Given to Dr. Lori Boyer's P.R. Management class on 2/21/2010

1. cccommunications
bringing vision to your marketing
Job Hunting in 2010 &
Starting Your Own Freelance Business for
Design/Communication Services
Presented by Chris Atwood
P.R./New Media Account Executive, BQR Advertising and Public Relations, Inc.
Principal/Project Manager, CCCommunications
February 22, 2010

2. Who am I?
• 2008 Texas Tech University graduate with B.A. in Public Relations
• Work History
• BQR Advertising and Public Relations, Inc. (10/09 to present)
• CCCommunications (04/09 to present)
• Gannett Talent Development Program in Digital Ad Sales (5/08-4/09)
• In school worked for RaiderComm, The Daily Toreador as a features writer
and classified advertising sales specialist, and the Houston Chronicle as a
marketing promotions intern

3. Specialties
• Public Relations / Media Relations
• Social Media Strategy for Customer Relations, Lead Generation
• Digital Advertising
• Web Design / Development
• Inbound Lead Development/Search Engine Marketing (Bring people to Web
site and have them contact you or have them pick up the phone and call)

4. The Big Question
• Who has started hunting for a job or internship?
• Any successes? Anything promising?

5. Job Hunting was an Art in 2008
• Sent out more than 250 resumes to businesses in Houston, Austin,
Dallas and San Antonio with a 2% response rate
• Had 5 interview offers, accepted 3 before signing an employment
contract, received 2 job offers
• Wanted an agency position, but ended up in outside sales. Goal was to
transition into marketing from media relations/public relations, without an
M.B.A. or business major/minor
• Was hired into Gannett Talent Development Program, 32 selected out of more
than 450 applicants for the advertising half of the program

6. In 2009, Job Hunting Was Exactly That: a Hunt
• Was laid off in April 2009 due to failure of an experimental sales program
• Had to start job hunting again during turbulent economic times; people
are still hiring, but there is fierce competition.
• Sent out approximately the same number resumes as before, with
about the same response rate even though there was substantially
more competition than in 2008
• Started at BQR as a contractor in October 2009, formally hired at the
end of December as a full-time account executive

7. Discouraged ... Now What?
• Focus on What you Can Change-- if this happens to you, use it as an
opportunity to revamp your life, especially if there are things you are unhappy
about (grades, personal life, fitness, whatever)
• Don’t Settle -- do something you actually want to do, instead of taking
the quick job (unless you are unable to do so financially). If you have to take a
quick job, it may be prudent to keep looking if you know you won’t be happy
• Consider Freelancing -- for the unemployed, it shows employers you are
doing something, either as a student or as an unemployed person who is
making the best of their situation

8. Can I Really Start
Freelancing?
• The answer is yes
• You have to be hungry for
business -- finding clients is not
always easy, but often worth it.
• Just remember business
development is a no parking
zone

9. Freelancing Pros & Cons
Pros Cons
• Be your own boss, make your own • The income can be inconsistent
hours, and choose where you work
• Takes time to build a reliable stream
• Do something you like while job of clients and leads
hunting, or make a career of it
• Driven attitude is required get up
• Create agency-style experience every day with nobody waiting for
with businesses who can’t afford you to get somewhere
traditional agencies
• The organization is a pain in the
• If you aren’t confident in running it butt, but you’ll thank yourself at the
all yourself, sub-contract it out and end of the year
be a project manager/strategist

10. Freelancing Primer: How to Get Started
• Pick a name, even if it’s yours. If • Consult with a CPA about how to
you choose an actual business setup your business so you don’t
name, file a DBA (Doing Business get screwed at tax time
As) in the county where you will be
doing work
• Keep track of your records!
Receipts, expenses, invoices,
• Decide what services you’ll offer. I money received and money owed
limit myself to Web design/
development, Google Apps, SEM
and document design -- don’t be
scared to sub-contract
• Remember to save for biz taxes --
save 28% of everything you make

11. Pick a Place
• Picking a place is crucial -- if you don’t have something resembling an office,
you may not get a lot done (I’m a testament to that)
• If you go full-time, see if you can find other freelancers and where they work.
My choice was monthly rent of about $100 to a coworking facility
• Decorations matter. Make it your space, if you have a home office. Plants and
good lighting are actually proven to help you work more efficiently
• Keep it separate from parents, siblings, pets and children otherwise it will be
hard to resist not working (again, I’m a testament to that too)
• http://freelanceswitch.com/working/10-things-you-can-do-to-improve-your-
home-office-cheaply/

12. Find a Mentor
• A mentor proved invaluable to me for getting setup, learning about contracts,
finding clients and referrals, and being a sub-contractor
• You can find one on Twitter, Facebook or at networking events from PRSA,
AAF or other local communications/design groups
• They can help you learn how to market yourself, and give indications to
where viable markets might be

13. Build a Portfolio
• This is an opportunity to move past News Writing, P.R. Writing and
P.R. Graphics and showcase local pieces and success stories
• Be prepared to work cheap initially (in the neighborhood of $15-25/hour)
• Web sites like CarbonMade can give you a way to showcase static pieces for
writing and design without doing something complicated or costly

14. Start a New Hunt
• Decide what kind of clients you want -- B2B, B2C, small businesses, etc.
• Hunting clients will take a lot of work however you decide to go about it
• Networking events such as PRSA or groups such as BNI
• Referrals
• Bid Web sites
• Consider using customer relationship management software like HighRiseHQ
to keep track of who you talk to, what you’ve talked about, and what they are
interested in so when you contact them again, you remember

15. So I Booked a Client, Now What?
• Get it in WRITING. There are many resources for finding standard freelance
designer contracts, use those as a basis for yours regardless of what service
you’re offering. Specify exactly what you will do, what the client is expected
to do, exceptions, and how much it will cost overall or per hour
• Flat-rate projects are popular, but if you’re not comfortable, split it into smaller
projects to control the “screwed” factor (biz speak: loss of profitability)
• Do the work
• Provide them with an invoice or receipt, and collect the money
• Don’t forget the relationship - follow up occasionally to see if they need new
services or have any referrals

16. Resources for Freelancing
• Leads
• elance.com and sortfolio.com
• Google Apps for Small Business (FREE). Get e-mail, documents
and a calendar all integrated under your domain
• http://www.freelanceswitch.com/general/101-essential-freelancing-resources/
• This has resources for time keeping, invoicing, project management, stock
photography, CRM, legal advice, job boards and Web tools to host or
create your own Web site if you’re not technically inclined

17. Resources for Freelancing
• Tax Write-offs
• http://freelanceswitch.com/the-business-of-freelancing/10-deductions-
freelancers-can-grab/
• Business Development
• http://freelanceswitch.com/freelancing-essentials/ask-freelanceswitch-5/
#more-4790

18. Thank You
Hopefully this has been helpful.
Are there any questions?

19. Contact Me
Chris Atwood
chris@cccomm.us
chrisa@bqradvertising.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/cdatwood
(713) 581-6168 (office)