Living a freelance lifestyle is no cake walk. Anyone who tells you otherwise isn't being honest. There are plenty of perks to wanting to go rogue and be your own boss. But there are plenty of pitfalls and uncertainties along the way as well.Sometimes, things just get plain bad. You have a dry spell, a difficult client, you aren't paid well or on time, etc.Being an entrepreneur for a lot of people is also a huge leap in self-confidence. Sounds like a great time, but taking full responsibility for sourcing your own income takes a huge leap of faith, and often doubts about yourself will come flying out of the woodwork.This is all completely normal and understandable. Because if you
Storytelling is something people everywhere appreciate and love. It's a form of entertainment, as well as a medium to teach life lessons to everyone. It imparts cultural ideas and expectations, and spurs progressive action and critique of culture. Stories are things humans have made up and passed down over millennia to each other. Whether through oral tradition or written down, stories captivate and excite us, they charge the imagination and move us deeply if done well.Is it no small wonder that the Epic of Gilgamesh is still a story we talk about today, one that existed an estimated 3000 years ago. There are countless other cuneiform tablets recovered from the ruins of Sumer and Ur, but the story of Gilgamesh has
Big animation companies do it, large and small game studios do it, and it's something that has always baffled me with long term business planning for companies. Outsourcing is still a large issue in the animation industry, companies outsource for a few reasons that are good in the short term, but which ultimately lead to a lot of issues and long term problems, all in the quest to save money and make as much profit as possible when they can.I'm a small business owner so I get the appeal of cheap labor, but many companies don't focus on the long term issues that come from outsourcing overseas to places with lower wages, lower skill, and the long term affects on
Lessons on Starting a Career in Animation
Today I thought I'd write about how I got started as an animator and what some of the things are I've learned about breaking into the industry as an artist, as well as some lessons I wish I had known before I attended art school.I got started in animation when I was 8, if we really want to go way back. I was always fascinated by cartoons, and I had already been drawing and writing stories for years at this point. The passion basically was already there, but I realized at this age I had no idea how animation was made, and I wanted to know.I eventually went to Art School in Minneapolis and graduated with a degree in Animation.
I've always been a big fan of people, but when I was younger I was also a lot more shy then I am now. I was one of those quiet, gentle nerds in high school who was intimidated by boys, and other groups of people who usually teased me about my interests, clothes and inept social skills.I was the same way in college, very inward and made nervous by large crowds or groups of people hanging out. I always worried about being judged or sticking out like a sore thumb. However becoming a networker in large part allowed me to gradual get better at being around groups of other human beings that I did not know, and assuming the best
I've been reading and thinking about this topic a lot lately. The economy that was devastated in 2008 is recovering, but a lot of people have been shifted to doing service work for others. But when I say "service work" I mean a much broader scope than serving food, cutting hair or other occupations of that ilk. A service job is also what I do as a freelancer for commercial agencies and video game companies.Creating commercial artwork is a service, and it's best to think of it that way if you want to succeed. You need to approach problems in a way where you are thinking about your client or customer's needs first, instead of the needs of your pocket
I thought I'd talk a little bit about the ins and outs of making freelancing easier and less stressful by structuring your invoices and finances in a way to make your life better. Cash flow as a freelancer is usually a big problem, because everything about your businesses risk, lead generation, sales, etc, comes from you. Usually you don't have an agent or a sales and marketing team to get you what you need in terms of jobs. So bad, uneven cash flow can be a real nightmare if you need to pay rent in a few days and have zero money to do so, and three of your invoices are due a week out from when you need them.That's why adequate
This week I thought I'd write about my experience with trying to make my job easier as a freelancer. This includes a number of little tips and tricks that have worked for me to stay on track, get things done and not spend too much idle time wondering where my next paycheck will come from.Use a Content Management System (CMS). There a number of them out there that are pretty great. The one I use is called Podio. It's an all integrated system for handling who I invoiced when, projects, deliverables, and task assignments to help me plan out each day and week. A good CMS will take your everyday stress away once you have a workflow down. Others that
Let's talk about marketing for Indie Developers of all stripes. I'm going to tell you a secret a lot of fledgling entrepreneurs don't think about enough; Everything begins and ends with sales.This is the same whether you are a coffee shop, Goldman Sachs, Disney, or anyone else. Sales make your business go round and keep you employed, keep your bank account happy and help everything else work to stay open.I bet when you think about sales, even that word conjures up strange uncomfortable images in your mind and makes your stomach hurt. Don't worry, you're not alone. But sales aren't what you think they are. We all hate sales tactics that involve cold calling from anonymous call centers, spam e-mail
Freelancing is a roller coaster, anyone who's done it for long enough will tell you this. Your bank account balance will fluctuate wildly, and in order to weather the inevitable downtimes, you need to develop some coping skills and do certain things in a smart manner in order to keep yourself sane and to ultimately survive and thrive.Save up at least 3 to 6 months of salary before you go freelance, this will help you weather the first or second year in particular, which when you're first starting out will probably give you the most downtime. It's a long journey to build and keep relationships with clients, and so you need as much financial security as possible to weather this