How to Become a Freelance Graphic Designer

November 27 2019 - According to one survey, around 33% of people have thought about quitting their job in the past three months. 

If you have a passion for graphic design, and you're unhappy with your current role, you might want to become a freelance graphic designer. However, if you've never worked as a freelancer, the thought of striking out on your own might terrify you.

Read on, and you'll learn how to become a freelance graphic designer. If you want to become a freelancer, but you're scared of failing, these tips should help you overcome your doubts.

Let's begin!

Build Up Your Portfolio

It will be a lot easier for you to attract clients if you can actually show them how talented you are.

The best way to showcase your talents is by creating a portfolio that contains samples of your work. Now, if you're a newbie graphic designer, you might think that you're unable to do this because you haven't done any client work.

However, you can get around this problem by doing some work for free.

Just reach out to local business owners and ask them if you can do any work for them. More often than not, you'll come across  someone that'll be willing to take you up on your offer.

Learn How to Attract Clients

Attracting clients is going to be hard, but it's something you need to master if you want to work as a freelance graphic designer.

One way you can find clients is by monitoring websites that post jobs associated with graphic design.

Solidgigs and Flexjobs are examples of sites that regularly post jobs associated with graphic design.

If you want to improve your odds of landing a gig, create a proposal that describes how you will meet the needs of the client. So, if the client requests a certain kind of style for their project, you should clearly explain how your work will align with that style.

Pay Attention to Your Finances

As a freelance designer, you must run a tight ship when it comes to managing your finances.

If you don't, then you may lose track of your financial situation, and this could lead to some confusion when filing your taxes.

To avoid such issues, you might want to create some pay stubs using a product such as ThePayStubs.

You can then review these pay stubs at the end of the year, to figure out how much you've paid yourself, and what your tax burdens are. These pay stubs will also be helpful if you need to prove your earnings when applying for some form of financing.

Do You Know How to Become a Freelance Graphic Designer?

Now that you know how to become a freelance graphic designer, the next logical step is to take action.

If you're struggling to attract clients, you might want to partner with companies that share a similar target market. Such examples might include printing companies or businesses that offer branding services.

Succeeding as a freelancer is arguably harder than succeeding as a regular 9-5 employee. But if you can handle the initial frustrations, it's definitely a path that can be rewarding.

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