Awesome work!
I wanted to ask, how do you succeed as a freelancer?
I've been getting into logo design recently, but I pretty much don't know anything about how to and where to sell my work. I consider my work quite good, but I don't know where to find customers and sell it for a reasonable price.
So I just wanted to ask, how do you keep things going, as a freelancer?
It would help me out greatly :-)
I wouldn't know the first thing about succeeding as a freelancer, I do it as a side-job, and mostly just do it for myself
Unsure if it's the same now but I've gotten work from the DA forums, but also purchasing local/online ads advertising yourself can be helpful. Fiver and other freelancing sites also exist, but it's a big market. Make sure your portfolio's looking good so clientele can see what you can offer out of the gate. At least in the small-scale sector, most clients do not know what their budget is, and even fewer know what they actually want. Part of your job is to be the professional and guide them through the process, it's meant to be collaborative. Talk to the client, ensure you both understand what's going on, what you want to see at the end of it, how the rate breakdown will work, deadlines and milestones, etc. If you get the indication that the client doesn't know what they want but they say something like they'll 'know it when they see it', you should probably be charging per hour. Concept is both time and labour intensive and those projects often don't lead anywhere. In the same vein, learn to say no. If you find a client that seems obstinate and difficult, it is perfectly fine to say you don't think you're the right person for the job. Billions of people out there, can't get on with all of 'em, just a fact of life. Turning down the job is a short term loss for long term gain, that's hours and resource not spent on a gig you'll hate which can be invested into other client work or developing your own skills.
The best advice I can give you though is, unless it's for charity, don't work for free. It's very easy to convince yourself to overwork for underpay due to imposter syndrome. It's okay to work cheap if you want to build your confidence with a client with a small budget, but as long as you deliver what the client requests then you should be appropriately compensated. Additionally, people often do not care about something given freely without sentimental attachment. Work done for free will often not be used, which means the exposure they were talking about is also not there. Do not work for free (and if you can help it, don't work without a contract. If you're working with any established business, insist on a contract).
There's a lot out there on how to be a freelancer though, often the part people stumble on isn't the art, it's being a business. Take a look at how to effectively market yourself, balance a book, pay your taxes, and communicate with people.
Hope that helps, good luck with your career.
Amazing! Thank you so much for putting that in such a beautiful format for me!