Starting Out And Standing Up For Yourself - Illustrator Jessica Morgan

Hear illustrator Jessica Morgan, drawing on her experience of being freelance: starting out; freelance sites; pricing; getting paid and restricting your hours.

“You need to build up a reputation first, you can’t just go in with a high rate...”

— Jessica Morgan on using freelance sites

Here’s some of the key takeaway points:

Use freelance websites to build up your confidence, client base, reputation and portfolio
Be realistic with your first pricing, you need to build up a reputation first to deserve it
Make sure you stay in touch with clients and chase follow up work
When trying to win a client, be selective with your portfolio, you don’t have to show everything
If you’re owed money have confidence in what you’ve delivered; be persistent and forceful
Set out your payment terms at the beginning (works best with smaller clients)
Note how many hours you do on each task in each project so you can refer back to it in the future when quoting
Set office hours, you need downtime - and definitely tell clients you’re out of contact on holiday

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