N.C. Winters is always drawing. When he isn't making comics, doodling or working as a freelance graphic artist, he spends his time painting pretty pictures for galleries from his home studio in sunny southern California.
I find that many freelancers don’t ask enough questions to determine the real urgency of the work to be performed. Asking “when do you need this” is a good start. Probing further, and asking “why” the work needs to be done by a certain date, gives the client an opportunity to revisit the reasons why the deadline was established. This can open up possibilities for the date to be negotiated.
Our goal should always be to stack as many projects as possible up, and out into the future, creating a nice reliable backlog of work and future cash flows.
LOL! So true! Happened to me a lot when I used to be a “full-time” freelancer. Right now, I’m a part-time freelancer and a part-time rat racer! At least the famine times are more manageable.
This is what you get if you freelance =) , always have a backup plan especially on dry seasons , like an investment on stocks / mutual funds / adsense / selling stock images or ebooks / etc , to keep the cash flowing even if you don’t freelance work.
I went by the philosophy of the difference between an amateur and a professional. An amateur has a job to support his freelancing. A professional has a wife to support him. My wife was an RN and I freelanced for over 27 years.
So true, the feast – famine paradigm.
This is so true for me right now. I just finished a few weeks of whirlwind deadlines and high demand, and now almost nothing.
Its too true to be funny.
So true! Just before my vacation a few weeks ago it was extremely busy and since I got back two weeks ago I’ve got very little to do…
oh, man – amazing that 12 years into full time freelance, i still go through this.
Haa happens all the time in the ad agencies.
I use a simple method with web development: 40% of the payment in advance upon design approval and the remaining 60% on delivery.
I find that many freelancers don’t ask enough questions to determine the real urgency of the work to be performed. Asking “when do you need this” is a good start. Probing further, and asking “why” the work needs to be done by a certain date, gives the client an opportunity to revisit the reasons why the deadline was established. This can open up possibilities for the date to be negotiated.
Our goal should always be to stack as many projects as possible up, and out into the future, creating a nice reliable backlog of work and future cash flows.
Right now it’s pouring…
Huh, Pretty COOL !
The last panel is what literally happened in Moscow
LOL! So true! Happened to me a lot when I used to be a “full-time” freelancer. Right now, I’m a part-time freelancer and a part-time rat racer! At least the famine times are more manageable.
This is what you get if you freelance =) , always have a backup plan especially on dry seasons , like an investment on stocks / mutual funds / adsense / selling stock images or ebooks / etc , to keep the cash flowing even if you don’t freelance work.
Isn’t that the truth!
I went by the philosophy of the difference between an amateur and a professional. An amateur has a job to support his freelancing. A professional has a wife to support him. My wife was an RN and I freelanced for over 27 years.