I tried marking my lunch. I tried notes pleading with people to not take my lunch. I tried hiding my lunch behind cans, etc. Nothing worked. One day, after my lunch disappeared, I shut the refrigerator door and laughed maniacally. Someone asked me what was so funny.

“Today is the day I find out who has been stealing my lunch,” I replied. “I put rat poison on my sandwich! We’ll find the thief in about an hour when he or she starts dying.”

Sure enough, a coworker screamed and ran around like she was on fire. As she was about to be taken to the hospital to have her stomach pumped, I laughed and admitted it wasn’t really poisoned. Naturally, I was fired. It didn’t matter that this woman had stolen my lunch for her mid-morning snack every day. It seems my “joke” was considered “dangerous” and I was chastised for possibly “giving (her) a heart attack.”

In one office, coworkers had small refrigerators in their cubicles to keep their lunch and drinks cold and safe. The energy bills must have been too much for the company so a memo went around informing people that these appliances were against the fire code. The kitchen refrigerator then became a repository of science experiments as people forgot half sandwiches and slabs of meatloaf for weeks and months. Sometimes you couldn’t even tell what was in the Tupperware it was so furry and moldy.

Being a smoker, I often found that people would pop into my cubicle to borrow my lighter, which sat out with my pack of cigarettes. Switching to gag lighter that gave those who pushed the button to light it a severe shock, I was once again chastised for a dangerous item that could “give someone a heart attack!”

Again, it would be a telltale sign of who was stealing my lighters. Sometimes there’s just no justice in the world and certainly not an office.

When you are hired by a large company or corporation, you are shown a video on office harassment. The video looks like a 1970s porn film without the sex. Bad acting and rhythmic guitar rifts, but the common thread throughout the video is that even when you are in the right, if someone complains about you, then you are guilty and wrong. With a small cast of characters in this video, it’s always the same person being offended by the actions of coworkers. One might wonder why the old rules of society aren’t followed and the constant complainer isn’t just buried up to his or her neck and hit in turn by every other employee with a polo mallet until dead. The modern office has a strange political hierarchy and it will not bend or break to your will or common sense. Learn to deal with it safely and with a sense of good-natured flair!

Save your lunch

And do it without the expense of poison and explosive booby traps that blow off human fingers! Try these sickening lunch bags with horrid mold or cockroaches printed on them.

Of course, if you’re like the people in my last office, mold and disease-carrying vermin will not get in the way of a free meal. Try nuclear waste and the threat of mutated offspring!

Having been situated in Missouri, the threat of mutant AND inbred children was just too exciting for my coworkers, so if you have the same territorial problems, far from civilization, try this locker that fits in a refrigerator.

I would, however, suggest testing the Fridge Locker before placing expensive food items into it. Judging by the claws on former coworkers, some people will just tear through the lock and plastic as if it was made of freshly-baked Twinkies. Nothing, aside from a freshly-baked Twinkie, will draw out the animal hunger in an office thief like a nice, juicy, meaty meatloaf. An inflatable meatloaf, like the one below, will fool the hungry animalistic worker and at least give them plastic poisoning as they won’t realize what they are chewing until it’s too late!

“What about my precious condiments?” you might ask. Do you relish a sandwich with expensive mustard? Well, then screw on the mustard head cap and know that most coworkers will be sickened by the yellow ooze spewing forth from his mouth. Some coworkers, unfortunately, will be turned on and suck the mustard right from the mouth as if they were deriving pleasure in the privacy of their own bedrooms.

There’s nothing worse then finding lipstick marks on your cup and it’s not the shade of lipstick you wear! So, guys, why not use this handy mug with a removable plug you can put on your key ring when you’re not using your personal cup. It’s like an evil dribble glass that will scorch the heck out of a mug thief when they try enjoying a hot cup of tea or coffee with someone else’s private property.

Who will you catch with their hand in the cookie jar? Not one person when they think you’re storing toxic waste in your cubicle! If people ignore the obvious warning, just bake some cookies with glass chips and keep them on the top of the pile. Pilfering will stop within the first day…or first hour.

Show ‘em who’s boss!

On your first day of work, coworkers will size you up to see how far they can push and dominate you. Why not let them get the message the minute you walk in? Hope for rain so you can start by appearing heavily armed with these katana and tanto umbrellas strapped to your side or slung at your waist. Nothing say, “don’t borrow money from me” like implements that can cleanly slice off the outstretched palm of the biggest office mooch.

Meetings can be soooo boring and stressful. Sit among coworkers and relieve stress with this cute stress squeezer that resembles a real set of brass knuckles! Well, it will relieve YOUR stress. Those around you may have increased stress levels but they will be very receptive to your ideas and probably won’t offer any of their own.

If brass knuckles is a bit too over the top for you, just consider wearing finger tentacles for a more demure and friendly appearance. Just make a “brouuurp!” noise every now and then to convince doubters you actually have real tentacle fingers.

Evetually, coworkers will enter your office or cubicle to chat, drop off work, discuss a project or steal something while you’re not there. People will judge you by what they see, aside from the company phone, chair, and computer. Toys and accessories say a lot about the person, so let them see the real you when they glance at your bulletin board and see these little, chrome “stars of the office!”

If you’re in an area of the world that experiences colder then average winter weather, chances are that your employer wants to save money to spend on expensive cars and prostitutes by turning down the heat in the office. Most people will leave a sweater in their office for just such an occasion. Some people will dare the sarcasm and cruel taunts by using a Snuggie™. Don’t become the office joke…use this warm outfit and coworkers won’t so much as snicker. In fact, they will probably avoid walking by your cubicle or office altogether!

Are your interoffice memos not effective? Do people smirk at your note taking in meetings? Well, use these fun post-it notes and people will pay attention. In fact, they will agree to anything you ask and give you money and other gifts, even if it’s not your birthday!

Naturally, there’s something you don’t want people to see in your cubicle. One former coworker had a small TV in her desk drawer. One coworker actually had a camping mattress and pillow and blanket under his desk. One coworker LIVED in his cubicle! Small things can be hidden in this handy keyboard-slash-storage compartment. If anyone finds it, they can be a coworker-slash-sorry-they-ever-came-into-your-office!

Life goes fast in the age of technology and sometimes you need to make a personal call… like to report your employer to the labor board or tell your five year-old that he or she has to make their own dinner because uncle mean-boss is making you work until two in the morning again. With these stealth covers for your iPad and iPhone, you can fool coworkers into believing you have an Etch-a-Sketch for amusing down-time…as if you are suppose to have down-time. GET BACK TO WORK!

Working 9-5 is an old Dolly Parton song and an even older concept to employers who believe in gulag-style work hours. Sometimes you might need to spend your ten minute lunch break shutting your eyes for a power nap. Well, lunch break or not, employers aren’t fond of sleeping employees using company heat and chairs for such personal time. Just slip into this cute bear sleeping bag and chances are, no one will stay in the are long enough to figure it out.

Curious coworkers might pluck up the courage to peak into your workspace while you’re not there. Maybe they’ll touch your stuff! Well, with this handy pen/video camera, you can keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Catch someone in the act and you can blackmail them for money, or blackmail them first and THEN have them fired!

Although the image for the video pen seems to show the male coworker using video to look directly at his female coworker’s er, breastular region…probably for later use, which I won’t go into here but trust me, it’s not office appropriate…like the rest of this article…sometimes you need to know what coworkers may suspect about you…or are just making up in office gossip. Use this sound enhancer to overhear conversations far away. People will think you’re just wearing a Bluetooth but you’ll really be hearing tidbits of information that will make you king or queen of the office. Forewarned is forearmed!

Don’t get mad…get even!

So, maybe some of your coworkers haven’t heeded the message that you will kill them and gnaw on their bones. Some people are just a bit slow when it comes to obvious signs. A little extra persuasion may be needed. With this little device, hidden somewhere in their office, it will only take about three days for them to go completely insane. Buy two and hide one in their car, too! There’s a reason they call it the “Annoy-a-Tron!”

Sometimes, as the old saying goes, a little sugar attracts more flies than vinegar. So does the rotting carcass of a missing coworker, lying in a ditch at the edge of town, but please don’t get me wrong. Making nice is the best way to win over the hardest heart in the office and what could be better then sealing an interoffice memo with a kiss? Of course, you might not want to kiss every memo or wear lipstick, so just use this innovative pre-inked stamper. If someone is still mad or suspicious of your intentions, just stamp their shirt collar and let their spouse become enraged and divorce them, causing emotional problems and a downward spiral in the person’s life that usually ends with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

A dose of reality

As this is a global publication, some readers from other cultures as well as Americans who will take this article as good ideas, may not understand that I’m writing this with humor and I am not suggesting one should threaten or harm coworkers. If one were to act out on any one of these scenarios, they would probably be fired (and possibly imprisoned).

When you are fired, or so I have heard, you are usually walked out by security, sometimes with a guard holding each one of my limbs…er, your limbs, and you will not be allowed to return to your office to pack your personal items. Coworkers will usually loot your items like wild dogs fighting over a dead carcass. Having worked at places where we produced collectible licensed merchandise, things can disappear very easily. As creatives, we tend to like having colorful things around us like collectible vinyl figures and such. It’s best to keep personal items of any value out of the office.

So, what can we have around to brighten our personal workspaces, set in Nazi-gray office color schemes? It should be things we can throw away without a second thought. So, try custom paper toys! Buy a book of them and you can have all the cute and cool you want until it’s time to walk the last mile out of your place of employment, leaving nothing but memories and perhaps…burning paper toys?

Speider Schneider is a former member of The Usual Gang of Idiots at MAD Magazine and has designed products for Disney/Pixar, Warner Bros., Harley-Davidson, ESPN, Mattel, DC and Marvel Comics, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon among other notable companies. Speider is a former member of the board for the Graphic Artists Guild, co-chair of the GAG Professional Practices Committee and a former board member of the Society of Illustrators. Follow him on Twitter @speider

Do you have a favorite office toy? What web site do you like for great, fun office toys? Do you understand this article was written tongue-in-cheek and you shouldn’t scare coworkers? Is it just too late to write a disclaimer?

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For some odd reason, there seems to be a discrepancy of sorts when it comes to doing the work for ourselves. Some designers feel like of course we should take on that Jack-of-all-trades mindset, while others just feel like it makes sense to pass the work off and let someone else do it.

The truth is, they’re both great ideas but vary depending on your situation. How creative are you? What is your skill set? What kind of things stress you out? All these questions should be taken into consideration when determining whether or not designers should do their own personal projects.

Keep in mind, that for the purposes of this argument, we will say that a personal project is any type of work that contributes to yourself and your services. For example, we are talking about business cards, websites, etc.

Yes, do personal projects

Doing your own work can be extremely beneficial, especially if you are in a place where your client work is slow or you are just starting out and need some things to keep you occupied. Doing your own personal work from start to finish can sometimes be much more fun than client work and can teach you a lot about yourself and your style. Keep reading to find out some reasons why designers work on their own projects.

Beginner’s luck

If you are at the very beginning of your design career, it’s kind of hard to offer services to others, especially if you are lacking the proper portfolio. Most times folks aren’t going to give you a chance if they don’t know you or know your work. The best way to counterattack this to make your first client yourself.

Let’s say for example, you are a graphic designer who would like to offer their services to the public. Well, to start off, you feel like you need to print up some business cards because you’d like to give them to some friends, family, and colleagues. That’s a great idea, but if you don’t have any work to show for, how are they going to know your work? Take the time out to really create your own business card and whatever other pieces you feel like you need to offer your services. There’s no need to run and grab a template if you can do it yourself.

As we are talking about personal projects essentially for your services and for promotional purposes, don’t forget that it’s okay to create conceptual art and put it in your portfolio. There’s this preconceived notion that all work in your portfolio has to be paid client work, but that is a falsehood. It’s okay to create a mock up, or some sort of conceptual art to let your viewers see what you are capable of. Whether you are a beginner or not, if there is a new technique you want to try out and show off, make something up. It’s totally fine to add imaginative work to your portfolio. It could quite possibly be the work that gets you in with a client!

Growth and technique

Doing personal projects really buys you time inside of whatever program it is that you may use. No matter your how good you think you are or how good others think you may be, it’s always great to have practice under your belt. Being involved with your personal projects allows you the opportunity to grow and be solid in your craft and allows you to become more familiar with techniques.

One thing that is extremely important to designers of all types, is their workflow. You may be an awesome web designer, but you don’t want it to be a pain in the butt to get done what it is that you need to get done. Personal projects help you figure out your workflow better because when you’re working on your own things, (hopefully) you aren’t as strict on yourself and you feel more free to create (than say, if you had a big near-deadline client). With your client work you want to try to be neat and color inside the lines—hopefully you loosen the reins a bit when it comes to your own creative projects.

Growth in whatever you do is necessary. Developing your technique and your workflow inside your programs of choice is absolutely necessary to the success of what you’re doing.

Experimentation

Along with practicing and streamlining your workflow, you want to be able to experiment on some things. Experimentation, along with practice, really helps you figure out new techniques and helps you come up with your own style. Most times with commissioned projects, we aren’t as prone to experiment, but with our own personal projects, experimentation should be heavily utilized and looked forward to.

Depending on your target audience, the work you end up doing could be extremely repetitive. You may be known for the way you put together really clean, minimalistic web designs. There’s no foul there, but it’s nice to be able to step outside of yourself if necessary—if not to add a skill, then to be able to have a general knowledge of said skill.

You may also have a skill set that is closely related to another—there may be times where you are asked to carry out those tasks by a client. Now it’s all up to you whether or not you want to increase your skills, but it is good to be able to experiment and research so that you have some clue about related skillsets. As a strict graphic designer myself, I don’t know a ton about web development, but I have experimented enough to know what works and what may not work. I have enough knowledge to know, if I can’t do the task, I can point you in the right direction. This is what experimentation can do for you.

Added personal touch

What I think is most important about doing your own projects is the personal touch and flavor that’s put on it. Yes, you can tell someone your style and the things that you like but no one can really portray it and put it down as best as you can (especially if you have the ability to do so). Most times, the work that is done for yourself is and can be the first that people see of you. Are you okay with that first impression being work someone else has done for you?

It also makes sense that if you are known for a specific talent to carry out that specific talent for yourself. For example, if you are known for developing great WordPress themes and such, when you need your own website, make it a WordPress site and develop your own theme. That acts as a free advertisement and folks can know and understand how great you really are. If you were to outsource your website and a client wants a site much like yours, they’re more than likely going to skip out on you and hire the company that worked for you.

If you are in a position where you want people to under your vision and your brand, it’s probably best that you do as much of your own work as possible. Quite frankly, when you outsource, most times you end up being lumped together with other clients that are doing similar things and then you lose your personality and what makes you different. You never want to risk losing that by not doing your own personal projects.

No, don’t do personal projects

There are some designers who feel like personal projects should be done by a third party. Much like doing your personal projects, there are some benefits to not doing your own work. When you think about outsourcing your personal projects, it’s best to take into consideration your business strategy, your common stressors, and much more. Again, below are some reasons why some designers choose to employ others and let them do the dirty work.

The small things

Simply put, giving the smaller tasks to a third party can really decrease your workload and your stress levels. You can focus on work you feel needs to be done (things close to deadlines, really big clients, etc.) and pass off smaller tasks, such as business cards and brochures, to others.

Of course, this is all with the assumption that you’ve already handled the larger tasks, such as the website, the logo, etc. What is really popular is to hire these third parties to make updates and changes as you move further along with your brand. It can get to be a bit much to update every single thing yourself, especially when it may be hard to find time—or it’s easily forgotten because it’s just not that huge of a task; however, it must be done. If your personal projects seem to always need updates and changes, you may want to think about outsourcing.

Time is limited

Some of us aren’t beginners and some of us are actually swamped with tons of commissioned work. Depending on your business and your strategy, focusing on this type of work may be all you want to do. If that’s the case, you may only have the option to have a third party help out with your personal projects.

There are times when after you feel like you’ve really gotten to a place of some success, sometimes you might want to re-brand. The projects you did for yourself when you just started are no longer representative of you, or you feel like your business is going in a different direction. Re-branding (especially visually) is extremely important if what you had and where you are going are two different things. Just imagine, if you are a web designer who did dynamic websites, but wants to change to focus on mobile responsiveness, there may be some visual re-branding you want to do.

If your time is limited and wrapped up by your clients, it’s probably best that you bite the bullet and outsource. You want to find a way to manage your time and your projects as best as possible.

You don’t know how

No matter how much you try to fake the funk on some things, when it’s time to actually sit down and create something you have no clue how to do it—or it just may not be of the quality you want it to be. We talked about how it’s nice be familiar with different skillsets, but most times, if you don’t have it, then you don’t have it. And you should be familiar enough with the skillset to know when it is time to reach out to someone else.

For example, as a designer you may want to create a promotional video for yourself. You have a nice digital camera that shoots in high def, and you even have iMovie or Final Cut, but perhaps that’s not quite what you had in mind. You know you want multiple angles and camera tricks and all types of fancy stuff—so it sounds like you may want to outsource.

What you don’t want to do is stress yourself out by trying to learn a completely new skill while trying to create something you know you want to use. It’s a great way to learn but it’s also one of the quickest ways to get stressed—you have to determine if that’s worth it, especially if you have a pile of client work to do and you’re trying to squeeze years worth of knowledge into a small personal project.

A different outlook

It’s easy to get caught in the act of using the same techniques, same programs, and same workflow that you use constantly. Now, there’s nothing wrong with being efficient but there is an issue when all your work begins to look and feel the same. There is a fine line between having a style and having the same base, just changing a thing or two. If you feel like all your work is looking pretty much the same, you may want to call on an outside opinion.

Even if you are creating work that does not look different, it is good to have a different opinion. Many times, it’s hard for us to step outside of our roles and see the much bigger picture. Having an outsider’s opinion can go far, not just by the look and design of things but also in helping you figure some things out with your brand and services. Outsourcing your work doesn’t have to just be about giving someone else your workload, but it can also be a partnership that helps move your personal visions further.

Which one?

Both of these ‘methods’ sound so simple, but the truth is, a lot of designers make a bunch of mistakes by choosing to outsource or not to outsource. I don’t believe you have to stick to one method because both are appropriate depending on your situation and strategy, but it is important you use the right one at the right time.

Doing your personal projects is completely up to you and your capabilities, but if you are a designer of any sort and have some sort of general knowledge, you should definitely have some sort of hand in your personal projects. I’m not just talking about telling someone what you want to do, but actually doing something and being a large part of the creative process.

Ultimately, with whatever work you are doing, you don’t want to stress or burn yourself out. If that means you have to pass some work along to someone else, do that. You want to make sure you take as much care of your creativity as possible.

Kendra Gaines is a freelance designer from Virginia, USA. Connect with her.

Do you prefer to work on all your personal projects or not? When have you outsourced?

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Whether you freelance or have a full-time position, chances are you are not earning enough to live a comfortable lifestyle. Sure, maybe you manage to pay all of your bills each month.

But maybe you live in fear that the roof will need fixing or you’re driving on bald tires or you have no health insurance—you are not alone.

We are all part of what is now being called the “99%.”

While at my last full-time job, most of us had a second job or paying hobby. It’s not that we weren’t well paid because we all made more than the average income for that city. Still, it just wasn’t enough when the kids needed braces on their teeth, summer camp, and those little things that come up in life when you least expect it…like eating.

Costs keep going up while fees and salaries are not. It’s a fact and if we can get past the egotistical part of human nature while some say they are “doing great,” we can explore second jobs that will actually help your business sense for freelancing and being better at that full-time position you have.

Some of the limits you face

Time is precious. We have to shop for food, take care of our children, spend quality family time, and eventually sleep. That’s the human side. The business side can be tougher. If you work for a large company, chances are you signed a non-compete agreement. Basically, it means you can’t do freelance work along the lines of your titled position. If you are a designer, you can’t freelance creating design work. While at my last corporate gig, I was a graphic designer but designed web sites freelance. I had to apply for permission to do so from some corporate flunky hidden in the bowels of the main building in the “cult compound”—as we use to refer to the multi-building complex built from the long-lost blueprints for the Fourth Reich Berlin.

Some fellow employees played in bands, or created fine art paintings and sculptures, sock monkeys and one-of-a-kind jewelry. We all knew who did what and there was no embarrassment as we were all in the same financial boat. When someone in the company decided my designing web sites was “too close” to our new web initiatives, I had to stop.

A friend of mine made her extra money by catering weddings and events and asked if I would fill in for someone as a bartender. Playing with alcohol sounded like fun, so I agreed. When I showed up for the event, I saw that the wait staff and other bartender were all fellow designers from the company. It was pleasant, paid well and the tips weren’t bad…despite the nasty drunks who wanted to start fights with me—the male customers were much more civilized.

This brings us to our first part-time job that will help your business, or at least bring in extra income without draining you of your creative juices.

Food service

Everyone should work a food service position at one point in their lives to experience how stupid and thoughtless people are with waiters and waitresses. The public is insane, dirty, and thoughtless. Working in a service job has several great lessons that will help you in a freelance or office politics situation:

• This is one of the best jobs to teach you how to handle different personalities and difficult situations.

• You learn humility and how to “take a bite of a poop sandwich” and say “yummy!”

• It teaches you the psychology of handling difficult personalities.

• You learn that sometimes you just have to smile and take it.

• You lean that the customer is not always right but you have to act as if they are.

• You learn to lead people into a decision. When they can’t order a simple hamburger from a numbered list with giant pictures, you learn the subtleties of leading a client into a firm decision for the best results.

Unfortunately, food service gets old really quickly and if you work in a place where tips are not good, you’ll resent the job and it will affect your happiness at your primary job. The thing to remember about second jobs is you can quit them and still have your primary income.

Telemarketing

The better of the “hidden” second jobs: no one needs to know you are doing this if you want to keep your second job quiet. Telemarketing was one of the jobs I had while attending art school. Classes during the day and work at night, often getting out at 2:00 am. It’s not physically taxing but it’s selling and rejection can be frustrating. If you can hack it, this is a great position for helping you in business.

Telemarketing firms use scripts you have to read. They also have sections with what is called “objection responses.” When the person you are speaking with says they don’t want to buy the new and improved whatever-it-is you are selling, you have a first objection response, a second, and a third all written out for you. By the way, the best way to get rid of a telemarketer is to tell them you already have the item or service and they will let you go right away. When I’m called about taking a subscription to the local newspaper, I ask if they have a Braille version because I’m blind. That gets rid of them really fast. When asked about taking a subscription to one of many magazines being offered, I ask if they carry some magazine with the most filthy, pornographic title I can think of. That also gets rid of them very quickly…unless they actually have one or more of those titles.

I found, by using the simple lessons the telemarketing firm taught me for successful selling, I not only kept winning their sales prizes, which meant extra money on top of my salary and commission, but it also helped my freelance business once I left school. A job in telemarketing is good for:

• Learning to take and shrug off rejection. It’s never personal so don’t take it that way.

• You can learn objection responses when dealing with a prospective client. It’s not tricking someone into using your services—it’s exhausting all possible negative responses to see if there is a reason for them to say “yes.”

• You learn proper telephone etiquette. Too many people just don’t know how important this is. As an art director, I grew very tired of rude morons who called me looking for work. I appreciated those who had good phone etiquette and would listen to what they had to say.

• It teaches you to talk to people. That’s a skill many freelancers, stuck behind a computer for many hours don’t have.

Office manager

One of my first jobs out of art school was managing a small art studio. Although it was an art studio, my position was not a creative one. It didn’t pay much but it was great for my freelancing because I was being paid to learn about running a small business. If I made any mistakes, at least it wasn’t in my own business!

I don’t remember what I said to get hired but I had a sense of organization and a few of my art school jobs probably helped me get in the door. It gave me more than I thought it would.

I greeted clients, tracked and ordered supplies, kept financial books, organized the collection of art samples created by the artists the studio represented, answered the phone, did filing and wrote correspondence. If you are a freelancer, you need to learn all of these skills and, as I mentioned, better to learn at someone else’s expense, rather then your own. While I didn’t screw up at that job, I left with the ability to be more organized in my own studio and looked up the clients I befriended while working there. It doubled my clients immediately after leaving! The positive benefits of managing a small office is:

• Depending on the type of business, you’ll make contacts you can use for your own freelance business.

• You can learn bookkeeping and that’s HUGE in running your own business!

• In a small office, being a creative source that is on site, you might be able to do creative work for that business.

• You’ll learn day-to-day business management.

Delivery person

During a semester break in art school, a friend asked me if I could take over his job while he went away on vacation. The job consisted of making light deliveries and pick ups from businesses in my area. As I was paying for my own tuition and needed the money, I happily agreed. It was pretty boring and not very demanding. In the morning I got my delivery schedule, loaded the packages for the day and drove off for an eight-hour shift. I found it had other  interesting benefits:

• There’s no one looking over your shoulder all day. As long as deliveries are made on time, the boss doesn’t care.

• You meet people at different companies. Collect names, business cards, etc. and when the gig is done, approach them for design work. They won’t care that you delivered packages. If they think you are jovial and pleasant, they will be more than happy to listen to your proposal about designing for their business.

• While on the road, you can make calls or a stop here and there to take care of your own business as long as you make your deliveries. Another benefit to not having a boss looking over your shoulder!

• If you have eight hours to make deliveries but it only takes four hours, you have paid time to take a nap because, with two jobs, you’ll need a bit of rest.

Newspaper ad sales

We all really hate selling! Unfortunately, it’s part of our business. Selling ad space for a local newspaper will mean a lot of calls, visiting prospects, and keeping records of all your efforts to sell. As with other jobs mentioned here, the benefits are:

• You’ll meet people! Maybe they WILL buy ad space. Maybe they need someone to DESIGN those ads. Maybe they will need a better logo or a web site. In a month of trying to sell ad space, you could meet 60 to 200 new small business owners.

• Maybe the newspaper needs some design work, too! Proximity can be the best reason for someone to give you design work.

• If you need to convince someone to advertise and they want someone to design their ad, perhaps the newspaper won’t mind you charging to design the ads? If the paper is generating ad revenue—hopefully more with you selling—why would they mind the methods you use to win over that business?

• They will have a prospect list with business names, contact information and type of business and they just HAND it to you! A copy of that might need to go home with you to “study it.” Good for their business, so if it gets left behind when you quit selling ad space, who will really care?

• Learning to sell something everyone needs but doesn’t want to pay for will sharpen your skills as a salesperson for your own business. After all, what client wants to pay for design, and we all know they need it!

• It’s a newspaper so the “insider information” is priceless. Get friendly with the copy desk editor or the editor of the business section!

Being a “fine artist”

Several of my coworkers did this for extra money. They were extremely talented painters. If you can make the time, maybe an hour a day, several days a week, you can create enough pieces for a gallery show over time. One friend created several dozen pieces every year for one gallery show where he would profit about $25,000 each show. He also used his “notoriety” to get grants around town for installations and special projects, adding what I suspect was another $25,000 at least.

Another friend did it on a smaller scale. She created a set of skateboard decks with her art on them and had a small show at a friend’s restaurant. A nice little opening and she sold all the decks. A good payday that led to some professional work with her art on products. One small success leading to a bigger success. Eventually she left the company for which we both worked and found a much better job, due in part to her product work and of course, her talent. No list needed for this one. It’s a creative part-time job, so you can figure out the benefits and commitments for yourself.

Zazzle or Café Press

As with being a fine artist, you can sell designs on products through Zazzle or Café Press. Yes, it’s another creative outlet but we are talking of economic gain and these sites can give you the extra money you need. Some call it “beach money” (you earn money while sitting on a beach) and once the designs are made, uploaded and placed on products, you can sit back and wait for the sales to be made while the sites produce, ship, and bill the consumer and you get a check for your cut.

You will need to learn how to keep some records because, despite those producers handling everything, you need to know what you are selling, the taxes you have to pay on the income, and what, if any, deductions you can take on your taxes.

Sound simple? Well, you will also need to market the designs through social media and possibly newspaper ads, which you might be selling if you follow the advice in a previous category listed above…or delivering those products if you follow yet another category listed in this article.

Working for a former teacher

Yet another creative job…or not. When I left art school—mind you I didn’t graduate—I was offered some work by a couple of my teachers. One as a writer, coming up with sight gags for his comic feature in Playboy, for which I earned $10 per accepted gag, and another teacher who had me do odd jobs and writing for his studio. It eventually led to my being able to do work for a book with my name on it, so it was not high paying but a great benefit to a young creative just starting out.

Chances are you’ll be cleaning up, making copies, and shining shoes. It’s okay because you are also being mentored.

Teaching

From time to time, I teach a course on design or art for kids on Saturdays. I enjoy the kids with their unspoiled view of art and their fresh creativity inspires me in my daily work. The pay isn’t great but this is one of those jobs you don’t do for the money.

Writing or blogging

This is my personal favorite, for obvious reasons. There are sites that pay for content. If you can string a couple of sentences together with some kind of point to ranting and babbling, chances are someone will buy your articles. Maybe a local paper wants someone to write reviews of art shows or a museum? Maybe you’re an avid foodie and can write eatery reviews. Maybe you have a book within you but don’t want to go through the 29 rejections JK Rowling went through before someone thought Harry Potter might have some merit. Amazon now has an ebook publishing program where you get up to 70% of all sales. Spend your lunch hour typing up a chapter and before you know it, you’ll have your book…although, don’t do it on your work computer if you’re writing about blowing the top off the industry in which you work.

Can you create a site that can be monetized (ads with click-thrust, associate sales programs)? You will have to keep the content fresh and advertise it to bring in hits. It’s not an easy job and it’s a daily commitment. It also doesn’t have an instant return. With a part-time job, you have a check at the end of the week. With self-initiated second incomes, you invest time and effort and hopefully can start seeing a return within six months to a year.

Look around for interesting part-time jobs

The beauty of a creative outlet is you feel proud of your efforts but they are a commitment and are an investment in your future. A non-creative job can be left behind if you receive a raise at your staff job or if you garner more freelance clients. There is no emotional bond. Look at the want ads of job sites and try to imagine what you can learn from the jobs listed. Every job has possibilities and lessons. Be creative when considering what YOU will get out of a job, aside from extra income. Certainly paying for something like health insurance or taking your family on a fabulous vacation is a reward that is tangible. I wish I could say the economic bad times will be over soon. I wish we all could be paid what we are worth but when was creativity ever really paid what it was worth?

Speider Schneider is a former member of The Usual Gang of Idiots at MAD Magazine and has designed products for Disney/Pixar, Warner Bros., Harley-Davidson, ESPN, Mattel, DC and Marvel Comics, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon among other notable companies. Speider is a former member of the board for the Graphic Artists Guild, co-chair of the GAG Professional Practices Committee and a former board member of the Society of Illustrators. Follow him on Twitter @speider

Do you work a “second job?” Tell us what you do and how it helps your career. If you had to work to make another income, what would you prefer to do?

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Getting your designs approved by clients in a timely manner is vital to smoothly managing any project. But it’s often more than just getting approvals.

There’s often feedback, comments, notes, and other considerations you need to deal with during the process. Managing all that becomes a lot more difficult than simply getting a client to sign off.

Approval Manager 2012 can help you manage the entire process so your projects run smoothly. It offers a number of new features compared to the previous year’s version.

You can upload multiple files into your workflow much more simply using the new File Management window and group proof option. You can choose to route files together or separately, or use the File Management window to upload, delete, or create new file versions effortlessly.

Smart versioning of files makes it easy to manage multiple versions of a file. Whenever a file is uploaded, Approval Manager will check for an older version of the same file (by either same or similar file name) and replace it with the new version. Or you can manually choose to replace a file with a new version.

Approval Manager 2012 also includes a new pen tool within their Spark! annotation toolset (in addition to the existing comment, box, arrow, and measurement tools). The pen tool lets your users quickly markup any file, however they may choose, such as adding a circle or underline to a portion you want to comment on. Users also have the option to change the color of their markups, or apply a simple color code to annotations.

Spark! also lets you reply and attach files directly to a comment. This makes it easier for clients or others in the approval process to have conversations surrounding files without having to resort to email or a separate system. And it makes it possible for everyone involved in the process to stay up-to-date and in the loop.

Spark! also lets you capture comments and reviews for files it can’t open directly. It makes it easy to download and choose the appropriate native program to open the file, and then attach files or save comments directly within Spark! to keep everything organized.

Forget about marking up PDFs and emailing them back and forth. Approval Manager 2012 can be deployed in the cloud (great for distributed teams) or as an in-house app for when you need to maintain complete control over your software. There’s support for Adobe Publishing workflow to review InDesign digital proofs and directly make corrections in InCopy in real time.

Other features of Approval Manager include a visual dashboard for viewing files; a customizable approval process with as many stages as you need; an audit trail for tracking proof uploads, reviews, and emails; automatically saved proof revisions; and real-time status updates. There are also workflow templates to make it faster to set up your own process, a centralized contacts database, and auto-routing of files.

There’s a free Express plan available that allows unlimited proofs and users, browser review and markup tools, mutli-person reviews, and more. The Standard plan, which starts at $995, includes a multi-stage workflow, a workflow and scheduling dashboard, automated proof routing, customizable branding, and more. As mentioned earlier, the Standard edition can also be hosted in the cloud starting at $199/mo.

If you need help figuring out how to manage the approval process for all of your different projects, whether in-house or for clients, then Approval Manager is a great place to start.

Reviewed exclusively for WDD by Cameron Chapman

[Disclaimer: This post is a sponsored post for Approval Manager 2012. The opinions expressed in the article are the author's only.]

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“Profit in business comes from repeat customers, customers that boast about your project or service, and that bring friends with them.”

This quote is from William Edwards Deming, the man who almost single-handedly shaped the business and manufacturing culture of Japan into the powerhouse that it is today.

Some might argue he knows something about making profit.

When starting out it’s straight forward that the goal is to get customers, but it’s undeniable that the lifeblood of a sustainable business is return clients.

Every business has customers; they wouldn’t exist without them. Some of these customers will never return and this is why most business owners put a high emphasis on getting repeat customers.

The return client

Why concentrate on return clients though instead of acquiring new clients?

Return clients represent much more than repeat customers. Returning implies that they made a conscious decision based on their experience with you and they took action based on that decision.

Return customers can become your best sales agents by telling friends about their experience and by going the extra mile to do business with you again.

There is a well know rule among entrepreneurs and that is the 80/20 rule, also known as the Pareto Principle. If you ask enough business owners you will soon find that 80% of their business comes from only 20% of their customers. This shows us that turning first-time clients into return ones can be highly beneficial.

Another very important factor to consider when talking about return customers is the expense. It is usually much more expensive to get new clients through the door than to keep ones who have already crossed the doorstep.

3 character traits to guarantee return clients

There is no doubt that there are character traits that can help or hinder one in making customers happy and thus turning them into return clients.

Here are few good-to-have character traits when dealing with customers.

1. Trustworthiness

Trust is the most important factor in any working relationship. Once you manage to gain the customer’s trust, half the battle is won. If they know they can rely on you to deliver a quality product—to respect deadlines—they will return.

How many times did you buy something from someone you didn’t trust? Not many times I would imagine.

If you think of the basics and remain trustworthy and honest by doing what you say you will, when you say it, you’re on your way to establish a loyal customer base.

Remember, loyalty seldom exists without trust.

2. Communication skills

Good communication skills are vital when selling, and they are especially important when selling services.

The world is not the fairest place and sometimes it’s not the most talented people that get the sale. In the process of getting return customers it’s also crucial that you communicate at all times with your customers even after the sale or project is complete. The goal is to make them happy and keep them happy.

Make sure you are always in touch with your clients and make the most of the tools at your reach starting from the phone and email to Twitter and LinkedIn.

3. Willingness to learn

Competition in today’s global marketplace is fierce. You may be the best at something and earn your customer’s trust with it, but value is still king. It’s only a matter of time until someone comes along offering a little bit more than you.

In order to keep a loyal customer base and gain return clients one has to constantly evolve. The fact that you already gained credibility with the customer can only go so far and one needs to constantly learn new skills, offer new products and grow their business in order to keep customers happy and returning.

3 strategies to guarantee return clients

Getting return clients can be easier than people expect it, but you need well organized and executed strategies. Here are a few that are proven.

1. Customer loyalty programs

Discounts and incentives are an excellent lure for customers. You can implement loyalty programs that reward the customer for repeat purchases from your company.

These programs are also very flexible and scalable. You can employ them even at a freelancer level by offering a discount for return or constant clients. As time passes and the business grows you could maybe scale to a loyalty card points system for example.

In order for such a strategy to work effectively though you need to watch your margins and make sure the business is not losing money due to the discounts. The cost of a loyalty scheme may be too big if not managed properly.

2. Welcome complaints

Complaints if handled appropriately can become one of the best tools to cultivate return clients.

They are a great opportunity to showcase your customer service and prove that you care about them and your product or service.

Make sure you listen patiently to what your clients have to say, be honest and make sure to offer a solution or plan of action as to how their problem will be solved.

Many times a well handled complaint can be more powerful than a direct sale.

Also, most of the customers don’t complain, they just walk away. Complaints are not only a great opportunity to win your client’s trust, but also receive valuable feedback. By listening to the complaints you can pinpoint why you may be losing clients.

3. Do a great job

This is the most obvious strategy and the most important. Make sure at all times that you do your best for the client and offer the best service or product you can.

If you consistently offer your best, clients will return.

You can employ loyalty schemes and special offers for all you want, no client is going to return to buy a lesser-quality product or for bad service.

Remember that getting return clients is vital to the growth of every business and be sure that you consistently make efforts to get clients to return, be that by executing customer retention strategies or just letting your personality shine through.

George Fekete is a web designer, developer, and entrepreneur with 8 years of experience in client-side and server-side technologies, ranging from PHP to Node.js. In 2007 he founded a company called Primal Skill, mostly working on mid-sized to enterprise level web development projects.

What methods have you used for guaranteeing return business? Let us know in the comments!

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The practice of mentoring goes back as far as the days of the cave men (and women) when the elders of the tribe, probably 16 years old at the time, taught other non-upright beings how to dodge sabertooth tigers, make spears, clean and prepare the pelts of sabertooth tigers and other survival techniques like pooping outside of the cave.

It was easier then as meetings and the Blackberry hadn’t been invented and there was time to mentor the young. As time marched on and humans evolved to live to at least 32 years old, people created apprenticeships to train the replacements who would do the shop work when the craftsman was no longer able to pound barrel staves, cobble soles, or flunken gerflunkenheisers until the wee hours of morning before the daily witch burnings.

Mentorship is the modern gerflunkenheiser flunkening. It’s not a dead art and you’d be surprised how common it really is.

I was lucky. My mentors were my art school teachers. They saw promise in my talent and drive and, being mature adults, forgave my youthful…verve and bad attitude. My mentorship included odd jobs around their studios, invitations to cocktail parties and industry events which I could never dream of being invited on my own standing in the industry, or just dropping by their studio or office to chat and watch their everyday work routine.

I learned a lot from them. They imparted lessons on business, or I would see how they handled difficult situations. I would be introduced to the top talents in the industry and, like an illegal cockfight, sometimes be thrown at an obnoxious creative for the occasional fistfight or battle of wits. It was a wonderful time for me.

What do you get out of mentoring?

Your peers form a group within which you grow, but they are on the same level as you. Some will grow faster and move out of your group and some will fall behind and disappear. Throughout it all, while they offer support and commiseration via “misery loves company,” they cannot give you what a mentor will provide.

A mentor has pre-made your mistakes. He or she has dealt with the pain and heartaches and can steer you in the right direction. They are someone you can call and ask about what you need to charge, how do you get paid and generally bounce ideas off to advance your career. A mentor is a teacher, guardian angel, and friend. You will advance light years beyond where you would be on your own. They will give you information and feedback you can’t find anywhere else and give it to you straight. It’s like being home schooled by a parent who’s a famous designer; you receive loving one-on-one attention.

With all of that, you will find yourself with an uplifting feeling as you trudge through a very hard field. Whether freelance, with all of the twists and turns of running your own business, or working staff and facing weird office politics and power struggles, a mentor has been there and will give you sage advice. You, in turn, must learn to listen to it.

Why would someone WANT to mentor you?

Many professionals feel it’s giving back to the industry. Some feel it’s good karma and some do it because they enjoy helping the next generation. I’ve always felt all of the above and that when you help the next generation enter the field and do it as professionals with all of the correct information on business, they make the industry stronger. In almost every article I write, I relay the wise words of Brian Singer, creative director and founder of Altitude Associates:

“The way you get ahead in design…is by lifting up those around you.”

I’ve mentioned in several articles that I was not happy with the treatment I received from my former alma mater but I am big enough of a person to look past that and help students from my old school. I judged people by who they were and wanted to encourage those with talent and professional drive.

As the art director for a large, well-known publication headquartered in New York City, I was contacted by the head of my former school’s art department about taking on some interns. I despised the man to no end and tried very hard not to scream at him and hang up when he called, but I listened to what he had to say. Sure, I wanted interns and had already hired several students from the school, unbeknownst to him.

“And I don’t want them going for coffee or just making copies,” he demanded. “I want them actually designing the magazine!”

I counted to three under my breath. “You’re in no position to make demands,” I replied. I think his aggressive demand was based on either the fact that he knew he had treated me badly for many years and now I was in a position of power or he was just a pompous ass. The latter, I believe.

“I’ve hired a couple of students from the school and they seem very happy getting coffee and making copies,” I quietly continued. “When I was a student, I would have PAID to just be inside this publication, cleaning the floors with my tongue if that was what they needed!”

Which brings me to an important point: Attitude will haunt you forever! Be kind to those you meet on the way up because you’ll eventually need something from them.

An apt quote to consider is: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Dr. Maya Angelou said that. Actually, people will remember it all, so watch how you treat people!

Where do you find a mentor?

As I did, you may want to start with one of your teachers from art school. They have a certain oneness with you as a student and although there are certain states with laws that won’t allow them to fraternize with students or even friend you on Facebook, once you are out of school, a professional relationship is fine.

Maybe you didn’t go to art school or you did but your teachers hated you or they just aren’t worth the effort as mentors. Perhaps your family knows someone in the field? A good friend of my parents was a big wig in advertising and was always happy to see me when I dropped by his office. My grandfather fixed the cars of people who would be happy to do him a favor and let me tour their office or sit around and watch them work. My uncle was in the mob and people who owed him “favors” were happy to meet with me and answer questions and give me office furniture, electronics, and cartons of cigarettes. Family can be a great avenue to finding a mentor.

If you have no former teachers and your family has passed on or is doing a 20-year stretch in a federal penitentiary you still have a way to find a mentor: Ask someone. Is there a local design studio owner you admire? Write them a nice note and ask if they would agree to be your mentor. Offer to bring them lunch once a month so you can chat informally about the business. If they take a liking to you, there will probably be an internship or job offer.

Maybe the relationship is purely via digital communications. Emails back and forth may not be as advantageous as face-to-face but it’s better than nothing. I get many emails from young creatives who read my articles and I answer all of them. Most of them thank me and express amazement I took the time to thoroughly answer their questions. Maybe when they are in positions to hire freelancers they’ll remember the kindness and take pity on me?

Some people will refuse to become your mentor or answer emails but eventually, you will find someone who believes in mentoring. When you do, treasure the relationship and don’t screw up!

Screwing up the mentor relationship

You’ve gotten your in. You have what many other creative want and will wait for you to screw up or die…or both so they can grab your spot.

Unfortunately, I have seen too many people screw up the chance handed them. Rather than relive the stories of those who I had to fire and their utter embarrassment of having to explain to friends and family why their big break lasted four hours and the tears they cried as security walked them from the building, let me give you an important list that will save you heartbreak and career suicide:

• DON’T be late! If I have to wait twenty minutes to an hour for you to show up, you are not respecting me, my time or my schedule.

• DON’T steal from me! Yes, it has happened and it has cut down on those I allow into my office.

• DON’T refuse any job! As with the demand that interns not make copies of get coffee, you have to start at the bottom. Even at that bottom, you are still heads above those not interning or connected with a mentor.

• FOLLOW DIRECTIONS! I’ve had to fire several interns because they had a “big surprise” for me when they finished an assignment.

• RESPECT YOU MENTOR! If you go on Facebook and post something negative about your mentor, it’ll get back to them. Remember all the other people waiting for you to screw up or die? They’ll be happy to see that your boss/mentor gets the message.

• WORK HARD! Bosses and mentors like to see their time and trust is rewarded when they see you take responsibility for your own career. If you show you don’t care, then why should we?

• HELP OTHERS! Keep the good karma flowing. We help you, you help others, they help the next and so on.

Why should YOU be a mentor?

We paid our dues and spent years clawing our way to the top…or middle but we all should remember how hard it was. Do we say, “Tough! Do it like I did,” or do we practice compassion and help those young people who deserve a break? More importantly, do we train our next generation to keep the business strong and not allow them to be the ones to whom business owners refer when they say, “I can get it cheaper,” pointing at new graduates?

Business acumen has changed over the past few years. When I entered the field, the Catch-22 of needing experience before you were hired to gain experience frustrated us all. Now, young and cheap is the preferred hiring practice. Older workers are laid off and there is no natural flow of learning within companies. The young are no longer groomed by the older, more experienced worker. Training for growth is absent. It is part of nature that the young are taught by the old so they can move on and become the mentors to the next generation. The natural order may be discarded by economics and foolish business decisions, but we, as creatives, can keep to the path that nature demands.

We can teach, write, mentor and then you take our jobs and spit on us as we crawl for safety. You young punks! Still, we do it because it is in the natural order of things to pass on our experience to the next generation, however ungrateful it is.

Socrates had something to say about this:

The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.

Plato had Socrates and you should be able to find someone who takes you under their wing… just stay away from mentors who demand you wear a toga!

Written by Speider Schneider. He is a former member of The Usual Gang of Idiots at MAD Magazine and has designed products for Disney/Pixar, Warner Bros., Harley-Davidson, ESPN, Mattel, DC and Marvel Comics, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon among other notable companies. Speider is a former member of the board for the Graphic Artists Guild, co-chair of the GAG Professional Practices Committee and a former board member of the Society of Illustrators. Follow him on Twitter @speider

Did you have a mentor or mentor someone? Share your story with us!

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Maybe it’s because we can. Our nature as web designers tells us to build things. We have the capability to handle just about every role in a web design project. If we don’t already have the expertise in a certain skill, then at least we have the self-motivation to teach ourselves and learn on the job. That’s how must of us got to where we are. But is doing it all the right approach?

When you look at the bigger picture, maybe it’s not. For me, my over-arching goals are to build an impressive portfolio of work, land bigger and better clients, and grow my web design business. It’s simply not feasible to achieve these goals by doing everything myself. The only way is to build a web design all-star team to help me do it.

So here are some tips for building a well-rounded team for producing amazing web design work. These are things I’ve come to learn over the years as I transitioned from being a freelancer to owner of a distributed web design agency.

The “one thing” concept

What separates the high-end web design shop from the do-it-all freelancer? It’s the well-rounded quality of every piece in their portfolio. From wireframes to PSDs to code, copywriting, and strategy: Every role is executed by a specialist in that particular craft.

The key is to assign the right person to the right role. So how do you get this right?

I call it the “one thing” concept. The idea is to figure out what your subcontractor’s core competency is, that one skill that they’re a rockstar at. This can be harder than it seems. Most web designers, particularly those who primarily work alone, tend to claim they’re a “jack of all trades”. It’s your job to see past this and reveal that one thing that they’re most experienced with.

One of the first questions I ask potential subcontractors is “Do you consider yourself primarily a designer or a developer?”. Many of us can do both, but 99% of the time, we’re better at one than the other. I want to find out which one it is, and hire them to handle only that part of the project.

Determine your own role first

Now hold on a minute. Before you can start outsourcing, you must first determine which role you will personally fill yourself. Start by figuring out your one thing that you’re best at. Maybe it’s front-end HTML/CSS coding.

Perhaps you’re a talented visual designer, capable of producing beautiful PSDs. Or maybe your strength is in the pre-design planning stage, producing wireframes and information architecture diagrams that provide a good road map for production. It should be difficult to choose just one thing.

Keep in mind that since this will become a team effort, your role will likely include project management duties: Finding and hiring teammates, communicating project specs, client communication, etc. Be sure to budget your time accordingly!

Build your network early and often

Many freelancers and web shops are going with the distributed agency model these days. That is, your teammates work remotely from their own offices across the street or across the globe. If this is your direction, then it’s never too early to start building your network of remote workers.

Here are some ways to do that:

• Build relationships with designers and developers on Twitter.
• Seek out and follow creators of amazing work on Dribbble.
• Follow and comment with those you find interesting on Forrst.
• Post targeted ads on job boards and filter the responses to separate the quality from the noise.
• Meet designers and developers at local meetups and conferences.
• See something great on the web and get in touch with the creator.

The last one is my favorite. There are so many amazing things being created on the web every day. In the space in which my company operates, which is WordPress web design, I often come across a really cool plugin, an interesting theme or a well-written article. I’ll immediately reach out to the author to see if they’d be up for brief Skype chat to talk informally about their work and strike up a new relationship.

Later on, when a new project comes in and you’re looking for talent, it’s better to start knocking on the doors of those you already know than to scramble and start looking for someone new at the last minute. Build and nurture your network today and leverage it for your projects tomorrow.

Identifying talent & fit

How do you identify who is worth considering for a spot in your network?

Before you reach out to people, you have to know what you’re looking for. Here are things I value before I speak to someone:

• A great portfolio, but particularly an informative portfolio. The work should look great, but I want to know exactly what the person’s role was in the project. Case studies are great for this.
• A well written blog. This shows they’re passionate about their craft, enough to take the extra (often unpaid) time to write about it. This is also a good indication of their written communication skills.
• Their industry presence. High profile work, published articles, speaking engagements, books. These are all good signs of a talented and dedicated professional. But be careful, these credentials can sometimes be deceptive.

Next, we need to determine if we’re a good fit. You can’t get a full read on these things until you actually work together, but there are some things you can look for in your first few conversations:

• Professionalism and reliability. Can they reliably schedule and show up for your call/meeting? You’d be surprised how many people fail at this simple act of professionalism.
• Collaborative fit. Take note of the types of questions they ask (shows they really want to understand and collaborate). See if their “one thing” compliments yours and the others in your network/team.
• Logistics. Ask about their working hours and availability for meetings and progress updates. I’m generally open to working with anybody, but I prefer a timezone that is within 3 hours from me (North America). Just makes collaboration easier.

Great people do great things… together

When it’s time to take your web design business to the next level, it’s time to start teaming up with great people.

That’s the key to thinking big and doing amazing things in this collaborative industry we call web design.

Hopefully these ideas will help you form the basis for your network, which you can look to when it comes time to assemble a web design all-star team.

Brian Casel is the founder of CasJam Media, a web design studio specializing in custom WordPress sites.  Brian loves to connect with fellow web workers on Twitter @CasJam.

Please share your own ideas for building a great web design team in the comments…

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I had a strategy and I had it all planned out. I really did. It didn’t matter, though.

The work I was doing in an attempt to get noticed (and paid) was getting absolutely no attention. I mean, I purchased a website and got little to no views for weeks. I was trying my hardest, and I think on my best day I got maybe 150 views, and maybe 20 folks on my e-mail list.

My strategy just was not working.

The bright side, however, was that the work I was doing for fun got a lot more recognition than I thought it would and it eventually turned into some decent money. Who would’ve thought?

Why be strategic?

Having something organized and planned out works for some people. It’s what the experts tell us to do. I hate surprises so I liked the idea of having something to look forward to rather than feeling like I was taking a walk in the dark. Besides, it’s a lot easier to tell people you’re working on your web design business than it is to tell them you have no clue what you’re doing, but you hope it works.

Creating a strategy helps you to be prepared. You don’t want to just let yourself loose and hope something happens or catches on. Even when I was doing my primarily creative/fun stuff, I still planned it out. Think about it like this—how often can you open Photoshop (or the program of your choice) with no plan or idea of what to do and then end up creating something spectacular? I know I can’t. Web designers, print designers, architects, painters, and other creatives all have some sort of plan or some sort of sketch before they get into the development stage.

Strategy is what some people believe pays the bills. Now, I’ll say that’s up to personal interpretation, but if you have a plan and it makes sense, well then you’re far ahead of someone who has no clue what they are doing. Some folks come along and decide they want to create a blog packed with design inspiration and other creative articles or they want to create branded packages for small businesses. These are great ideas that have to have a strategy behind them…or do they?

Why be creative?

While I absolutely hate surprises, I had no idea how to create a good strategy. Mine were entirely too strict and didn’t give me a chance to totally be creative. If I look back at what I was doing, I was strategizing things down to the very bone—my goal wasn’t to get more Twitter followers, but it was to have 100 new followers a week.

My goal wasn’t to just create a website, but it was to create three types of freebies a week and get a certain amount of folks to download them. Thinking like that didn’t leave room for error, which I liked, but it also didn’t leave room for opportunity. If the results weren’t as I expected, then it was wrong.

Now if we recall, I said the things I did to have a bit of fun and be creative were getting noticed much more. I have two theories for that:

1. While I still had a strategy, I was being creative. I strategized by saying, “Hey, I see people asking how to make this kind of effect in Photoshop, let me make a screencast video and put it online.” That was it. Nothing else, really. I didn’t even write a transcript (which I would do in the future). The idea here is that I gave my “product” time to sit and breathe and be itself. Perhaps with my other idea, I was too involved. Over-strategizing can be the death of any strategy. You’ve got to give your idea time to stretch out and grow and figure out what else it NEEDS to be. You can’t create something and immediately expect it to be something more. Especially when it was as generic as my over-strategized idea.There is an issue with trying to be too involved.
2. People like creativity. Doing something new, or seemingly new, is smiled upon. I think there are a ton of psychological things we can explore here, but basically the idea is that folks are attracted to things that are new, that are different, that are unique. Think about the designers that stand out to you the most or the musicians and companies that are up and coming. Don’t they all have something new or unique to offer? Most times they do, and most times they start by serving a small niche, who were immediately attracted to it. Then as they got older, and got some more feedback, they figured out how to make it a monster—think of Macintosh back when they first started. Some of the greatest sites, products, musicians, etc. came about pretty much by accident (with little to no strategic backing).

The winner is…

I’m not saying that it’s bad to have a strategy but I am saying it is terrible to over-think some things. It’s also hard to put a strategy behind a purely creative idea. Strategies are extremely important to products or services that come about strictly to solve a problem.

Most app and program developers have found a problem and developed some app to try and help out. For example, with these high gas prices I was wondering (and hoping) there was an app out there that could tell me how close the cheapest gas was. I had a problem and needed a solution. Now that deserves a strategy for sure—how to get it in front of people who would use it and how much they might be willing to pay for something like that.

The thing to be careful of is trying to create a problem for our creativity to solve. For one, you’re probably boxing your creativity up. My bright idea straight out of college was to create affordable everything design for small businesses—I had ads up, I had made connections, but I was putting my creativity in one lane—small businesses. I was only following small businesses on Twitter and my portfolio only had stuff up for small businesses.

It sounded right, but I kind of made that strategic decision without letting my creativity find its own way. Secondly, being creative is a very sensitive thing—you can’t just push it on everyone and expect them to like it. Sometimes it’s best to just put your best foot forward and see what you get and go from there.

I know this is going against everything everyone else has taught you. Hell, it’s going against everything I was taught, but sometimes we’ve got to take risks and find out what ends up working for us. Take the feedback, cultivate it, and make something great.

Kendra Gaines is a freelance designer from Virginia, USA. Connect with her.

Do you feel like this theory about creativity is true? What are your results when it comes to strategy vs. creativity?

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And then, once that question is answered, of course, the question becomes, “How can I charge more?“

As opposed to a traditional job, in which you are paid a set rate based on what your boss, or your company, is willing to pay you, determining freelance pricing can be tricky.

As services such as design and development are rather abstract terms to most, and as the internet is still a relatively new medium, freelancers are left to wade through the muck in order to figure out their own worth.

“Take charge of your value. Don’t let someone else choose it for you.”

You get what you pay for

At the end of the day, the simple answer to the question of what you should charge for service is this: whatever clients are willing to pay. This is the same principle that works with any business model. It is the same principle that determines how much comic books and baseball cards are worth, and it is the same principle that determines the salary of someone who working in waste management, as opposed to a doctor.

For example, you may have a very rare baseball card, and it may be listed at a very high price on an index, but if the demand for that card does not exist, you simply will not get the listed price for it. Conversely, while waste management is a very important service, when someone is in a life or death situation, they depend on a doctor more than the guy who drives the garbage truck. Thus, the doctor earns more.

“For every promise, there is price to pay.” – Jim Rohn

Understanding how to set prices

With that said, the first thing you should do in determining how to charge more is to determine what you currently charge, and why. Factors like your profit margin (costs versus profits), your skill level and experience, as well as the current market demand all can determine what you can get away with in your prices. And remember, these factors are not designed to scam people. These factors are realistic measures of what and why you can charge what you can.

For instance, if the market demand is high, meaning more people want your service than can provide it, you can get away with higher prices. However, if the market is saturated with design professionals, you will need to tailor your prices to remain competitive in a crowded marketplace. Also, the experience factor allows you to sell yourself at a higher rate, as you will be looked upon as more reliable, and less prone to mistakes.

While that may not seem fair, and while you may be a new designer with incredible skills, it is simply human nature to want someone who has experience. You would not want to visit a surgeon performing his first surgery, would you? Much the same, companies would rather pay more to hire an experienced design or development professional.

“The moment you make a mistake in pricing, you’re eating into your reputation or your profits.” – Katharine Paine

Know your client

One other important factor in determining your prices is your client. When dealing with individuals, charging hundreds or thousands of dollars can seem a bit much. For an individual person to drop five grand on a fully integrated blog design seems excessive. Then again, when working with a company, this amount seems like a drop in the bucket compared to the hundreds of thousands they may be making each year.

This needs to be kept in mind when determining prices. Many freelancers will start out doing business with individuals or small companies. This can be good in order to practice, build your skills, as well as build a portfolio that can be used later to attract larger clients, and of course, charge more.

“You have got to know your customer better than they know themselves.” – Stephen Little

Selling yourself is the key

Regardless, when it comes to charging more, one of the key factors is to sell yourself, as well as sell your skills. Many freelance designers and developers forgo selling themselves for fear of rejection, and instead, they rely on the marketplace to determine their worth. This tactic leads to design professionals actually underselling themselves.

You need to keep in mind that, as a freelancer, it is your job to design and develop, but it is also your job to convince potential customers to hire you, and pay your prices, over your corporate competition.

“Your most important sale is to sell yourself to yourself.”

Build value into your prices

There are a number of ways to achieve this. First, consider that people place more value on expensive things, even if they are the same as less expensive versions. An example of this is found in prescription and over the counter drugs. When comparing generics to brand names, the exact same medication, in the exact same form, regulated by the same government agencies, and in the exact same amount is found.

However, most people have been conditioned to believe that a brand name is best because companies charge more for it. The same is true with freelancing. Do not undersell yourself. Be confident in your pricing and do not waver.

Negotiating is fine if you feel like it, but be proud of your work and stand by your prices. Potential customers will not only respect you more for doing so, but they will also place the added value on your service. Of course, with that said, you must remain reasonable. If corporate design firms and other freelancers are only charging a fraction of your prices, you need to reevaluate your approach. Don’t be afraid to test the waters.

“Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” – Warren Buffett

Charging more by doing less

Another way to charge more is to have various service levels, and then sell those to potential customers. The key to doing this is much the same as any other business that offers multiple service levels: you use the old “but wait, there’s more” tactic. In infomercials, salespeople offer products at a specific price.

At first you might think, that’s a reasonable price for that product. But then, they explain that, if you act now, you get not one, but two of the same product for the same price. Suddenly, you think, wow, what a deal. Little did you know, the company still paid less for the two products they are selling than what you are paying.

The same is true in up-selling your design and development services. Let’s say, based on your costs, your base price is $1,000 for XHTML, simple graphic design, and customer’s CMS customization. But, when you tell the customer your price, you may want to simply explain that you charge $1,000 for XHTML. If they seem interested, you could pull the “Wait, there’s more!” routine, and explain that you could throw in CMS customization and graphic design for $500 more.

By doing this, you are still getting your original asking price for what you would have charged anyway, but now you are getting an extra $500 in the process, and the customer thinks they are getting a great deal. And, if the customer seems to flounder at this offering, you could tell them you will cut them a deal and do the job for $1,000.

This way, you still get your asking price, but you come out looking like the good guy who is doing the client a favor, meaning more work for you in the future, as well as possible referrals.

“There are two kinds of people, those that work to try to charge more and those that work to do less.”

Lay it all on the line

Finally, you can simply lay everything out for the potential client. Many people who are searching for design and development services do not understand what is involved in getting a site started, let alone what goes into designing and developing one. This means that you need to educate them as to the costs of individual services.

Explaining each individual cost, from domain name and hosting costs, all the way up to logo design costs, helps the client to understand why your prices are set where they are. This should typically be looked at as a last ditch effort, and you need to take care not to appear desperate when doing this.

The purpose of doing this is not to plead your case, but to confidently explain what the customer needs. It will be harder to balk at a freelancer who charges more when faced with the reality of the costs of building a site. Again, many people do not understand everything involved, so by educating them, you may be able to sell more services, while earning their gratitude by treating them with respect.

“Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.” – Walt Disney

What prices do you charge?

In the end, again, the number one rule for charging more for your services is that clients will only pay what the market says your services are worth. You can try every trick in the book, but if the market dictates a certain price range, you are almost always locked into that.

Don’t get absurd with your prices, and you should be able to sell more in no time. Remember, selling yourself is the biggest factor in having clients pay more for your services.

Create a need, and then fill that need. Let the customer feel like they are getting a great deal, even if you are charging the same price you would charge for less work. Finally, treat each client with respect. Respecting a client goes a long way in gaining future business, as well as in getting referrals, and the more work you get, the more experience you have, meaning you can charge more in the future.

Written exclusively for Webdesigner Depot by Aidan Huang, a freelance developer, designer and ingenious blogger. He is one of the editors-in-chief at Onextrapixel. Follow him on Twitter @AidanOXP

So, ask yourself: are my prices reasonable? Am I truly living up to the value of my skills? What should I be doing, right now, to upsell my services to current and future clients? Am I using all the tools at my disposal to charge more?

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Not everyone is big into sports (or at least not the popular ones), yet no one can deny the entertainment value that sports give us day in and day out.

Personally, I am a huge NBA junkie (go Celtics!). With the recent close of the 2010–11 season, I picked up on some implied rules that typically guarantee a team some measure of success.

I also discovered that following these rules and tips could be useful to me as a freelance graphic designer in search of my own success. Rather than looking forward to the next season, I’ll share some of these rules with you now.

1. Put together a team with a common goal.

First, if you haven’t already surrounded yourself with a team or joined a team, do that as soon as possible. Some people, especially freelancers, believe they have to do everything themselves and can be successful only as a one-person show. They spend a ton of time trying to expand they skill set (with stuff they may not even enjoy) in order to become a Jack of all trades.

This is completely unnecessary, because people are out there with the skills you need who would love to join forces. Just look around and see who you can find. Doing so will alleviate some stress, and you might also pick up more business through your partner’s clients.

You may not be looking for an entire team to complement your skill set and services. Perhaps you’re in a narrow niche. But you could at least have a team of people to help promote you. Success will be hard to come by if no one knows you.

Once you’ve got your team, you need to constantly ensure that everyone understands the goals of the team, both short and long term. In sports, every team’s ultimate goal is to win the championship; but successful teams also focus on what they need to do along the way. Your team obviously wants success, but perhaps you all need to work on your promotional techniques or customer service skills first.

You also need to make sure that everyone understands their positions and duties. When you set clear expectations, holding those people accountable becomes easier. Much like on a sports team, if someone doesn’t fulfill their duties, you can “trade” them for someone else.

2. Don’t blame, just fix.

Not everything will go as planned. In fact, your plan will often go extremely off course. But in such situations, you must refrain from blaming others or external factors. Look at what you and your team are doing, try to be as honest as possible, and fix it. Some sports player who become unfocused or go on a losing streak will blame external factors far too often; they feel like the best fix is to just wait for the game to come around to them. This is a mistake, because if you’re in the “game,” you should make no excuses and should contribute as best you can.

There are no excuses, just solutions. If your design team continually gets feedback that points to a lack of creativity, you can’t just blame it on a creative funk. Study new techniques, and find ways to inspire your people. If you always blame something or someone else, you will create a culture that always looks for the scapegoat, and you might never fulfill your potential because you aren’t being honest with yourself.

3. Stick with it.

Long-term success takes time, and it’s no easy road. Some great sports franchises have had to wait years before winning a championship. Don’t be afraid to fail, because in every failure is a lesson or opportunity to build character. But don’t get so caught up in your failure that you feel like quitting.

This is easier said than done. I went through a rough patch after getting out of college. I decided to go straight into freelancing full time and work on whatever I could find. I attracted clients but could never close a deal. I was deeply discouraged. But I stuck with it, and since then I have run into a lot of clients who don’t mind paying my rate and who I have a great relationship with. While we all have different measures of success, I am extremely happy with my own results seven months after hitting that rough patch.

If something in your game plan isn’t working, don’t quit: try to fix it. Getting to the point where you feel at least comfortable can take days, months or even years. Failure can shape you into a great person and help you handle the success you seek.

4. Talk tough, but back it up.

If you followed the 2011 NBA finals like me, you probably heard that Jason Terry of the Dallas Mavericks tattooed the championship trophy on his arm before even winning it (he did it back in October, before the season even started!). It was a crazy thing to do back then, but then on June 12th he validated his body art by winning the trophy with his team.

Confidence is an amazing trait. But if you are going to talk tough, you’ve got to back it up. If you’re going for a superlative — say, best web designer in the city — that’s fine: just be prepared to prove it. If you claim to be a guru, make sure your credentials show as much. If you make yourself stand out, you have to be prepared to justify it.

You don’t want to sully your reputation by not holding up your end of bargain. Your reputation is the only thing by which some people know you; the last thing you want to do is tarnish it because of something you did or didn’t do.

For some of us, this isn’t really our bag. We prefer to lay low, stay humble and let our work do the talking. Whatever your approach, do it and do it well.

5. There are no shortcuts.

To succeed, you’ve got to be in it for the long haul. There’s no way around it. In the society we live in today, with its 4G speeds and lightening-fast devices, we (especially us younger folks) have gotten used to things happening quickly. There is, however, no way to speed the train of success. As I said before, you’ve got to stick with it.

A lot of us buy into books and courses that claim to have the answer. The truth is, we have to forge our own path to success, no matter how long it takes. We can’t assemble a bunch of “star players” or concoct a recipe to achieve success faster than normal. We have to stay the course.

A stable fan base is one of the great rewards of taking your time to get to the top. The problem that a lot of these fly-by-night people face is that their “fans” just switch to the next new thing. When you take your time, you can really show yourself and your followers who you are and what you stand for. Taking your time also makes your company more resilient to sudden shifts in the industry and enables you to better stay on top of your business.

Be prepared to take your time and truly understand what it means to succeed.

Written by Kendra Gaines. She is a young freelance designer for Norfolk, VA. Visit her online portfolio at kgainez.com and follow her on twitter @kgainez

What other lessons can we learn from the sports world?

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