Week 2 -To work, or not to work alone?

I was recently reading about the pros and cons of freelancing versus owning your own studio. It was suggested that the designer who is just getting ready to step foot into the real world would be better off with a couple of years working in a studio then setting out as a self-employed designer. I couldn’t help the smile on my face when I first read this because I had thought of these things already. For example, freelancing is NOT for everyone, I know that I could easily fall into the pattern that was mentioned if I work from home, watch tv, eat, maybe even nap and then eat and watch some more TV. The pros for freelancing would be that you would never be late for work, unless there was some sort of traffic jam in the living room or had to search for a parking spot for 30 minutes which of course made you late and could not be helped. ☺ Ohhh wait… if you freelance you are your own boss, you will not yell at yourself but you might kick yourself in the butt if you slacked for 4 hours and haven’t gotten anything done yet and your client will be meeting with you in about 2 hours.

This is definitely not something I would do, I have a sense of responsibility that I can not bring myself to do anything else then what I need to be done in time. A solution to always keep in mind given by Dorothy Goslett called Goslett’s equation which was first written 1960, part of it said “’good design + good administration = good fees well-earned’”. It was well stated in page 49 of How to be a graphic designer without losing your soul, that freelancing requires: “Abundance of stamina, Personal confidence and to be Business Savvy.” You need to have that courage when freelancing because you may not have the assistance you need to do the other tasks that need to get done.
Customer Service plays a major role in how many clients you will obtain, and if you were not good to one of your clients you have just broken a healthy networking environment because your client could have referred someone to you, you killed your client base. Your client must not only like your work, they need to like you like a person and must trust you, as well as you need to trust them financially.

I know that I can handle the pressure of wearing many hats necessary to freelance or help run a studio. I have experienced many tasks in all the jobs I have worked that required for me to step up to the plate. Another pro for freelancing would be that you are responsible for your financial benefits. That means you can do as little or as much as you are capable of taking on.

Owning a studio adds up to many responsibilities. It is recommended that when setting up a studio it’s best to go in with a partner(s) and not to do it alone. “’Don’t work alone” by Peter Stemmler said this a couple times in this book (pg 60). Also, it is very important to first establish the idea of working with someone get along with that future partner. After realizing that a partner would be helpful, you need to prepare a business plan, set up with a bank, an accountant and even a lawyer. It sounds like a lot of work but it really is essential to follow this to have a positive outcome. You will have a partner to help you make decisions and share the stress, hard work and long hours and not be alone. Life in a studio becomes easier when partners share responsibilities. They will include and are not limited to creating, designing, accounting, overall management from IT to even cleaning up the mess one creates in the studio.

You would also need to come up with a logo. A branding or something that when people see they will know it’s your studio will you use your own name or a studio name I agree with what was said that “We are generally bad at designing for ourselves.” (p.68) I know I had a difficult time coming up with a logo to best suit me as a freelancer or in the future maybe even my studio.

In Designing A Digital Portfolio, chapter two they talk about strengths and weaknesses. Having goals and values and to learn more about yourself like the personality you have. The quality of your past work or most recent. The quantity of work that you have to show in your portfolio. There are some ideas to add more work to your portfolio if you don’t have a lot of work that you did on your own a section that you can call “Classic projects” like a book cover and layout, newsletter, catalog, music CD or a DVD, an Event poster. You should even select a client first and fill the gap that is missing in your portfolio, do research and meet deadlines.