» uk-netmarketing: roundup: 06-10-2000

Going freelance
UK-Netmarketing Weekly Round-up - October 6, 2000

Those leaving the world of full-time employment to work as a freelance often have the zeal of people who have recently kicked smoking. If the lifestyle suits, it can be a wonderful way to earn a crust, with flexibility and the option to chose what you want to do.

Claire Simpson asked the list for some advice, "I'm looking to eventually move into freelancing on a full-time basis ... I want to move into it gradually, by doing some freelance work outside working hours. I was wondering whether there were any online resources out there so that I can advertise my skills on a freelance basis or search for companies looking for people to do some freelance work?"

Fiona Campbell-Howes responded, "I've been a freelance[r] for about a year now, and have not so far had to resort to using any freelance directory/exchange services - you'd be amazed at the amount of work that comes just from word of mouth. However, you could look at www.smarterwork.com ... and ... www.guru.com. Also some of the PR recruitment agencies handle freelance contracts too ... Freelancing is very very rewarding if you have the nerve to do it!"

Jo Chipchase added, "I agree entirely. I've done it for three years and almost all my work has come from word of mouth recommendation and/or making contacts through list servers. However, directory/exchange services are useful if you're seeking other freelancers to do contract work (eventually you may wish to form a virtual agency, rather than doing the nitty gritty of every task yourself)."

Jo continued, "One thing I would say... unless you have some clients lined up *before* you go freelance, it may take a couple of months to establish yourself. During this time, cashflow can be a concern - especially as the clients you find will pay you on 30-day terms. Make sure you're strict with credit control, as some of your clients may not be kind to small companies, and may attempt to pay you on 60 day terms (or worse), while in the meantime you are running up expenses on their behalf. It's best to get a third party to do your credit control, as they can remain impartial while taking a tough line with slow payers."

Lois Grayson provided a handy 10-point guide to going freelance, drawing on his 6 years of experience:

1. Keep hard copy/print out samples and keep your portfolio up to date (sites can go down as well as up)
2. If you do a great job immediately ask for a testimonial - this once won a court case for me
3. Be prepared to sell yourself face to face; I got professional training in how to look a client in the eyes when stating fees, and how to handle hard-ball negotiations
4. Always ask for repeat work when an opportunity arises and keep in regular (but not irritatingly frequent) contact with your clients; I once called a client after disappearing for two years and they were really pleased to hear from me - I got a project right away - but I was lucky and I learned a valuable lesson
5. Understand your value - just because the market rate is x, you don't need to stick at x forever; as I get older I have come to recognise that it's only fair to ask for more if you really are more talented than others in the same field (this may take a while to suss out)
6. NEVER undervalue yourself; even if you're not sure where the next project is coming from if you're offered work below your lowest rate turn it down - and look really hard for the next piece at the right rate.
7. Take advantage! Every year for 5 years I worried and stressed through the summer scrabbling about for bits of work that weren't worth the hassle; this year I chilled for almost two months. There's a rhythm to freelance work it out and then go with it. Aim to earn your annual salary in 9 to 10 months (summer hols and pre-Christmas lethargy can dry up sources in some lines of work).
8. The last point only works if you're careful with cashflow; only take out what you need initially and try to put tax aside on a regular basis - I try to sequester all VAT and 25% of fees on payment of each invoice.
9. Get an accountant and find out what constitutes legit business expenses.
10. Don't let ANYONE (even your mother) fall into the trap of thinking that a) your work isn't important or b) it isn't that difficult or c) it can wait just because you do it at home - freelancers have deadlines like anyone else and often get the really intense stuff to do (because if it were straightforward and everyday someone at the client's end could handle it)"

Not everyone was positive about freelancers, or the lifestyle. Neil Aberdeen posted, "My additional advice is:

1. Form a small cartel of like-mind slackers with super-inflated opinions of themselves and rely on the mugs that employ you to be too lazy to do anything about the profligate waste.
2. Claim work that you had barely anything to do with for yourself. Better still rip-off work from people you've never heard of, confident that anyone lazy enough to employ you is far too indolent to check.
3. If you fuck up, make it into an amusing anecdote about 'the crazy industry' we work in. If someone says 'hello' take it as endorsement of your great achievements.
4. Be prepared to sell a kidney, especially if it's not yours.
5. Always believe that there's something innately worthwhile in getting paid to mutter syllogisms or in excitedly reading out PowerPoint presentations to small gatherings of people who would rather be somewhere else, all of whom would be perfectly able to read the thing for themselves and would have done should they had thought for a minute that there was any information to be gleaned.
6. Because sums are more than a bit like hard work and not really, really creative - get someone who can add up to do it for you.
7. Read pop-psychology and believe it. You are the best.
8. Always tell them what they want to hear."

Ouch. Perhaps Neil has had a bad experience with freelancers in the past. Jo Chipchase responded with, "... people who work in an agency environment, where their shortcomings may be buffered by the efforts of their colleagues, freelancers cannot *afford* to present clients with sloppy work or, as you say, 'tell them what they want to hear'. Freelancers are directly accountable to their clients and any f*ck ups lie directly and heavily on their shoulders. As for 'rip-off work from people you've never heard of', I would also say that, in my experience, I have heard anecdotal examples of agencies claiming the work of a freelance developer entirely as their own when they had no involvement with it, but not generally vice versa (although I'm sure it *does* happen in some cases). If someone had so little integrity, I for one would have no dealings with them."

John Braithwaite emailed, "Neil - if you can't choose your freelancers well, then that's your problem.... but my wife works from home as a content writer for websites and, at the moment, is judged on every project, page, sentence that she does. If she doesn't deliver the goods, she has to change it, if she doesn't perform she gets the boot (yet to happen!). She charges more than the staff that the company has at their disposal - but her output is double what they do on a good day (long term contracts are far more likely to induce the kind of slackerdom that you were talking about)."

A debate, which regularly re-occurs, is what domain name to use for a new company? Is a .com preferable to a .co.uk? Darren Baxter asked, "... Is there an advantage or disadvantage to having only a .co.uk or .net domain name without the .com? As dot coms have become established, more being registered daily, it's becoming nearly impossible to come up with a snappy, memorable domain name. What does everyone think?"

Fiona Campbell-Howes replied, "I'm no expert, but as an observer, if a site's only got .co.uk, it always gives me the impression that they weren't quick/smart enough to get the .com. Probably because the words 'dotcom' and 'dotcom startup' have passed into everyday parlance. Is it in the OED yet?

• .com is like McDonalds
• .co.uk is like Marks and Spencers
• .net is like, er, The Fortean Times

I never was much good at analogies."

Tim Ireland added, ".com is an international domain - and the 'Park Avenue' of same. If your site presents information and/or promotes/sells goods to an international market, then you should start with a .com and move on from there... also, if you have a brand that is well known, the chances are much higher that someone will take a punt on www.brandname.com first.

• .net etc. are only necessary (IMO) as extra coverage if you have a vested interest in securing your brand online.
• .co.uk (or the equivalent for your country) is needed to target local traffic, primarily because of the boost to search engine ranking (local search engines and directories often give priority to local domains when users launch a search for local sites).
• SIDEBAR - The Australian market is particularly insular with regards to domain names. Most companies are only allowed one, and it's almost impossible to get listed in a local SE or directory with a domain ending with the local suffix (.com.au)"

Ben Hunt added, "The rule of thumb when registering domains has been for a few years now to bag the .com if at all possible. Why? What do you first try when you're searching for a company on the web? Generally, I'll put in www.davesparts.com, even if Dave's Parts is a UK firm. Quite often I'll try .com first even if the site isn't commercial. Don't know why I do, I guess it's trial and error (increasing returns taking hold - the more people covet .com, the more sites go .com first, the more often I get what I want by trying .com, the more often I try .com first)."

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