PayPal For Freelancers: Pro’s and Con’s

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When I bill out a project, my experience has been that most clients prefer to pay me the old-fashioned way by mailing in a check. However, as the internet continues to make things more convenient some companies are beginning to embrace online options as a way to pay for outside services like freelancing. And more and more freelancers are beginning to offer their clients the option, via PayPal or through their bank.

There will probably come a day in the not-too-distant future when paper checks are a thing of the past. Paypal could be the wave of the future. But before you jump on the Paypal bandwagon, weigh these pro’s and con’s:

Pro #1: Speed and Convenience. You can get paid in days rather than weeks or months, and it saves you having to drive to the bank and wait in line to deposit a check. If you work with clients overseas, getting a fast payment that is automatically converted into US dollars sure beats waiting for a check to be mailed half-way around the world.

Pro #2: Clients Like Convenience. Even though most clients will still prefer to pay with a paper check, the fact that you offer them a convenient online option shows that you are committed to making their life easier. Your clients will be grateful and will appreciate that you value customer service.

Pro #3: You May Appear More Professional. Ultimately your professionalism is determined by the quality of your work and how you treat your clients. But little extra touches like Paypal can help you appear more organized and tech-saavy, which may add to your professional cache.

However, there are drawbacks every freelancer should consider.

Con #1: Loss of Income. Paypal takes a small percentage of any payment for themselves (usually 2-3%), which for a large project can add up to tens or even hundreds of dollars lost. Personally I do use Paypal for small payments (i.e. accepting tips from blog readers or selling copies of my downloadable sketchbook), but I try to avoid it for client projects for this reason. However, you may feel differently.

Con #2: Easy Come, Easy Go. Paypal has one set of rules for the sale of tangible items (i.e. books, CD’s, etc.) and another set of rules for “intangibles” (i.e. freelance services). If for any reason a client is unhappy with your services (regardless of whether the cleint’s expectations were reasonable or not), Paypal makes it very easy for the client to get his/her money back, no questions asked. This story from FreelanceSwitch.com (a great blog for freelancers, by the way) should serve as a warning to any freelancer thinking of using Paypal to collect client payments.

I’m sure the day will come when we will all get paid online. But for now, be sure you are aware of the benefits and drawbacks before you offer Paypal as an option for your clients.

EDIT: FreelanceSwitch.com lists some alternatives to Paypal.

Talks About Money

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talksaboutmoney.jpg

This looks interesting. Talks About Money is a new book designed to help freelancers figure out what to charge for their projects. While the book is primarily aimed at graphic designers, there is not all that much difference between how a freelance graphic designer decides what to charge and how a freelance illustrator/artist decides what to charge. The process for figuring out the value of a project and how to arrive at that number is very similar in both fields. Many books about freelancing lump them together.

According to Amazon.com…

This book [Talks About Money] is about what a graphic designer should, or could, earn–with texts based on a series of 2006-07 interviews with established and emerging freelance designers. Inside you will find a wide range of prices, calculations, problems, strategies, principles and lots of zeros.

I haven’t added the book to my Recommended Resources list yet because I haven’t read it and therefore can’t endorse it yet. But if it is what I think it is, it could be an excellent resource for freelancers.

Also, for some odd reason Amazon.com has the cover image mixed up with another book by the same author. Hopefully the mistake will be fixed soon.

You can pre-order Talks About Money here.

Harnessing The Power Of The Internet

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Recently I was hired to write a feature article for Adbase Insight, the email newsletter of Adbase.com. Each issue contains meaty content designed to help freelance illustrators and photographers market themselves better. I’ve found the articles to be extremely helpful and am proud to be a part of it. You can sign up for Adbase Insight for free here.

In my article I wrote about using the internet to raise your profile and find new clients. Here’s an excerpt from the introdcution:

“If you build it, they will come”.

Those immortal words might be true of baseball fields in Iowa, but they are not true of websites. One of the biggest mistakes a freelancer can make is assuming that people will flock to his/her website just because it is there.

It’s been said that having a website is like printing up flyers and leaving them on your front porch in the hopes that someone will walk over and take one. That would be a foolish advertising strategy for a business, but that is exactly how some freelancers attempt to find work online. In order to attract potential clients, you need to do more than just have a website. You need to take full advantage of the power of the Internet.

You can read the rest of the article here. The first half is content I have already covered elsewhere on this blog, but the second half of the article is brand new.

Adbase is a company that maintains a giant mailing list of art directors and art buyers. If you freelance full-time as an illustrator or photographer, Adbase’s services are well worth the money:

  • You can quickly and easily send a postcard campaign to thousands of art buyers.
  • Using a service called Adbase Emailer you can send sharp-looking quarterly emails to those same art buyers. Adbase will not only create and send your promo emails, they will track how many people actually read it and how many clicked through to your website. (I send out an email campaign every quarter, and I almost always get at least one job from it.)
  • You can customize your mailing lists any way you’d like, and Adbase promises to always keep the contact info up to date.
  • In addition, no one’s name is added to the mailing list without their permission, so you don’t have to worry about harassing a potential client with unwanted spam.

Obviously I’m a very satisfied Adbase customer. Give them a looksee. And don’t foget to read Harnessing the Power of the Internet.

Are You Cut Out For Freelancing?

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While cleaning out my files I came across a good book on freelancing that I forgot I even owned (out of sight, out of mind). The Streetwise Guide to Freelancing by Theo Stephan Williams has a lot of good nuggets, much of it organized into nice little sidebars. Unfortunately the book is out of print, but you can get used copies dirt cheap (as in less than a dollar) through my Amazon.com Recommended Resources page. Just click on the “Business/Freelancing” section and go to page 2.

Here’s a sample sidebar from the book:

Are You Cut Out For Freelancing? Twelve questions to confirm your freelance aptitude…

1. Do you like making decisions on your own?

2. Do you like to set your own work schedule?

3. Can you stay focused on your work and meet deadlines?

4. Do you enjoy gathering input from other, then taking the information and developing creative concepts on your own?

5. Do you enjoy researching areas of knowledge you are unfamiliar with?

6. Do you like to sell?

7. Do you like to meet new people—often?

8. Do you enjoy updating your portfolio—and presenting it?

9. Do you find it easy to communicate effectively?

10. Are you comfortable discussing money?

11. Do you enjoy clerical work?

12. Do you like to take lump-sum checks to the bank?

I would make a couple of tweaks to this list (for example, I don’t enjoy #6 or #11, and #7 doesn’t ring true for me), but overall this is a pretty good list for those who are considering a freelance career.

How about you? If you freelance, is there anything you would add to the list?

You can order The Streetwise Guide to Freelancing here.

Basic Business Tips for Illustrators

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I’ve been cleaning out my files and I came across a handout from a presentation I gave to some art students about seven years ago. It’s pretty basic stuff aimed primarily at beginners, but I’ve got blog readers at all levels from students to seasoned professionals so I’m sure some of you will find this helpful. Here’s what I wrote:

1. Be Organized! Even though you are in a creative business, you have to have a sense of structure in order to survive. Chaos creates stress. Being organized gives you confidence.

2. Keep a Schedule. Practice making your own schedule—and stick to it! This will take some discipline and seem like work, but in the end it will actually free you up. It will help you keep from over-commiting or missing deadlines. It will also help you to feel in control and allow you to really enjoy your time off.

3. Keep A Record Of Your Hours. Keep a record of everything you do for a given project (including research, meeting with clients, and other “non-art” time.) This will help you see ho much time you are really spending on your projects (you may be surprised) and wil keep you from undercharging.

4. Respect Deadlines! In the real world, missing a deadline is death.

5. Promote Yourself Constantly! There’s tons of competition in this business and you can’t scream about yourself too loudly or too often. Learn to be confident and persistent without being cocky. (Likewise, be willing to take every piece of constructive criticism very seriously.)

6. Develop Your People Skills. Talent is not enough. More than half of your success as a business person will depend on your people skills. You don’t have to be an extrovert or Mr. Popular, and whatever you do don’t be phony (people can smell it a mile away). Just realize that confidence and enthusiasm will take you much farther in life than talent. Instead of focusing on getting yourself hired, put the client’s needs first and focus on what you can do for them.

7. Keep Good Financial Records. Do a budget, keep receipts, organize your invoices, etc. It takes some time, but it will help you to feel more in control, and will make tax time a whole lot easier! A great computer program to help you out is Quickbooks Pro. It’s specifically designed for small businesses and easy to learn.

8. Get A Filing Cabinet. Keep files on your various clients, your finances, your promotional mailings, as well as forms that you use often. You will also want to keep a “swipe file” of reference photos (organized by subject) for that rush project where you have to draw two giraffes and an octopus driving a ’63 Chevy through the Everglades. You can get reference photos from old magazines and books, or from online sources like Google Image Search. However you get them, keep them organized.

9. Separate Your Business From Your Personal Life. Put your studio in a separate room (or at least a separate part of a room). As soon as possible, start separate checking and savings accounts for your business. You may even consider a separate phone line. When life gets hectic, you’ll be glad you can keep your business from interfering with your personal life and vice versa.

10. Have Fun! Being a good businessman will free you up to enjoy your work and keep doing what you love.

15 Blunders New Freelancers Make

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Recently I stumbled upon this excellent article from Bootstrapper (a good blog for the self-employed, entrepreneurs, and other do-it-yourselfers):

Rookie Mistakes: 15 Blunders New Freelancers Make And How To Avoid Them

For more info on freelancing, don’t forget to check out other posts listed under “The Business of Freelancing” Category over to the left, and of course my Recommended Resources page on Amazon.com.