Boom…truth…good article
These are hard lessons, and I’m glad you’ve learned them. Feels good, doesn’t it; to value yourself (in many various ways)?
Love this post, thank you.
This was fantastic. Definitely going to take your advice to either charge a lot or charge nothing. I’ve been stuck in the middle charging a small amount to a friend, and then it just sucks.
Well said. Your blog post demonstrates a maturity that I find lacking in some designers that I’ve encountered as I’m currently looking for a designer. Their youth didn’t turn me off, their (“I know better”, “I’m tolerating you because you’re a client”) attitude did.
Smart clients (and IMO successful designers) realize that the good design is a collaboration and iterative process, not a specification handed over to a designer to “complete”. A culture of mutual respect and partnership are necessary ingredients of a great design.
Great insight. This logic applies to anyone running a company. I’ve met so many CEOs who failed because they failed to focus on monetization. Money makes the world (and your company) go around. Don’t be afraid to ask for it.
great post. i needed to hear it.
Enjoyed your article.
I may not likely be a potential customer, but I would be very interested in knowing your rate and seeing the contract you prefer to use. I’ve avoided hiring designers, though we could use the help, because it seems that, unlike software, it is hard to know the boundaries of what the work is. In software, I can expect that often the work will take some amount more than expected, but for design work, I can’t tell whether something should take one hour or 100 hours. I don’t really know if someone in new york at $200 an hour is really going to give better results than someone in new delhi at $20 an hour, or a college student in Boise at $40 an hour.
I think that probably a lot of the “clueless clients” are in the same boat as me. This is why people ask for a fixed price logo, etc.
You sound just like another snarky and possibly arrogant designer. You should thank God that you have any work at all in this economy. Fact is, any Indian in Bangalore can be doing what you do for $3/hr. I hope you have a backup plan. I hear Starbucks is still looking for snarky baristas who think too highly of themselves.
Look, it’s okay to have self-confidence, but when you think that you should be valued at $400/hr as an “HMTL Engineer”, that’s really going overboard. I mean, you’re not doing C++ algorithmic trading development or coding FPGA firmware for wireless networking equipment, are you?
Bill, thanks for stopping by. I hope you’ll come back.
I think you’re making some assumptions in your comment, and I’m going to try to respond without sounding snarky or arrogant, so I hope you’ll give me some leeway.
I can’t imagine a less arrogant position than being thankful for provision. I am. Why do you assume I don’t thank God everyday that I have work? I also find it interesting that you read arrogance into a post full of my admittance of my massive failures.
As far as value, the market determines that. I respond to market demands, and, in this season, benefit. There is a huge demand for web products right now, and a small supply of truly competent professionals to do the work. Yes, you can pay a low hourly wage to an offshore worker for programming work, but there’s a difference between coding HTML and designing/building web products and services. It’s not an apples to apples comparison. If my services were interchangeable with a $3/hr worker, I have faith that the market would self-correct and I’d be out of work.
I’m having a very similar year. I’m three years into my business as a web developer and I finally have all of these pieces in place also. It feels good. This year I finally started making enough to sustain the business long-term, meaning it is more beneficial to keep working for myself than to go get a real job. Personally I aim for 20h per week so I’m glad to see that someone else is talking these numbers. Honestly I don’t know how someone could do any more and still get administration and sales done. Congratulations on “growing up”.
@BILL just because it is possible to get work done for $3/h overseas there are plenty of profitable businesses who want to pay someone an ethical wage to live in the North American or European economies.
I also increased my rates and took on fewer clients recently and it has been a great gift from this spaghetti monster you speak of Bill. Just sayin’.
@Jay In my experience, the more you pay the better the results. The $200/h designer costs that much because at the end of the day they will answer the phone when things go bad. The $20 and $40/h options are both new to the industry and will most often miss something critical – either from lack of understanding of the language or the assumptions you have made in your request… the $200 person will probably point that out and help solve any of your problematic business decisions before they cause trouble.
Good lessons. Well done. Keep up the good work.
it takes a long time for someone to find themselves at this realization. i’ve agreed with every bit of what you mentioned here. it’s clear that you spend a lot of time on intrapersonal matters. :)
Great post. I’d love to see your contracts as well. I know I’ve been under-charging to get business for far too long now. Any chance you could pass the contract along? Thanks!
As a part-time freelancer with a full-time gig, I really enjoyed reading this Joshua.
The I Work For Free or For Very Expensive section really struck a chord with me… I think you’ve outlined something that I am gradually discovering for myself. I may be in a similar situation, but you’re a little farther along (and happier).
It may go without saying that I’d be interested in reading more on this topic, either here or elsewhere.
Great thoughts.
I agree with Aaron — Great thoughts, man.
Because you only take on 15/hrs a week, I assume it’s much easier to only take on one project at a time. How would you operate differently working full-time as a designer? You serve as design director to a relatively small team of folks and you take on a TON of projects throughout the week at Newspring. Are there things you’ve learned there that would translate well to someone working full-time in design?
It’s easy for me to think, “Oh, I’ll only take on one project at a time,” but the I haven’t quite figured out if that’s practical or not for full-time design business owners. Do you still line up projects in advance, or do you take on one project and decline any new leads ’til that project is complete?
Thanks again, man.
Great article.
Could I translate it to Portuguese for my students?
Thank you,
Renata
(Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Thanks Joshua. All stuff I inherently know, but often fail to live by. I think the idea of being very clear about boundaries, and communicating that with clients is particularly important.
Thanks for the reminder.
Andrew
Great article and so true! Thanks for sharing your experience. I also work a job full-time and design for my own company and find it hard to find balance. I just might try to set the same type of limit on hours and see how it works.
Excellent post. I am fully convinced that the great majority of our problems as small business owners (freelancers, whatever) are of our own creation.
Awesome post. This is exactly why I made sure I didn’t miss you at Echo. Loved that too. If possible, I would love to see your contract. We have never *knock on wood* had the need for it but with our rates jumping and taking on a more corporate clientele I know we need it.
If you want to keep that private I understand but I would greatly appreciate some direction.
Thanks
Love this! Very encouraging. Thanks for laying all this out. If I were to compose a manifesto of my principals for working, it would contain many parallels to this article. I briefly hit on some similar points in a blog post a few weeks ago when reflecting on my approaching ( at the time ) self-employment venture. To see you actually living this out is, again, very encouraging.
I just saw the critical post above from Bill. I have many times written posts for myself or responses to such angry posts as the above only to delete them before submitting. This is normally a result of the view that no good could come from my venting or online arguing. I will not do that this time (though I’m sure it’s still fruitless), out of a touch of pride, I’m sure, but mostly from indignation at your unprovoked insults at a person who is simply being honest.
I firstly will echo the comment by the author that you have no clue what he does or doesn’t thank God for. Secondly, don’t say “it’s okay to have self-confidence” and then go on to contradict that statement with every word that follows.
Another point: so if the writer was doing, as you said, “C++ algorithmic trading development or coding FPGA firmware for wireless networking equipment,” would he then be worth his hourly rate? If so, why do you deem this so? Why is this more worthy of compensation, more necessary and beneficial for the typical citizen? And if not, why bring it up, of all things? An incomplete, unfounded, and angry shot, I suspect. Or a newly learned combination of words?
Next: I never saw anything in this post about a $400 per hour rate; maybe it’s there but I didn’t see it. But even if he decided to charge that, it wouldn’t affect you since you clearly wouldn’t employ his services, so why do you care?
Nice economic plan, by the way, sending everything overseas. If “any Indian in Bangalore” could replace our service, experience, and skill set, we would be out of work; that’s not hard to figure out. Maybe then we could go get a job at Starbucks where you could continue to hate us for being snarky and arrogant. ( I only say WE for lack of a better word: I’m not referring to Americans; country is not relevant, I’m talking about the contrast between an overseas HTML chop shop, for example, with whom no human relationship exists, and a relatively local designer with whom you form a working partnership. )
Lastly, congratulations on adding your touch of anger and bitterness to this otherwise fruitful, honest, and helpful page on the web. The author will go on and be fine, as will I; hopefully you can drop your animosity for designers, developers, baristas, and whichever other arbitrary positions you’ve taken aim at.
*bump*
Agreed with everything you said, and I kind of work in the same way, but i am in a full-time education at the moment. Used to do all nighters to get more work done, but really didn’t get anywhere.
Getting a good free project is better that getting a shitty low-paid one.
Good luck with everything.
Is a great post, cheers
That’ll preach. Good stuff.
Great pointers!
Really enjoyed this article, thanks. I’ve been thinking about limiting the hours that I work (as a web designer) for a while now and having read this will now definitely give it a try. I hope it has as much positive impact on my work / life as requiring a contract and deposit before starting each project did.
Keep up the good work…
It’s good to see potential clients commenting on this post. Designer do not often get to hear how unprofessional they are or how much more they could be from the people that hire them.
Projects
About The Author
I'm a graphic designer and sometimes writer living in Greenville, South Carolina. I serve as a designer at NewSpring Church. I love Jesus, my wife, Levi's Jeans, good Tex-Mex, and 8oz glass bottle Coca-Cola Classic. On good days I love them roughly in that order. Email me.
How Doing Less Work for More Money Saved Client Work (or) How I Finally Became a Professional Designer
Sat 08/27/11
This has been the best year of client work I’ve ever had. Which wasn’t all that difficult, really. I’ve had some abysmal experiences working with clients in the 8+ years I’ve been a designer. But before you amen me (or better yet, write me off) as one of those oh-so-superior young designers bemoaning idiot clients from hell, let’s get one thing straight…
Every single one of those bad client experiences was my fault.
You’re Supposed to be The Professional, Remember?
Most designers, at least when we’re starting out, think we’re much better at all this whole professionalism thing than we actually are. As an independent designer, I’m typically responsible for choosing the client, helping to determine their goals and the way(s) we can accomplish them, setting and enforcing boundaries, negotiating scope, timeline, and payment, and communicating with them throughout the project, for good or ill.
When I didn’t get paid for work, I likely failed to facilitate an environment that attached clear boundaries and real consequences to lack of payment. When the scope spiraled out of control, I reaped the extra labor I sowed through my lack of clear statements of work prior to beginning the project. When clients were unhappy with our working relationship, I could typically trace it back to my inconsistent or even M.I.A. communication. When clients were frustrating to work with despite my best efforts on my best days, hey, I picked them, right? I chose to enter into a business relationship with that client. In short, I was never a victim of anyone other than myself. And my clients paid for it.
It’s taken me 8 years to get a grip on the business side of things. And 2011 hasn’t just been good in comparison to my previous bad experiences—it’s been good, period. Amazing, really. Predominantly happy clients, better projects, timely payment and, most important of all, a contentedness for myself and my wife that had been absent from any previous adventures in client work.
So, what changed? A number of decisions, each building on the other and progressively improving the whole:
I Only Work 15 Hours a Week for Clients
15 hours might not sound like much, especially to you fulltime independents, but I work a fulltime job, too. And I love my job. But since I direct and lead other designers and developers as much as I design these days, doing work for other clients in the 5–9 is enjoyable and beneficial. If I take four weeks vacation and I actually do that much work, that’s 720 billable hours and +/-200% of my salary every year. Not too shabby. Goodbye, student loans.
I’m upfront with potential clients about my weekly allotment, and it helps me filter well before I ever take on a new project. Sometimes (often, actually) a client needs a 60 hour project done in the next two weeks, and I either politely decline and point them in another direction or I sometimes try to pitch only portions of the work they need, portions that can be completed in my 15 hours. Potential clients love the candor, and I don’t end up taking on work I can’t do, ruining my reputation and doing a disservice to paying clients.
There’s nothing magic about 15 hours; it’s just what made sense for the lifestyle we want to live in this season. We’ve all got 168 hours in a week. If I’m at the office ~45hrs a week, getting 8 hours of sleep every night and doing 15 hours of client work each week, that gives me 52 hours to spend with my family or by myself. Any more work and the cost/benefit ratio dips into unhealthy and unhappy for me and mine.
I Work for One Client at a Time
I can’t juggle. I definitely can’t juggle multiple clients and serve them well on the thin time margins I’m keeping. I’ve always failed when I tried. I know my limits. I don’t want my reputation and talent to take me where my integrity can’t sustain me (and it will, if left unchecked). It damages my rep and renders my talent meaningless in the grand scheme of client services. “He’s real talented, but he doesn’t do what he says” is a massive failure unless my goal is to be known as an unprofessional, out of work, real talented guy. I’d rather serve one client to the best of my abilities than multiple clients simultaneously, mediocrely.
My clients know up front they don’t have all my hours in a week, but they also know they have my full attention when it comes to my weekly scheduled client time. I feel equipped to serve one client for 15 hours a week, and that’s the maximum effort I have to put in. I can sustain that in this season.
When things come up (which they will) I only have one point person to talk to and sort it out. If a scheduling snafu happens, or there’s a content issue, or a direction change, it only affects the only project I have at any given time. I feel freedom to engage the client, fix the problems, and serve them well without pushing off or affecting other clients. Everyone wins.
I Work For Free or For Very Expensive
I have two price points: my hourly fee or nothing at all. Everything in the middle tends to be the most frustrating of experiences. There are plenty of designers who will make you a logo for $200. I’ve chosen not to be one of them.
Once you’ve accepted a low-paying job, it doesn’t matter that “you should be making more money” or “branding typically costs more than this so the client should be happy with what I give them.” You took the job for that fee, and now you have to deliver as agreed, or you suck at being a professional. Don’t take work you’re unwilling to do for the agreed upon price. Simple.
As for free work, most of that takes the form of work for friends—wedding invitations and collateral, show posters, album covers—or pro-bono work for churches and non-profits. Most of my friends can’t afford me, but I don’t want them to have ugly wedding invitations, either. So I help where I can, and I don’t charge them. The barter system is also an amazing option, but whatever the logistics of unpaid work, generosity always comes back around.
I Don’t Begin Paid Work Without a Contract and a Check
That seems like it should be a no-brainer, but the lack of both have chewed me up and spit me out in the past. No paperwork will bite you more than it blesses you.
Mike Monteiro’s excellent talk F*ck You, Pay Me was immensely helpful in making me realize this, along with asking a lot of my peers to see their contracts and office paperwork. If you want to be a professional, you need contracts. There is no other option.
I Over-Communicate Over-Communication
Every client is different, but in general I want clients to want me to stop bothering them. I’d much rather be the annoying one than the one they can’t get in touch with for a week. No one likes to be ignored, and, like it or not, when someone gives you money in exchange for services, they are entitled to know how you’re utilizing your time.
Boundaries Will Set You Free
I know a lot of folks who have fulltime jobs and do client work have struggled with finding a system that works. My boundaries won’t be your boundaries, but trust me, you need to figure out yours. Our industry doesn’t need anymore flighty designers cashing 50% upfront checks and then winging it for the rest of a project. That doesn’t serve anyone.
If you want to enjoy client work, decide what kind of lifestyle you want to have and set boundaries to pave the way. If you want the respect and trust of your clients, earn it.
You’re supposed to be the professional, remember?
∞ blnk.in/9494