First steps to becoming a freelance artist

#FIRST STEPS TO BECOMING A FREELANCE ARTIST HOW TO#
#FIRST STEPS TO BECOMING A FREELANCE ARTIST FREE#

#FIRST STEPS TO BECOMING A FREELANCE ARTIST FREE#

You remain unscathed, free from personal liability. One of the most alluring benefits of having a company is that, heaven forbid, you run into debt or get sued, the company is liable to repay those debts or be sued. Companies have a right to enter into contracts with other parties and to sue or be sued in court. It has all the rights of an ordinary person as well as the responsibilities. No.ДЄ company, legally speaking, is a person. Whenever a freelancer asks me if they should register a company, my answer is always the same.

Use this time to get in the habit of monitoring your income and outgoings. You need to prepare for that, saving before you leave a job will make the transition more comfortable. So at first, there will be little to no money coming in. Then, once you finally get a client, think about how long the project will take to complete, followed by how long the client will take to pay you. Setting up your freelance practice can take a couple of months tinkering with your branding, website and portfolio, dealing with accountants, banks and HMRC. Planning aheadДЄnother вЂmustвЂ™ before quitting your job is making sure that you have savings that will last 3-9 months, the more you can manage the better. Obviously do not literally isolate yourself from others, make as many creative friends as possible. The more you distance yourself from the competition, the less you have to fight to be noticed. Standing out is all about making your freelance career path as smooth as possible. It will help you plan your first steps and serve you well throughout your career. This level of industry insight is invaluable. What can you supply to a sector or industry that others are not supplying? ItвЂ™s a good idea to look for gaps in the market that you can fill.

#FIRST STEPS TO BECOMING A FREELANCE ARTIST HOW TO#

You need to know its history, who are the key people, who are the up-and-comers, the current trends and how to predict future trends. You need a good knowledge of the illustration industry as a whole, as well as the particular field you would like to be in. To stand out, it helps to understand the crowd.

Something that is distinctive and desirable. Whether itвЂ™s style, techniques, medium, personality or something else. DonвЂ™t aim to compete with thousands of other illustrators. If you donвЂ™t have two or three lined up, you need to tell more people. So, donвЂ™t be shy, tell everyone what you do, repeatedly, be brief and be clear.Д«efore you quit your job, have some clients lined up. But this is because they extended their trust in the referrer to you. Which sounds strange, and feels strange when it happens. It takes time to build trust but with a few enthusiastic client endorsements, youвЂ™ll find more work will come your way.ДЄ client from a referral will trust you, even if they have not seen your work. Trust, more than anything else, gets you work. Your first client will come from someone you know. Your first client will not come from an enquiry from your website or a social media follower. Tell peopleД«efore you begin and throughout your freelance career, it is important that you tell everyone that you meet what you do. This means youвЂ™ll be working much, much harder than any typical nine-to-five job.Д«efore making the leap, have a clear idea about what you are embarking upon by talking to freelancers, listening to podcasts and reading about their experiences. In addition to your role as an illustrator, freelancing demands that you are a consultant, marketer, project manager, salesperson, spokesperson, skivvy and more. Most creatives are attracted to the freelance life, tempted by the chance to be their own boss, set their own hours and handpick their clients.Д«ut do not be fooled,В the road to a successful freelancing career is exhausting with constant uncertainty and doubt. Today, I want to share a few lessons things I wish IвЂ™d known before becoming a freelancer. But I learnt from my mistakes and from other freelancers around me. Inevitably, I made mistakes, more than I care to count. I began freelancing over a decade ago, straight out of university, with little guidance and without a clue of the challenges that lay ahead.

First steps to becoming a freelance artist