about the design process. Definitely a set of resources that are helpful throughout the entire process of web design.
Archive for June, 2009
Jun 22
Finding Work
Especially when you’re just starting out, finding work can be a difficult and intimidating process. You might not be sure where to look or exactly how to word that email. Fear not: I’m here to help. Today I’m going to talk about three ways to find work, what to look for, and how to keep it coming.
Jun 17
Question Sheet
Sometimes one of the hardest things to do is gauge a new client. What do they do? Who is their audience? What kind of designs work best for their industry? Even before eliciting requierments for the website, it’s good to get to know the client by using some of these questions. About a year ago I came up with this question sheet to do just that. I ask for information about their business/organization, their basic needs for a website, and what they want from me. I also ask for and provide them with contact information. I’ve added it the Freelancing the Net Documents Folder. Feel free to use it for yourself!
As per usual, FreelanceSwitch has published a great article, this time regarding college freelancers. As someone who up until a couple of weeks ago has been exclusively a student freelancer, this stuff really rings true. Especially this little number:
Try to keep your student status out of it
Words cannot describe how frustrating a client can be pre-contract when they find out you’re a student. I do feel however, that once you’ve developed a rapport it’s ok to mention- my clients have been very understanding, especially when it came to crunch time in the semester.
So go ahead and check out the other 4 tips. All really great adivce if you’re a student looking to freelance.
Way back in March I started using FreshBooks as my bookkeeping tool of choice. This was the last time (hopefully for a while) that I changed my method of bookkeeping. Since high school I knew I wanted to keep my books and general accounting organized but when I was new to the game I wasn’t quite sure how. I did what made sense to me and used Excel. This actually went on for quite a while- well into college- because it worked for me, I wasn’t making that much money so I didn’t have a whole lot to keep track of, and it wasn’t costing me money. Then I switched because I wanted something more sophisticated- it was more of a need based thing. Whatever it is you’re looking for, really think about it so you’re not switching software or processes when it’s least convenient- information can get lost and you don’t want to have it in several places as opposed to one. Whatever you choose, it needs to work for you.
Logo for Cognition Media
Sorry for the hiatus folks! I recently finished up grad school (congrats to the class of 2009) and started a new company. In all of the preparation for getting it off the ground, landing our first client, and doing all of the things you need to do to successfully start a company, I came across some things I didn’t really expect. I’ve been a freelancer for quite some time (as you might recall) so I have at least a pretty good handle on running a business. However, when entering the realm of running a small company, some things change. Here are some of my observations.
