Benefits of Working Anywhere
One of the best things about freelancing is that you are not restricted to working in a specific location or at a specific time. This gives you the freedom to juggle your work around your schedule rather than having it the other way around. As a website designer one of the main prerequisites that I have for a workplace is a reliable internet connection. I can easily travel with my laptop and once I put on my headphones distractions become minimal. This flexibility is invaluable since I often have to work at different places or at irregular times. Here are a few advantages of being able to telecommute rather than work strictly out of an office.
Choose your working hours
While 8am – 4pm or 9am – 5pm are ideal daylight hours who’s to say that you work best in the day? Furthermore, these are the times with the most distractions and may not be the times that inspiration suddenly hits you. Being able to choose your own working hours allows you to work when you know you will be more productive. It also allows you the flexibility of working more than one job.
Make yourself comfortable
Since there is no need to dress formally at home or behave in a certain manner this allows you to be more comfortable. You can play music, go outside, or even work fro the comfort of your bed if you are not feeling 100%. You can avoid the stress of traveling to an office and use the time t would have taken to commute for other purposes.
Work on the go
When you work from different locations you tend to take steps to make your files available wherever you are. This might be done by utilizing cloud services to synchronize files over the internet. You may also choose to use software such as TeamViewer to access your computer remotely. There is also the option of working with a mobile computer such as a laptop or tablet which you can easily carry along with you. You can use this at the airport or at any hotspot to get a little work done while on a trip. This is great practice for the tie when you have to work from a client’s office or other unfamiliar location.
Draw inspiration from your surroundings
Some people work in a spacious comfortable office while others work in drab, cramped cubicles. Choosing your own work environment can help you to draw inspiration from your surroundings. Simple things such as a window view can make a great difference especially if you are doing creative work.
Collaborate freely
Networking can be done in many forms and working away from the office helps both online and offline networking. You can meet clients or team members face to face and work with them wherever they are. You can also use social networks and programs such as Skype to have video or voice conferences once you have internet connectivity.
Working anywhere can mean working at home or working at a foreign location. There will always be a preferred working environment but you may not always have access to this. The trick to working from different places is to be prepared and to be flexible enough to adjust to different environments. Once you have done so you may find the benefits it affords quite refreshing.
The concept of billable hours is based on how you value an hour of your work. Do you do $5, $30 or $50 worth of work in an hour? This is a personal figure you decide based on your personal ability and preference. You can then use this hourly figure along with an estimation of the time it will take to complete the job to get an idea of the price of a project. If you are charging a client by the hour you should ensure that they are aware of this so that they recognize the longer the job takes and the more changes they make the more expensive it will be. You should also log your hours carefully and have documentation ready to justify your price if necessary. You can use a strict hourly rate or use this as a guide in addition with other pricing systems.
If your price does not generate enough money to cover overhead costs you will be operating at a loss. As a freelancer you will need to ensure that you at least break even by generating income greater than expenses. This is more difficult at the early stages of a business due to the large investment costs. As the business matures though it should become profitable and self sustainable. Therefore your prices should be high enough to cover your overhead costs, including your salary. Failure to consider these costs can quickly see your business making money but still not surviving. You can also try to reduce overhead costs in order to offer customers lower prices or make larger profits.
Every job is not the same and cannot be charged at the same rate. A logo for a local club would cost significantly less than a logo for an internationally recognized sports club. The factors that influence the price are not so much the budget of the client but the scope and complexity of the project. Larger projects usually require more detailed research and require a deeper understanding of the client’s vision. This may include multiple meetings and even travel. The longevity and range of uses of the logo will also vary by the popularity of the client. This would invariably also influence the price of the job.
Another thing to consider in pricing services is who retains rights to the work and for how long. If the customer retains all rights to the work and can use it however they please then the cost of the design would be higher than if I retain rights to the project. A situation may also arise where the customer has exclusive rights to the design for a fixed period of time after which I have full rights once again. In this situation the price would be higher in consideration of the period of exclusive rights.
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