All About Travel and Freelance Design

Today, more and more graphic designers are traveling abroad, and getting into selling freelance design because it opens the door for better opportunities. If you are interested in offering freelance design, then you should familiarize yourself with the basics of freelance design.

1. Know when to say "NO." If you are into the field of freelance design, the first thing you need to learn is when to say "no" because this will create a great impact on the project output later on. If you don't like the suggestion given by the client, then you should learn how to decline politely.

If the client still persists, learn how to use the art of compromise not to surrender. If you know how to manage persistent clients and know how to compromise, then you can create a harmonious working environment. But then again, there will always be clients who are not willing to compromise. If you encounter these kinds of clients, then it is best if you know how to get out of the situation because they are not worth all the trouble you are about to experience.

2. Always be polite, persistent, and positive. If you are dealing with clients, make sure that you always communicate in a very professional manner. Always exude an air of politeness by listening intently to your client, be persistent if you must because this is one way of educating your client and always be on the positive side.

3. Make sure that you constantly strive in increasing your level of skill and expertise. Learning is a never-ending process. If you are in the field of freelance design, then you must always strive to learn and grow as a professional.

4. Take time to relax and boost your self confidence. The primary reason why you have gone freelance is that you would want to veer away from time constraints and hectic schedule. So take time to relax. If you are relaxed, then you could have enough self-confidence to do the job.

5. Make it a point to have fun even if the going gets tough. It is a must that you love your profession in order to enjoy what you are doing.

6. Always have a personal life. Make it a point that you enjoy a personal life so when you experience stress and problems in your work, then you will always have a fallback.

7. Always practice honesty and ethics. If you can't keep a promise, don’t give it. Always be honest if you can't deliver what the clients want. Never compromise if you can't follow the agreement and always be ethical in conducting business arrangements.

8. Try to be a good businessperson. Being a freelance designer means that you are running your own business. Being the boss of your own so-called "company," means that you are expected to know the ABCs of the business. As a freelance designer, you should always inform yourself about your rights.

Protect it by keeping abreast of the recent ethical standards, laws and tax reforms. You should also be updated with the current pricing guidelines, effective negotiation skills, ways of maintaining excellent records and paper works and the organizations where you can join.

9. Never take any rejection personally. Always maintain a sense of professionalism by not taking rejection and criticisms personally.

10. No matter how busy you are, never ever miss a deadline. Being a freelancer doesn’t mean that you can miss a deadline because you are your own boss. If you have a habit of missing a deadline, chances are you will find yourself losing clients along the way.