Freelance Heroes

I think they are all a bit basic, and do not allow Peer-2-Peer and B2B, so with some other likeminded people, I built a slightly more all-embracing site, with project room, billing facilities etc.

"Hobbyists" have a huge amount to offer, in all areas of business, and the business-world is just about waking upto that fact, as it becomes more comfortable with Cloud-and-Crowd based working.

I think much more than just a "directory" is needed nowadays - 1 person cannot do it all, and companies are looking for a one-stop-shop for the variety of crowd talent that goes up to make an eLearning course.

I regularly use 3-4 people's skills on any course that I build.

Bruce

Chief Evangelist and Crowd Control - LearnCreate

So, what I think you are saying is, if I stick with you and I can make some hobby income in the clouds?

Owen: Ok, I think you are the first person I've "met" that does elearning as a hobby. Good for you.

Bruce: I registered on learncreate. Care to share how the peer-to-peer thing works? Couldn't really tell from the site.

Full time while I am at work... hobby when I am not. That is what happens when you are employed to do what you love.

Hi Daniel,

At the moment we are in the "Forming" stage of growing the Guild.

The principle is that as the group reaches a certain critical size, people on the site will start to contact and engage other people on the site, based on trust and working on other projects. Still early days but I will mention your comments to the team and ensure there's some more explanation.

We are trying to do this slowly, but well. We know there are many ways to get work out there, however, we are trying to tie them all up into one very different concept.

Bruce

These are great questions and the types of things I wanted to know when I was a Freelancer. Now I own my own small education company and I hope that I answer these questions for our freelancer as well. We are hiring Storyline Freelancer (with Voice Overs) right now. If anyone from this group is interested in applying please look at the job posting (https://ed4online.com/career-listings) and email me at: rSeymour@ed4online.com">DrSeymour@ed4online.com. I'd love to hear from you.

Hi Tricia,

I sent an email to you. Thanks!

Benjamin

Hi, everyone: Saw this posting for Storyline freelancer (NYC area?) and thought I'd post here. --Daniel

Hi,

I am the HR Development Manager for a Glonal Engineering/Manufactoring company based within the Uk and with around 50,000 colleagues worldwide.

I have been tasked to create some eLearning modules within Storyline, but unfortinately I do not have the time so I am looking to 'outsource' this and looking for a consultant to work for me to create a few eLearning modules.

Not sure if I should be posting on here or not, but would love to hear from anybody as to how I go about finding a suitable person to support the development of these modules and also, what the 'going rate' would be.

If you have any thoughts on how I can find an expereinced consultant to work with me please e-mail me.

My address is Michelle.Naylor@gkn.com.

I hope someone can point me in the right direction.

Many Thanks

Michelle

Michelle - I have PM'd you.

Bruce

Hi, everyone: I occasionally get questions about what I put into contracts, and thought I'd attach a fictional, yet pretty true-to-life contract here for anyone looking for ideas.

In no way does this represent legal advice.

Any thoughts? (And please forgive my musical proclivities.) --Daniel

Interesting article in LinkedIn today.

Half of us may soon be freelancers: 6 compeling reasons why

Thanks for posting, Owen. Very true, that work is "no longer a place."

I am just starting to do freelance ISD work for both ILT and WBT

Does anyone have suggestions about how to go about creating a Folio site for clients?  I hope to create a site with relatively little out-of- pocket  money.  

Any suggestions on how to find clients?

Any other words of wisdom or encouragement?

Thanks in advance,

Susan

Hi Daniel,

That's sample contract is very very nice - simple, clean, and clear. Thanks!

Welcome, Susan: I started the thread a year ago so it may be helpful to look through it for some best freelancing practices. We've covered a lot of ground, as you might imagine. The people on the thread have really helped me become a better elearning freelancer.

• Site concerns: my site www.brighamcommunications.com is built in WordPress. I spent fifty bucks on a responsive theme from themeforest.com and then about $500 having a webmaster put it up and make some tweaks for me. That's where my portfolio and blog live.

• Getting work: my advice for whatever it's worth: 1. help people out on this thread and others in the heroes forum. Most people just come in, grab what they need and split. Maybe 50 people stay and help out where and when they can. These people get noticed by other elearning pros and potential clients. 2. Keep building things for your portfolio and find appropriate places to distribute them (linkedin, facebook, twitter, etc. The key is to build examples and share them on a consistent basis. Share them here, too, so we get to know your work. 
• Encouragement: it's a good time to be an elearning freelancer. There's work out there for sure, and we are hear to help. Again, welcome, and hope to hear from you. --Daniel

Daniel, great example.  I really like the level of detail in the scope/out of scope sections.

@Susan

To add to Daniel's points:

- Watch this space and come back every day if you can. Even if you don't feel comfortable contributing outright, learn from others. E-learning theory is nice, but nothing really beats experience.

- Find a work flow that fits you and your clients (or potential clients). It doesn't have to be perfect, but it has to be flexible.

- Experiment, experiment, and then experiment some more. Work on fictional scenarios on your own, for your own development. 

- Identify your strengths in the area and realize them. Identify your weaknesses and either work on them or collaborate with others.

For example, I consider myself an excellent developer. Come to me with a concept, and I will not stop until I make it work. Voice over work on the other hand, is something I leave to others (usually by outsourcing). Unless my clients need a "low pitched Zorba sounding voice" - then I overcharge... :P

- Finally, don't be afraid to fail, learn from your mistakes and the mistakes of others. They will come in handy during later projects.

Just my two humble cents,

Alex

Alex: So true about embracing your mistakes. They are such a great lesson. So much so, I thought I'd share one of my biggest mistakes and lessons learned. It has really made me better. Perhaps other could share as well.

Mistake: I was working on a good-sized elearning course (4 lessons, about 2 hrs or learner seat time). The client was brand-new to elearning. We spent many months creating new content and storyboarding the material. They were happy with the new content and storyboards.

I failed in determining the level of "on-screen excitement" they were expecting. (Again, they were new to elearning so really didn't know how read/interpret the storyboards.)

Long story short, I delivered two hours of elearning content to them, and they were, shall we say, underwhelmed. Turns out they were expecting something MUCH more action-packed then the content I delivered. They were looking for the excitement and production-value of a action-movie trailer, and I just flat out missed that, by not asking the right questions.

Yet this was a great lesson in determining and shaping my clients' expectations before a single stitch of content is developed. I'm pretty good at this now.

Who else has got a story to tell?

OK, that made me laugh "low pitched Zorba voice". I'll file that away for when I'm looking for one of those!