Warning: I’m going to be very direct today. If you’ve been spinning your wheels trying to get your freelance design business running while making excuses along the way, you may not want to read this.
This year, I’ve been thinking a lot about where I am with my business and where I want to be. Overall, I’ve had a lot of success, but have been thinking it’s time to take it to a much higher level. When you start seriously focusing on that, an amazing thing happens: The right people and circumstances seem to appear out of nowhere. (You may have heard the old saying, When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.)
But while this has been going on for me, I’ve also been running into a lot of hopeful copywriters and designers who are, as I phrased it a moment ago, spinning their wheels. Obviously I don’t know the details of everyone’s circumstances, but here’s what I can tell you based on people I’ve talked to since I started as a freelancer some years ago. About 5% of the folks who want to make a change in their career haven’t done so for valid reasons. For example, in addition to working a full-time job and managing a family, they’re also responsible for a seriously ailing family member.
The trouble is, the other 95% seems to think that they’re in that valid 5%. Those “95%” folks are certainly busy, but these days everyone is busy and probably struggling to some degree. Yet the ones who are serious about making a change find a way to do it, even if it means sacrificing what little free time and resources they have. In fact, I dare say it’s impossible to make a career change without some level of sacrifice. Unfortunately, these people won’t face the reality that they’re never going to get around to making a change. They fool themselves by reading and posting on blogs, or buying (and even reading) books that they’ll never put into practice.
Doing that gives you the illusion of making progress. But if you’re never taking what you’re reading and putting it into practice, the best you can say is that you’re becoming a professional reader or web surfer. Of course, if you’re not getting paid for that, strike the word professional from the previous sentence.
That brings us to Jeremy Tuber’s book, Being a Starving Graphic Artist Sucks. I’ve mentioned Tuber’s other book, Verbal Kung-Fu for Freelancers, here. As for BASAS, I just finished it. At just over 500 pages, this isn’t a glossing-over of how to succeed as a designer. This book covers so much, it’s simply easier for me to link to the book’s table of contents so you can see for yourself what it covers.
Pleasantly, this is an easy read. Tuber gets right to the point on each topic, so you’ll move through the book at a quick pace. If you’re a struggling designer and can’t find at least one action step from each section, you’re simply not paying attention.
But here’s where I want to tie things in to what I said earlier about the folks spinning their wheels. This book is filled with many, many ways to get off to a great start and begin notching some victories. Even if you’ve been freelancing for a bit, I think you’ll find helpful hints or new distinctions on certain topics just like I did. For example, if I had better known and appreciated the difference between a logo design and a concept design when I was starting out, I might not have developed such an intense distaste for logo design. (See page 47 in the book.) And the chapter, “Think Only Kids Tell Stories?” (page 267), should be required reading by every designer who thinks hanging a virtual OPEN FOR BUSINESS sign is good enough.
So, bottom line, I recommend this book without reservation for those who are serious about putting the advice and ideas to use.
Having said that, don’t bother buying this book (or any other for that matter) unless you intend to put it to use. You know if you’re one who has been making excuses about starting a freelance design career. As we approach the beginning of a new year, this is a natural time to start planning what you intend to do in 2010. Not what you would like to do, but what you intend to do. If you intend to make a design career happen, this book is going to help you. If you simply like the feeling that you’re making progress when you’re really not, save your money. In fact – and this may be harsh, but I’ll say it anyway – it may be time to get really honest with yourself and move on to something else. There’s no shame in giving up a “dream” if you’re never really going to move it from a dream in your head to real, measurable action.
I’m hoping you’re going to make it real and just need a kick in the rear-end.
By the way, if you do consider yourself serious, also look into Tuber’s iTunes album, From Zero to Graphic Design Hero. If quiet reading time is hard to come by, having something you can listen to during your commute or when you and your iPod can get away for a bit is a great use of your time. Tuber’s calm and friendly voice will walk you through some foundational items that will help you build a strong and successful graphic design business. From iTunes, you can see the topics and hear audio samples of each chapter.
