Working in the creative industries: is freelancing the road to success?

Freelancing has become more and more of a popular option for professionals working within the creative industries. In this blog post, I will explore the concept of working as a freelancer, look at the skillsets needed and decide whether pursuing this road can bring about a successful and sustainable career. 

What is Freelancing?

A person who freelances is someone who works for themselves rather than for a company. While freelancers take on work from companies and organisations, they do so while self-employed. As far as companies are concerned, a freelancer is not considered an employee but a 'contractor'.

As a consequence of being self-employed, freelancers are responsible for much more than your average employee, such as setting their own work hours, managing their time on different projects, billing clients and paying their own taxes.  

Several different terms are used to describe freelance work, and when looking for a job, these may help you when trying to express yourself to potential clients and navigate the space. They may not all apply to the creative industries, but they are still helpful terms to be aware of.

• Contract Work: Cover jobs where you are a temporary contract worker instead of a permanent employee.
• Contract Job: The same as contract work
• Independent contractor: Another common way to describe what a freelancer is but the terms are decided by another company or individual.
• Contract Consultant:  Someone hired for a temporary consultation for particular issues within the company.
• Contract-to-hire: A job that will begin as a freelance or independent contractor position but will have the potential to become a regular employee, assuming all goes well. 

What Skills do you need to be a Freelancer?

Being a freelancer is like running a business. The main difference being there is only one employee, You. Personally, as an aspiring 3D character artist, There are many technical skills that I would need to develop to a level found commonplace within the professional industry; these could include skills like understanding relevant software, human anatomy, technical drawing skills etc. These are all essential skills to have when becoming a competent professional, but as a freelancer, they alone would not be enough.

Successful Freelancers don't pin their success solely on their hard skills but rely heavily on their soft skills.

As you can see in the chart above, 71% of freelancers believe that communication skills are the most relevant, followed by problem-solving and willingness to learn. Therefore, communication is a massive part of freelancing. In my previous post, I explored whether networking in the creative industries was essential and found communication skills necessary. Good communication and lasting relationships go a long way to being a successful freelancer, regardless of the role or industry you are attached to. Any relationships that come about, big or small, should be treated as professionally as possible. Your reputation ex extremely important and can make or break any business. 

If you would like to learn more about professionalism and how it can best be practised, I also took a closer look at this here.

 How would you promote yourself as a freelancer?

People must know that you exist, whether you are just starting out or looking to grow your freelance business, and marketing is essential for any freelance business. 

But why?

Finding work and income stability is the top barrier for freelancers, and most want some security in knowing how to get a job. 

• 63% of freelancers believe that its more secure to have an extensive, diverse roster of clients to rely on for income
• 89% of freelancers would have wanted school to better prepare them for the challenges of freelance life.
• 81% said they could use more training in areas like networking and how they can better grow a freelance business.

To earn a steady income, you must find a good balance between finding and doing the work, and it may pay to have your next job lined up in advance. The consequence could be living paycheck to paycheck, and always relying on someone being there can be a stressful way to live. That's why finding consistent, repeatable clients is so essential in freelancing.  

There is no sure way that someone can secure regular clients, but here are some tips that can help.

Use Social Media, online forums and relevant communities.

Within the creative industries, there is a flurry of different social media outlets that you can use to connect with industry leaders and potential clients. Websites like Facebook, Instagram or Twitter chats can do some work. Still, others are more relevant, like Linkedin, Artstation, Deviantart or GitHub, where large communities gather to discuss and share their work and thoughts to be a better place to start. Join groups, share content and immerse yourself in the community you are involved in. By doing so, the right people will find you. 

Build a Website and Portfolio

It's commonplace these days for professional creatives to have a place to share the most impressive examples of their work. Building a website will professionally highlight your skills and provides potential clients with an introduction to you. Ideally, this is also a place where you can share your blog and contact information.

 If you are interested, a link to my portfolio can be found here. Although not perfect, I have tried to use only my best work to represent myself and will constantly be working to improve on it.  

Blogging

Im sure you are aware of blogging... if not, then I believe this to be a good example. Having a body of writing behind your work can attract people to your services and establish you as someone knowledgeable and helpful to clients. If writing isn't your thing, you could always start a podcast or video blog. The important thing is that you are consistently and regularly posting content. 

Referrals

 Networking with other freelancers, let them know what you do and what kind of work you are after and find the same things about them so that you can return the favour. This is commonplace among freelancers. According to Freelancers Union, 81% of freelancers refer work to each other.

Attend Industry Events

Again, referring to networking as a necessity, you can connect online, but attending industry events, conferences, and conventions can also be highly beneficial. You will usually find many like-minded peers and potential clients at such events. Do your research in your area, and I'm sure you will be surprised at how many there are. 

 

So, Would I Become a Freelancer in the games industry?

Freelancing is a highly labor-intensive way to build your career, but obviously, it has a lot of benefits.  As a current student, I don't yet feel I have the skills or experience that a professional freelancer might require within the industry. However, I would not write it off as a future career path. Starting a career as a freelancer is, from what I have researched, the hardest part. Developing those contacts and a strong network of peers and clients that you can rely on for consistent work is time-consuming. Christian Russeler, a fellow 3D character artist that I admire, touched briefly on this subject;

"I wouldn't recommend going freelance if you didn't work in the industry for several years already. My past contacts helped me a lot when I started freelancing, and I still often work with them". - Christian Russeler - 80.lv

I don't take his words lightly and feel that the security and structure of a more permanent role would be a better career path in the long run.

As a junior, who will be stepping into the industry for the first time, I would have to weigh my other options of where to start. There are many studios, some small indie games studios and others more well-established AAA. I personally will focus my sights on the smaller studios, but I won't dismiss the larger companies altogether. Although I might not feel my skills are on par with a AAA studio at this time, they might think differently, and if not, at least I would be on their radar for any potential jobs in the future.