Sections
Start where the business is costing you most: what you charge, who you work for, or the hours that go on admin.
01
Freelancing
Going freelance and staying freelance: the decisions, structures and habits of working for yourself, for creatives leaving a job or years into it.
Inside
- Deciding to go freelance
- Side project to full time
- Choosing your services and niche
- Business structures (sole proprietor, LLC)
- Insurance for freelancers
- Working alone: boundaries, hours, loneliness and coworking
- Time off, vacations and sick days
- Capacity and burnout
- Collaborators and subcontractors instead of staff
- Productized services
- Freelancing by discipline: design, illustration, photography, copywriting, video
4notes
02
Pricing & Money
What to charge and how to get paid: rates, quotes, invoices, taxes and an irregular income, for creatives who send their own invoices.
Inside
- Day rates, project pricing and value pricing
- Quoting and estimates
- Raising your rates
- Deposits and payment terms
- Invoicing and chasing late payments
- Usage and licensing fees
- Accounting and bookkeeping software
- Taxes for the self-employed: estimated tax and deductions
- Business bank accounts
- Retirement savings when self-employed
- Health insurance for freelancers
- Budgeting an irregular income
10notes
03
Clients
Finding the right clients and working with them, from the first inquiry to the final file, for studios that want fewer, better clients.
Inside
- Finding clients: referrals, outreach and job boards
- Freelance marketplaces compared
- Proposals and pitches
- Discovery calls
- Contracts and terms
- Scope creep and change requests
- Onboarding a client
- Feedback and revision rounds
- Difficult clients and ending a project
- Retainers
- Subcontracting for agencies
- Client CRMs and portals
5notes
04
Creative Software
The software a creative studio works in, compared for a single seat and a small budget, for designers, illustrators, photographers and writers.
Inside
- Adobe Creative Cloud plans and alternatives
- Figma and UI design tools
- Affinity, Procreate and apps without a subscription
- Fonts and type licensing
- Stock photos, mockups and asset libraries
- AI image and writing tools, and their licensing
- Video and motion software
- Photo editing and asset management
- File sharing, proofing and feedback tools
- Discounts, bundles and education pricing
3notes
05
Branding & Portfolio
How a studio presents itself: its name, identity, website and the case studies that win the next client, for creatives selling their own work.
Inside
- Naming and positioning your studio
- Your own logo and identity
- Portfolio websites and builders compared
- Writing case studies
- Photographing work and mockups
- Domains, email and business cards
- About pages
- Niching down
- Portfolio reviews
- A personal brand without becoming an influencer
5notes
06
Marketing
Getting found by the right clients without becoming a full-time marketer: email, social, search and referrals for a studio of one.
Inside
- Email newsletters for freelancers
- Instagram, LinkedIn, Behance and Dribbble
- SEO for a studio website
- Referrals and word of mouth
- Cold email and outreach
- Content marketing
- Testimonials and social proof
- Awards and directories
- Networking and events
- A marketing routine for one person
22notes
07
Studio Setup
The room, the hardware and the apps that keep a one-person studio running, from the desk and the screen to backups and time tracking.
Inside
- Computers for creative work
- Monitors and color calibration
- Drawing tablets and iPads
- Cameras and lighting for shooting your own work
- Desks, chairs and ergonomics
- Small and home studios
- Backups and storage
- Project management and time tracking
- Calendars and scheduling
- Passwords and security
- Studio routines and productivity
2notes
