design
What’s the Difference Between Pro Bono and Spec Work?
Is there a difference between pro bono and spec work? If so, what’s the difference? First, let’s compare them. With both, you work for free,
Alvalyn Lundgren
design management
Designing a Successful Year
Each December I take a couple weeks off to celebrate the holidays and go through a visioning and goal-setting process in preparation for the new
Alvalyn Lundgren
Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design
Create A Better Portfolio
Whether online or in hand, your portfolio is the primary means of landing a job or finding clients. Art school graduates have focused on developing
Alvalyn Lundgren
client relations
Working Late: 5 Essential Boundaries for Freelancers
From time to time I’ll fire off an email to a client during the late evening or early morning hours. Occasionally, an immediate response comes back
Alvalyn Lundgren
creativity
Show Your Work: How Sharing Your Process Increases Your Value
When a client is looking for a creative firm, process and procedures are not obvious priorities in evaluating performance. The prospect is going to look
Alvalyn Lundgren
Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design
A Key to Productivity: Do the Right Things
Productivity is a popular and expansive topic, and it’s also big business. From apps and books on the subject to courses and mastermind groups, tools
Alvalyn Lundgren
business
How To Build An Effective Professional Network
When you’re in business (and freelancers are in business), you build reputation through social and in-person networking. According to the Oxford Dictionary, a network is a
Alvalyn Lundgren
advice
Keeping Good Clients: 10 Ways To Build Loyalty
Most freelancers will agree that it’s easier to hold onto an established relationship than begin a new one. And it’s less work to retain a client
Alvalyn Lundgren
advice
Pricing Strategies for Creative Freelancers
Pricing your creative services is one of the most-discussed topics among freelancers. There is no one right way to price your creative services — there is no industry
Alvalyn Lundgren
Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design
How To Attract Your Ideal Clients
First of all, let’s define who your ideal clients are. An ideal client is one for whom you do the kind of work you want to do, and
Alvalyn Lundgren
5 Inconvenient Truths About Freelancing
Freelancing can be regarded as a great adventure in which you go from project to project following your dreams and pursuing your passions exactly as you
Alvalyn Lundgren
Which is Better for Self-Promotion: Email or Mailers?
Self-promotion is an ordinary and necessary aspect of doing business as an independent creative professional. Unlike social media marketing, self-promotion campaigns are targeted to contacts
Alvalyn Lundgren
The Freelancer As Business Owner
When you start freelancing you become a business owner and are responsible for the success or failure of your enterprise. Honestly, it can go either way,
Alvalyn Lundgren
How to Design Your Day
Creative freelancers spend a lot of time designing stuff. Good design is structured, organized and unified. When you juggle multiple projects, the ability to focus
Alvalyn Lundgren
business
Creative Freelancer Q&A: What Do You Do About Scope Creep?
What do you do about scope creep? Should you avoid it? Should you agree to it? The affect of scope creep — when a scope of work
Alvalyn Lundgren
Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design
12 Steps To A More Secure WordPress Web Site
Every independent creative professional should have a web site. Hands down, WordPress.org is the most popular self-hosted content management web site framework. Over 50% of self-hosted
Alvalyn Lundgren
Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design
Risk and Reward: How Taking Risks Helps Your Freelance Career
Risk. It’s a small word with big impact. Taking risks involves change and the unknown. We’re not all that comfortable with either concept. I was
Alvalyn Lundgren
advice
12 Questions You Need to Ask Every Client BEFORE You Accept Their Project
Have you ever gotten involved on a project and then realized that neither the project nor the client is ideal? The project that was going to
Alvalyn Lundgren
advice
7 Pointers to Rock Your Social Media Marketing
To begin with, social media is not about selling, but about conversations and providing value. Be knowable, likable and trustworthy. To make the most of
Alvalyn Lundgren
Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design
Who Hires Creative Freelancers?
[themeone_drop_cap letter=”T” color=”accent-color3″ /]he current mantra for creative freelancers, and for any independent business owner, is to create or define a niche and aggressively market
Alvalyn Lundgren
advice
Using LinkedIn Profinder To Find Freelance Gigs
This article was updated on February 8, 2017 by the author. Being always on the lookout for new client opportunities, I thought I’d give LinkedIn
Alvalyn Lundgren
design practice
Why Freelancers Should Not Pitch
As an independent creative, you get to decide how you will attract clients and projects. One option is via Requests for Proposals (RFPs). Whether or
Alvalyn Lundgren
design practice
No-Money Marketing Tips for Creative Freelancers
We are always marketing. From the quality of our work to how we talk about ourselves, we are constantly sending messages into the public square,
Alvalyn Lundgren
business
Creating Freelance Road Trip
Filling the Gap Between School and Career So you’ve gone through school and developed a creative portfolio. You’ve tweaked it up one side down the
Alvalyn Lundgren
client relations
I Didn’t Get the Job
When you’re in business for yourself and you are regularly seeking new clients and projects, you will come across all types of prospects in your
Alvalyn Lundgren
business
Tactics for Better Business Networking
If you are a self-employed creative, business networking is a significant part of your marketing mix. While designers, illustrators and photographers naturally get together with other creatives for mutual support and trend
Alvalyn Lundgren
advice
Does Formal Design Education Matter?
Aesthetic sense and talent are raw materials. They amount to nothing without discipline. Education forces you to add skill, discipline and expertise to your talent. And in order to meet project deadlines, you learn to steward your time.
Alvalyn Lundgren
Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design
What Kind Of Freelancer Are You?
Did you know that there is more than one way to be a freelancer? Independent creatives — freelancers — can choose a variety of working scenarios
Alvalyn Lundgren
business
Creative Freelancer Q&A: Do Business, Not Favors!!!
Avoid awkward moments and misunderstandings about getting paid for your freelance work. Prepare written agreements for each client that outlines the type of work you will do, how much you will charge for it, and how you want to be paid. You cannot make a living by doing favors.
Alvalyn Lundgren
art law
6 Freelance Contract Mistakes and How To Fix Them
Most problems freelancers experience when working with clients are due to contract mistakes. Do any of these statements sound familiar to you? “I started working
Alvalyn Lundgren
Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design
Why You Need To Love Your Tools
A colleague recently switched from the PC to the Mac, from Windows and Android to OS X and iOS. There’s always a learning curve when
Alvalyn Lundgren
Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design
7 Reasons Why Freelancers Should Not Discount
With value pricing for design and illustration projects, I am able to custom-tailor my services and fees to fit each client and project. But even
Alvalyn Lundgren
client relations
How To Write An Effective Creative Brief
Creative freelancers can save time and avoid miscommunication when working with their if they use an effective creative brief in their process. Simply talking about project expectations
Alvalyn Lundgren
advice
How Do I Know If I Will Be Successful At Freelancing?
A student asked me the same question I asked my teachers: “How do I know if I will be successful at freelancing?” After 35 years
Alvalyn Lundgren
business
How To Get Clients To Pay You
What do you do when you a client refuses to pay you? According to Freelancers Union nearly 50% of freelancers were stiffed by clients in the past 12
Alvalyn Lundgren
Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design
Set Goals, Not Resolutions
Have you made resolutions for the new year? What do you want to accomplish? What do you want to change? Where do you see yourself
Alvalyn Lundgren
Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design
10 Ups and Downs of Freelancing
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Freelancing provides more freedom than any other type of work structure. With that freedom come the responsibilities of ownership and reputation. When we choose to
Alvalyn Lundgren
client relations
How To Respond To Unusual Client Requests
An up and coming freelancer asked me about how to deal with unusual requests. We all get these from time to time. Once someone learns
Alvalyn Lundgren
branding
How Brands Are Built
People connect with brands the same way they connect with people. Brands cannot be developed and maintained without design. Branding is not design, but it
Alvalyn Lundgren
business
Advice for Freelancers: On Being an Owner
Ownership is simply the idea that something belongs to someone. In the case of your freelance business, you own it. It belongs to you. You
Alvalyn Lundgren
Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design
8 Qualities of Successful Freelancers
Freelancing is on the rise. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the freelance (contract, temp worker and freelancer — in all industries) economy has a healthy
Alvalyn Lundgren
advice
Stepping Out: How To Get Unstuck
Creativity requires action and effort to actually make something. We can mull over our ideas all we want, but to make a difference, at some point
Alvalyn Lundgren
Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design
Self-Promotion Tips for Creative Freelancers
Self promotion is the practice of telling potential clients about what you do. With it you build your brand, engage prospects and find clients. As a
Alvalyn Lundgren
client relations
How To Handle Special Requests From Clients
I was asked about how to deal with unusual requests. Once someone finds out you are a designer, writer, photographer… any type of creative, you
Alvalyn Lundgren
How To Work With Clients
10 Best Practices For Building Reputation and Relationships When you accept a client’s project, you make it your own. You’re not creating for yourself. Even so,
Alvalyn Lundgren
business
Find Your “Why” to Achieve Your Goals
You need to identify what’s at stake. I often reflect on how blessed I am to work the way I’ve always wanted to — independently, and why
Alvalyn Lundgren
business
How to Save on Gasoline by Freelancing
You probably already know that you can deduct mileage as a business expense. But did you know that, if you work from home, all mileage
Alvalyn Lundgren
Freelance Road Trip — Business of Design
Competence, Confidence and Baseball
One fact about playing baseball: To advance to the next base, you need to leave the one you’re on. Baseball forces you to advance to
Alvalyn Lundgren