7 Things You Must Do To Start Your Creative Freelance Business
With the excitement and anticipation of embarking on a freelance career, we can easily get caught up in the ideas of freedom, of getting paid
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ARTICLES.
Tips and Insights on Mission, Mindset, Mechanics, and Marketing for Freelance Creatives
Positioning and Differentiating Your Business Through Design
Non-descript design that lacks distinction will do nothing to add distinction and value to an organization.
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7 Reasons Why Freelancers Should Not Discount
With value pricing for design and illustration projects, I am able to custom-tailor my services and fees to fit each client and project. But even
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Should You Display Your Pricing On Your Website?
Every project and every client is different. Freelance creatives need to consider the unique needs and objectives of each client when determining their fees.
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Working Late: 5 Essential Boundaries for Freelancers
From time to time I’ll fire off an email to a client during the late evening or early morning hours. Occasionally, an immediate response comes back
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Risky Business
© Alvalyn Lundgren. All international rights reserved. Risk. It’s a small word with big impact. Taking risks involves change and the unknown. We’re usually not
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The Internship Epidemic
It is the responsibility of design professionals, teachers and school administrators to value the next generation of designers so that the profession is respected, appreciated and thrives. Unpaid internships won’t accomplish that.
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Which is Better for Self-Promotion: Email or Mailers?
Self-promotion is an ordinary and necessary aspect of doing business as an independent creative professional. Unlike social media marketing, self-promotion campaigns are targeted to contacts
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A 5-Point Tune Up For Your Freelance Business
As with vehicles, your freelance business needs regular tune-ups to ensure smooth performance and prevent breakdowns. If you’re the owner of an independent creative services
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Freelance or For Hire? Clarifying The Designer-Client Relationship
Misunderstandings can exist between clients and freelance designers regarding their working relationships. Questions of who owns what, what files are provided to the client, when and
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Competence, Confidence and Baseball
One fact about playing baseball: To advance to the next base, you need to leave the one you’re on. Baseball forces you to advance to
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How To Change Your Mind About Money: 5 Simple Ways To Deal With Fluctuating Freelance Income
One thing I struggled with in the past as an independent creative is money. I have a lot of experience with the all too common
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3 Types of Freelance Contracts and Which Ones to Avoid
Because pretty much everything runs on design and other forms of visual communication, the role of the visual communicator (designer, illustrator, photographer) is more in
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The 7 Basic Elements of Your Brand Strategy
Simply creating graphic assets and promotional materials is not enough to manage your brand. You need a strategy — a plan, method, or series of actions for obtaining a specific goal or result. Here are 7 basic elements to get started.
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Passion or Profit: Should You Start a Freelance Business?
The commonly-given advice is: Do what you love and the money will follow. This is a great ideal, because no one wants to spend the majority
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The Designer and the Relief Pitcher
If you know me well, you know that baseball is my favorite sport, and I often employ baseball analogies to explain concepts to students and
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What To Look For In A Mentor or Coach
Freelancers are a company of one, but we need feedback, input, and help. You’re more likely to hit your goals and enjoy success when you work with a mentor. Here’s what to look for and how to work with someone.
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Close The Sale With The Socratic Approach
Having a different sort of spirit when pitching to prospective clients can prove to be the difference for your creative brand and business. What do
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The New Facebook Algorithm Is All About Quality Time… and Money
Mark Zuckerberg wants Facebook to be a place for people to connect and engage. His post on January 11, 2018 decried the plethora of public
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What Kind Of Freelancer Are You?
Did you know that there is more than one way to be a freelancer? Independent creatives — freelancers — can choose a variety of working scenarios
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Pricing Strategies for Creative Freelancers
Pricing your creative services is one of the most-discussed topics among freelancers. There is no one right way to price your creative services — there is no industry
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How To Build An Effective Professional Network
When you’re in business (and freelancers are in business), you build reputation through social and in-person networking. According to the Oxford Dictionary, a network is a
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Freedom Through Boundaries
During a downhill event at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, a contestant wiped out against the fence because she lost her footing on a turn.
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