CMD+Shift Design

“Beauty School Drop Out” Grease

1. Look before you leap!

Freelancing ain’t easy and there’s no reason to make it any more difficult for yourself by jumping ship before you’re ready. Weather you lack nest-egg funds, skills, or connections, a few years out in the “real world” of your industry is the best way to prepare yourself for going solo. Now, I know there those of you out there who have had success in freelancing straight out of school, and more power to you – but I think you’re a lucky few!

“I Want it Now”  Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory
2. Keep your eye on the prize.

While sweet little Veruca took it a bit overboard, the gal knew what she wanted and she refused settle for any less. Sometimes you gotta stand up and say “this is what I want, ” and be prepared to fight for it. Weather it’s landing that dream client, or convincing an existing one of your genius ideas. Confidence in yourself  breeds other peoples confidence in you, just don’t get too full of yourself – or you’ll turn out rotten like Veruca.

“Tear Me Down” Hedwig & The Angry Inch
3. It’s not personal, it’s just business.

Being a freelancer in any creative industry, it is good to have a thick skin. So much of what us creatives do comes straight from our hearts, we are really passionate about our work — so sometimes a harsh critique can feel like a personal attack, but it isn’t (usually.) Take a step back and look at feedback with as much objectivity as possible, you learn a lot more from criticism than you will from praise, so welcome it.

“Don’t Dream it, Be it”  Rocky Horror Picture Show
4. Love what you do, Do what you love.

One of the best parts of being your own boss is, being your own boss!  Who says you cant devote a percentage of your time to a pleasure project? Blogging, illustration, social networking, have FUN with your business .. be creative!

“My Favorite Things” Sound of Music
5. With the bad, comes the good.

Sometimes when days are crappy — your servers down, you’ve got a nightmare client leaving you voice mails at all hours of the night, it’s enough to send to running back to the safety of the old cubicle. Not so fast! Take a deep breath, take a stroll around the block and remember all the better parts about freelancing that you love so much.