Ashley Chiasson, M.Ed

Instructional Designer & Consultant

Getting Started

3 Bits of Advice for Aspiring Freelancers

People ALWAYS ask me about freelancing – Always! As many of you folks know, I spent several years freelancing prior to making the jump into full-time (and now part-time) independent contractor-ship. When you’re just getting started, you can be overwhelmed by the amount of work you’re doing, underwhelmed by the amount of opportunities you’re finding, and dazzled by the dollars you’re raking in. Before you get too deep in the freelance game, you really should step back and organize yourself…or at least screw your head on right. Here are some helpful pieces of advice for doing just that!

1 – Set some of your profits aside.

And by this, I don’t mean in a fun-money fund for your next vacation to Fiji. I mean that taxes are impending (and may incite of feeling of dread or doom) reality, and you really don’t want to pay them out of pocket because you were so busy being pumped on the extra cash you were bringing in. If you fail to set cash aside, it actually turns out to be counter-productive and may make all of your hard work and hours spent moonlighting seem fruitless. Ain’t nobody got time for that!

Here’s what I do: When I receive payment on an invoice, I take 30% of the payment and put it in a separate savings account. Next year I will be opening up a business account, but if you’re just sticking to occasional freelancing as a supplement to your income, a savings account should be sufficient. This 30% deduction can be a bitter pill to swallow, but it ensures that I won’t get strapped paying taxes out of pocket (and may even receive a refund – who knows?) come tax time!

2 – Get organized!

This advice might seem like a no-brainer, but unless you’re a planner at heart, the last thing most folks do is get organized, and failing to do so can get messy realllllly fast. As a freelancer, you should have several processes in place before you get too involved, such as development processes (for whatever it is you develop), get-money processes (for invoicing/collecting payment), kick off and close out processes (for kicking off and closing out a project with a client). Having these processes in place will save you a ton of time, streamlining the projects you work on from start to finish.

Here’s what I do: One of the first things I do when I start a project is open up my Project Management Software (PMS) and set up a new project. Prior to the kick off meeting, I review anything the client has sent me and compile a list of questions I have (deadlines, review cycles, etc.). During the kick off meeting, I document the conversation in a Word document, which I then save to the project in my PMS. After the kick off meeting, I itemize all of the project tasks and set deadlines in the PMS. Basically the PMS runs my life and keeps me on point. At the end of the project, I have a wrap-up meeting (or email exchange, depending on client preferences), document what was said, and upload the document to the PMS. Then, I generate an invoice…in the PMS (previously, I had a Word template for this, which I would email) and send it to the client. The moral of this story – find a PMS you love and use it! I recommend Pancake.

Before I caught on to the importance of being organized in my freelance life, things were messy. PMS has changed my life, and I find it so helpful (and refreshing) when I work with clients who use them too!

Another great way to stay organized (and productive) is to maintain a tidy office space and use folders for hard-copy paperwork (e.g. contracts, non-disclosure agreements, tax documentation). This will make your life a lot easier when you need to refer to a piece of paper you printed off once upon a time.

3 – Be considerate (to yourself and others).

In this context, being considerate doesn’t necessarily mean being nice to yourself and to others (but, that will happen indirectly). It really means being cognizant of your abilities and not over-obligating yourself. Furthermore, being considerate to yourself should also mean: don’t apply to every single thing your see – especially if you’re freelancing through odesk, elance, freelancer, or one of the many freelancing sites.

Here’s what I do: Initially I did not heed my own advice, and I paid dearly (over-committing to projects I wasn’t qualified for or which I absolutely hated). Before you start working at the freelance chain game, take some time and itemize your interests and qualifications. Then, bid or apply for projects that align with your qualifications or interests. This will ensure that you don’t get saddled bidding on ‘Spinning 100 articles for 30 dollars’ or writing some kids PhD thesis for a 250 bucks – neither of which are at the high of ethics and integrity…or profit. Be considerate and smart about what you apply for, don’t undervalue yourself, and don’t over-commit!

Where to Find Freelance Instructional Design Gigs

Before making the leap to full-time independent contractor-ship I freelanced for about three years. The work I did ranged as I built up my confidence with the freelance game, and in addition to some sites to check out, I’ll provide you with some tips and tricks I learned from my time as a freelancer. I’ll make my way down the list chronologically (based on which sites I used first).

Freelancer.com

Freelancer.com was my jumping off point for finding freelance work. It’s a site that operates on bidding – the freelancer will bid on jobs and the client will choose a contract winner. It’s tough to build your reputation on freelance sites as there are loads of freelancers out there who will more or less work for peanuts. Peanuts can’t pay your rent, so this can be discouraging. I spent a lot of time on this site doing things that weren’t necessarily my finest freelance moments, and I will caution you to strongly consider how much time it will take to complete a project before bidding – 1) because you’ll end up working for peanuts if you don’t, and 2) it will save you a lot of tears down the road. One of my first bids was for transcription of audio files; I actually really enjoyed the content (I was transcribing interviews for a lady’s Master thesis), but I grossly underbid the amount of time I would have to spend doing the transcription. I completed the job, but definitely didn’t make any profit. My favourite jobs on this website were Proofreading gigs; I’m good at proofreading and I enjoy it, so it worked out well. I also made the most amount of profit from these jobs.

One downside is that the initial payment period has a delay (unless it’s changed in recent years) of about 3 weeks after initial withdrawal and another is that they take a cut of your profits (depending on which membership you have – if I remember correctly, the free membership takes a 10% cut). A third downside is that there are very few e-learning or Instructional Design gigs posted on this site.

Odesk.com

I really enjoyed working with Odesk; I know a lot of folks harp on it (likely in the design world) because it’s another bid site where you can easily end up working for peanuts. However, I have found a lot of my best long-term clients through Odesk. There are a TON of Instructional Design and e-learning jobs posted (daily for the most part), and I found it really easy to build a solid reputation using the site. Of course there are some flops with clients, but overall, the quality of my clients were pretty good and they were willing to pay a reasonable rate for my services. I will say that I was unable to get to my current hourly rate with clients through Odesk, but I was able to get pretty darn close.

Withdrawals can be made using PayPal, and they were usually processed immediately (or close to immediately)…factor in PayPal processing times and you’d be paid within 2-3 business days, which is certainly reasonable.

Elance.com

Elance is yet another bid site, and this one I have found little success with. I can’t even write too much about it, but I will say that they have a very high job post percentage relevant to Instructional Designers or those working within the e-learning industry. The main reason I can’t speak too much to this one is because I found it incredibly difficult to get established on this site. I think I had two clients total, neither of which were repeat clients (because they could get similar services for cheaper through the site). If I had jumped on the Elance bandwagon when they first emerged on the market, I may have found it a lot easier to establish myself…let me know if you’ve had any success!

Research and Cold Emailing

I spent MANY hours researching companies I would love to work with and then cold emailing folks working within these companies. I originally started doing this when I was trying to break out into the post-secondary education sector within my province. I would cold-email the relevant department heads of local universities pitching myself as a solution to their problem. This turned up several very interesting meetings, some great networking opportunities, and really allowed me to extend myself outside of my comfort zone.

My role within one of the local universities is attributed to this technique, and I have recently been offered a full-time permanent role within the university which I honestly don’t believe would have happened had I gone the traditional route of waiting for a position to come up and then applying – even my best friend couldn’t revise a cover letter successful enough to score me such a gig as our province is wrought with educators and most of them have many more moons of professional experience than me…and in this particular university, there is only one Instructional Developer role…so think of the competition…barf!

While the success rate of my cold emailing is very small, I’ve experienced multiple 8-12 month after the fact follow ups that have resulted in working relationships. I would definitely recommend researching and cold emailing potential clients; some of them may not even know they need you until you explain what you do and how you can make it work for them!

Craigslist.org

When I tell folks that I found some of my best long-term clients on Craigslist, they are beside themselves with disbelief. I actually found one of my repeat clients through there (working with colleges within the health sector) and I was also able to gain significant experience within the K-12 and Higher Education sectors with another client I had found through Craigslist.

Instructional Design jobs are hit or miss for posting, and it really takes a lot of dedication (to the hustle) to find relevant roles through the site. Why? Because you either have to try googling a specific-enough search phrase and hope for the best or you need to visit individual city sites searching for your desired role. The other downside to Craigslist is that there aren’t a lot of remote positions – this can be a good thing if your city has a lot of Instructional Design opportunities, but that’s seldom the way. It’s odd that there’s still a resistance to remote work when our society is moving further away from being tethered to cubicles.

E-Learning Heroes Community Forums

I’ve found quite a few short-term Instructional Design gigs through the ELH community forums, but I will say that many have not lead to long-term working relationships. With that being said, I have had quite a few organizations (or individuals) reach out to me through the forums based on what they’ve seen of my participation within the community. Basically, the more active you are within the community (specifically when it comes to demonstrating your technical competencies), the greater the opportunity you make in being contacted by prospective clients.

Another good thing about the ELH community is that every Friday, Mike Taylor posts a compilation of e-learning jobs he’s found within the forum and online. It’s nice to have them compiled within one neatly organized post.

LinkedIn.com

I’ve found several repeat clients by applying for posts on LinkedIn, one of which has been one of my most profitable endeavours. However, it was for a large corporate client and once the higher powers within their organization realized that they weren’t as organized as they originally thought (which created a lot of work for their in-house resources, of which they had few), they cancelled the contract for all involved, realizing that until they got their butt in gear and got organized, they would be losing profits. Smart – yes. The good thing about this contract is that I know I’ll be kept in mind when they do decide to kick off the project again, but until then, it’s on hold.

The thing about LinkedIn is that if you really want to be successful at finding work through the site, you need to optimize your profile and actively participate in communities, blogging, or maintaining up-to-date samples.

My Website!

Honestly – Do not sleep on building (or having someone else build) your website and portfolio. The people who want to hire you are visual creatures. They want to see what you can do! It helps them make up their mind. Over the past month and a half I’ve been working with a fantastic client who came to find me through my website. They liked my samples and had even read some of my blog posts (because they complimented me on a sample I hadn’t showcased in my portfolio), and it’s turned into a long-term working relationship!

I understand there’s a lot to promoting yourself through your website, but if you make an honest effort, it will truly pay off. My blog is maintained primarily for an audience of my peers and not my clients. I do this because it generates interest and provides help, some of which I wish I had when I was just starting out. This inadvertently drives traffic to my site, of which a small percentage may be prospective clients. I include my portfolio and work with me sections not as an afterthought, but certainly not as a focus, and I’ve found the indirect promotion of my services has landed me some more genuine clients than I may have found hustling my services unabashedly.

Did any of this help?

I really hope this post helps some of you Instructional Designers lusting after a life of being location independent. That’s the second reason I wanted to take my freelancing full-time (the first reason was that I was sick of ‘working for the man’ and dealing with the politics of being a cog in an organization), and I’ve been able to achieve that in a very short period of time.

If anyone has found any other places to source freelance Instructional Design or e-learning jobs, please let me know in the comments!

3 Ways to Take Your Freelance Instructional Design Full-Time

It’s only been two months since I took my side-gig Instructional Design work full-time, but I have been LOVING it! Making the leap was one of the scariest decisions I’ve ever made, but it has paid off, and I’m a lot happier for it. My favourite aspect so far is being location independent; it’s nice to not have to be tethered to an office to do my job, and I think our dog has been really enjoying the extra time spent home.

Now, taking your side-gig full-time does not always have its perks – this past month for instance has been extremely busy for me, which is a great problem to have, but it has also meant that I need to hustle harder to get my work done and invoice those clients! I’ve missed every Thursday poker night in May and was unable to go on a day-long hiking trip that I really wanted to go on, all in the name of work…and I’ve been working some long days (and nights…and weekends).

If you’ve been wondering how you can take your Instructional Design gig full-time (or even break out into the field), here are the best three bits of advice I have for you:

1. Build Your Portfolio

This is so important! I understand that it may be difficult to do – heck! I have over 5 years of work that’s considered ‘controlled goods’ that I can’t use in my portfolio – some of my best work…it’s disappointing. However, don’t let Non-Disclosure Agreements and controlled goods get you down, instead proactively build your portfolio. Research various types of courses to develop and create miniature one-offs of those courses.

Challenge yourself to step out of your comfort zone by producing a creative portfolio that showcases your skills and abilities. If you need help, David Anderson puts up weekly e-learning challenges over on the E-Learning Heroes Community, and these are a great way to get your creative juices flowing and add pieces to your portfolio.

Another alternative is to volunteer your services to small businesses; this is a great way to help out organizations to develop their training opportunities, while building your portfolio. If a contract is developed for such an arrangement, MAKE DAMN SURE that the only important requirement (on your end) is that you get to use the project in your portfolio – very few things in life are free, and free training is a steal! Cover your butt and make sure you spell it out in the contract, just to make sure!

“But is a portfolio necessary?” – You know, it’s really not. However, it does give you a HUGE leg up when you’re competing against others for an Instructional Design job. You’ll end up being more of an ‘on purpose instructional designer’ instead of an ‘accidental instructional designer’ (both are fine, but you want to highlight your worth)! My business has grown considerably since adding a few small pieces to my portfolio; now, professional pieces are still hard to come by due to the aforementioned NDAs and controlled goods issues, but just showcasing some of your abilities can really help clients visualize how you can work for them on their projects!

2. Get Online! Be Social! Be Proactive!

Now – I know you’re already online, because you’re reading this, but what I mean is go get a website and start blogging. Now that you’ve built an awesome portfolio, put it somewhere for all to see. Get on twitter! Be active in communities! Take time to build a profile and following on LinkedIn!

The internet and social media is amazing when it comes to promoting yourself – it’s one of the best marketing tools I’ve come across so far, and once you start building a group of followers (on your blog, twitter, LinkedIn, wherever)…you will begin to see results in the form of business.

 

Another downside of small business ownership can be the hustle – the time you spend, that you aren’t being paid for, promoting yourself and seeking new contracts. I have to be honest – at least 1 hour a day is still reserved for finding new business opportunities. It can be frustrating and discouraging, and every industry has its peaks and valleys, but you want to make sure you’re contracting yourself out in advance (as much as possible). Keep hustlin’ and don’t get lazy! You’ll quickly find out that in the world of freelance, lazy = no work = no pay = no mortgage payment.

Now, I will make one forewarning about being active on social media. Try your best to keep your participation to meaningful posts; reciprocate. If you’re involved in a community, try to be helpful! You’re there for a reason and so are others, the least you can do is engage in meaningful ways and share your wealth of knowledge.

3. Remember – You are on a continuous learning journey!

As Instructional Designers (or aspiring Instructional Designers), I would hope that you have long-since been embracing your journey as a continuous learner, but if you haven’t – GET ON IT, GIIIIRL! Making it on your own in a very competitive industry can be difficult, but it  doesn’t have to be. You can get a leg up on your competitors or find freelancers who need help with overflow work or even just need to collaborate with your services to get their contracts done, but the difference between you and your competitors will often be your abilities.

You don’t need a formal education, but I will say that it has definitely helped – people love qualifications, let me tell you! You don’t need a lot of experience, but start now, because it definitely helps! What you need are mad research skills – research anything and everything you think might help you improve your abilities. If you want to enhance current skills or acquire new skills, you can often find all of the information you need online.

Invest in yourself – TREAT YO’ SELF! It will pay off in spades, I promise. The Internet is a wonderful place – you can find courses on almost anything at sites like Udemy, SkillShare, and Lynda. If you make it to big and need real professional advice, don’t hesitate to employ marketing companies like YEAH Local. If you don’t want to outsource, many post-secondary institutions offer formal diplomas and/or certifications in Instructional Design, and there are SO MANY great books out there. You just need to do the research! By and large, the best resource I’ve found for my field has been the Articulate E-Learning Heroes Community. I’ll say it once, and I’ll say it again – THESE FOLKS ROCK! There is so much talent within those forums, it is unbelievable; when it comes to researching, you can find almost anything within that forum, and everyone is so supportive!

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