Thought Process: Becoming a Freelance Graphic Designer

To be honest, for the longest time, I didn’t even see being a freelance graphic designer as an option for me. Being a full time art director for so long, I had picked up the occasional freelance project here and there, something to do for extra money on the weekends, but never enough to make a living off of it. What I did know was I wasn’t being challenged enough, or creatively fulfilled doing what I was doing. I had two options, find a new agency or do what scared me the most, and what was completely different to me. 

Where it Started

I was actually at a friend’s wedding when I decided to finally take the plunge. A lot of people I knew from my art school days were also there (it was my college room mate’s ceremony) and they were all in the same boat as me at some point, but had decided to finally take matters into their own hands and work for themselves. All the sudden, starting my own business didn’t sound so crazy after all. I was on my way to becoming a freelance graphic designer

On the plane ride back, I spent quite a bit of time coming up with a “cool” name for my brand (some seems so embarrassing now), but ultimately decided to just use my name. My last name is Craft, so definitely applies to what I do. It also made more sense to me to be personable, since my clients are small business owners looking for work with a designer for the first time. 

The Plan

I spent some time after that coming up with a business strategy for myself. Who I would market myself to?, What type of graphic design am I looking to specialize in? How much I should charge? This resulted in me setting up a new website that was more catered towards the kind of work I wanted to be doing, and explained how I’m different than other designers in a clear and concise way. 

I wanted to be smart about it and not jump right into starting my business. I made sure I had at least six months worth of salary saved up in case it didn’t work out, and trust me I had doubts at the beginning. I looked into how I would get health insurance, and handle other expenses. I even talked to my current agency about taking on retainer work for a few months in the summer to help with replacing me. They were very supportive about it, and happy that I could help. I made sure to go above and beyond for the clients I did have, and reached out within my network to let anyone I had worked with in the past know that I was freelancing. 

Another thing I think that I saw a big difference in was putting myself out there. The thing about starting a business, you have to commit. When I was working full time, I didn’t have the time or ability to put myself out there 24/7. I was posting on social media (instagram, dribbble, linkedin) maybe once every two weeks, and not doing any networking of any kind (I’m a natural introvert after all). Once I started posting more, and meeting new people, I saw a big increase in clients contacting me. 

Where I’m at Today

Fast forward to now, two years later, I love working for myself. It can be hard at times, but nothing beats the unique feeling of accomplishment you get from building your own business from the ground up. I feel very comfortable in the work I do, and taking on new clients each month. It’s opened up so many opportunities, and amazing projects I don’t think I would ever have worked on if I was working full time for someone else. I wouldn’t change much about my career journey, I actually feel like all of my past jobs have prepared me / supplied me with the confidence and expertise of creating my own business. 

If you’re looking for some personal branding or another design project, feel to contact me below. I’d love to go over your ideas!