The phrase “making it up as I go” has never felt more true than the day I started my business. I’ve received lots of questions from people over the years on social media, wondering how I started my business, how I became a freelancer, how did I learn how to use procreate...the answer to those questions? Research. I have always had an artistic ability that has been improved upon with years of practice, and I’ve always had strong organizational skills, but how do you apply that to a business idea when you’re not even really sure how it all works? As a business owner, diversifying your income is important, I’ll be transparent, the largest segment of my income from this business comes from client work, a.k.a. freelance illustration. When I look back at some of the projects I first started agreeing to, and what I was charging compared to what I’m working on and what I’m charging now, there’s a slight feeling of cringe, and a slight feeling of relief, and a whole lot of gratitude to the Lord for giving me the opportunities to get where I am now with this business. It has not been easy, and the journey is not linear.

Breaking into the world of art + design, becoming a freelance illustrator, or really owning any type of business is just not easy. There is so much to learn. I can’t even count the number of articles I’ve read, youtube videos I have watched, questions I have asked, and podcasts I have listened to over the years to help me learn and understand this business. I have quite literally been learning as I go. I have made a LOT of mistakes along the way as well, and I’m hoping to share with you today some of the things I’ve learned so that you don’t have to make the same mistakes I did. If you have additional questions, leave them in the comments of this article and I’ll respond to you!

Have a discovery call.

Always be sure to have a discovery call with any potential clients! This is a great way to have a proper introduction with your new lead, and it can help them to feel more comfortable with you and more at ease about paying for your design services. It can be intimidating to sign a contract to work with somebody you’ve never even met over the phone, so being sure to schedule a 30-minute video call can make the world of a difference. Remember that this is YOUR call and YOU have to lead it! Do your best to take control of the call and truly take the role as the one in charge, you want your new lead to feel confident that you are a pro and you know exactly what you’re doing!

Pro tip: share with them a little bit about yourself personally and professionally, and then ask them to do the same as a little ice breaker at the start of the call!

If you want to learn more about how to MASTER the art of the client consultation call, check out my YouTube video for all the tips and tricks you need to know!

Be upfront about your expectations.

Share client expectations right away! If you avoid this, you and your client both can get burned. The best example of this I can give is setting the expectation as to when you will be available to communicate/work. It’s probably not a great idea to have your client under the impression that they will be able to reach you 24/7. This type of working lifestyle can lead to burnout real fast. Let them know what the expectation is. Do you have shop hours or business hours? If so, communicate that!

Charge what you think you can ask for, and then add 10%.

It doesn’t necessarily have to be 10%, but if you are struggling to decide how to price your work or what to ask for from clients, charge what you think you can ask for, and then add on, because it’s highly likely that you’re actually under pricing your work. I CRINGE thinking about some of the pricing I had for my work in the early days of my career. I was doing things that took so much time and effort for like $20! And it was because I didn’t feel like I could ask for more. Nowadays, every project I do includes a scope of work totalling anywhere from hundreds of dollars to thousands, and it’s because that’s truly what my work is worth, and you can do the same!

Be responsive to emails.

I truly cannot emphasize this enough, but being mindful of your response time and staying on top of that inbox is a pivotal part of maintaining a positive relationship with your client. I have definitely struggled with this in the past! Most days, responding to emails is one of those admin tasks that I have to set aside time to devote to, simply because it just HAS to get done. You don’t want your clients to feel like you’re impossible to get a hold of, or like they can’t count on you when they really need to get in touch. Commit to a service level agreement. For example, you could set a standard for yourself that all emails from clients will be answered within a 24-hour window.

Keep a schedule.

If you want consistent work from your clients, keep a consistent schedule in your turnaround time for them. This is one of many lessons I had to learn the hard way. It was something I knew I should’ve been doing, but during a period of burnout, I just felt no motivation to get things done and get deliverables to the client. If you don’t stay on top of it, a project that could take only a month can turn into two months very quickly. If your client isn’t super responsive over email, it’s still on you to follow up. Don’t let things sit for too long, it leads to a lot of client drop off when you don’t keep the ball rolling on your projects. The sooner you finish the project, the sooner they might need to commission you again for another project.

Always have a contract.

Always. ALWAYS. I have messed up on this before. It’s easy to think that you can just be trusting of people or that maybe the work is simple enough that you don’t need a contract, well, you do. For everything, no matter the size and scope of the project. This is your chance to not only protect the client but also protect yourself. Make sure your client signs it and returns the completed contract to you before the commencement of the project. It doesn’t have to be super complicated, but you do need to have one. I wish it wouldn’t have taken me so long to learn something that now seems so basic, and I have had to learn that lesson the hard way.

Stay organized, document EVERYTHING.

Invoices, bills, business expenses, contracts, all those boring documents that don’t seem like much fun, well they’re not, but boy do they matter. I love to just use the Google Suite to organize all my documents in one place. Each of my clients has a designated shared folder on my google drive where I keep all their documents like contracts and invoices, and then I include any completed illustrations uploaded to this shared folder. It keeps everything all in one place which is helpful. Additionally, if you own a business you are going to have to pay taxes. Don’t think you can get by with under the table venmo transactions and not reporting your income! The risk of doing that is just too great. Keep a spreadsheet throughout the year, track monthly revenue, track your business expenses. Don’t just track the amount, but list out what the business expense was so that you can itemize it when tax season comes. I use Turbo Tax to do my taxes and they make it as easy as it can be!

Maintain balance.

If freelancing is your side hustle, it’s highly likely that the only time you will have to devote to your business will be evenings and weekends. Be sure that you set appropriate boundaries between you and your work. Prioritize your sleep, and remember that not everything has to get done in a single night. Be sure not to overbook yourself as well! Be mindful of burnout and prioritize rest and caring for your mental health so that you can be as successful as possible in your career!

I hope this post was helpful to you! If you have any questions or thoughts, leave them in the comments below! I would love to know what you think!