Freelancing as a Student

Freelancing as a Student
by: Joe Casabona

joe@casabona.org
@jcasabona
Tuesday, October 22, 13

Who Am I?*
2

Web Developer, Writer
Started Freelancing at 15
HS, College, Grad School
2 years full time

Who Am I?*
*Besides a handsome devil
2

Web Developer, Writer
Started Freelancing at 15
HS, College, Grad School
2 years full time

Ugh. Retail
3

Working at Model’s and how terrible it was.

Divine
Intervention
4

Tell Mt. Carmel Story

5

develop one of the ﬁrst only wordpress courses, 2 books, met zeldman, speak!, travel, work
with people all over the world.

Getting
Started
6

You reach a point where you don't work
for money.
-Walt Disney

7

ASK
“WHY?”
8

Why do you want to freelance? It should be about more than making money.
There is a lot of reward, but there is a lot of stress. don’t get hit by a wave you don’t see
coming.

Find Your
Niche
9

Select a Market- What are you good at? What do you enjoy doing? Web Dev, Photography,
graphics are all markets
Select a Niche- Who do you want to work with? Weddings? Restaurants? You decide, and get
really, really good at it.
Look for an industry with a need

Work For
Free
10

Getting clients
Free Work
Friends & Family, school projects
Make up projects!
Put Yourself Out There- lots of resources like freelance job boards

You’re very
good at Schmoozing.
-Dr. Ben Bishop

11

Network! Network all the things!
Tell story about Dave and I, in Panera Bread. Start talking to guy.
We exchange cards and meet the next week

schmooze: v. to converse informally :
chat; also : to chat in a friendly and
persuasive manner especially so as to
gain favor, business, or connections

12

Strike up conversations
have a pitch ready
Learn about them
ALWAYS have cards.

Build a
Portfolio
13

Keep it simple
Keep it short
Keep it updated.
This is some cases is more important than your degree! It is tangible work you can show
people.

joec.co/acm-01

14
/work

Work For
Free
15

Remember this?

Own Your
Student
Status
16

There are lots of things you can do to take advantage of being a student.
Tell them: 1st year of Google I/O
Burke Website for CMPS 202
Difference in being a student: Lower risk (financially), develop professional skills, work on
real life projects (speak louder than resume)
People will try to take advantage of you because of your status
Tell Bobby Biz Story. Tell Winn Cards and Comics story. Tell Junior League story (“We’re a not
for profit/I’m for profit”).

❖ Student Expenses = Businesses
Expenses

❖ Student Discounts = Business Discounts
❖ Access to Academic Resources

17

Resources: Professors, Trips, Conferences, papers, the library!

I am not an Accountant
❖ Student Expenses = Businesses
Expenses

❖ Student Discounts = Business Discounts
❖ Access to Academic Resources

17

Resources: Professors, Trips, Conferences, papers, the library!

The
Balancing
Act
18

You will need to balance work and school

- Be honest with your clients

- Learn how to say “no”

- Take some you time.
Gauge your semester:
- Types of classes
- Use Rate my Professor!
- Great times for student freelancing: post ﬁnals week, breaks, early in semester
- Terrible times: midterms, ﬁnals

Finals Schedules: Quick Six, Vitamin Schedule, Projects Galore, Finals Week Lite, Nada

❖ Projects as client work/portfolio pieces
❖ Be conﬁdent and act professional
❖ Communication skills
❖ Take advantage of student discounts

19

Communication
is Key
20

Writing: Spell/Grammar check; read and re-read to make sure you convey the meaning you
want
With email: Have a subject, greet the reader, sign your name
Phone Calls: Speak clearly, no slang, think about what to say, the say it. Pay Attention when
the client is speaking
Talk about more than just business and the weather. Do they have kids? how old are they?
What are their hobbies?

Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I
remember. Involve me and I learn.
-Ben Franklin

21

Involve your clients. Keep them in the loop.
[something people in our ﬁeld have trouble with]
-Most importantly, don’t talk down to them. They hired you for a reason.

22

In Person Meetings:
- Dress to impress. Be professional. You’re asking these people for money.
- Give a good handshake (tell intern story; dead ﬁsh handshake)
- Make Eye Contact, Smile, Take Notes: Shows you’re paying attn.
- For the love of God, don’t check your phone unless it rings.

Worth
1,000
Words
22

In Person Meetings:
- Dress to impress. Be professional. You’re asking these people for money.
- Give a good handshake (tell intern story; dead ﬁsh handshake)
- Make Eye Contact, Smile, Take Notes: Shows you’re paying attn.
- For the love of God, don’t check your phone unless it rings.

What about
Pricing?
23

Determined by:
- Quality of Your Work
- Your industry
- Your Experience
At ﬁrst, you’ll probably charge a lot less than the industry; that’s OK. You’re still learning.
Don’t charge for the learning curve.
However, stick by your rates. If someone balks at them, explain why you charge as much as
you do.
My numbers: When I started, I charged $10/hr for my ﬁrst site. Then I moved to $25. Then
$65. My base rate now is $80/hr and I quote per project.

If you want to set off and go develop some grand
new thing, you don't need millions of dollars of
capitalization. You need enough pizza and Diet
Coke to stick in your refrigerator, a cheap PC to
work on, and the dedication to go through with it.
We slept on ﬂoors. We waded across rivers.
--John Carmack

24

First PC based side-scrolling game; ported SMB to PC.
Creator of DOOM/Founder of id software.
CMPS 360: You’ve probably done things he pioneered or improved upon.

Questions?
25

Freelancing as a Student

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