Hope this is in the right place, I'm giving serious thought as to getting into freelance illustration work. I would like to know if there any relatively successful freelancers who use this board and if so, was it hard to break into the market? How do you advertise your services? Is it tough to beat the competition?

Any advice at all would be very welcome.

Yep this is the right place. :)

i think eraserx would be the best person to answer your question.... from my standpoint, i hated freelance. some have the impression that it is great because you do not have a "boss" and can define your own schedule. that is true to a certain extent, but the deadlines of your projects and clients dictate your schedule, not you. ;)

if you want to do freelance, i would recommend getting a full time job somewhere, and then try out the freelance thing on the side to get a taste for what it is really like.

Definetly do it on the side at first. Freelancing can be great or horrible, and most people have to deal with both. The best advice I can offer is to do absolutely everything you can to save up atleast two months of living expenses before you quit a full-time job. It's tough, but worthwhile. Aside from that, just try and do your homework on potential clients and if you think they might be a risk, don't hesitate to ask for a deposite. Most companies that won't pay a deposit don't plan on paying anyway.

BTW, setting your own hours means either working for days on end without sleep or sitting around wondering when it will come in. It NEVER actually means that you get to actually set your own hours.

Oh god, definetly get a job and a steady income first. Then dabble and see what you can land as far as contracts go. Freelancing is not as easy as it may seem. There are tons of talented artists/designers out there.

Getting contracts will depend on your connections, marketing ability (word of mouth, website, well placed business cards/flyers) and most of all your skill.

Ask for a deposit, serious companies will pay up.

Just, please don't underbid like crazy. And have fun doing it, or it's not worth it.

Oh god, definetly get a job and a steady income first. Then dabble and see what you can land as far as contracts go. Freelancing is not as easy as it may seem. There are tons of talented artists/designers out there.

Getting contracts will depend on your connections, marketing ability (word of mouth, website, well placed business cards/flyers) and most of all your skill.

Ask for a deposit, serious companies will pay up.

Just, please don't underbid like crazy. And have fun doing it, or it's not worth it.

wisdom.

Hey thanks guys. I'll take that all to heart. Right now I am working mondays to wednesdays for a construction/servicing company. I design ads and Powerpoint Presentations for the trade shows. However whilst I am getting enough cash to pay the bills, (rent, petrol, phone etc) I'm left with nothing afterwards! I just feel it would be great to use a natural talent, to help me finally achieve my goal of affording the Hawkman Action Figure I've had my eye on.

To repeat what mojo and steel have already eluded to, only do it on the side at first. Keep your day job. I tried freelance Web Design for about 5 months, and while I had 2 great clients that were very happy, I found it truly difficult financially. While the "starving artist" thing may sound cool, it's still not quite as cool as having health benefits and a nice fat direct-deposit going into your checking account every two weeks.

Be sure to check out the tax benefits as well. Honestly declaring your income provides you the ability to make all sorts of deductions...rent, utilities, computer hardware and software, courses, etc. While I was freelancing as a photographer, my tax deductions pretty much paid for my photographic equipment.

I never consulted an accountant, the Revenue Canada web site answered most of my questions, the rest were answered by friends and colleagues. But that was the hard way. Start by downloading a T1 General and the business forms, then on a day where you're soooooo bored you're ready to leap from a bridge, figure the forms out.

Make sure you keep accurate records...especially if you're looking to deduct vehicle expenses. I never did, it wasn't worth the hassel or the looming fear of an audit.

As for keeping your day job...very sound advice. How do you know when to quit your day job? When you have to miss work 5 days out of the month in addition to freelancing evenings and weekends.

And don't short sell yourself. What you do is hard. If everyone could do it this entire discussion would be moot. Find out what the industry is charging, if you want to price yourself lower, no more than 20% or so. I billed out at $1500 for a wedding before I gave it up. When people had a stroke and said that was too much, I never dropped my price. You want ME to shoot, you pay ME what I charge. If the client is insitant on hiring you, but wants to pay less, start knocking off services they either see the light or go away.

I'm sure this was mentioned already....but always always always get a deposit. How much is up to you, but 35-50% shouldn't be unreasonable. You may have to check into the licensing required to pre-charge a client. With all the scams the construction types have been running, I recall reading about some of the laws changing.

Hope this helps, and good luck. There's nothing better in the working world than working for yourself. It's harder but far more rewarding.

Thanks Jeff.O and Photok, I'll be taking notes!