Hows business guys?
caoimghgin (842 pencils) | Thu, 2011-10-20 16:14Just was let go from my job of 5 years. Trying to retool myself into something NOT in print production/prepress.
I wanted to start a thread to get a pulse on how YOU GUYS are doing? Business going strong or have ya'll noticed a huge slowdown in the past 2-3 months?
All indicators on my end appear to point to a downturn.
Thanks guys!
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Without my sense of direction, I don't know where I'd be.
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Sorry to hear that. With your skills you shouldn't have any trouble finding something.
We're not close to our pre-recession numbers, but the last few months are up a little against last year.
Things are looking bleak here. I'm down and don't expect to be up anytime soon.
Beat the bushes for freelance work, but don't cut off the production altogether. When I went back to full time design there were production facilities that wanted me to freelance for them - the people I worked for and their competitors. The pay was good and the work was mindless - I considered it easy money. And you know all about upgrades - so those skills degrade over time if you don't keep up. Might as well be open to making a little cash off it if you still can. Good luck.
Oh Kevin, I'm so sorry! Art D. is right about keeping your hand in. Way back when, I used to freelance through a temp agency that was just for designers. Two of them, actually, one just for Mac users. It was a terrific way to scope out the market and landed me in the best job I ever had, which in turn led directly to starting my own business. Is there something like that in your neck of the woods?
Although times are tough for so many people -- and have been close to Dickensian for me in past years -- I'm in the weird position since March or so of being swamped with work. Good work, too, not crap stuff that you do because you have to. It might be that people are looking for closer relationships with the specialists they need, and elect to work with individuals rather than whatever agencies or print shops (with designers under their rooftops) there might still be out there. You're pretty good at reading people and being supportive, and you have talent to offer. You might do very well on your own with what you've learned on the job and through your own research.
Don't say no to charitable work, if that's all you can get. Maybe you can broker the printing so you can mark it up if they won't pay you for outright designing. Plenty of printers will work with you on that basis, because you bring them work that they might not get otherwise. Ah, but you know that!
I feel so bad for you -- but I'd feel a lot worse if I thought you weren't capable to bouncing back better than ever. Warm thoughts, buddy.
Mara
Alright! Thanks for the feedback guys. I'll keep you guys posted when I land on my feet again. Cheers!
Without my sense of direction, I don't know where I'd be.
Also - great time to get all your personal stuff in order... personal identity, business cards, website, computer system... yada, yada... when you're working there never seems to be time for that.
As much as I fear and loathe web design (much prefer Java or Objective-C desktop apps), that may be my homework project. I could kill two birds with one stone here. Creating a full portfolio website with all the technology I can throw at it to demonstrate development skills (PHP, Java, JavaScript, CSS, XML, yadda, yadda).
Should I go design, I'll say "And here is my design portfolio..." for development, I'd say, "And here is an example of a site I built with..."
Hmmmmm.
Without my sense of direction, I don't know where I'd be.
Sorry to hear about your situation Cao, but I know enough of your work to echo the other sentiments here; you've got the drive and skills to get back on your feet quicker than most. Sending good vibes your way man.
As far as taking my pulse...
I'm just wrapping up my second paying freelance job in the span of 5 months, bringing my career total to... two, which is not bad for someone still wrapping up school. And thanks to everyone here I've done a good job at NOT underselling myself, and lo and behold I've been paid what I've asked for both times! Thanks guys! Seriously, thanks.
That said, the overall market for a rookie looks scary as hell. Everything points to the market here in Milwaukee being way saturated. I love my city, but I feel like a move to a larger city (Chicago? Twin Cities? San Francisco?) might be in order if I want to land a job with any time of upward mobility.
Is there such a thing as migrant designers?
You're in an enviable position if you're able to pull up stakes and try out other regions. I frankly don't think starting out in a city is a bad idea, but I wouldn't make that my goal. It's a great way to pick up freelance gigs or (see my post above) temp design assignments, but ultimately, once you've got a portfolio full of Bright Lights Big City glamour, you can do better in a smaller market. The competition is likely to be less impressive in terms of the scope of their experience, and if you're willing to watch out for any tendency to be arrogant about where you've been, you might find yourself much in demand, especially if the town/smallish city is experiencing a renaissance.
When do you graduate? Just curious :)
Mara
Actually, completely un-degreed! Very much a self-learner.
Without my sense of direction, I don't know where I'd be.
@Mara: I'm able pull up stakes, but unfortunately I can't seem to outrun my bills. It's not changing location that scares me, it's my student loans! You made my point though: I think entry into a larger market might be easier, and gives me a way to establish myself. Once I've built up a more experienced portfolio making a go of it in the MKE should be easier... right? Milwaukee's a funny city... we've got a TON of creative people here, but not enough (design appreciative) business to support them.
My design coursework is all wrapped up, so now I'm just chasing some straggler liberal arts credits. I expect to graduate in May. Oh, and I'm not worried about coming off as arrogant: I'm much to humble for that. ;p
@Cao: Un-dregreed? That's both impressive and inspiring. I don't buy into the myth of the necessity of college, but I know that personally I needed structure for my learning that I couldn't generate myself. Ultimately I think my most important lessons will be learned once I can crack further into the biz.
RE Location - So I'm in Boston, and while my personal business (if you could call it that) is paying the bills, my clients are NOT local. That said, I have been exploring the local job market, and there does seem to be some movement here.
@ Cao - you're best bet is to think outside the box... think of industries and businesses that would benefit from your skill set, that may not be looking for an outright design/IT guy. EX: I am working over the local real estate offices (of which there are about 1000 in Boston), selling custom templates for their online rental postings. They take almost no time to put together, and these guys eat it up!
Good Luck!
From success to failure is one step. From failure to success is a long road.
with the market being pretty sporadic, depending on your location, best piece of advice i can give you is to look for design studios and corporate in house groups that have unstable workloads. a lot of those places have workload spikes that don't allow them to bring in a full-time person, but they need regular freelancers to help fill in during the busy times. when i was laid off before, these jobs filled about 15-25hrs a week, on average, working with 2-3 studios. not guaranteed hours, but you can usually get some fairly consistent income with these types of jobs. and they pay significantly more than going through an agency, since the agency takes a gigantic cut of the money they bring in.
Greg, you're in DC, right? Do you remember MacTemps in Georgetown? I think that was their name. Also an outfit called Creative Services, I think. They helped me get established on my own for a couple of years, and paid very, very well. I'd be sorry to hear that this kind of thing isn't available for us in the cities today. They do all the sidewalk-pounding to get into those shops you've mentioned. Of course, they also take a healthy slice of the worker bee's fee. Do you find that such shops are amenable to hearing directly from freelancers? Any idea of who it's best to call/e-mail/visit? (HR or Art Director, CEO versus Marketing Director, etc.?)
ps: Let's not forget AIGA and GAG chapters for networking. Not my dish of tea, but that's just me.
Mara
there are a bunch of them around, still (not sure if it's still the same ones).
AIGA, GAG, Art Director's clubs, all good venues to network. i got other freelance jobs from meeting people through AIGA who would send people my way when they were too busy to be able to help them.
honestly, i talked to people through AIGA for two of the places i got regular in-studio freelance gigs from. the third regular gig i had was a recommendation from a printer friend of mine. so don't overlook asking the print sales reps if they know anyone who's looking (either for freelance or perm).
you just have to meet people. i don't know if the best way to do it is to literally knock on their door. i think you need introductions to really be effective. that's why i promote getting involved in AIGA/Art Director's Club so much. You can meet fellow freelancers, art directors, studio owners, etc in a more casual setting (but one that's industry-related). Then you can ask them either (a) if they have any need for freelancers or (b) (and i think this works better, in some ways), ask for an information interview/portfolio review. they can take a little time to critique what you're showing (which is valuable information in and of itself), but also get a chance to talk to you specifically about your work and see the things you've done. if they like both of those and have a need, they're likely to ask. especially if you tell them during your interview that you're going to be taking that portfolio around to meet art directors.
as far as the in-house folks go, it really depends on the company. and they're less likely to go through solo folks for work spike help than they are through an agency. but if you *know* somebody, and the company's not too big, you have a chance at getting your foot in the door.
Terrific advice, Greg. I wish I'd known you 25 years ago! :)
However you get that freelance or temp gig, you can use your time with them to scope them out, see how they feel about you and the other way around, too.
I got a fabulous full-time job that way just before Apple crashed the PC party with the Macintosh. I didn't want to work at some other place the agency wanted to send me to, for political reasons; just couldn't stomach that and I said no.
My second offer was for something I thought sounded god-awful, but I took it. After a few months of kind of sh** work at that company, but finding that I liked the place and its people very much, they made me their new marketing manager, which, for them, meant in-house ad and publications service. They gave me $30,000 to spend on computer equipment and other stuff to get started. OMG! A dream come true.
Three years and several nice raises and 401k contributions later, when the company disbanded in favor of focusing on new ways to make money, I used my generous severance check to buy out my shop for a song, since no one else knew how to use the stuff and they didn't need it. Et voila: my own business.
Moral: You never know where your next bright shiny thing will come from. Stick to your principles and take your plunge. Might just be the best move you ever made.
Mara
Whenever works dries up for me I go freelancing, usually horrible/repetitive catalogue work, but I have to pay the bills somehow.
I am lucky enough to have built up good relations with several local studios/publishers who call me whenever overflow work is available. Like gwells said the money can be good, anything is better than nothing in hard times.
My job flow is pretty steady at the minute, but is down on last year for sure.
I have had to drop my print mark-up margins for certain clients which has dented profits, but they are still supplying me with regular design work. Everyone is tightening their belts.
Good luck Cao, though I'm sure you won't need it.
living on dreams and custard creams.