Us creatives are on the forefront of the freelance field, which can be awesome and challenging at the same time. As companies continue to focus on greater efficiency and the more marketing tools are automated we are being pushed to differentiate ourselves and constantly expand our skill sets. In addition to this, we will need to find people that we can partner with in order to compete with larger agencies and corporations.
Workshop: The New Freelance Economy
I recently had the privilege of hosting a workshop on "The New Freelance Economy" at General Assembly in Seattle. It was a sell-out event, with 100+ RSVP's. The event featured a presentation, a panel which included Kaleb Willis of Kaleb Norman James Design, Danny Owens, and Ankur Kothari of Olive & Goose and audience Q&A. The workshop was geared towards technology/commerce + art. The attendees when surveyed, were an equal split between art and tech. It was great to see all of the interest and anticipation around the topic of the new freelance economy. The workshop was a clear sign of a shift which is taking place in the economy both nationally as well as locally. There is a desire for artists to learn to operate as entrepreneurs, and for technologists to learn to better market their individual brands.
For more details about the event, and a link to the presentation (which includes startup/entrepreneur and marketing/social media resources), please read below.
Event Details
Join our panel as they share the ins and outs of freelancing: what it means, how to do it part or full-time, how to price yourself, how to develop your portfolio, where to look for potential projects and what it takes to become an independent contractor.
Learn how you can hone your talents, market them to potential clients and communicate your project goals clearly to channel success. The strategies discussed in this event work for programming, design, marketing, writing and many other concentrations.
The panel discussion will be followed by a drinks and networking.
Takeaways
Come away with new ideas and tools that will help you run your freelance business more efficiently and learn how you can always keep your pipeline full of great clients
- Develop a game plan to begin working in your field independently
- Better market your services to potential clients
- Navigate online and offline resources for freelancers
- Understand key pain points and for freelancers and how to deal with them such as taxes, insurance, and time management