I know that question is sort of like where's your favorite fishing hole. Hi, all -- I've been a freelancer for about a year and a half now, and for the first time, things are slow. I guess I'm on the famine side of the feast-famine freelancer cycle. Two questions: 1. Are there e-learning groups (besides Articulate of course) that have helped you generate leads/work? 2. How much of your work comes through cold calling? (I have an aversion to cold calling, but will pull up the big boy panties if need be.) I'm guessing that your work comes from a little bit of everywhere (traffic to your site, repeat business and referrals from clients, cold calling, etc), but I don't really know that till I ask. Thank you in advance for your time and input. --Daniel

Always a great topic, Daniel. We had a similar thread last year: http://community.articulate.com/forums/p/908/3243.aspx I've heard from several folks that their Screenrs helped get them gigs while others have received offers after sharing templates and other freebies in the community. A lot of work can be found from established vendors and boutique studios--companies who specialize in e-learning design and development. Getting into their contractor pool is one way to bring in steady work.

Hey Daniel, I'll echo the others here. I just finished my 90th day as a full-time freelancer. The biggest thing I've learned thus far is having a full project plate pretty much eliminates business development. To answer your first question, this community is by far the best I've associated with in terms of networking and leads. My participation here is not to get leads but to help others and share tips. Occasionally I'll get a ping either directly or as a referral. As for your second question, I don't cold call and don't anticipate ever needing to, nor wanting to. Couple tips that helped me over the past couple years to be able to go out on my own: 1. Follow Bruce's points about your site. Get some visibility. Even if you don't have a portfolio ready, at a minimum have a blog where you can share ideas, tips, etc. to show readers what you can do. 2. Follow other industry blogs, communities, groups and participate in those conversations and comment on articles. 3. Take small projects to get used to managing your time. Don't worry about money at this point. Your goal is to show you're a trusted contractor to your client. THAT will bring you return business and referrals. One of my first ever clients is still with me for two years now. 4. If you can, attend one or two of the big annual conferences. The sessions themselves are fabulous, but the face-to-face networking is invaluable. 5. Set some goals. Max # hours you can work a week. Manage 1, 2 or more projects at once? Learn a new skill. 6. Finally, be patient. It's about your passion for the craft and producing quality outputs. Your work will speak for itself. Crush it!

hello daniel, I think a good idea is to join some elearning groups on linkedin. beside tips and tricks there are some business opportunities. launch a search and join them!

Daniel - I'm coming up on my 5 year anniversary as a freelancer, and all my work comes from referrals - so network, network, network is my advice. I find that the online stuff typically supports or validates your track history, but may provide leads for you. Instead of cold calling, I`d be more strategic than that and figure out if you have any connection to an organization and get a warm intro instead. Kind of like "six degrees of separation". The ups and downs are a pretty natural part of freelancing and while it can be stressful, you have to know it's there and plan/prepare for it. Use the downtime to create a business development strategy, otherwise you might get a bit panicky and take anything that comes your way, which may end up being the wrong thing. Best of luck.

David: Thanks for the link to last year's discussion and the sharing idea. And, of course, for all your help on this forum and youtube (e.g., Audacity tutorials). Mindmapping tutorial was very helpful. Holly: Thanks for reminding me that this "downtime," which is actually nice to have -- I mean when you're slammed you can't really read about ID or learn new skills -- is the time to develop strategies for new biz. Congratulations on the five-year mark. That's cool. Hope we cross paths again. --Daniel

Freelancers -- where do you find most of your work?

LisaWesley
Community Member
13 years ago
Hi Everyone me again. I forgot to ask this question. Is there a book or would any of you offer some suggestions on how you price your services? I know people don't want to give exact figures and that is fine I just need some ideas on how people are pricing their work.
KevinThorn
Super Hero
13 years ago

Lisa Wesley said:

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for starting this post Daniel. I have been getting myself prepared to freelance. I would like to have my first client by October of this year. I have filed my corporation paper, set up my website, designed my business cards and brochures, and I'm trying to find new clients like you. I believe we have some great ideas started here but I would like to know from Kevin, How did you get your first client? and congradulations on the 90 days. May you have many more 90 days.

Hi Lisa,

I've been "freelancing" doing illustrations and cartooning for better part of 20 years. All that work was primarily through friends and family that knew I could draw so never found the need or had to advertise. Then again, it was just a fun side hobby and didn't consider it as part of the overall family income.

As for elearning and jumping off the cliff into this full-time, my first client came from this very forum. Actually, the Articulate Presenter forum. From there I entered the Articulate Guru contest in 2010 and won the Silver and was encouraged to enter it in DemoFest at DevLearn '10 which it won best in category and best in show. That single course launched my "official" freelancing efforts on a part-time basis. Along the way there's a lot of time spent engaging in other conversations whether that be on Twitter, LinkedIN or replying to other's blogs so folks know you're still breathing. I try to attend two conferences a year as well for some face-to-face networking time.

Bruce, Holly, and others have already mentioned how to build from there. Bruce said it quite well where once he has a client, usually that client is just one department within and organization and more leads come from that single client. It took me about a year or so to start seeing return business from the same clients (same department or another department within same org).

Honestly, it's really striking the right balance in your life. Like a recipe where you're adding a dash of this and smidgen of that. If it tastes good, clients will come back for a second helping (metaphorically speaking of course).
KevinThorn
Super Hero
13 years ago

Bruce Graham said:

You price what people are prepared to, or have the budget to pay. That is your value.

Bingo!
JoeDeegan
Community Member
13 years ago

Lisa Wesley said:

Hi Everyone me again. I forgot to ask this question. Is there a book or would any of you offer some suggestions on how you price your services? I know people don't want to give exact figures and that is fine I just need some ideas on how people are pricing their work.

Hi Lisa, that is a tough question but a big factor for me that comes into play is how much is your time worth to you? I started out charging lower rates but as my schedule became full my time became worth more to me so I increased my prices. If you have plenty of time to work on the project you can consider a lower rate but if your schedule is packed with other projects then you're going to need to charge a higher rate. Comes down to supply and demand. If the demand for your time is high and supply is low then raise your prices.

Salesmanship is also a big factor. You don't want to shoot yourself in the foot and charge too little and you don't want to lose the sale for over pricing yourself. It's good to start high and negotiate down from there. In a past life I worked in sales and learned that you need to dance to the music that the customer is playing. You may charge a different rate for every project depending on the details of the project and the client.
BelenCasado
Community Member
13 years ago

Has anybody started without a project?

As @Lisa, I've been preparing myself to be a freelance and would like it to happen... right now!

But I only have a project that is for free (I collaborate in a training website).

I have my profile in Elance and oDesk as it was mentioned before in this thread but...

The real question is whether:

Start as freelance so then you have to look for clients?

Have a first client and then start your business?

Thank you for keeping this interesting thread alive!

Belén
JoeDeegan
Community Member
13 years ago

Hey all,

Just read an article titled "A Comprehensive Guide to Starting your Freelance Career" on the blog Freelance Switch and thought it answered a lot of question that came up in this thread. Hope it helps you.
KarynLemberg
Community Member
13 years ago

I was trying to remember where one article was that I found useful - when the particular site came though on my feed this morning with a list of 50 of them:

"50 of the best design business posts you may have missed at GraphicDesignBlender.com" http://goo.gl/XIw9n

And even though it refers to a freelance graphic design business, they are just as relevant to e-learning... in fact alot of the material has already been discussed in this awesome thread!
LisaWesley
Community Member
13 years ago
Thanks for the responses everyone. They lead to another question....If you charge the client per project how do you collect the revenue? Are you taking a percentage up front then collecting rest at end? I'm interested in getting some feedback on these questions.
DanielBrigham
Community Member
13 years ago

Lynda Stafford said:

Daniel,

I've been focusing on relationships I have with HR directors (who may need to outsource Training from time to time) and Training Consultants, who do not do e-learning.

Lynda:

Thank you for that angle. I know Holly does something similiar, and whenever two or more people tell you something, it's time to listen.
DanielBrigham
Community Member
13 years ago

Welcome, Lisa:

I think you get clients by giving valuable assets away, either here or on your website (or some other "hub" as Bruce calls it). Assets might be techniques or advice related to elearning. Posting your elearning portfolio is also giving something away, too: people will invariably "borrow" your good ideas. Right now, I'm working on a mini-course, whose working title is "Writing tips for elearning pros." If I build it well, they will come. Congratulations on making the leap. --Daniel