The freelance designers curse...

[red raw]

OK, this is my first post and I have a lot to get off of my chest.

First a bit about myself.

My name is Paul

I'm from Leicester England

I'm 25

I have been running my own business since June 2000 and successfully made profit each year (with higher invoice totals than each previous year)

I work with Disney, BBC, 20th Century Fox, Dreamworks and a load of others and I've been relatively lucky and successful... so far.

BUT

My problem is that it isn't all rosey and sweet here. I'm Self Employed. Now self employment has a lot of great benefits... for instance all of the invoice total is your money, (well at least the remainder after tax). You have Free Time, ability to make hundreds in a few hours, access to television, fridge, radio, i-tunes... basically all the freedom and luxury that you care to choose. But it is in that where this art designer is cursed.

I don't work a 9 - 5 day. I don't even have to work at all today. I can meet my own deadlines when I want and how i want... but therein lies the problem. Being Self Employed is like being Willy Wonka and having an addiction to chocolate and sweets. How can you get things done when the things you like to do the most are temptingly seconds away.

Right now I have soooo much work on it is almost overwhelming. I have over 110 designs to do in the next few days and yet I still prefer to do the usual 25yr old geeky things (playstation, dvd's, music...). I am not helping myself at all. I could work well over 70 hours in a week if I had to but I probably am averaging 15 a week! That's pathetic really. The bills are covered and the work standard is great, when it's done, but it's the motivation and self dicipline that is currently weak and annoying.

Since 2000 I have gained approx 1 stone in weight and even though I'm now only 12 stone, the easiness of being able to help myself to food and drink at any hour has certainly had an effect... then there's the general fitness. I literally walk 8 paces from my bedroom door to my Studio Chair and then the only other travel on an average working day is too and from the kitchen.

Telly has it's ups and downs. Although TV can teach us many things I find myself drawn to channel flicking in the hope to find something worthy of an excuse not to work. Then there is my extensive collection od DVDs, dozens of them. It's made worse by the fact that I can Play DVD's on my Mac G5 AND work at the same time but guess which one I keep choosing to do!

I know that writers get writers-block and I'm certain that any occupation which requires self motivation, diciplin and creativity, like art design, can make your head literally spin with confusion and ill-direction.

I'll pick myself up soon enough. This IS just a phase where i'm seeking a fresh direction. I'll meet all the deadlines and keep up the standards but take it from me. If anyone ever tells you that Self Employed people have it easy then they are dead wrong.

Easy is having a regular 9 - 5, with bus timetables and a boss. Work mates who share the load and talk about their problems with each other. Lunch Hours and Overtime.

I have too much going on in my head to even consider a regular lunch time. Hell i do most of my mental designing from the hours of 01:00 to 04:00 when I can't get to sleep. This Job is torment and a curse. If it weren't for the fact that I love designing and have a good foundation of customers and regular income, i would probably have gone completely bonkers by now.

Well that's it.

My rage is over, i can now go back to avoiding work in the many various ways I have so far mastered.

If anyone wants to share or discuss this topic feel free to mail me: paulburton@digitallicensing.wanadoo.co.uk

Paul.

[Drorain]

Dude thats awesome, I'm glad your business is costant. I'm sure your sacrifice having to discipline yourself over having to worry if you'll have a job tomorrow. Your talk will seem a little 'Woe-is-Me' here because to many here are out of work, under-employed. You've got to have some good talent to be able to say you worked with those a-list clients. I wish you well, AND i recommend you rent an office, start your own company and have other people on your payroll. OH quite a jump huh, but yeah if you work out of the house it maybe better.

Since your here any tips on getting clients, I'm looking, my freelance work currently is just outsourced production work, overflow from the design studio I interned with. I'm looking to build a client base, but where to start?

http://www.grivakisgraphics.com/images/img_logomark.jpg

"I Heart Chewie"
Oh Chewie I love U "click (http://wso.williams.edu/~rfoxwell/starwars/sounds/Chewie03.wav)"

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[red raw]

gotta do some stuff right now, Drorain but i'll get back to you in a bit...

[3howards]

i'm not taking it as a woe is me at all. sure, i'd love to have a consistent in flux of projects, and thankfully, i do quite a bit. i think that's the main culprit to his lack of motivation or focus on the job. most of us who do get those breaks (sometimes too long) have that time to relax and do whatever we want. but when work comes in, we hit it hard. he hasn't had that freedom or luxury.

i'm actually in a position right now where i have quite a bit to do and don't have the time to enjoy my tv, lunch, or xbox breaks. but i'd gladly nip all of that if i'm working. i just enjoy right now and am taking advantage of the opportunity to be able to work from home and at whatever time i want, which is still most of the time. still, i have those days where i hardly even touch my computer because i'd rather take my daughter to storytime, to the park, to grandma's or even drive a couple of hours to drop something off when i could've just shipped it. i look at everything as an opportunity for something, either more income or just plain fun.

'Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.' -- Isaiah 5:20

[red raw]

this is where i admit I have a problem. This is why i'm feeling so messed up at the moment. I have a great job, with connections that bring in a good wage... not probably as high as some of you may think but enough for a living. I have it almost too easy and so I think my brain is constantly trying to make it harder for me, so there is a challenge... or something like that.

I started out as a graphic designer, after college, in a small firm that had the Disney Connections. The boss of the firm was a wild character who liked to spend the company cash, obviously it eventually went under and I was about to become jobless. The contact in Sweden contacted me as, at the tender age of 20, I had become Studio Manager. He asked me if I would start my own business up and that way I could continue to do their contracts. I thought about it for like a second and went head first into setting it all up. It was exciting, new, challenging and I could see a bright future... I was handed it on a plate and by all means it is still there, as fresh as the day it was cooked. It's just that the taste has gone a bit sour.... it's like eating Mashed Potato every single day, for a while it's OK but after many years it's all a bit too familiar.

I need to change things because it's my mind that is sabotaging my success.

I have got to stop being a Lazy, bored, unimaginative, self defeating fool and realise that I have been the luckiest guy I know to be where I am and that gift should NOT be taken lightly.

I can understand that I could really get some of you mad by complaining about my anguish, when probably most of you are unemployed for long periods.

I'm gonna do something daring, extravagent and god-damn verging on mental one day. Then I'll really be satisfied with myself but for now i'll just create. After all that's what I get paid to do...I can build the world in 7 days but i'll have to carry on making blades of grass and pissing out water for now.

The artist mind is a dangerously odd place, sometimes i think i'll crack up soon...but then the greats all do don't they.

'The only difference between me and a mad person is I'm not mad!' - Salvador Dali

[Drorain]

That was great, I think maybe you should explore other target industries And Take up a hobby artform, most designers do something along with design

http://www.grivakisgraphics.com/images/img_logomark.jpg

"I Heart Chewie"
Oh Chewie I love U "click (http://wso.williams.edu/~rfoxwell/starwars/sounds/Chewie03.wav)"

********
Need a Powerbook? PM me or *click* (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5732618725&ssPageName= ADME:B:LC:US:1)

[p00t]

I can definitely relate to this post ~ my main weaknesses are The Sims2 & EBay. While I don't have nearly the client base as you, my small steady stream of loyal clients seems to be the perfect amount for me to meet my deadlines and slack off at the same time. A curse, most definitely.

I too have recognized it as a problem... while laziness feels temporaly good most of the time, I end up feeling terribly guilty when I glance at the clock and realize I've wasted 3 hours doing basically nothing. Here's what I've discovered to help me, hopefully others can draw from this:

You need to create a daily routine, but start out small so you don't annoy yourself & give up. You can set small goals such as, 'I'll read the news online & check email while eating breakfast , then organize my activities for the day...' which can be as simple as scribbling tentative plans on a post-it. Stick the post-it to your monitor for the constant reminder. 3 hours later, when you take a break from the PS2 and return to your desk to check on your EBay auctions (heheh) - you'll see that post-it and feel ashamed. And there you go, the healing has begun!

Then you might graduate to a more in-depth schedule. My solution was to purchase a day planner.

BTW, if you've got some time, I'm thinking you might be a good source for advice on my latest post regarding royalties & contracts...
http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/default.aspx?f=8&m=89738

^_^

[Wonder Woman]

Hi Redraw - welcome to the GDF. I can assure you that if you start regularly posting here, then you will get even less work done than you do now! It's very addictive, and I'm just pleased my boss hasn't been keeping track of my surfing activities!

Have you thought about setting up a company, and get an office, rather than working from home? I know you said that you don't make that much money, but if you have that many clients, a push at advertising through them to some more prospective clients would no doubt bring you a load more. Then you could possibly think about taking on a part-time designer to help you, and build from there. It would take the pressure off you, and getting out of the house would happen daily. Or how about getting out and seeing your clients more? Set yourself a target of going to see one a week, just to have a chat, a catch up, lunch or a more formal 'what else can I help you with' meeting. Dealing with them face to face might give you some enthusiasm back into your work, when you see how your clients react to your work?

Another alternative is to plan some time off - maybe not in the near future, but in a year or so. I bet as a freelancer, you find it difficult to take holidays? I know that at work, someone else can deal with my work when I'm away, if needed, but as a freelancer, you must find it difficult to plan all your jobs so you can have time completely away. If you could get your company up and running, with an additional designer, you could take a month or 2 off and do some travelling, just some time for you, or to persue a hobby seriously. If you think you're going to blow up, then maybe if you can plan it, it won't happen unexpectedly?

Day to day, I think p00t is right - you need a daily schedule to follow. Just easy things, like at the beginning of my day, I sort out what jobs need to be finished today, who I need to speak to, and just how much time I can spend reading the GDF. You might also try fixing at least half an hour each day for lunch, or to get out for a walk and clear your head. It will probably make you more productive and give you some ideas for designs. It might move the middle of the night ideas to during the day if you switch your brain off for a bit!

And if you do get overwhelmed, there are always plenty of willing bodies here that can do a bit of freelance work for you.

Searching for creative juices

[Phormic]

I can feel your pain mate! I worked freelance for about three years, although with clients not quite as prestigious as yours, and found that my working hours went through the roof. The usual problems emerged - few holidays, time off sick, etc and things got so bad I went back to a paid position, running a small studio in a software company. When I was freelance I was lucky and had graphic designer mates to back me up and in times like the one you're facing now, turned to them to help me out. Backups are vital. If you don't have friends in the trade - make them. They can be lifesavers in sticky situations. I went on a two month holiday during this time and dumped all my clients on friends, risky I know, but they came through with flying colours.

[red raw]

Cheers for the comments. I'm getting it sorted in my head now. Coming here and getting my feelings out has helped, and knowing that others went through the same thing is also an assurance that i'm not as bad as i thought. I guess it's all about my respect for what I do. I see it as 75% hobby and 25% business... but now I'm starting a new way of thinking. Using the tips and comments from you all it is quite clear that I need to be more routined, organised and prepared for when things get 'Busy'.

It's a mental problem, which is weird to admit. It's all about focus. I got a book yesterday about 'focus and Goals'... it's already helping.

The new Shedule starts today.

[idaho]

I have one question? How much does a freakin' 'stone' weigh...in pounds?

-Idaho
'You want it when? Ok, no problem. Excuse me while I pull the magic wand out of my ass!'

[uncle carbunkle]

14lbs

:: Durable and doable in a swimsuit, yet not designed for surfing, cliff diving, extreme groping and other high-impact activities. ::

[Keyare]

Hi Redraw.

If you're anything like me a daytimer will get buried under a mound of paper. So you'll buy another one. You know, to be organized.

I started off freelance for three years, then opened an office in the city. Ran it for ten years, and now I'm back at home. This summer I was in exactly the same situation as you. Most of my time was spent reading or on THIS site :)

I was wondering if you had spurts where, two or three days in a row you'll do almost nothing...then one day you get up a pound through the work like you were a machine or something? Man those days feel good. But hard to get motivated most of the time?


Have you thought of hiring someone? I know that sounds stupid but triaining someone gets the work done - even if it is slower, you have someone to motivate you cuz, as a boss you have to set a good example. And, over time they'll be able to pick up some slack.

I never made so much money as when I had staff. Even if they were'nt even designers, they cut the grunt work down to where I could focus on the really high end stuff or...just the interesting stuff.

Plus nothing motivates you like having to open up for staff in the morning or having someone to compete with.

Right now though I totally don't have that problem because I went and took a 'real job' 10 hours a day. The job doesn't pay hardly half of what design does but it gets me out of the grind. My GF takes all the calls during the day and I have about 4-8 hours every night of work that I HAVE TO GET done - no time for TV, Games or anything. I'm close to burnout but the procrastination is kinda gone. *drops dead from exhaustion*