Ask FreelanceSwitch #4

In this issue of Ask FreelanceSwitch, Travis King and Thursday Bram look at the pros and cons of higher learning and how to be young and successful.

Ask FreelanceSwitch is a new regular column here that allows us to help beginners get a grip on freelancing. If you have a question about freelancing that you want answered, send an email to askfreelanceswitch@gmail.com.

Lock and load!

Question #1

I am 18 and I am trying to do freelancing while going to school. My problem is pretty obvious; I fail at getting clients because of my age. What can I do in order to minimize this effect of “you cannot have much experience”?

-Markus

Thursday: While I’d never suggest lying to a client, I think that minimizing the information available about your age might not be a bad idea. I freelanced all through college — but I don’t think any of my clients knew my age. I relied on my portfolio, instead.

That can mean changing your website or portfolio to reduce the information you offer to prospective clients about your age. Projects that have to do with your school — especially those that associate your time in school with a specific date can be a problem. For instance, I used to have quite a few clips that came from my college newspaper. Clearly, if I was writing for the school newspaper, I must have been a student at the time a particular article was printed. I got those samples out of my portfolio as soon as possible. Designs done for class and school projects, like yearbooks, certainly fall into the same category.

Having photos of yourself can also cause a few problems. If you have a youthful appearance, clients will assume you’re young, no matter whether you actually are or not. If you simply look young, having a photo or two of yourself on your site can actually hurt more than it helps. I know a freelance website designer who still looked very young when he was in his late twenties. He didn’t have any photos of himself on his own website, simply because the corporate clients he was working with simply wouldn’t hire him based on his appearance.

It’s no business of your clients how old you are, as long as you have a solid portfolio.

Travis: It’s all about perceptions, Markus. Take me for example. You don’t know who I am. You’ve never met me. But you know from the way I write that I’m pure money. It’s because I know one thing: It’s all about the swagger.

When I looked up swagger with an online dictionary it had this to say:

swag•gered, swag•ger•ing, swag•gers

1. A swaggering movement or gait.
2. Boastful or conceited expression; braggadocio.

This is not to be confused with swagman, which, as far as I can tell, is an Australian bum.

My point is this. Online clients don’t care what you look like, and they don’t care how old you are, they only care if you can get the job done. Your professionalism has to show in your correspondence and the way you handle the job. Show the client that you are more swagger than you are swagman.

See what I did right there? I used comparative alliteration.

Pure money.

Now if we’re talking face to face meetings? That’s a little more difficult, but not impossible. I always looked young for my age but I never dressed young when meeting with a client. You want to dress to impress when you meet a client for the first time. Instead of them asking “How young is this guy?” you want them thinking “Are those gold cuff links he’s wearing?”

Know your stuff and play the part. These next few years will fly by, and before you know it, you’ll be a bitter middle aged dude that yells at the TV during reality shows.

Question #2

I am currently a student (UK) studying for exams that will decide whether I go to university or not. For around 2 or 3 years now I have been learning how to develop and design websites. I have got to a stage where I have sufficient experience to produce high quality professional designs (one hopes), I have also managed a design related blog for a few months, writing 2-3 posts a week. I have decided that this is my passion and would like to find a career in this area. For a few months I have had various thoughts. Why do people go to University? To educate and receive a qualification or ultimately to gain experience that will hopefully lead to a job. Why do people get jobs? For money. If one already has enough experience to freelance or get a job, is University required?

To summarize, should I go to university to study Computer Science (which I enjoy, but not as much as design) or should I follow my dream of freelancing/getting permanent web designing/developing job?

-Liam

Thursday: For some people, university is an excellent learning opportunity that leads to a successful career. For others, it’s a waste of time and money. There’s a certain sense that you must have a college degree these days to succeed, but that’s not really the truth. If you’re comfortable teaching yourself the skills you need to be a successful freelancer, university may not be the best fit. There are alternatives such as certifications that allow you to demonstrate your knowledge without spending years in school.

That said, there are some good arguments to getting the degree. Many firms consider a degree a necessity, so if you think that a job with a web design or development firm is in your future, you may get a lot of use out of that degree. It’s also possible that your learning style is a good match with heading to university.

Unfortunately, the answer can also change quite a bit depending on your location. During my time in the U.K, I got the impression that it’s harder to go back to school at a later date, than it is in the U.S. For U.S.-based students, a good compromise can be trying out freelancing and then heading to school down the road if it’s actually necessary. That may also be an option in the U.K, but it’s worth deciding how hard the process would be before deciding one way or the other.

I wish that there was an easy way to make the decision on whether college is going to be worth your while. My personal opinion is that it’s always good to pick up new skills, whether or not that requires formal education, but it’s ultimately a decision that should be based on your own learning style, finances and preferences.

Travis: I like you Liam. You remind me of another UK bloke I know. Liam Neeson.

Planning for the future requires a lot of meditative reflection and it sounds like you are at a crossroad and can’t decide which path to take. It’s during times like this that I always remember what my good friend Liam Neeson use to say to me, “Bugger orf or I’m gonna call the cops!”

I know this will probably astound you, but I’m not university trained. But don’t think for a minute that it means that I don’t value learning. I just don’t value sitting in stuffy class rooms for four years when I could be out there getting it done.

That’s not to say that additional training would be a waste. Having a solid foundation in design theory will help you immensely if you choose to pursue the freelance lifestyle. But don’t be afraid of looking at different options. A design course at a technical school, perhaps? Or a good selection of books? Or how about a series of 16 cassette tapes that teach you to design while you sleep? If you’re interested, let me know. I’d like to get some of the money back I spent on them.

You’ll hear a lot of talk about ‘book smarts’ and ‘street smarts’, but the truth is, you’ll need an equal amount of both. I just finished watching a season of The Apprentice and Donald Trump fired an equal number of book smart and street smart people, so I’m pretty sure I know what I’m talking about.

So take your time, do your research, and use your head. And if you ever run into Liam Neeson while in the UK, tell him I said Hi…because I can’t come within 100 yards of him.