I Am a Fugitive of a Web Design Chain Gang

Discovering and Maintaining Your Own Sense of Self-Worth as a Freelancer Can Be a Struggle

Almost without exception, if you throw web sites together for fun or profit you’ll be approached by someone asking for your help with their own web project and depending on how much freelance/consulting experience you have up to that point will seriously determine how you handle your response.

Generally speaking, just like there’s a learning curve to web design and development, there’s one for freelancing too and I’m willing to testify that the one for freelancing is rooted more deeply in your own sense of self-worth and impacted by all that touchy feely crap that you may or may not consider at first but will eventually run into. Take yours truly for example.

Once I had reached a point where I felt confident in piecing web sites together, I was looking for excuses to try my hand at developing sites beyond my own personal stuff and that lead to building open source templates and volunteering to support sites dedicated to military vets as well as the odd request to build a page or two. And if I did charge for my services, it was nothing beyond a flat fifty bucks or so. So while I was fairly confident with my skills at the time, I still didn’t believe that what I was doing was worth much because after all, this web stuff was only a hobby.

But as my design experience and confidence grew my sense of self-worth or value of that gained experience remained seriously rooted in the modest, but misguided belief that all I really am is some goof that knows about web design. Even though that experience, mixed with my personal interest and drive, helped me to land a full-time gig as a web producer, it still didn’t occur to me that my personal time and talent as a freelance web geek were worth a respectable amount of money.

Now taking this jacked-up Walter Mitty attitude and adding it to the fact that damn near anyone looking to have web work done grossly underestimates web design as a whole and will demand bargain basement prices regardless of the scope or the time involved, the whole venture is bound for failure and heartbreak.

I found that once I agreed to take on a project and finally realized the scope and actual work involved far exceeded the amount I would be paid in the end (which I of course quoted), I would became emotionally detached and resentful of the project and pissed off with myself because I had yet again sold my time and services short.

If You Want to Freelance You Need to Grow Some Guts

Some people don’t have a problem with asserting themselves as freelancers. I don’t know, maybe they were raised by Claire and Doctor Huxtable and that’s awesome because they don’t have a problem with this kind of thing. But for people like me, freelance work has been a long and rocky road because it forces me to assert myself when I feel like reverting back to my shell. But I’m learning.

Regardless of anyone’s perception of what they think goes into web design and development, you should be truthful, with them and to yourself, of the actual cost to in taking on the project or even taking it on at all.

When considering a freelance project, don’t just think of it in terms of the amount of time it’ll take doing the work itself, but also what that allotted time will impact in your personal life. Time spent with your family or doing the goofy shit that you enjoy and recharges your batteries is as valuable as anything else, if not more.

Regardless of your level of experience, your time and talent has value and don’t undercut that. Believing that is key.

The next thing is applying a dollar amount to your time and experience. It’s been said many times before by as many people, and it’s true: charge at or damn near the industry standard for your work. If by charging at the industry standard means you loose a potential client, then so be it. Believe me, if they think you are over-priced then they’re most likely the type of client that’s cheap with their project and will bleed a designer/developer dry without paying for it. It’s not really their fault because you can’t blame them for wanting a deal. But it would be on your shoulders if you accept that kind of situation.

Unless you’re selling a design and/or artwork outright then you shouldn’t charge a flat price for the work but instead charge an hourly rate. And be fair and honest with your initial estimate in how much time it’ll take you to complete the project. Take into account the scope of the work and define what will be done for the initial estimate. That way, if changes come up, you can adjust your price fairly and without surprises to the client.

Doing freelance work can be very rewarding or as equally frustrating. It all depends on how you handle it.