Freelance Heroes

Hi E.

I am in your area.  I can be of service if you still need some help.  I will send you a PM.

RK

Hey Everyone:

I found another list of tips I came across via Jeff Tillett (@mojotillet) over on G+.  Here is the link:

Freelance 101: How do I keep competitive?

It's from "way back" in 2009, but still relevant in our speed-of-light changing world.

David

How do you handle the pricing for stock images in  your courses? Do you pass that fee on to your client?

Hi Bethre,

In my case, I try to give a price per slide, so images are included in that.

I try to use free photos or photos that I already used for other projects, unless the subject is specialized, then, I give prices per slide.

I hope it helps,

Belen

I buy them, charge for the time I spend "hunting" the image on e.g. iStock, then give them for free and retain re-use rights OR pass over to client if that is what they want, and charge accordingly.

Bruce

Is that considered reselling the images? Do you need a special license for selling courseware with images in them?

I am not reselling the images per se - I am using the images to illustrate another concept, and I am selling the eLearning.

If someone takes all the images from the .story file, and then starts to sell them off a website for $2 each, that is reselling.

I have had 2 conversations with people at iStock about this, and that is the answer I got each time.

Bruce

PS - I also have Professional Indemnity Insurance, just in case

Bruce

Thanks Bruce! Do you only sell the published course, or do you include the source as well?

Include the source.

Want them to come back to me based on basis of business relationship, not because they have to.

Bruce

Right, so, that being said...do you include the images with your source?

If that is what I have negotiated.

If NOT, I explain that they cannot re-use images, and do so at their (licensing) risk.

Bruce

Bethre:

You can get a month long subscription to shutterstock.com for approx. $250 bucks. Basically, you can download just about as many pics as you need in a thirty day period. What I'll usually do is create the storyboard using the free thumbnails, and once the client oks the pics, I will purchase them. That's about as cheap as you are going to be able to do it--hunting for free images burns tons of time, and often the images are free for a reason. --Daniel

They can be a pain if you are looking for specific photos though.. I was recently laughing along with this article - cause its so true: http://theelearningcoach.com/media/graphics/why-stock-photo-sites-make-me-cry/

But as for stock photo sites, i was recently trying to compare sites & find the best deals...I found http://www.spiderpic.com/examples which showed istock and shutterstock & other sites actually sell the same photos at $48 that you can buy at http://www.canstockphoto.com  for $5 or less (depending on size)  

I also found for elearning the smallest size worked great (2 credtis), bought 100 credits for around $50 & got 50 images. They also have custom weekly or monthly download-what-you-need plans which I would get once the projects pick up more.

Hi guys!

Thanks for the great info that have been posted so far. very useful.

I am fairly new to storyline but feel comfortable starting my own freelance business. I have a few questions:

1. What is the best ways you guys found to find projects? Best places to advertise? Etc.

2. Do you guys mostly work in the city you live or do you also have contracts out of town?

3. I'm sure there is a wide range for wages between all of you guys but what do you think would be a fair wage to ask for as a new freelancer?

4. Are most of you charging hourly or for the job?

Thanks!

Hi Yves.

1> See http://community.articulate.com/forums/t/14115.aspx

2> See http://community.articulate.com/forums/t/14115.aspx

3> Ask what you think you are worth, sell yourself based on that, and see if anyone who is buying agrees! 

4> See http://community.articulate.com/forums/t/14115.aspx

Just an observation. If you have had to ask these basic questions, what do you mean "...but feel comfortable starting my own freelance business". Personally I would be very uncomfortable about the concept of starting a business if I did not know my marketplace, salary and own processes! I may have misinterpreted, and you may well just be asking what other people do and have all this clear.

It has to be - or you will probably fail.

Just a personal view.

Bruce

Thanks for your response and comments Bruce. Thx for the link.

I guess I should have worded that better. What I meant when I said I "...but feel comfortable starting my own freelance business"  was with regard to how comfortable I am with creating projects with Storyline. I was asking these questions in order to have a better feel on finding projects and be competitive with others. I am certainly not helping myself if I am too high while starting up and at the same time I'm not helping our field if I bring the price down by underbidding by a lot. But i do agree that I need to understand my marketplace before starting any kind of business. I've started the research already.

Hope this clears up the misunderstanding.

Yves,

Many thanks for clarifying, and I wish you luck in your ventures.

Bruce

Hi, Yves:

I went out on my own two years ago. A few words that might add to the posts Bruce selected for you.

1. Best way to find contracts: I think it's from the clients you've done work for. All you need is one at the beginning. If you do wonderful work, they'll help you spread the word. Also, start looking around for small e-learning firms that need contractors from time to time. Also, give of your time and resources on this forum. It'll pay off. Just ask Bruce.

2. Most of my work is for clients in different cities--I'm in Denver, CO

3. Rate as a new freelancer? I charged $50 when I was new. Factor in the cost of the software and computer equipment you have or will need to purchase.

4. I usually charge by the contract, but really that's just adding up the hours a project will take. Most clients want a bottom-line figure.

Yves,

Daniel makes some very important points.

One thing you must remember is this:

You can enter the "contract" market, and get paid for a fixed-term contract, OR you can run a business, where you work on a project basis, for many clients.

Both have their +s and -s.

I work the 2nd type exclusively, so that I smooth out the highs and lows of the production cycle with other production for another client. However, that means that you probably need to start with one very large and flexible client, who allows you to work hourly, so that you have time to cultivate other clients. You can never rely on one client. Early on I became dependent on my "big" client, and there was a period of complete famine - I learned my lesson. Recently they wanted me to do a package of 50 mini-courses for them, and I had to say that I had no bandwidth. Earlier in my freelancing career I would have been delirious with joy if I had got that offer.

One more thing. As Daniel mentioned, this forum is somewhere to share and learn - with no expectations of return. If you do that, you will find people share, and that people come to you. I do not have a Sales, Marketing and Advertising budget - except the time I spend here, and I feel that it has paid off handsomely. I am currently working projects with 5 members from this Forum in varying amounts, all because their expertise is known to me, and I trust them. I have passed one project over to someone else 100% because I believe that they are much better qualified than me. I have had offers of work from around the World via this forum, and doors have opened that I never thought possible.

Best of luck.

Bruce

Thank you both Daniel and Bruce for your insight. I will certainly take your comments into consideration.

i will certainly try to share as much and as often as I can. When I started I was definitely glad to have this community as a resource for help. Anything I can do to give back I will.

Thanks again.

Just finished up a design session with a client and thought I would share a basic content map template, a slightly different version of which I use. Might be helpful to freelancers new to the game. I usually send it out after the SMEs and I have fleshed out the performance problems, learning solutions, and topics for the course. Hope someone finds it useful. --Daniel

Yves,

Something else to do is read...alot... find other similar (or not ) businesses and read their blogs. 

As for the pricing question, it is something that is tough to set at first - I've found its a circle - you read that you should 'research the market rate' in your area... but, at least around here, most do NOT want to discuss their rates, in fact seem afraid to and most discussion forums have rules against it citing 'price fixing' or something.  I don't really believe that is really an issue in elearning as I think every project is different and every Designer/ Developer / eLearning specialist etc has slightly different skill sets and approaches.

Some articles that may be of help are on this site: http://freelanceswitch.com/blog/explore/pricing-your-services/  which also has a handy calculator to figure out how much you might 'need' to make... I've used it to check once in a while, but find I can usually charge much more than what it says simply from minimal overhead working from home.

If you have an iPhone, iPod or iPad, I just found this freelancing App http://www.mypriceapp.com/  - while most projects are geared to web or graphic design , each are customizable, so something like Multimedia presentation might fit for this... but the big plus is in the Profile set-up which takes into account not only expenses, but your experience and location to suggest an hourly rate for you.

Thank you very much Karyn for your comments. Appreciate it a lot.