7 Things To Consider When Starting As A Freelance Designer

Many just pick up and go when entering the freelancing world, but to ensure things go smoothly for everybody involved, there are a few considerations. Setting up a small studio, office or dedicated work area within your household; keeping the font police off your heels, invoicing and paying correct taxes etc are vital. Being a freelancer is more than just being an artist, it requires an accomplished business knowledge to become successful. Many things that we overlooked are listed below, to help you in case you have aswell, or a re just beginning:

1) Do everything legal

- straight away!
Register your business with your local tax office. More than often, you are likely to need to register yourself as self-employed or a s a sole trader and will have to pay taxes on your profits if your earning above a certain threshold. Sort this out quickly!

2) Employ an accountant

We were lucky enough to have a family friend who is an accountant; who we grabbed early on at a discounted fee, but either way we recommend getting one. Best practice is to ask around for recommendations. Find one who has some knowledge of the industry; they can advise on the beauty of tax-deductable items, VAT etc

3) Invoicing

Invoice for all your work as soon as it is completed. Make sure your invoice includes all of the details of the work carried out and to whom you would like the payment made to. If you want to invoice manually, check out: Invoice and Receipt Template. There are many online invoicing services that are available which help with timely invoicing. You can view a comprehensive list here:

http://www.freelanceswitch.com/money/7-online-invoicing-apps-for-freelancers/

4) Software

Adobe Creative suite is the industry standard for just about everything. (almost). This suite and other programs that you need, come at a hefty price. However, using illegal copies is not advised and may come back to haunt you. Furthermore, you should only use fonts that you own or available under free licensing.

5) Work Environment

A good work environment is essential, it will help you stay organised as well. Are you the type of person who is okay to work in the solitary confines of their home, or do you need a little human interaction to keep you sane? For the latter, renting in a shared studio might be the answer. Scan local newspapers and classifieds for studio space. Sharing means paying less!

6) Equipment

I am a advocate of any reason that results in justifying more electronics but some equipment is vital to improving your work flow and efficiency. Have a look at:

Equipment for a graphic Designer – Graphic Design Blog

I also would add to the mix:

• Phone -landlines or mobile numbers whatever you feel comfortable with. If you work from home and are weary against using your home number, Skype can rescue you.It is roughly £3/Month for an Unlimited Country Account and if you choose to pay £8 every three months, you can get an online number landline number. Which basically means you get a UK landline phone number that when dialed will ring your skype account.
• E-mail – this should go without saying, but you should have a contactable e-mail account; preferably ending in your own domain name.
• CD Burner – this is essentially for archiving your work for legal purposes. We two times a month, burn everything we have created to disk and then post it to ourselves via recorded delivery. A quick way to copyright works etc. Have a look at: 5 ways to copyright your art work
• Good lighting
• A comfortable chair!

7) Insurance

Get insured. Get your studio insured. Get your portfolio insured. Insure yourself against injury. Studio insurance covers you if a visitor falls and breaks a leg! and having your portfolio insured means if it goes walking, you get some financial remuneration.

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• December 31, 2009 -- Factors To Consider When Pricing A Project – Part 2 (2)
• December 29, 2009 -- Freelancing From Home and Staying Productive (12)
• December 13, 2009 -- Long Term Freelancing Success – Part 2 – Marketing (8)
• December 2, 2009 -- Does a successful freelancer have to be a good sales person? (6)
• November 25, 2009 -- Factors To Consider When Pricing For A Project (6)