Freelance Heroes

Aug 02, 2012

Hi, and welcome to the "Freelance Heroes" thread, a place where Articulate Freelancers help each other. Got a question about freelancing? Or perhaps you have an e-learning asset that may be valuable to those "doin' their own thing"? This is the place to share--to give.

To start things off, I'd like to share a short list of questions that help me figure out what kind of training a potential client wants. (So often they have no idea what they want.) The list is far from exhaustive, but may be of some help. Looking forward to meeting you. --Daniel  

1293 Replies
Richard Blunt

Hello all you Heroes!

I just took the last two days reading all the treads in this forum and I hope to get a wealth of advice from you.  I’m in a bit of a conundrum.  I was laid off more than a year ago when 40% on my last company was let go because of the economy.

By trade, I would say I am a learning technology evangelist, learning solutions strategist, serious games guy, and teacher.  Please feel free to check me out at http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickblunt.

My problem: I cannot find a job doing what I’ve been doing.  Geographically, I need to stay here in northern Virginia (just outside Washington, DC) because of my wife’s career. 

Solution: I’ve been thinking of trying to “transform” myself into a practicing Instructional Designer.  I’ve managed group of Instructional Designers for years.  I know good ID when I see it, and can critique bad ID very constructively.  I’ve taken professional development / re-training courses in Designing Asynchronous e-Learning, Designing Synchronous e-Learning, Designing Blended Learning, and Designing Mobile Learning.

Another problem: After all this effort, I’m very slowly coming to the conclusion I may not be creative enough to become a successful Instructional Designer.  My e-Learning Design portfolio (http://rickblunt.com/wordpress/?page_id=142) is very mediocre, at best.  I can tell the work is not very good, yet I’m at a loss how to creatively imagine making it better.

I would love to hear your thoughts, feedback, advice, and general rantings on my floundering career and what I should do about it.

Thanks,
Rick

Daniel Brigham

Welcome to Freelance Heroes, Rick. Thanks for the honesty. That allows us to help you more.

I often doubt the quality of my work. And then I'll get a call from a large potential client and think ("Well, it can't be that bad.)

Took a quick peak at the portfolio. Your publications and education are impressive. You've got a lot on that portfolio page, so I'd probably suggest either trimming it down, or putting the publications on another page so potential clients could more easily find stuff.

Unless it's done quite well, it's a bit hard for most people to view elearning that doesn't have any narration. My suggestion if you want to go the freelance elearning developer route: create a mini-course around content you're an expert on and really care about. Consider using at least a bit of voiceover, if nothing else, just to show you know to do it. I'd be willing to record a few slides for you, and other might offer as well.

Question: Is elearning development what you want to do? If it is, then creating a competitive portfolio will be kind of fun (and we can help you). Are you reading any elearning books? I might actually suggest starting with presentation books: Slideology, Presentation Zen, Made to Stick. Many of us have been where you are. We are here to help. Thanks for the post, and again, welcome to Freelance Heroes. --Daniel

Richard Blunt

Hi Daniel,

Thanks for the welcome, I appreciate it.  Also, thanks for the kind words and advice.  What I very much want to do is help people learn with technology.  I want to see those little "light bulbs" go on above their heads...virtually of course.  Books, besides the courses I mentioned, I recently finished Michael Allen's "Leaving ADDIE for SAM" and Julie Dirksen's "Design for How People Learn."  Your book recommendations will be next on my list.  I like your idea around the mini-course idea. I also like Tom Kuhlmann's idea of doing the same mini-course several different ways.  I did try one that is pretty far down on the list...  I'll try another one and see how it goes and get back to everyone.

Thanks again for the help,

Rick

Daniel Brigham

Rick Blunt said:

Hi Daniel,

Thanks for the welcome, I appreciate it.  Also, thanks for the kind words and advice.  What I very much want to do is help people learn with technology.  I want to see those little "light bulbs" go on above their heads...virtually of course.  Books, besides the courses I mentioned, I recently finished Michael Allen's "Leaving ADDIE for SAM" and Julie Dirksen's "Design for How People Learn."  Your book recommendations will be next on my list.  I like your idea around the mini-course idea. I also like Tom Kuhlmann's idea of doing the same mini-course several different ways.  I did try one that is pretty far down on the list...  I'll try another one and see how it goes and get back to everyone.

Thanks again for the help,

Rick

My pleasure, Rick. Glad to have you around. Build some stuff and share it with us. We'll all learn. --Daniel
Elizabeth Israel

Mary Beth Maidment said:

Hi...

I'm an Instructional Designer, currently working with a company in the health care industry.

I am interested in taking on voice over assignments... if anyone has opportunities available, please contact me...

marybeth(at)megadomania.com .

Contract work from home only.


You might get a more positive response if you post a link to some samples of your work i.e., a portfolio.

Anne Pead

Rick Blunt said:

Hello all you Heroes!

I just took the last two days reading all the treads in this forum and I hope to get a wealth of advice from you.  I’m in a bit of a conundrum.  I was laid off more than a year ago when 40% on my last company was let go because of the economy.

By trade, I would say I am a learning technology evangelist, learning solutions strategist, serious games guy, and teacher.  Please feel free to check me out at . http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickblunt

My problem: I cannot find a job doing what I’ve been doing.  Geographically, I need to stay here in northern Virginia (just outside Washington, DC) because of my wife’s career. 

Solution: I’ve been thinking of trying to “transform” myself into a practicing Instructional Designer.  I’ve managed group of Instructional Designers for years.  I know good ID when I see it, and can critique bad ID very constructively.  I’ve taken professional development / re-training courses in Designing Asynchronous e-Learning, Designing Synchronous e-Learning, Designing Blended Learning, and Designing Mobile Learning.

Another problem: After all this effort, I’m very slowly coming to the conclusion I may not be creative enough to become a successful Instructional Designer.  My e-Learning Design portfolio () is very mediocre, at best.  I can tell the work is not very good, yet I’m at a loss how to creatively imagine making it better.http://rickblunt.com/wordpress/?page_id=142

I would love to hear your thoughts, feedback, advice, and general rantings on my floundering career and what I should do about it.

Thanks,
Rick


Hi Rick

Welcome to the Freelance Heroes!  I had a look at your portfolio and I'm happy to offer some feedback if you're still looking for some ways to enhance your eLearning portfolio.  There's also another thread going on Gamification in ELearning that, given your background, you might be able to contribute to - or just enjoy reading! Here's a link to the thread!

http://community.articulate.com/forums/t/29182.aspx?PageIndex=2

Belen Casado

Hi all!

Sorry for bumping into the forum like a cow...

I wanted to share some thoughts.

I'm really busy right now, having just "fulfilled" almost 8 months as a freelance.

Lately, I have many projects that are bigger, but I play a smaller role. For example, I'm writting many scripts (mainly in Power Point, but some of them in Excel), and I'm doing something that one of my clients -that is a big e-learning company- calls "e-learning layout". It means that -you won't believe it- someone writes a script and someone else takes it and creates, one by one, hundreds of html and xml pages to cover that script, together with a "course.xml" where you list -by hand- each slide...

I saw it at first and, as I wasn't hired as an ID, I said nothing. But now I'm thinking that I should talk to the client: there's a world out there, we aren't in the Middle Ages any more!

Really, you wouldn't believe it!

This client is the direct competitor of another client, much smaller, but that wants me as an ID. I'm building huge courses for the 2nd one in less time, with less errors -and more fun.

Well... just wanted to show up.

Hope you all are well!

Belen Casado

Daniel Brigham

Belen: Glad to hear things are going well and good to hear from you.

Holly: Thanks for that link. Thought of you when a client came back wanting to reduce a statement of work. "Cut your services, not your price."

Everyone: I'm drafting a script for a mini Storyline course centered around what it takes to become an elearnin' freelancin' pro.

Here's a question I was hoping we could discuss: what did you struggle with (esp. client-wise) in that first year or two when you were getting established? If you don't want to post here maybe you could PM me.

Daniel goes first: I struggled contracting, and in particular, becoming accurate estimating how many hours certain projects would take me. I also struggled with the graphic design aspect, especially how to create multiple layouts that looked good.

Bruce Graham

Mandy Bosch said:

Hi David, excellent idea this mini-course. I struggle with exactly the same things, estimating the number of hours and graphic design (lay-out). The first one has been described in this forum more often, but I would be happy to hear how others have dealt with the graphic design aspect.


Apart from reading as much about design as I could, I found out I needed illustrations, so found an illustrator on a workplace/auction site.

It's only a small addition to the client fee, and I could not survive without her -she's wonderful

Bruce

Magic Johnson

Hello all - I am an experienced freelancer who now runs a company that hires FT staff and supports them with a pool of about 35 freelance contractors. I am happy to share my thoughts on being a contractor, getting hired, what clients are looking for, etc. from both the freelancer and client perspectives. I have been watching this thread with great interest and thought I’d weigh in.

Top of mind advice:

1.     Show Up: When you take on a new project, say what you’ll do and do what you say. If you stand by your word and follow-through, you’ll be in the to 90% of freelancers right there.

2.     Don’t Overpromise: Show examples of your capabilities and ensure the client signs-off on what you propose to create, then deliver to that expectation. Avoid getting yourself in over your head. Should you find yourself faced with an issue for which you don’t have the skill or knowledge to address, raise the flag immediately and be totally honest with your client. Work to find a solution together, including bringing in another freelancer to help.

3.     Billing: Make your bills easy to read and ask the client how they want things broken down – by day, by item, by project, etc. Many clients subcontract to freelancers and need to bill their clients, so they need specific details from all freelancers to ensure accurate accounting. Also, bill on time. It’s difficult to reconcile bills that come in 45 days from when the work was completed. Also – funny as it may sound – I’ve had more than one vendor not bill me at all and for amounts in the thousands. I have no idea why this happens. All I can say is – don’t let that happen to you!

4.     Get a federal EIN: It takes 5 minutes to obtain a federal employee ID number. It also inspires confidence in your client when they see you took the time to set up your business to this minimum level of effort. Clients like to know they are dealing with not only a professional artist, but also a business professional. Better still, register your EIN under a business name other than your own.

5.     Graphics or other support: It’s difficult for any one person to be highly gifted at all facets of eLearning development. It’s extremely hard to find someone who is a true graphic artist, instructional designer, creative writer, and who can trick out Storyline (or other) with triggers, JavaScript, and advanced programming techniques all in one. That’s why I hire so many people – each person specializes in an area and performs at a high level in that area. I pair developers with artists, etc., so that my folks don’t feel they have to shoulder the full development burden on their own.

Oh - and I found an article I wrote back in 2008 that has tips for clients when handling a problem freelancer. Good information for freelance folks from a client perspective. Search eLearning.net under "It’s early on the west coast and I’m only ½ through my first cup of coffee, so I hope the above is useful to you. I’ll also post this on my blog at eLearning.net and add additional thoughts there since this topic is clearly a hot one. Feel free to contact me directly if you’d like some coaching/advice. I’m super busy but always happy to take a few minutes to talk shop.

Daniel Brigham

Bruce Graham said:

Mandy Bosch said:

Hi David, excellent idea this mini-course. I struggle with exactly the same things, estimating the number of hours and graphic design (lay-out). The first one has been described in this forum more often, but I would be happy to hear how others have dealt with the graphic design aspect.


Apart from reading as much about design as I could, I found out I needed illustrations, so found an illustrator on a workplace/auction site.

It's only a small addition to the client fee, and I could not survive without her -she's wonderful

Bruce

Thanks, Bruce. Been considering adding a graphics person. Would save me some stress, and you are right, wouldn't add much to overall cost.
Jerson  Campos

I was actually going to create a post later on, but since the topic is about graphic designers I might as well mention it here. I would like to offer my services as a graphic designer to anybody that is interested. I'm proficient in illustrator, photoshop, flash, video editing, 3D modeling (simple stuff), and animation. PM me if you would like to see some of my work (website is currently down). Most of it is geared toward graphic design, so I want to start building a portfolio of work that has more pieces for eLearning and also to challenge myself and keep up my skills. I love my current job, but sometimes there are long dry spells where I won’t create anything creative for a while (we follow strict templates).

Richard Blunt

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all the great advice and tips since I joined the forum recently.  This place works!  I'm happy to report that through a contact I made here I started my first freelancing consulting job Monday.  I'm doing a needs analysis for a total revamp of all training for a local company and I never would have gotten the gig within this forum.

Thank you everyone!

Rick

Mandy Bosch

Hi everyone,

I managed to unsubscribe me from this forum.. but fortunately found my way back  Just wanted to let you know I also work with a graphic designer: so far only for very small design issues as I have not been able to convince my client of added value, however I think  a good graphic designer could really help to further improve overall look and feel of the course. As I'm not a native English speaker I also work with an English Editor. I hire voice over talents as needed, but I think we all do, correct ? (except when recording own audio files). Technically the courses I developed have not been very challenging but I get more and more 'difficult' questions around how in future trainings must run on Ipad/mobile phone (my background is in biology and classroom training, not in IT or e-learning) so I think I will have to find someone who can help me with the more technical part of the work. How do you deal with this?

On another note, a new client just gave me a brochure for Training magazine's online learning conference 2013 (September 16-17 in Chicago), www.onlinelearningconference.com. She wanted to know if I would recommend her to go there. Honnestly, I have no clue as I'm quite new to e-learning myself. What e-learning conferences would you recommend to your peers (us) and/or clients,  and why?

Daniel Brigham

Rick Blunt said:

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all the great advice and tips since I joined the forum recently.  This place works!  I'm happy to report that through a contact I made here I started my first freelancing consulting job Monday.  I'm doing a needs analysis for a total revamp of all training for a local company and I never would have gotten the gig within this forum.

Thank you everyone!

Rick

Rick: That is so cool. Congratulations. --Daniel
Daniel Brigham

Hi, Mandy:

Regarding the benefits of good graphic design, well, if you need to explain it to a client, I'm not sure that client is ever going to get it. And that's fine. If they don't value it, then don't build it for them.

US Elearning conferences: To me, the Learning Solutions (in the Spring) and DevLearn (in the Fall) are the most crucial. Maybe someone outside the US could weigh in as well.

iPad/mobile issues: I hear you, and I'd rather not deal with these things as well. But as elearning developers we need to somewhat knowledgeable about them. I bet you can find someone on the forums to deal with these things for you. I've been protecting myself in contracts lately by basically saying, "Hey, I'm building this training to play well on standard computers. True, the content may work just fine on the iPad, but if there are playability issues on iPads, my hourly rate will be X to look into these issues, and if I can't deal with them, I may need to bring in someone else (at that same rate.)"

I'm also following the advice of Kevin Thorn regarding training for mobile devices/smart phones: making that a separate contract, because it's really a different kind of learning experience. Hope some of this helps. --Daniel

Mandy Bosch

Thanks Daniel for sharing your insights regarding iPad/mobile issues. Seems like a sensible thing to do. My strength really is in instructional design/storyboarding, and even though I'm currently also building the e-learning in storyline (or studio, depending on clients' wishes), I would actually rather follow magic johnsons' business model (see above) and hire all the other expertise like graphic design, developer etc. As I have developed a number of e-learnings myself at least I would know to some extend what I'm talking about And I think there's enough work for many of us in my line of business..

Another question: one of my client wants to develop a training for an audience outside the company. The training should be available via internet, but it should be possible to track completion in some way. I know there are different LMS systems out there that you can use via internet/cloud. Does anyone have good experiences with one of these? The system should be absolutely trustworthy, possibly SCORM compliant, easy (and free!) to use for the enduser. Budget is not an issue, my client is willing to pay a fee.

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