Funny Video: Freelancing in the Real World

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My friend and fellow illustrator Tom Richmond recently posted this YouTube video on his blog. It’s a hilarious illustration of the ways some clients will try to take advantage of freelancers. Fortunately I don’t run into this kind of thing much anymore. My clients for the most part have been great and treat me like a total professional, and I’ve been at it long enough that I can usually sniff out the bad ones before the project ever gets off the ground. But they are out there and every once in a while someone will try to pull something like this.

If you’re relatively new to freelancing, watching this video might be good therapy:

Incidentally, if you find yourself relating to this video a little too much you might benefit from reading my two-part article, “How To Bid Out A Project”. You might also want to visit the Buiness/Freelancing section of my Recommended Resources list on Amazon.com.

Creative Freelancer Conference Is Coming

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The second annual Creative Freelancer Conference (sponsored by HOW Magazine and Marketing Mentor) will be held in San Diego August 26-28, 2009. I attended last year’s conference in Chicago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Even though I’ve been freelancing for over twelve years I still picked up quite a few tips and tricks. As a result of what I learned I’ve been able to give my clients an even higher level of professional service. I also learned a few ways to boost my bottom line. I only wish this conference had been available back when I started my business.

This year’s lineup of speakers and topics was recently announced. There’s a lot of new stuff that wasn’t on the line-up last year which means I’ll definitely be attending again.

Topics to be covered include:

  • What Will Your Freelance Business Be When It Grows Up? (Petrula Vrontikis)
  • Money-Saving Tax Solutions for Creatives (June Walker)
  • The Essential Rules for Writing and Presenting Proposals (Peleg Top)
  • Effective Presentations for Creative Solopreneurs (Darryl Salerno)
  • Dealing With Nightmare Clients (Michelle Goodman)
  • The Astoundingly Simple Secrets to Making Social Media Work For You (Colleen Wainwright)
  • Freelance Success Panel (moderated by Ilise Benun)
  • Speaker Panel Q&A (moderated by Ilise Benun)
  • Create or Die: Thriving in the Create-On-Demand World (Todd Henry)
  • Workshop: Hands-On Marketing Lab (Ilise Benun)
  • Workshop: The Price Is Right (Lee Silber & Peleg Top)

If you register before July 15 you’ll receive an early-bird discount of $50. Register or get more info at www.creativefreelancerconference.com.

Download My Updated PDF Portfolios

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Along with posting new work on my website and on this here blog, I also make samples of my work available as a free PDF download for clients to print and keep on file. The last time I updated the PDF was in January 2008. A lot has changed since then and an update was long overdue.

Instead of one portfolio there are now three portfolios to choose from: Character Design, Illustration, and Toy Design. Collect all three!

Freelancing Tips From A Seasoned Pro

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Peter Beach has been working as a freelance illustrator for over 25 years. His work is top-notch and he’s served some of the top clients in the biz. Recently Peter started a blog devoted to sharing his experience and advice with other illustrators. He wrote the following to me in an email:

I’ve been freelancing full time illustration for a long time now and feel it’s time to give back – I’ve recently created a “Business of Freelancing Tips and Opinions” blog (http://pbeachtips.blogspot.com), essentially aimed at illustrators but can easily to apply to multiple creative disciplines. My single goal and passion is to disseminate the information to as many illustrators, graphic designers, and creatives as possible.

His first post, “pbeach’s 17 practical tips and opinions…“, is some of the best advice on freelancing and self-promotion I’ve read in a while. It’s full of valuable nuggets that others have taken a lifetime to learn. Drop everything and give it a read!

This and That: Money Edition

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Need to waste some time on the internet? I’m here to serve.

With the economy on the skids people are thinking a lot more about money, and tax time is approaching fast. So even though this is an art blog several of the items below relate to money and finances. Hey, why not?

The Credit Crisis Visualized — This brief 11-minute animated film does a great job of explaining how we got into the financial mess we are in.

Now That’s A Business Card — Check out this sampling of 60 very creative and very stunning business cards.

10 Tips to the Perfect Portfolio Website — Worth reading. How does your website stack up?

15 Key Elements Every Website Should Have — More tips for designing the perfect website.

25 Useful Financial Rules of Thumb — Here’s some great tips to keep in mind after you bring home the bacon.

50 Tips for Do-It-Yourself Savings Around the House — More good advice on pinching pennies.

How to Handle Tightwads and Charge What You’re Worth — It feels great when you save money, but not so great when clients get cheap on you. Here’s some great advice on handling tightwad clients.

NEA Should Spread the Wealth — I’m highly skeptical of the idea that the government should be spending money on the arts, but for those of you who feel otherwise this idea seems to me like it would be a great way for the government to promote the arts while also saving money or even profiting from it.

Drawing Facial Hair — another great tutorial from Tom Richmond.

Sketchbook Pro 2010 — My friend Robbie Halvorson sent me a heads-up about Sketchbook Pro 2010, the newest release of the popular drawing/sketching software (due out in April). I’ve never used Sketchbook Pro but have heard so many people rave about it that I’m thinking seriously of giving it a go.

Facebook For Freelancers?

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In case you’ve been living in a cave, Facebook has officially exploded onto the internet scene and is now THE social networking site for, well, anyone with a pulse. I’ve been on Facebook for a while now, using it both personally and professionally. While I enjoy catching up with friends and keeping tabs on a few other artists, I’m still trying to figure out if Facebook has any real value in terms of networking-slash-growing my business.

For instance, on Facebook I’m “friends” with dozens of artists (which is obviously good for light networking). Lately I’ve noticed some of them are creating Groups or Fan pages to promote their work. Can anyone explain to me how this works and what the benefit is? If it’s just to gather a bigger list of “friends” to prove how popular you are, I’m not really interested. I got over most of that in high school. But if creating a Group or Fan Page has some real benefit in terms of getting my name out there, reaching clients, and growing my business, then I am *definitely* interested. For those of you who have Groups or Fan Pages, what do people get out of joining your Group? How often do you have to update the Group page? How do you get potential clients to follow you on Facebook?

Let me ask it another way: Have any of you blog readers actually found freelance work or grown your client base through using Facebook? If so, please leave a comment and tell us all about it. I’d love to know how Facebook has helped you as an artist.