Table of Contents
This is a useful presentation from 2016 from Jon Jones that’s now been relegated to the dustbin of internet history, unfortunately. As Jon explains:
Ever wondered what life would be like if you quit your full-time job to become a freelance artist? This presentation will give you clear advice and direction on what to do, how to think, and give you the tools you need to succeed.
The original slides are here. The team here at SGI has cleaned up his slides a bit for grammar, as a Professional would likely do. Enjoy!
The First Commandment
Don’t work where you play
You will always be at work, and resent it.
Don’t play where you work
You will never get any work done: “gotta do dishes!”, “gotta take forever making lunch!”, “gotta empty trash!”, “gotta feed the cat!”, “gotta bathe the cat!”, “gotta get stitches!”.
Keep these space strictly separate
Get mobile and find a co-working space.
The Second Commandment
Amateur
- “I’ll have it done in two hours!” – delivers it in eight hours
Professional
- “I’ll have it done in eight hours.” – delivers it in six hours
Manager’s insight
What does it say about your competence if you don’t know how long your job takes?
Don’t make me do artist math:
- 2 hours = 4 hours
- 4 hours = 8 hours
Be realistic: Don’t just tell me what I want to hear.
- If truth = what I want to hear, good.
- If not, let me know. We’ll work it out. I have bosses too.
The Third Commandment
Amateur
“Here’s the delivery!”
- Files and textures named wrong or assigned wrong
- Delivers a technical mess I’ll spend hours fixing
- Bonus points for weird or profane filenames (note: not actual bonus points)
Professional
“Here’s the delivery!”
- Technical guidelines were met
- The professional paid attention
Manager’s insight
“Here’s the delivery!”
- Did amateur read the guidelines? Were they misunderstood?
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions
- Ask questions early
The Fourth Commandment
Amateur
“Sure, I’ll incorporate that feedback!”
- Does half the job
- Acts like nothing is wrong
- Was the feedback misunderstood or simply ignored?
Professional
“Sure, I’ll incorporate that feedback!”
- Does the full job
- Verifies point-by-point what was fixed
Manager’s insight
- The professional is demonstrating attention to detail
The Fifth Commandment
Amateur
“I’ll have it ready for you by the end of the day!”
- Submits at 3 a.m.
Professional
“I’ll have it ready for you by the end of the day!”
- Submits at 6 p.m.
Manager’s insight
- End of day means the end of my day, not the end of your day
- Remember that it takes time to review content: If I need it that day, a 6 p.m. delivery means I have to work late – thanks.
- Delivering early is always nice
The Sixth Commandment
Amateur
- “I just make art. What’s customer service?”
Professional
- “I’m a service provider. I am an artist, but my success depends on satisfying my clients.”
Manager’s insight
- You’re in customer service.
- Be responsive. Make the client happy. Maintain it.
- It’s like dating: You work out, dress well and get in “dating shape” to look great – when you’re in a relationship, you let it slide because you’re safe.
- Amateurs do this – Professionals don’t.
The Seventh Commandment
Amateur
- “My dog ate my stylus!”
Professional
- “I dropped the ball on this, and I will do my best to correct it.”
Manager’s insight
- I don’t want excuses, I want results:
- If you screwed up, let me know so I can plan for that
- I’ve heard every excuse
- I know the differenece between a reason and an excuse
Think of your reputation. Which would you rather be?
- The person that always has problems with everything
- The person that simply gets the job done
The Eighth Commandment
Consult a tax professional
- They will probably tell you to form a Limited Liability Company – look that up, it’s important.
Resource
- www.legalzoom.com
Get a business bank account
- Credit unions are great
Get to know how business taxes work
- Keep record from day 1
- Keep receipts
- Your tax pro is your best friend.
The Ninth Commandment
- [email protected] is ideal
- If you use webmail, only use Gmail
- Hotmail, Yahoo, MSN, etc, look amateur
Get a dot com
- Second best is dot net
Avoid weird TLDs (top level domains)
- Bad examples: .tv, .biz, .ninja, .sports, .xxx
Avoid subdomains
- Bad example: “ieatpaper.iamaprofessionalartist.co.xxx.nz.abc.123.omg”
Use your real name if possible
- If you can’t, be simple
- Say it out loud, will people spell that correctly?
- Bad example: “superdeliciousartistboythatmakesart.com/portfolio/lookatmeIamcreative!!11/”
- Good example: “workhardmakeart.com”
Avoid internet slang
- Bad example: “lolwutplsbesrs.net”
Avoid bad spelling
- Bad example: “imaektehthreedeemodelz.net”
- It’s not cute, it makes you look dumb – dumb is bad.
- If you must hyphenate, use only one:
- Bad example: “c-o-n-c-e-p-t-artist.com”
- Good example: “concept-artist.com”
Avoid complicated words
- Bad example: “www.archaeologicalartisan.com”
Avoid unintentional words
- Bad example: “www.ferrethandjobs.com” – (yes, this is real, it’s a law firm)
If it takes longer than three second to say or explain, it’s too long
- Bad example: “it’s incompatenceingameduhvelopment.com”, but ‘incompetenece’ is spelled ‘i-n-c-o-m-p-a to be funny
Don’t pick something offensive
- Avoid the following: drugs, sex, bodily fluids, disease, Bieber
- Bad example: “snotinmyhair.com”
Short and simple is best
- Good examples: “chrisholden.net”, “autodestruct.com”, “jonjones.com”
The Tenth Commandment
Manage leads and deals
- Resource: www.zoho.com/crm/
Manage time tracking, billing, incoiving, profit and loss
- Resource: www.freshbooks.com
Shareable online documentation, spreadsheets
- Resource: drive.google.com
Easy file sharing with clients
- Resource: www.dropbox.com