Freelancers...

Hieru

Talking to a few people working in other creative fields, you're certainly not alone. When it comes to the freelance graphic and web design that usually pays my bills, things have definitely gone quiet.

It isn't very encouraging to hear that it's the same story when it comes to rendering. I've only recently started to take rendering seriously and was hoping to concentrate on finding work doing archiviz etc. and cut down on the graphic and web jobs I take on (my heart just isn't in it anymore).

It doesn't help that like yourself, I really don't have a clue about how to start looking for clients. I've tried the direct approach and whilst I initially tend to get quite an enthusiastic response, when it comes to the nitty gritty I keep hearing the same response: "we just can't afford it at the moment".

mitcorb

Are the current clients in your line of work inclined to refer your services to others in their field? Would it be appropriate to approach them to consider referring/recommending you? I have no idea what the landscape looks like-- I was just suggesting?

solo

@mitcorb said:

Are the current clients in your line of work inclined to refer your services to others in their field? Would it be appropriate to approach them to consider referring/recommending you? I have no idea what the landscape looks like-- I was just suggesting?

That would be great but I fear they would never do that, in fact my one client objected once to me doing work for a competitor, which actually did benefit me in the long run as he gave me more work to cover what his competition was needing from me, and with me agreeing to his terms showed my loyalty.

mitcorb

I sort of expected that, but wasn't sure. What if you asked one you have confidence in. Perhaps they know of someone in a related field--not directly competitive-- who could use your formidable talents, and I do mean formidable.

liam887

I have found that word of mouth works best, for me at least and I havent been doing it very long so dont take my word for it!
Most of my work comes from colleagues recommending me to others in general conversation regarding work out of the office or at meetings about future briefs etc.
I tried and tried to self promote and approach companies and individuals before I got this new job and only met with limited success.

What has worked really well these last few weeks is my carbon made website. Just a no-nonsense no frills webpage with just work easy to navigate. Something you can send the client and they can whizz through and see everything in one place in under 5 mins!

ArCAD-UK

@solo said:

It’s unusually quiet on the job front for me and just wanted to enquire from any freelancers out there if y’all are in the same boat?

It's a big boat Solo! Banks aren't lending, so client's aren't spending. The money-go-round needs lubricating.

marked001

I'm with you, Pete.. I've been slow all year (aside from May where I actually got a bunch of work at once..go figure) and typically rely on word of mouth and clients contacting me. I am lucky enough to hold a salary position at an architect's office which has typically been my 'supplemental income' but has been my primary income all year. I now have to give in and agree to show my face a second day/week just to get a little more steady income. I hate giving in to the man!!

pbacot

Pete,

I am considering reminding my clients to think of me when someone else might use my services. I think it is a little twisted if someone is trying to keep you to themselves but unable to keep you busy.* I have a realtor who is very good at keeping in touch years after we bought our house, because she knows referrals are where it's at.

It is different for your client base, but another thing is what I did when I first got started in this locale. Contact builders, developers, realtors, architects etc. I might offer some freebie preliminary plans. At least now I know the community better and have local references.

Most builders are hurtin' and many are already out of business. However my approach is to suggest they'd have an edge with a designer working with them. Next time some one approaches them with a job they can offer to have some plans drawn up. Often they just have to say "I can't bid it without plans". It is about expanding your base, because I've become used to enough coming in from the usual sources. It looks to be slowing down.

[Edit:* I am sending a short email to my close associates about Pete's work & forwarding his URL. Others might like to do the same for Pete or another friend.]

Peter

Tobobo

Pete,

Have you thought about offering your services to a local Uni/collage that teaches a relevant course as a lecture or guess speaker?

Could be a good way to help the bank balance, plus it couldn't hurt the CV.

jaxcoffee

I have found it to be a great resource by being involved in the help forums, and in groups related to 3D modeling. Especially Maps.

Being involved in the Google Places help forums has gotten me quite a few clients that understand the connection of all things Google.

Being involved in using Google's Map Maker program has done a ton for creating new clients also.

Polish up your Google Profile before going in, and it creates a direct connection to what you do.

Hope that helps some.

d12dozr

@unknownuser said:

So, how do y’all go about finding new clients?

I bet you could get some good exposure by writing a guest post for Sketchupdate, Ronen Bekerman, or similar blogs. The SU team is always looking for case studies to feature (they have about one a month), and you must have one of the most impressive Sketchup model portfolios on the planet. From cartoons to architecture to product renders, there isn't much you haven't done. Here's a quote from the Craft MBA blog about guest posting.
@unknownuser said:

Guest Posting – Guest posting is the new black. If you want to build link love back to your site, guest posting is a great option. Major blogs get hundreds of product pitches every day. But what they don’t get as often are people wiling to provide good content. Writing a quality guest post can be as good as getting a blog to cover your product in terms of bringing traffic back to your site. (Just make sure you’re focusing on blogs read by your target market.)

Shoot, with as many programs as you've mastered, I bet you could do a whole series of blog post case studies (SU & Thea, SU & Vue, etc.), thus showing yourself as an expert in the field.

I know many of us on SCF would love for you to do in-depth tutorials on modeling and rendering, and would be willing to pay to learn...similar to what Tobobo suggests, perhaps you could turn your extensive skill-set of programs into online workflow video tutorials. Alternatively you could write a detailed case study to be featured in a print magazine like 3D World, to expand on the exposure you got in the last edition.

Edit: Oops, I didn't actually tell how I get work (because I'm looking to answer the same question myself), but just gave some ideas that I've been thinking about

Speaker

I would also suggest you to polish up your youtube channel, as it is a great way to present your work for a large audience. My work may not be as good as yours but for the few hundred thausand video views I got, I also have got a couple of small job offers locally and overseas. Your already uploaded videos are great but the problem I see in them is that you don't tag them correctly. Because of that, people can't find your work while searching for something and your missing a hell of a lot exposure.

Mike Lucey

Hi Guys,

Well they say, 'If you want to make money ... you have to go where the money is!' This is so true if you think about it. One thing is for sure there is not a lot of money to be made in the Construction Industry at present both in Europe and the USA because of the screwed up banks.

On the other hand places like China, Australia and Canada are doing well so maybe these markets should be targeted for work?

Due to the downturn in the Construction Industry there are a lot of guys looking to add to their skills set! This is one of the reasons we have seen a such an increase in membership here of late. So I think Training should be looked at closely.

Another suggestion! I started a topic some time back,**'Are there any SketchUp 'Mini Publications' Authors ?**http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=76&t=36042 and got a number of interested members contacting me. As yet we don't have anything to publish but I am hopeful this will change.

Anyone that is good at what they do should consider producing 'Mini Publications'. It can become a residual income source and if the subject matter has wide appeal it could become quite lucrative I feel. If anyone wants to consider this please shoot me a PM and I will gladly outline the procedures we have in mind.

Mike

arail1

Solo -

Don't overlook Craigslist. Go to Craigslist > Your City (or anywhere else, this is a digital world) > Jobs > arch/engineering. I've gotten several good projects that way and I'm right now (somewhat unhappily) working at a full time gig that I got through Craigslist.

Good luck.

Ecuadorian

Ok, I'll tell you what has worked so far:

Sending e-mails with your latest cool perspective/animation to former clients. They will NOT contact you immediately to hire you, and might not even reply to the email, but a month, two months later you receive a call from them to offer work, and they say "Hey, I saw that image/video you did. I need something similar for a new project." This has happened to me three times in the last seven days. Let's see how many result in actual work.

Also, having a locally popular video in YouTube helps. Someone from a government office saw my Samanes Park video and was able to call me after finding my contact info somewhere else in YouTube. (Note to self: Place contact info in final credits.)

Having my videos always ready on my iPod is priceless as sometimes a potential client is waiting for you in a room without a computer (this happened last saturday). However, an iPad would be even better. (Note to self: Buy one.)

d12dozr

@ecuadorian said:

Sending e-mails with your latest cool perspective/animation to former clients. They will NOT contact you immediately to hire you, and might not even reply to the email, but a month, two months later you receive a call from them to offer work, and they say "Hey, I saw that image/video you did. I need something similar for a new project." This has happened to me three times in the last seven days. Let's see how many result in actual work.

I've been meaning to do this, thanks for the reminder.

d12dozr

Here are a couple more links I thought may be relevant to this discussion:

How to get Free Press – The Art of the Press Release

Artists Who Sell: How to Write a Killer Sales Page (and why)

Hieru

Very useful. Thanks

Roger

I do both photography and illustration and here are some ideas that have worked for me. They have not made me rich, but they work on occasion:

Write and article about what you do. The trick is to find the right venue for your article. I once wrote an article for the University and College Designers Association on how to pick a photographer to shoot for schools alumni associations. After the article was published, I did tracking on my website and in one week there were schools in every state in the USA viewing my webpages. There is a little tracking trick you can use. Lets say your URL is PeteStoppel_dot_com and your article is on a page called http://www.PeteStoppel.com/rendergenious.html. Lets say you wrote an article on what to look for in a good renderer. You give the URL to a local AIA publication as "www_dot_PeteStoppel_dot_com/rendergenious_dot_html?AIA_west_of_nowhere_kansas". Now lets say you give a talk on render techniques to a group of Canadian developers looking to invest in the US. The URL you give the developers would be "www_dot_PeteStoppel_dot_com/rendergenious.html?Canucks". The part of the URL you give out has nothing to do with the page people get, but it will appear in your web logs each day. So at the end of the month you have some ideal about how many Canadian developers looked vs how many Kansas architects looked. Be careful how you interpret the data. You might get a hundred Kansas architects and only ten Canadian developers. But you also might find Canadian developers 10 times more likely to pay your price as the Kansas architects. I would rather do one job for $1000 than ten jobs for $100. Best job I ever had was a two-day gig that paid about $6000 from a private prep school. My next favorite are prestige business schools (They know publicity has good business value. Next are Ivy League schools. Further down the ladder are small liberal arts colleges who never have money. Rather than turn them away, I just tell them they can not get my full service treatment for what they offer. I take their money on the condition that I take one shot and they have no choice (all decisions are at my digression.
Sometimes it works in their favor if I happen to walk into the perfect "one shot, one kill" situation. However at the top of the spectrum, I did a cover shot for Vanderbilt Business School of Dave Parker, CEO of US Air. I toured their HQ a week before the scheduled shoot. I made sketches of areas that interested me, I made a SketchUp model of a lobby with him (a 3DWH stand in) among models of his air fleet. I determined where he would stand, which planes would be placed where, where my lights would be, where power was located, how much help I needed from facilities people, even what lens I would use. When I went back for the shoot. It was wham, bam, thank you mam and I was out of there with the shoot in the can. Can't afford to screw up the good jobs.

In another case I used remote networking. My son-in-law is a former president of the Phoenix Harvard club. One of the older members was telling my son-in-law about his line of super precise engineering devices, but he couldn't find anyone to make good presentation drawings. Son-in-law said I have the right person for you, "My father-in-law is a Carnegie Mellon industrial design graduate and does computer aided renderings. Don't assume you know where you work comes from, just tell everyone who will listen what you do and why your skills are somewhat unique. I hate to say it, but we are like sharks. You swim with you moth open and eat anything in your way or at least bite it for taste.

Do you use Coroflot.com? The portfolio is free use it. Some kid at a for-pay technical college called me looking for work. I said you and me both kid. Turns out he was challenged by health problems that consigned him to a wheel chair. I gave him some pointers like, "Get a real degree" and maybe you might want to specialize in design for the disabled as a way of turning the tables on disability. Then I sent him some job leads I found on Craig's list (jobs designing for the disabled). He got a job interview at different kind of company but they really need more experience and some job site mobility. So, I hadn't heard from the guy in a month and he sends me an email and it turns out I have just the kind of freelancer skills they are looking for. And, in addition to rendering, I am redesigning some of their internal work flow.

I have also had some good luck with foreign developers just because I have a genuine interest in design and culture around the world. A lot of foreign developers are pretty tightly networked to survive in the US and you do a job for an Indian from Mumbai, he will tell the Persian office complex developer, who know a Chinese toy manufacturer, who knows an exporter in Thailand etc. Start a conversation about something ner and dear in a persons home country, their culture, their business, their family and say nothing for the next three hours. At the end of the meeting they will tell all their friends about the genius they met.

Its all about networking, about numbers, about seemingly random (or at least unpredictable connections) and about the the amount of energy expended in keeping the ball rolling. Communicate frequently, but work smart rather than working hard when generating leads. When somebody responds then go into over drive to make sure all your communications bases are covered respond fast, have some prepackaged follow ups. Get a face to face or some form of commitment before someone else runs away with the opportunity.

toxicvoxel

There are a number of anoying trends that go along with this kind of economic climate.(I have been arround long enough to see a few cycles.)

1.] The first people that get hit are the contractors as companies will try and hang on to their staff base in the downturn. Additionaly there may be legal issues that may arise if contractors are used while a company is anticipating or implementing redundancies.

The good news is that when work starts to pick up again many companies will tend to use contractors in the first instance instead of taking on staff until such time as a consistent pattern of work becomes apparent. Unfortunately this trend may still be some time off in the UK and the US.

2.] When people go out of work the natural reflex is to spend a lot of time in building out additional skills in order to be more attractive in the market place. One of the typical target skills at the moment would be to develop CG rendering skills, so expect there to be a lot more competition in this market after the upturn. (The problem is that only a small percentage of clients can really differentiate this service based on quality.) Also expect a lot of purist cad monkeys to re-surface with Sketchup skills in the next 18 months so beware if you percieve yourself to be safe as being the 'Sketchup guy' in the office.

This is an inherent disadvantage of any IT based skills because what starts out as a specialist service will in time become a general skill or become redundant as new technology is adopted into the mainstream. (Eg. CAD > BIM, AutoCAD/MAX 3D > Sketchup) Now more than ever, one really needs to plan your investment in IT (self-)training / expertise carefuly in order to ensure your relevance and logevity in the market.

Skills that require the 'signature' or the hand of the author eg. traditional rendering (even if this is a small market) will be harder to replace with a cheap young graduate just out of school and will be less affected by changes in technology. Whatever you do needs to focus on the possibility of providing, where possible, a unique and customised service instead of competing with a growing supply of the standard service in the same field. If you don't all you will be able to do is try and compete on price, which is the last resort before going out of bussiness.
Part of the longer term solution is also to try and anticipate the IT workflow requirements in 5 years time and try and position yourself accordingly in terms of adopting emerging technology and developing skills that may be in shorter supply in future.