Clean Slate » Clients

Keep Your Sanity by Managing Client Expectations

Brian Casel — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 03:10:39 +0000

Being a freelance web designer certainly has its perks. You get to make your own hours, set your own rates, and control your own professional destiny. I’d add that designing for the web, like any freelance field, is a craft that most of us are truly passionate about. There’s something about the merging of beautiful design and cutting edge technology that keeps our creative juices flowing and keeps us endlessly engaged in our work.

But as any freelancer or small business owner knows, sketching diagrams, arranging pixels and constructing code make up only a small part of this profession. At the beginning and the end of the day, it’s still a business, which brings it’s own inherent challenges. At the top of the list is something we all must deal with every day: managing client expectations.

In this article, I intend to cover several aspects of working with clients as a freelance web designer (but these tips apply to any freelance profession, really). These are all based on my own experiences and lessons learned the hard way.

The tips I offer here will benefit not only the health and stability of your business, but your own personal health and well-being as well. Stress is a killer. When you’re running your own business, stress often goes unnoticed to outsiders as and sometimes yourself. By effectively managing your client relationships, you’re also keeping your own stress level in check. When you’re feeling good, you do good work and prosper. It’s as simple as that. So let’s get into it.

The initial point of contact

A potential client’s first contact with me is usually via the contact form on one of my websites or a direct email. These initial email inquiries tend to fall all over the map in terms of how much info they provide, level of “seriousness,” urgency, etc. Everybody is different.

The first thing I try to control here is my response time. I want my first response to be in a timely manner in order to show that I’m a good communicator and readily available for consultation. However, I also want to be careful not to fire off my response minutes after their email lands in my inbox. First of all, that’s kind of creepy. But more importantly, I don’t want to set the wrong precedent. If I come back with a super-fast reply the first time, they may expect this level of responsiveness every time moving forward. That’s a recipe for trouble. If their email arrives in the morning, I try to answer it by end of the day. If it comes in around 5:00 pm or later, I’ll respond the next day. I rarely answer work emails during weekends as I try to set very clear boundaries on when my normal business hours are.

Read the rest of this article on FreelanceSwitch.com

Why I Believe in Pricing Work Based on Value

Brian Casel — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 03:05:17 +0000

For freelancers, the question of how to price your services is always up for debate. Should you charge by the hour or per project? What should your hourly rate be? What type of payment terms should you require? The answers to these questions will vary based on your industry, your reputation, and your personal preferences for your business. But there is one thing that I believe should factor into every pricing decision you make:

Price your services based on value.

More specifically, base your prices on how valuable your services are to your client. Not how easy or difficult it is for you to perform those services. Sure, time and overall project scope will likely play a role in how your determine your price quote, but before sending off that proposal, take a step back and assess the value from your client’s perspective. Is what you’re delivering worth more to them than it is to you?

Pricing Your Work Based on Time

As you progress in your freelancing career, you inevitably become better and better at what you do. This usually means you get faster and more productive. For me, I can design and code a WordPress theme in half the time it took me to do so one year ago. My skills have become sharpened over time. I’m more experienced using my tools so I know how to get the most out of them.

Does the fact that I work much faster now mean that I should charge less for what I do? No. If anything, I should be charging more (I’m able to meet tighter deadlines than I was before).

Read the rest of this article on FreelanceSwitch.com

10 Simple Steps to Landing More Gigs

Brian Casel — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 02:49:03 +0000

We know all about the rewards of working as a freelancer. Flexible schedules, a variety of projects, little or even no commuting. But this lifestyle doesn’t come easy.

Finding success as a freelancer requires a steady stream of paying gigs. Obtaining new business through referrals is great, but referrals alone won’t keep your schedule packed with paying jobs, especially when you’re just starting out.

Online classifieds such as Craigslist and the FreelanceSwitch job board are great places to generate new business leads. In this economy, the competition for work is fierce. To stay ahead, you must combine two key elements in your approach:

Quantity: The more jobs you respond to, the more potential leads you create.
Quality: Present yourself well and stand out from the crowd.

Here are some tools and tips to help you land more freelance gigs:

Read the rest of this article on FreelanceSwitch.com