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?

KevinThorn
Super Hero
13 years ago

@Daniel, yes money or your potential income is important. But if you have the ability to work on building your side business while holding a full-time job, then you have the luxury or focusing more on quality. That extra attention now will pay off eventually to the point you may be in a position to go full-time with what you love to do.

Time if flying! Can't believe it's been 90 days already.

And thanks on the Turfgrass project. That was and still the best project I've worked on to date. How long? Geez....since I was building it for myself I wasn't has keen on tracking time. I do recall many, many late nights and overnights getting that thing put together. Since I wasn't officially freelancing at the time I didn't have any other projects so I would work on it every night and weekends (still had a day job). All in all I'd say there's close to 300+ hours from start to finish.

Glad you and your client liked it!
BelenCasado
Community Member
13 years ago

I really enjoyed this debate.

I'm one step before @Daniel and I noted down all the tips given by @Kevin and @Bruce.

Bruce, first of all, excuse me for my English, I'm Spanish and get amazed when I listen to your site audios

I navigated through your website and I really found interesting to develop it with Storyline. This way, people can see a great example of what you can do. I loved your examples cause they're joyful and at the same time they allow to understand what can be done.

Well... I have a lot of work to do, but with this guidance I think that I'll be able to go step by step.

@David, thanks for the link to the last year's thread.
BelenCasado
Community Member
13 years ago

@Bruce, thanks for your offer of help, I really appreciate it!

I agree that having some sense of humour is key in this sector -it should be in every sector, actually.

People like to be very serious, but as you say, clients contact you when they enjoy your website.

Well, thanks again
BrunoNorris
Community Member
13 years ago

You are share awesome post,Here you are share know about where to get the work.You get all type of work from freelancer and scriptlancer.This both side you can get all type of work,which you are expert and you are give proper work.

Software Development Company India
RudolfHaug
Community Member
13 years ago

Hi Daniel,

what kind of special expertise do you have in storyline. Any specialties? Send me the link to your website and give me a rough idea about your way of working (e.g. hourly fee, project, how much would be the price per hour, what do you charge to hand over the source file, etc.). We are expecting some more work coming in shortly and take precautions concerning resources to buffer peaks.

best regards

Rudolf
DanielBrigham
Community Member
13 years ago

Kevin Thorn said:

@Daniel, yes money or your potential income is important. But if you have the ability to work on building your side business while holding a full-time job, then you have the luxury or focusing more on quality. That extra attention now will pay off eventually to the point you may be in a position to go full-time with what you love to do.

Time if flying! Can't believe it's been 90 days already.

And thanks on the Turfgrass project. That was and still the best project I've worked on to date. How long? Geez....since I was building it for myself I wasn't has keen on tracking time. I do recall many, many late nights and overnights getting that thing put together. Since I wasn't officially freelancing at the time I didn't have any other projects so I would work on it every night and weekends (still had a day job). All in all I'd say there's close to 300+ hours from start to finish.

Glad you and your client liked it!

That's funny -- I guessed it took you about 300 hours, figuring out the structure, graphics, voice overs, editing, etc., etc. Good stuff.
DanielBrigham
Community Member
13 years ago

Rudolf Haug said:

Hi Daniel,

what kind of special expertise do you have in storyline. Any specialties? Send me the link to your website and give me a rough idea about your way of working (e.g. hourly fee, project, how much would be the price per hour, what do you charge to hand over the source file, etc.). We are expecting some more work coming in shortly and take precautions concerning resources to buffer peaks.

best regards

Rudolf

Hi, Rudolf: I'll put a few links to my work and rates in a private message. You should see it in a few minutes in your inbox. Thanks for your interest. By the way, I studied a good deal of German in school. -Vielen Dank, Daniel daniel@brighamcommunications.com, 720.884.6837

Rudolf Haug said:

Hi Daniel,

what kind of special expertise do you have in storyline. Any specialties? Send me the link to your website and give me a rough idea about your way of working (e.g. hourly fee, project, how much would be the price per hour, what do you charge to hand over the source file, etc.). We are expecting some more work coming in shortly and take precautions concerning resources to buffer peaks.

best regards

Rudolf
SamiHwang
Community Member
13 years ago

Hello Kevin,

I did not know that you become a freelancer.

I just wan to tell you that I really enjoy reading your blog.

Your tutorial is very specific and informal. I really like it.

Keep up the good work!

Sami
KevinThorn
Super Hero
13 years ago

Daniel Brigham said:

Kevin Thorn said:

@Daniel, yes money or your potential income is important. But if you have the ability to work on building your side business while holding a full-time job, then you have the luxury or focusing more on quality. That extra attention now will pay off eventually to the point you may be in a position to go full-time with what you love to do.

Time if flying! Can't believe it's been 90 days already.

And thanks on the Turfgrass project. That was and still the best project I've worked on to date. How long? Geez....since I was building it for myself I wasn't has keen on tracking time. I do recall many, many late nights and overnights getting that thing put together. Since I wasn't officially freelancing at the time I didn't have any other projects so I would work on it every night and weekends (still had a day job). All in all I'd say there's close to 300+ hours from start to finish.

Glad you and your client liked it!

That's funny -- I guessed it took you about 300 hours, figuring out the structure, graphics, voice overs, editing, etc., etc. Good stuff.

Probably more. I do remember it taking all summer over the course of three months. I intend on keeping better track of the time for the next one - yes, there's more MISSION courses in the hopper!
KevinThorn
Super Hero
13 years ago

Sami Hwang said:

Hello Kevin,

I did not know that you become a freelancer.

I just wan to tell you that I really enjoy reading your blog.

Your tutorial is very specific and informal. I really like it.

Keep up the good work!

Sami

Thanks Sammy! Appreciate the readership.