UX Planet — Medium | Cassius Kiani Image Credit: Chris Reath

It’s 2018 and that means new year, new you.

You’re a designer and you’ve decided to go freelance and/or start your own design studio. It’s a leap and while you’re only a few days in, you’re already struggling to find clients.

Well, don’t worry, you’re in luck.

As it’s a brand new year (and I’m up to some exciting new ventures) I’m more than happy to share all my secrets, tips and tricks on how to find your own design clients.

Now, this is by no means an exhaustive list, but it’s more than enough (IMHO) to take you from nothing to at least 5 figures per month.

It’s simple—put the work in and you’ll reap the rewards.

So, Where do you Start?

Good question, if you’ve never found design clients before, then this entire process will feel unfamiliar and daunting.

That’s why I’ve been kind enough to curate/create each of the resources you’ll need to start your search.

As a big believer in lean startup methodology, here’s the absolute minimum I’d recommend having in your possession before you start hunting for design clients.

1. Portfolio

Design is a profession that (almost always) involves production work. That means you need to be able to show what you produce in portfolio form.

If you don’t have a portfolio, you might as well call yourself an astronaut, lawyer or doctor because no-one will believe you’re a designer.

Creating a portfolio can be a challenge (and a headache) as it takes time + can be tricky to know where to start. Don’t worry, I’ve simplified the process for you and created a .Sketch file with a simple, minimal portfolio structure that will help you show the world some of your incredible work.

2. Confidence

You’re going to struggle to get design clients if you aren’t confident in your ability to solve challenging problems. Of course, confidence takes time to build and there could be valid reasons why confidence is a hurdle for you.

To save you getting too hung up on this, I’ve crafted a simple email template you can send (or use as a verbal cue) for potential clients. This simple template will help you sound confident, outgoing and highly capable.

Adapt this template as you feel is necessary, it’s a guide, not a bible.

3. Goals

You won’t get too far along your journey without goals.

You need to figure out how much money you want to make, what you want to work on and what you’re hoping to achieve with your new venture.

Without this, you’ll find that tracking and measuring your progress over the coming months will be difficult (if not impossible). To get you started, here’s a template spreadsheet I’ve been using to break down my financials + personal goals quite nicely.

With all of the above in check, you’re now (more than) 100% ready to start finding clients and making stacks of cash (if that’s your goal, of course).

Now, when it comes to finding clients, you can either build an empire (and watch clients roll in) or you can knock down doors and find them yourself.

While an empire is the ideal scenario, it takes a few years to build and I’m working on the assumption that you’re keen to make money before 2020.

With that in mind, let’s focus on quick wins and where you can go to find design clients over the next few weeks.

Classic Places to Find Clients

Traditional options that (at least for me) have withstood the test of time. In no particular order we have…

Angel List—http://angel.co/

This has been a quick go-to for the past couple of years, it’s quick to filter by freelance opportunities and pitching/applying is pretty quick/simple (either through Angel List or using the email template.

Some applications ask for a resumé, but let’s be real, no-one cares.

You’re a designer, send them your portfolio instead, that’s the only thing that matters. Keep your eyes on Angel List every few days for freelance opportunities, it’s a great way to get started.

Workshop—http://letsworkshop.com/

Introduced to this by a friend a few years ago, Workshop is a lead generation platform, where the founder sends you a breakdown of live (and qualified) remote, freelance jobs at the end of each day.

It’s quick, simple and allows you to been spoon fed opportunities while you move around and live your life. All you need to is send leads your portfolio, a captivating email and chase them a couple of times to see decent signs of success.

I’ve generated £20k MRR from Workshop before, so it’s certainly worth the initial investment to gain access to the service.

Remote Job Boards

You’d be surprised how many of these job boards advertise freelance positions. It’s a surprisingly great way to keep your eyes and ears to the floor for freelance opportunities without too much admin time.

A few of my favourites to check include…

• Remote Ok
• Remotive Jobs
• Dribbble Remote
• Authentic Jobs
• WeWorkRemotely
• Remote.co
• Working Nomads

…etc. If you’re looking for more, this article has a nice list—https://nodesk.co/remote-work/

Social Media

Twitter has been a big win for me and Dribbble + Behance have each had their moments too.

Personally, I’ve found Dribbble and Behance require a little too much effort outside of their job boards to generate significant ROI.

Twitter on the other hand has been great. It’s quick and simple to send out a tweet letting others known that you’re looking for work (with your folio attached) and then to pester friends to RT that message for you.

Obviously, it helps if you know a few big names/followings that can help get the ball/message rolling. If you’re struggling, DM me on Twitter and I’ll be happy to RT you.

Friends and Previous Clients

If you don’t ask, you don’t get and your friends are (likely)to know people looking for designers.

Pester your network and ask your friends if any opportunities are knocking around. Don’t be disheartened if they all come back with a no, if your friends know you’re looking for work, they’ll be more likely to mention your name to others—which is a great start.

If you’ve freelanced before, then I’d recommend you get in contact with previous clients to see where they’re at. Maybe they need a hand with more design work, or maybe they know other people who’re looking—again, if you don’t ask you don’t get.

People are nice if you are, don’t be scared to ask for help.

Local Agencies

Open your favourite browser, head to Google, search for ‘local design agencies’ and then send them a captivating email with your portfolio attached.

Let them know your rates, your availability and that if they’re swamped with any design work/projects, that you’d be more than happy to help.

I’ve done this before and had some relatively good success, but be warned, agencies have a habit of being notoriously slow to respond (or not respond at all) Don’t take it personally, agencies get a tonne of emails like this, so make your email stands out, or be prepared for the odd cold shoulder.

Recruiters

Follow a similar process to the above (using the magic of Google + the words ‘local freelance recruiters’) and you’ll have another team of people/group of people invested in your success.

Recruiters work on a commission basis, so if you’re a capable freelancer or small studio willing to take on the jobs, they’ll be singing your praises and fighting the good fight.

Let them know what you’re looking for, send them the specifics and be tough on the opportunities they send across. If they send you opportunities you’re not interested in, tell them know and let them know why.

Meetups

Freelance meetups are more than a great place to network and meet new people, they’re a great way to find additional work too.

Whatever you do, don’t bottleneck yourself into design only meetups. While they can be good places to learn, you’re unlikely to find design leads in a place where there’s tonnes of designers. It can happen, but there’s a lot of competition in a room full of designers, and much less in a meetup which talks about the value of design etc. vs. teaching specific skills.

As an example, I ran a startup meetup in Manchester a few years back that generated a few design leads and clients, as it talked about the value of design, without teaching specific design skills.

Crew, Toptal and YunoJuno etc.

Freelance platforms like Crew, Toptal and YunoJuno act as simple portals where (once you’re in) allow you to apply to freelance roles that have been curated by the platform themselves.

Since these places are typically quite selective (and actively make money from filling roles) there’s usually a little less competition than your typical job board.

Also, as a bonus, everything is vetted and your payment is usually guaranteed by the company itself rather than the client (which is in itself a great peace of mind). If you’ve got a strong portfolio, gaining access to these platforms is easy enough (otherwise, it can be a little pain).

Fun Ideas to Find Clients

So, here are a few random ideas with (little to no guarantee they’d work) that I’d be curious to give a go. Of course, they could fail but high risk, high reward.

Redesign Emails

Want to work with a specific company or have too much time on your hands? Consider redesigning part of their product, in prototype from that clearly shows your logic, thinking and rationale behind ‘why’ and email it to the ‘right person’ at said company.

Now this is risky because no-one enjoys unsolicited redesigns and there’s a good chance that what you design doesn’t take into account a myriad of data/blockers that most internal teams are forced to deal with.

That being said, frame this correctly, prototype it in a simple and clearly thoughtful way and you’re likely to be talked about.

Fiverr (Reel them in then…)

So, pick a nominal service that most people need for $5, then add a tonne of additional services (which are necessary to get great results) alongside the original option.

While Fiverr’s name is deceptive, you can easily charge $200 — $300 for a service that might only take you an hour or so to complete.

If you’re smart about how you use this platform, there’s a tonne of opportunities you could work with. Of course, I have no idea how well this will work in practice, but in my head this seems like a winner.

Referral Schemes

Everyone (and anyone) who refers a client to you gets 20% of the project value. I’ve always been keen to implement this, but never figured out the right way of doing so.

Mocking up a quick referral form in Typeform or Google Forms could do the trick, but I’m always curious about how easy it would be to get the message out there (outside of mentioning it 24/7).

The reason a referral scheme is appealing, is because both parties are incentivised to succeed. You want client work without marketing or painful lead generation, referrers want money—win.

Coinlist & Blockchain Startups

ICOs have a tonne of cash—fact.

Take a look through CoinList, WorldCoinIndex and anything else similar, list the companies that in your eyes need design help. then send them an email to help out/support their team on a freelance basis.

Startups who have upcoming ICOs (or have ICOd) could be great targets. IMHO, 90% of them are designed terribly and need to do their utmost to avoid looking like scams.

While I haven’t explored this yet myself, I feel this could be a literal gold mine given the state of blockchain/cryptocurrency.

Conferences (Nomad Cruise etc.)

For me, I’ve never been to a conference to generate work, but I know a tonne of people that have and have done super well from it.

I feel that going somewhere where you can network and meets friends (or are forced to because you’re on a boat) could be a great idea. A quick Google search pointed towards Nomad Cruise (literally a boat conference).

Imagine being on a boat with a tonne of clever freelancers—it’s bound to be good for your network…unless you’re not great with the sea or boats (it might suck a little then).

Now, It’s Time to Fly

While I’m a big advocate for reading, I’m an even bigger advocate for doing—and now it’s time for you to do.

With the all this new knowledge at your disposal, you’re in a great position to get started as a freelancer or small studio.

Be diligent, put the work in and you’re guaranteed to get results in return. Whether that’s in 2 weeks or 2 months, they will come.

I’ve been in situations where I’ve had no client work for a month and other situations where I’ve been booked for 10+ months.

But either way, you’ve got this.

Finding Design Clients in 2018 was originally published in UX Planet on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.