Most freelance designers are experienced and talented with their trade, but not so much when it comes to financial issues. In this post I’d like to share some things that I have learned through my own experience of being self employed that I think will be able to help others. I am in no way a financial professional and you should always seek the advice of someone qualified on the specifics of your own situation, but these are some general things that have helped me along the way.

1. Have Emergency Savings

If you haven’t started full-time freelancing yet, the best thing you can do for yourself financially is to build up an emergency fund that will allow you to pay all of your bills for at least a few months. Hopefully you won’t need this money, but if things don’t go as expected at least it will be there for you and you won’t have to go scrambling back to a job as soon as things slow down.

If you are already freelancing full-time with no emergency savings, it’s not too late to address the issue. This money will help to reduce the stress that you may be feeling to earn enough each month.

Web designers obviously have a lot of competition from all of the freelancers and design agencies that are out there. Potential clients have plenty of designers to choose from, so there is always a need to focus on doing the best work that you can and giving clients a highly-valuable service. Designers who take great care of their clients and get results for them are usually busy and not lacking for work. Their clients will keep coming back to them and word-of-mouth referrals will be common.

In this article we’ll take a look at a number of things that designers can focus on with the intent of giving their clients a more valuable service. If you want to have more projects and clients coming your way or increase your income, these are some areas that you can address.

1. Focus on Results

In order to make your services more valuable to your clients, the best thing to do is focus on getting results for them. Clients will be happy to pay for services that help to make their business more profitable. Results are ultimately more important to a client project than the aesthetics. Take the time to get you know your clients and their customers, and focus on creating a website that will work for them and meet their needs.

There are a lot of factors that play a role in determining the success of a freelance web designer. Obviously, design ability and technical skills are needed, but other factors like customer service, marketing, networking, and work ethic will have a significant influence. In this article we’ll take a look at customer service as it applies to freelance designers.

Providing high-quality customer service can at times be frustrating for freelancers, but taking good care of your clients is critical for client retention and for encouraging word-of-mouth referrals. Here we will look at 10 aspects that should be considered by freelancers who aspire to provide a high level of customer service.

One of the most significant challenges that designers face is the need for continual improvement and development. The industry and technology can change very quickly and staying on top of things and working to improve your skills is necessary in order to have a successful career in web design. Fortunately, learning and improving will naturally occur to some degree as you continue to work on different projects and in different scenarios, but there will be times when you will have to make an effort to work on your own development.

In this post we’ll look at 10 keys to growth as a designer. This list and discussion should serve as a reference or guide for any designer that wants to improve. Focus on these areas and you will become a better designer. Please share your own thoughts and experiences in the comments.

1. Solid Foundation of Knowledge

There are plenty of different things for aspiring and improving designers to learn, and more than enough resources and tutorials to make it happen. One of the temptations is to jump ahead and try to learn too many specifics before having a firm grasp on the essential fundamentals of web design. Some tools, such as Adobe Dreamweaver, can lead designers to think that they don’t need to be proficient in HTML and CSS. However, having a solid knowledge of HTML and CSS, plus basic design principles, is necessary and trying to learn too many other things at once can lead to confusion. If you have not already reached this point, make it a priority to attain the foundational knowledge first before you try to build on it.

Being a web designer or developer offers plenty of opportunities for your career. If working as an employee isn’t for you, starting a freelance business is very inexpensive and there are virtually no barriers to entry into the business. While this presents great opportunities, it also means that your competition is basically unlimited because others can offer services as a freelancer just as easily, plus you’ll also be competing with design agencies for clients.

With the level of competition that exists for designers and developers, being successful as a freelancer or working independently requires a combination of technical and creative skills, as well as business skills. Naturally, most freelancers are more comfortable with the technical and creative aspects and less comfortable with running a business. While you do need to have some capability to run the business, you do not need to be a business guru to be an effective and efficient freelancer.

Part of the struggle from the business aspect involves knowing how to encourage clients to use your services when there are a million other options out there. In this post we’ll take a look at the subject of competition for freelancers, and discuss some things that you can do to thrive in this competitive industry.

1. Embrace the Competition

Although this is an industry that is filled with “competitors,” the nature of the community of designers is completely different than that of most other industries. Designers generally are very approachable and other service providers aren’t usually viewed as competition. Take the time to get to know others who are offering similar services, whether they are freelancers, employees of an agency, or in-house designers.

When I first started freelancing I was happy to take any project that came my way. At that time without an established network and even without a portfolio site, most of the clients I picked up came through word-of-mouth referrals from friends and family. When I finally got to the point of getting a significant number of leads and inquiries, one of the most difficult things for me was to determine which projects I should take and which ones I should turn down, or at least delay until another time.

Before long I found out the hard way that just blindly taking projects was causing unnecessary stress (I still had a full-time job at that point and not much time for client projects) and more significantly, it was preventing me from doing my best work and taking the time to learn as much as possible through the experience, which should be a priority for any designer who is just getting started.

One of the best ways to learn is by making mistakes, so I did pick up some valuable knowledge that I have been able to use ever since. However, if you are facing situations where you are unsure about accepting a project or unclear about what factors you should consider, I hope that my mistakes can also be a help to you.

Unfortunately, making decisions on which projects to take (and also on pricing) is not always easy. In this post I’ll cover a number of different factors that I feel should be considered. Keep in mind that each situation is different, so not all of the factors will apply, and in some cases the significance of specific factors will vary greatly.

Freelance designers are faced with the challenge of constantly finding new work and converting inquiries into paying clients. There are plenty of different ways that you can market your services, but sometimes the most effective ways involve passive marketing.

In this article we will be looking at ten different ways you can passively market your services to potential clients. This includes some methods that involve work up front and then little to no work to continue marketing your services, as well as some methods that are passive in the sense that you are not actively pursuing clients or trying to advertise your services.

1. An Effective Portfolio Site

The portfolio site is a critical aspect to marketing for freelancers. One of the reasons that a great portfolio site can be so effective is that it will always be there to market your services to potential visitors. Regardless of what time of day it is or where the potential client lives, a strong portfolio site will promote your services for you. The portfolio site should showcase your best work, clearly communicate to visitors what you can offer, and allow them to get in touch with you about their project.

For more on portfolio websites, please see these resources:

• 60+ Helpful Resources for Portfolio Design
• Approaches to Showcasing Work in Your Portfolio
• Five Popular Design Portfolio Website Styles
• 10 Steps to the Perfect Portfolio Website

Being able to communicate effectively with clients is easily one of the most important aspects of being a web designer. The communication process starts immediately as you’ll need to learn what the client wants and expects from you, and as you get to know more about their business. The need for communication will continue through every phase of the design process as you and the client work together to create a site that will be effective for the business. After the design is completed, it’s likely that you’ll provide some customer support at least occasionally, so the need for good communication will always exist.

In this article we’ll take a detailed look at the topic of communicating with clients. Many of the tips that are mentioned can apply to communication in general, but the article comes specifically from the perspective of a designer/client relationship.

Part of being a freelancer or an independent designer is communicating with potential clients and landing new work. This is part of the business aspect that is not a favorite with many designers, but it is critical if you want to establish a successful business.

For clients, choosing a designer for their project is often based on their comfort level with the designer and their confidence that the designer will do a great job with the website. First impressions make a huge impact here and can either get you much closer to landing the job, or they can lead the client to eliminate you from consideration.

In this article we’ll look at 11 significant factors that will influence the early impressions of a potential client while they are trying to find a designer for their project. These are all things that you can focus on to show clients that you should be considered for the work and that you are capable of giving them an excellent website that will be effective for their business.

Freelancers and independent designers have the need to achieve efficiency with their time. Effective time management does not come naturally for many of us, but to avoid working ridiculous hours and to greatly increase the chances of success in business, it is an area that needs attention. While working to improve the effectiveness of my time is an on-going journey for me, I have learned some things along the way that I think may be helpful to others. This article is written with freelance designers in mind, but the basic principles apply to many other situations as well.

1. Respect and Value Your Time

The first and most critical step towards being able to effectively manage your time is to respect and value it. As a freelancer, time is the most valuable asset you have. With your available time you can pursue various projects and determine how you want to make an income. Without any time you will be unable to do the work that produces the income.

Respecting your time is a general attitude that involves realizing the value and potential of your time, and a desire to work towards achieving greater efficiency and productivity with it. If you disrespect your own time others will do the same and you’ll wind up working harder and longer to earn the income that you need. Respecting your time will generally lead you towards an interest and a willingness to do the other things that are mentioned throughout this article.