There's an Asian curse I heard about "living in interesting times". With the Economopocalypse in full-swing, stock markets are trash, unemployment is more popular than Twitter, and the trickle down effect has more and more companies lopping heads to meet corporate pressure. It's almost like an All-Leia Cat Pillow Fight. If that's not clear, just take away that these are interesting times. That being said, business rags and the blogosphere is unanimously packed with articles about advertising in a recession. Letting your customers know you're still developing your brand instead of playing duck and cover leaves you ahead of the pack when the smoke blows over and the Horsemen ride off. This, combined with reduced internal staff, means more pie for the freelance crowd.
Working in your underwear, no commuting, choosing your hours and hand picking your clients like fruit from trees gives you so much freedom and flexibility that I can't imagine life any other way. Why do you imagine study after study shows freelancers report higher level of job satisfaction and more and more professionals are giving up their full-time roles in hopes of a more rewarding life freelancing, but it's not always life on Sugar Mountain.
Before taking the plunge, take a quick tally of your core strengths. Design? Accounting? Sales? Awesome. You've been promoted across the board. Most people don't realize that when you hit the road alone, you are a bus full of people in one body. You are truly alone. You have to wear all the hats of a traditional agency, and you better wear them well. It's a lot to juggle, and it can derail the most well-intentioned, because when something goes wrong, you're under a pretty bright spotlight. So you start by approaching clients as modest as yourself, which is great. You can make a whole career from good relationships with steady Mom & Pop shop clients, but you have your eye on bigger game. You want to grab better established clients.
Recently, the owner of a boutique promotional shop I'd been hounding took me to lunch. The client had already known my reputation as an art director and picked up the bill. It was around $50. Translation: because they knew of me, the client determined that meeting me was worth at least $50. I've had meetings where my lack of a reputation was worth nothing but a sit down in a lobby. The fact is, your name isn't some ubiquitous pop-culture catch phrase, so how do you stalk bigger game?
Scenario: you've found an in with a mid-size jacket company who at the same time is being wooed by a local design shop. What are you going to do? Scenario: you're in the woods and a cougar shows up and starts yelling at you. My advice: hold your jacket open to make yourself appear larger. Cougars aren't big on big competition. In both scenarios, feel free to point out your differences; they are your strengths.
PRICE
I've had my fingers crossed on an opportunity with a local company who has quietly been searching for someone with agency experience but without agency overhead and rates. Less overhead. No payroll tax. No health insurance costs to pass on. If you're ever been privy to a proper agency estimate, you've probably shaken your head at the cost of doing business with a reputable marketing shop. Economic differentiation has never been more important than it is right now.
SALARY
So you earn more per hour but work less hours. You have a fight an army of competition, and this results in rate wars, client-mandated concessions and delayed payments, but the ray of light comes tax time. Get a good accountant. I could do a whole article on the tax benefits.
QUALITY
A woman told me that she liked working with freelancers because they were eager to please consistently, while agencies were great at ramping her up but it always felt hollow after a month or so. Call it the seven week itch. Their strength was not in maintaining a relationship. If its your name on the door, you bet you want it shined every morning.
CARE
I read somewhere that the main problem with Type A new business gurus is that although they're quick and slick about wooing new clients into the fold, but they generally stink at maintaining long term relationships. It lacks the adrenaline they require to thrive. I've been at more than one agency where a client left because they felt the ball had been dropped on customer care.
BRAINS
More often than not, clients don't know what they want, or worse, only know it when they see it. This can be mitigated with simple education and guidance. If they're just looking for you to fill an order, so be it. If they're looking for strategic thinking and marketing perspective, always remember that's what they're paying for and that's what they deserve to hear. Walk them through the process step by step. It shows your competence and builds their trust. Only too often do agencies take the easy route of keeping the client happy without treating them like they're part of the process. it's a disservice you should avoid.
CONTACT
It's 9:30 at night and a client is calling you. If you're full-time at Saatchi, you're going to have to hide two hours of complaining against a billable docket somewhere. A freelancer's home is their business. Your personal and professional life blend so thoroughly that a call from a client is no weirder than a call from a relative. An agency will never be able to meet that kind of service.
DEADLINES
The client has revisions, it's going to press or presentation or powerpoint first thing in the morning, and that's only six hours away? Theoretically, a freelancer can ride in on his white horse and make revisions with a happy "there" and a "sweet dreams to you". Only the primaries at an agency could care about this kind of a scenario. Adobe Miller and Alexis Wipeboard in creative and account service aren't going to ruin their night out for you, and that's if it's a week night. Lord help you if it's a weekend. I want to do a line of mugs that read TGIAMA (thank god it's almost monday again) and use them to hammer this point home to clients.
AVAILABILITY
An agency will also never be able to match the speed of your accountability. By having your fingers in every avenue of a client's business, you are a one-stop shop for an immediate answer at 11:30 on a Sunday night. This is a big advantage, and clients love it.
How do you go about landing these clients? That's another discussion, but for now I just want you to know your strengths, know your weaknesses, find your niche, grab that fruit.
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