IT'S YOU, NOT ME

Dear Sydney,

This is our long awaited letter to you explaining why we left, and to be honest – it was all your fault.

We spent many years and wonderful times together but we finally had enough! You hovered over us like an umbrella parent watching their child’s every move. We felt trapped and couldn’t find time to breath. Time after time we declared to you that this is not working and you needed to change but you didn’t seem to care and kept on with your destructive ways. We just wanted a life that wasn’t so chaotic, where people were friendly and it didn’t take 45mins for the 5km drive.

We wish we could have been more upfront with you but you didn’t want to know, those blinkers were on so tight you couldn’t see the bigger picture. We started drifting further apart and we fell into the arms of another. After a few emails to an inside source, our decision was made to give you the middle finger and spend our lives with someone who cares.

You were so into yourself that we were able to put our plans into action and you didn’t even notice. We sold our little house, packed up our stuff and in the cover of darkness, we escaped from your clutches. We had spent our entire lives with you but we couldn’t imagine growing old with you. We wanted a better life and Brissy (as she likes to be called) could offer us that.

We knew this wasn’t going to be easy. We left our friends, our family and everything we knew on the search for a stress-less life where the kids could play and make neighbourhood friends like it’s 1987.

Maybe we can grab a coffee one day and make amends but we have moved on and we don’t regret one bit of it….

GOING FREELANCE, IS IT FOR YOU?

JUST OVER SIX YEARS AGO I WAS INADVERTENTLY FORCED INTO FREELANCING. MY WIFE WAS ABOUT TO HAVE A BABY AND WE ALREADY HAD A TWO YEAR OLD AT HOME. I HAD TO BRING HOME THE BACON, SOMEHOW.

It came as a surprise to me when my boss at a small advertising agency called me downstairs to his office.  He was there with his business partner and they simply laid it on the table - 'our business has slowed down and we need to make some cuts' - 'unfortunately, your position here is no-longer needed'.  All I kept thinking was how was I going to tell my pregnant wife (and what I was going to get for lunch - now that I had the afternoon off). 

I was now in a position to make a choice. Do I go back into full-time work or do I take the plunge into freelancing. There are pros and cons to both. The full-time job can have financial security, potential to work on larger projects and you’ll have other adults to talk to, where freelancing can less secure when it comes to money, you may have to work on some pretty crappy jobs at the start, you spend the majority of your time alone but the flexibility and potential to live a life you want is all there up for grabs. I think I know which choice I’m going to make!

What works for you.

I found working in an agency/studio quite stressful. Not only did I have account service and art directors looking over my shoulder explaining why that colour doesn’t work with that typeface but I felt that my work was constantly being scrutinised with no reward in sight. The roles I had and the agencies I worked in didn’t allow me to have much of a voice. In saying that I never really called for a fancy title - I just loved being a designer. That was probably the first sign that full-time work wasn’t for me. And, with a couple of little ones at home, my life and priorities had changed and doing the ‘midnight shift’ wasn’t a favourable option anymore, even with a free bento box!

On the other hand, the idea of working with clients where my skills and opinions weren’t tucked away within the agency walls seemed appealing. I know clients can be hard work but I was willing to give it a go. On more than one occasion my concepts and designs weren’t loved straight away (how many are?!) but the people I worked with had enough confidence in my abilities that I would get the job done.  Yes, at times the hours were longer but I was able to work around my life and spend more quality time with my family and do the things I wanted to do, this was much more rewarding than a free dinner…

No cocktails on the beach.

It took about a year to really get in the swing of things and in that time I had realised that I wanted to pursue freelancing long term, maybe even as a career (apologies to all freelancer for dropping the “C” word). I had cast off the shackles of full-time work and was free to do what I wanted, right? I could set my own hours, work on the projects I wanted to work on and make crap-loads of cash!  How I was wrong.

There’s a misconception that being your own boss will solve all of your problems. On the surface it looks great, but there’s no HR department to handle payroll, no accounts department to look after the money and chase the people who haven’t paid. There is no sales team to drum up new business and no account service to manage the projects. This now falls on you.  It’s really easy to fall in love with the idea of “working for yourself” without fully understanding what is required on a day-to-day basis of being your own boss.  There are days when you are head deep in accounts, other days you might be on your fifth round of changes or days when you spend more time than you should on the phone. You have developed the skills that make the money but you now have to handle all these other jobs. It can be a lot to get your head around, some people don’t mind doing this but others just want to do what they do. I spend around 40% of my time working on the business and drumming up new work and only 60% actually doing the work.

Eyes on the prize.

One of the hardest things to do when working for yourself, especially from a home studio, is staying focussed. There are so many distractions that can prevent you from getting the job done.  Everything from helping out with the laundry to checking out YouTube, even if it’s for five minutes, it all adds up and cut into your day.  Along with the above mentioned roles you are now the Studio Manager.  You have to manage each job and ensure they are delivered on time and within the budget. This is a balancing act as you all know that every job is urgent and no one has any money to spend.

And the winner is.

Freelancing.  I know it's not for everyone but it's worked out well for me (so far). I’m able to have flexibility in my life and not be tied to a 9-5. I get to spend time with the most important people (to all my old colleagues, I still love you) and I don’t have to wear shoes.  It hasn't been easy balancing work and family but I've now been freelancing for just over the past six years and even with it's ups and downs, I can’t see myself going back to permanent work.

Ups and Downs of a Freelance Designer

Working for yourself can be immensely rewarding but it's also straining on your mental state. As a freelancer you're constantly striving for consistency but IT'S HOW YOU HANDLE THE down TIMES IS WHATS GOING TO MAKE YOU STRONGER in the long run...

Within a month of each other, I had parted ways with two long-term clients. I thought that I could bounce back quickly, make some new contacts and go on to bigger and better things. I didn't think it would take me as long as it did to get back on track. I thought the work would just come knocking at the door. In hindsight, this is part-and-parcel of being a self employed freelancer (as to one employed by a recruiter). I needed to be better prepared for this type of situation, mentally and financially.

With a big chunk of my work gone I had to start building my relationships from the ground up again. I felt I was only just keeping my head above water. I had lost my confidence and I started stressing about money which led me to over-quoting jobs, which meant I missed out on jobs, which then made me worry about money again.  It was a vicious cycle...

I couldn't keep going on like this. It started affecting my home life. I became grumpy and I over analysed everything.  

Something had to be done!

I started by doing some short-term freelance gigs in design and ad agencies. I hadn't been back to an advertising agency for a couple of years so the fast pace environment was a good distraction. It also got me thinking about what I wanted to do and where I wanted to be - it wasn’t in advertising…

I also started to look after myself better, physically and mentally. I got back into my daily running and took up meditating (I’ve been a little slack lately). I started feeling good again.

I know that this is how it will be as a freelancer (the ups and downs) but I had a new found confidence and started working on ways to ensure I didn’t fall as hard again. I started contacting potential clients, shared more of my work and made sure I had back up funds for any slow months. It was a slow process but I’m now in a good position. I have new clients who are awesome to work with and I’m not as grumpy anymore.

What I realised is that I can’t take anything for granted and sometimes doing something different can help you see things from a different view.

FREELANCE TIPS

I started getting questions about the ins and outs of being a freelance graphic designer. What would you do here? How would you approach this?  How much do you charge? and so on.

Most of the questions were from other Graphic Designers and like me they had been working as designers for a long time but were relatively new to freelancing or weighing up the option of going freelance.

I'd been freelancing for about two years and for some reason they wanted to know how I did things.  I guess I've had a mix of different experiences from in-house studios through to working with my own clients and I'm also a bit of a nerd when it comes to the admin side of things like estimating, invoicing and tax (most designers despise that stuff).

At the end of last year I knew I had to start using my Instagram account for the greater good (and not just selfies).  I didn't want to throw up quotes from famous designers or just show off my work, I wanted to help people, make some sort of difference and show-off my knowledge and experience. So I thought I'd post freelance tips weekly (mostly fortnightly and sometimes monthly). 

I started writing down everything I had experienced. Everything from getting started to working with recruiters, from finance through to dealing with rejection.  I want to talk about what a freelance Graphic Designer goes through on a daily basis.  Our industry is all about the work, the agencies and the clients, which is awesome, but rarely is there any information about how to deal with the business and personal side of being a freelancer.

I can easily say I love everything about freelancing, even with all it's ups and downs. From being too busy to not having any work to being able to arrange my deadlines so I can spend time with my family.  I get to work on a variety of projects and get to work with amazing creatives and wonderful clients, I can't ask for anymore (except a few more clients - hint hint).

I will continue on with my freelance tips each week.  Hopefully you get something out of them.

www.instagram.com/desolvedesign/

Freelance GRAPHIC Designer: Just the beginning

Just over three years ago I was inadvertently forced into freelancing.  My wife was 35 weeks pregnant and we already had a two year old. I had to bring home the bacon somehow.

It came as a surprise to me when my boss at a small advertising agency in Sydney called me downstairs to his office.  He was there with his business partner and they just simply laid it on the table - 'our business has slowed down and we need to make some cuts' - 'unfortunately Michael, your position here is no-longer needed'.  All I kept thinking was how was I going to tell my pregnant wife (and what I was going to get for lunch - now that I had the afternoon off).

With the baby so close (and a redundancy payout) I didn't panic or worry about getting work straight away, family came first. That week I sent out emails and text messages to everyone I knew saying that I am now available for freelance work (or another full-time job). I was at home for two weeks before our daughter decided to join us.  As the parents out there know, all of your emotions are mashed into one, it's a crazy time.

First pictures of Lacey, born just two weeks after I was made redundant

Now with the family settled in back at home it was time for me to get back to work.  I was out getting nappies when I received a call from an old colleague asking if I was available for a days work.  'Yes!, when do I start'. That one day turned into a 4-day a week gig for the following month. It was a great little agency with an amazing team...

Getting made redundant can be a shot in the arm, it can knock your confidence. A mate of mine told me at the time that most people are better off after a redundancy, he was right.

After that first job I started getting phone calls from prospective clients and more freelance jobs via my recruiters and direct contacts, things were looking up.  I was able to get a few of my own clients and even hooked up a 3-day a week 12 month contract.  Freelancing gave me the time and flexibility to spend more time with my family and work on a variety of projects. I was loving it.

It hasn't been easy balancing work and family but I've now been freelancing for just over three years and even with it's ups and downs, I'll never go back to permanent work. I know it's not for everyone but it's worked out the best for me.

Thanks for reading my first ever blog post.  I will be writing more about freelance life.