Comments on: Competing Against The Agency – The Freelancer’s Epic Battle

By: totomix

totomix — Sun, 16 May 2010 11:48:05 +0000

It’s always pleasure to read your site, will back here soon

By: Jarod Sichler

Jarod Sichler — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 20:42:48 +0000

Cute photos! LOL. I find it so interesting!! Thanks for sharing this brilliant post.

By: Alistair

Alistair — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 04:01:06 +0000

Great post, it can be daunting competing with agencies but you have summed it up very well. There are many reasons why a freelancer can compete in a corporate World. It is pleasing to see these things in a post like this especially when you feel you are being shunned by those bigger companies.
.-= Alistair´s last blog ..5 Content management systems for fast web design =-.

By: A Month In The Creative Community: A November Roundup | Fuel Your Creativity

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:13:42 +0000

[...] Competing Against The Agency – The Freelancer’s Epic Battle [...]

By: Rob Cubbon

Rob Cubbon — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:15:00 +0000

Yes, I would recommend the book. This is one of quite a few interesting ideas about work he writes about. Also, on the Pareto Principle, I would say that 20% percent of the time I spend working generates 80% of my income! .-= Rob Cubbon´s last blog ..First thoughts on the 4 Hour Workweek =-.

By: Acuity Designs

Acuity Designs — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:03:54 +0000

The Pareto principle is an interesting insight; I’m going to take a look through my books and see whether it applies to us.

Do you reccommend the book aswell? Looks like it might be a good read

By: Rob Cubbon

Rob Cubbon — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:44:08 +0000

This is one of my favourite topics because I’m always droning on about the benefits of going with freelancers (or freelance collectives) as opposed to huge monolithic agencies. The advantages are not only centred around the price. A freelancer will listen, provide a personal service, bust a gut to get it right; agencies will very often think they know best, prolong jobs and disappear into their own bureaucracy.

Personally, I don’t try to get 50% of enquiries. For me, that assumes that all clients and jobs are created equal. Some clients will cost you money and are best ignored. Other clients will literally make your company and they should be retained (almost) at all costs. This is based around the Pareto principle – also known as the 80-20 rule: 80% of your income will come from 20% of your clients. You can read more about this on my last blog post.

Interesting thoughts here about niches, specialisation and competition. I don’t know if specialisation is right for everybody. I used to work for large agencies (as a freelancer) and I believe there is so much work that there’s enough for all of us! Here’s to the freelancers!
.-= Rob Cubbon´s last blog ..First thoughts on the 4 Hour Workweek =-.

By: Acuity Designs

Acuity Designs — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:42:03 +0000

Hi Alistair, that’s something I encounter aswell.. I often find agencies are the hardest to get payment from aswell as larger comapnies. You would think being clued up to how things normally work would make them the best type of client in regard to payment… Pfft.

Tanks for the encouragement – will try!
.-= Acuity Designs´s last blog ..Interview With Will Kay of OddKingdom – Becoming Your Brand =-.

By: Alistair

Alistair — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:06:05 +0000

Coming back to this post to make another point. Freelancers will not be able to compete with agencies etc until agencies agree to sign the freelancers contract who come in to mop up their mess for a less than ridiculous fee.

Recently i’ve been commisioned to do a CMS / WP job for a fairly large organisation in the respective county for a jokingly small fee. Yet the agency hiring is unable to conform to a standard method of payment. i.e 50% at start and 50% on finish. Even some sort of down payment. Instead this lack of being able to release the corporate stranglehold prohibits me as a small time, self employed freelancer to do simple things like market my trade or even pay bills to stay online.

Anyway nuff said on the matter, hope you keep going the distance with these great posts.
.-= Alistair´s last blog ..Expanding on the codeIgniter installer: Part 3 Crud =-.

By: Mr. Huddle: The Easiest Way To Keep Up With Your Communities

Mr. Huddle: The Easiest Way To Keep Up With Your Communities — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:20:05 +0000

[...] storefront of your online business. It must portray a professional image. O… 2 Likes Competing Against The Agency – The Freelancer’s Epic Battle | Acuity Designs From the insightful to the fundamental. Thoughts on Design, Creative Arts and Business, [...]