3 Tips for Freelance Designers | Aj&Smart

Key Takeaways

Dan's already getting emotional oh my god hey guys Brittany here from AJ and smart today is super exciting we're actually gonna get some hot tip from Dan over here on what it takes to be a freelancer and he's a freelance UX designer so I mean we better believe it right hello there my name is Daniel white as some of you guys know me as danske after all that was Robbie inter do we have an intro so if you're starting any freelance project I cannot recommend enough securing a deposit just have something up from whether it's 20% 30% 50% because what that does is it shows the client that you're not only serious about business which is the language that they will most likely be speaking but it also is some security for you as well as a freelancer more often than not you can get someone who will approach you with some work you'll spend a whole bunch of time you might even start on the project that is a huge no-no having a deposit just lets you know that you've got something there you can commit to the project commit the time in your schedule and yeah you're not just wasting your time something else is really useful that I shouldn't be talking about because I'm still practicing yourself is about structuring your time and just managing your time more effectively if you're a freelancer we don't necessarily have that I've got to be enough work on this time so there's no one there to kick your ass when you're late have a calendar and stick to it just set reminders so when you hit 12 o'clock and it pops up and says take your lunch just take your lunch you have to you have to force yourself and discipline yourself to stick to it number number three definitely definitely value the work you do I know that's really hard when you look at something like design you're not actually making a physical product it's quite challenging to actually value what you do and have the confidence to say no as well so if you have a client or project that comes your way it's very tempting sometimes to think I need this work or I'm just going to take it have the confidence to say no because if you'll say yes to that project instead of saying no there could be a project that is far better paying more that you're going to enjoy more right around the corner for me personally this is definitely something that I had to practice I mean there's various channels on YouTube where people talk about confidence like it didn't happen overnight for me it took me over two years to really appreciate what I did and the value that I brought to the table and you just have to sometimes go through that you know and just just listen to people like me now telling you to value yourself because what you do is most likely awesome so you know just love what you do and just be confident [Music]