This is a declaration of a strong change of direction.
As those of you who have actually followed this blog previously have undoubtedly noticed, I haven't posted in a very long time despite my best efforts to stick to posting. I'm not going to bore you with excuses because I have more important information to share with you right now.
Before I tell you about my new focus let me try to explain where it came from. Two out of my last three attempts at freelance artwork have failed miserably. By failed I mean I put hard work into designs for clients that ultimately rejected the work I was doing/had done and decided to go to other artists to fulfill their needs without notifying me of their change of heart or compensating me for the work I had done. I have no ill feelings towards them or their decisions what-so-ever but the circumstances left me in a very deep rut of self reflection. So here are the decisions I've made as a result of my failed freelance artwork.
1. I do not have the patience to teach a client sound marketing strategy.
2. I refuse to treat logo design as anything less than a strategic marketing symbol and I refuse to compromise on my pillars of logo design.
3. I will not work with any clients in the future that seem even remotely unsure of what they want.
4. I will only work with one client per project. Meaning I will not try to simultaneously please two clients that have different visions of what they want with the same design.
5. I will not work for free. My design services come with a $100 non-refundable up front fee regardless of any circumstances. This fee or a portion of it may be deducted from the total cost of the sale if negotiated, but will not be refunded in the event of a dissatisfied client or a client choosing to go with someone else's services. Any serious client will see this as more than reasonable .
6. Until further notice, I will ONLY work with clients by a referral basis and after extensive review.
In short, I really don't plan on doing much freelance work in the future. If future attempts go more smoothly I may change this stance, but for now I really don't have the time to be working on building other people's wealth for a modest one time fee.
Such strong words from such a modest, weak minded, push over right? But wait, there's more! So far I have explained my new disposition towards freelance work, but I haven't even gotten to the good stuff yet. I've been spending a lot of time thinking about how I am going to turn my life around. Obviously I can't be a delivery driver forever and I certainly don't want to be working my way up the ladder of pizza company enslavement. I now know that I don't really want to be doing "for hire" work either. Not only would my income be strictly tied to a 'dollars for labor' trade but it would be a never ending battle with wishy-washy clients. I'm not the only one in my inner circle in this position, either. There are others who can't sustain themselves doing what they are doing but they aren't sure how they are going to change for the better. I also have deadlines to make decisions fast approaching. I have to decide if and where I am going to move in a very short time and the consequences of the move are very far reaching no matter what I decide.
The other day I logged into my blogger just to post the images of the last logo I had finished and I was looking through my statistics to lament how I hadn't gotten any real views since I stopped posting. While looking through my stats I found something that completely changed my outlook. This blog has made me money! 3 pennies to be exact. Such a small and seemingly insignificant amount, but you have to realize, that's 3 pennies more than I have earned from my last two clients and I didn't even have to do anything. Its a very modest beginning but it means more to me than you can understand. This means I have something I can do right now from anywhere in the world and be actively building my own future. Its something that won't diminish if I move and doesn't hinge on variables that will be changing in the very near future.
So here is the current plan:
1. I'm going to revamp the nature of this blog since freelance work is at least temporarily being phased out of the picture.
2. I'm going to re-commit to posting (not exactly daily posting) with a new focus on creating material that's less about me and more about bringing value to other people's lives.
3. I'm going to be alpha testing a whole lot of different strategies and ideas while the variables in my near future sort themselves out.
And now you know...
Most bloggers do so to make money... Richard has the amazon add thing on his blog and always sites books that he uses for his research so that people can easily click and buy if they want. Good luck on your blog adventure. I had no idea you did all that work for free. I would have suggested a flat rate consulting fee to you. It is not rare to do so just ask mom. I am sure they used to have one for all their clients in her advertising business. And I know web designers do the same thing. Shame on those who used up your time and offered no compensation.
ReplyDeleteIt's not really their fault. It was established from the beginning that since I was getting started as a freelancer and was still in the process of determining what kind of price would be fair for the work I was producing, that I would work on a donation basis once the work was complete. Neither project ever did reach a true completion. Both clients kind of disappeared in the wind when they stopped responding to emails I had sent asking for feedback regarding the completion of a project milestone.
DeleteLessons learned:
1. Never work for donations.
2. Never let a client get away if there is something you can do about it.
3. Have a contractual agreement (even if its written on a napkin)
4. Properly vet your clients.