Working in the creative industries: is freelancing the road to success?
- samlivingstone01
- Oct 13, 2022
- 5 min read
Updated: Oct 17, 2022
What does it mean to be a freelancer?
A typical freelancer is someone who is self-employed in the creative industry. Instead of having a long-term commitment to one employer they can have a more flexible time scale, meaning they can have it be part or full time.
While people generally believe freelancers in the games development community to just be independent developers creating their own ideas, there are multiples ways for a freelancer to gain money; They can find potential clients through social media and networking, they can take on temporary roles at games development companies and of course can work independently on their own creations - possibly all 3!
What are the key skills required of a freelancer?
Being a freelancer is a lot of work, it requires a lot of soft and hard skills. to be a freelancer you first of all need to be able to create high quality, find clients or people to sell your work to AND be able to do that under strict time constraints.
there are 5 key skills needed to be a freelancer:
Sales Skills
If you decide to take the plunge and start working for yourself, the first thing you need to develop is a sales technique. Aside from the work you're creating this is one of the most important things you need. If you're unable to find clients or sell your work, you may need to work on your technique a little more. Here's a video that gives some tips and tricks of how to create a good sales technique.
Project Management
Project management is a very important part of freelancing. It's the key to help your business thrive. Not only as a freelancer but also working in the creative industries in general. Whether you have one client or three, managing your project is very important to help stay on budget, stick to time constraints and gain a good reputation - clients want to know that you take their business very seriously and will make a plan of action and speak through it with them before going into the development stages.
Time Management and Communication
Time is one of the major factors of the creative industry, whether you work for a business or for yourself, at some point you will get a time constraint. The best thing to do with a project that may have a time constraint is to spend some extra time planning the project. Client's time is very important to them, and you don't want to waste it. If you do get to the point where you feel like you don't have enough time to complete the task, there's no harm in being honest about it.
Being open and honest with the client should always be a top priority. Communication is major in this industry, constantly make sure that your client is okay with the work you're progressing with, keep them involved throughout the developmental stages to make sure that when you hit that final deadline, they have exactly what they want.
Work Ethic
Work ethic is something that a few people struggle to have, but in this industry, it is crucial, especially as a freelancer. The typical freelancer will work from home, from an office or an unused bedroom which can make it quite hard to switch from your home brain to your work life brain. There are a few key steps that help not only maintain work ethic but regain it in this video here:
How do I promote myself as a freelancer?
Online presence is something I have talked about before. Here's a link so you can have read through yourself:
Creating an online presence is even more important if you decide to become a freelancer. Without a good online presence people won't know about the work you create.
I recommend starting a LinkedIn and a Twitter to promote your work on and find potential clients. But if you want to start working right away - for probably less money and more work - a Fiverr account could also suit you. Fiverr is a free to use site where you advertise your work as a freelancer and people can pay you for odd jobs. Although the people tend to go for the cheaper options on there, it's always good to have some easier freelance work under your belt to show off to future potential clients.
The importance of reputation and professionalism with clients
No matter what type of employment you have, remaining professional and having a good reputation is very important to potential clients. Again, I have already spoken about this here so just click the button below to have a wee read:
What are the benefits and drawbacks of freelancing?
Speaking directly from a game development point of view, it can be tough to take the plunge into freelance, but as to all big decisions there are pros and cons.
Cons:
It can be tough to find clients
Creating a large piece of work may be difficult without a full team of people for help
Work is not always guaranteed
You may need to get more up to date hardware
Freelance taxes are a little complicated
No paid time off - let's hope you don't get sick
You may have to chase after clients who don't pay immediately
Pros:
The hours are more flexible than the typical 9 to 5
More interaction with the client - and you decide who you work with
Typically, more money from freelance work
More creative freedoms
Easier time management
You earn a lot of pride and respect for running your own business - creates a good reputation
Most freelancers are considered experts.
A fairly even amount on each list but a lot to think about. Freelancing is not for the faint of heart, it can be stressful and hard to keep up but is so worth it for the positives a successful freelancing business has to offer.
AAA vs Independent
In one of the biggest growing industries in the world, there's plenty of space for all kinds of studios. Triple A being the massive tycoons like Rockstar and Ubisoft while independent studios are heard of a little less.
Working for a triple A company has its benefits but also its cons too. Triple A studios have a lot more budgeting, more money to spend on better hard and soft ware as well as your paycheck. But with it a few things are taken - You'll be working under other people, less flexible time and you might not get to create a relationship with clients.
Whereas Indie studios create a more friendly feel, almost family like. Your time may be more flexible, you can speak to clients directly, but you may lose out on some of the benefits that come with triple A studios.
How would you go about establishing your own business?
As someone who has never tried to begin establishing my own business, I'm a bit of a fish out of water here. But i would begin by creating an online presence - LinkedIn, Twitter, Fiverr and also create my own website to display my work on.
After doing all that begin networking through social media, find out about up-and-coming industry events, look online for people searching for a freelance Games developer.
Like I said, I have no experience in this so here's a video by someone who knows exactly what they're talking about.
Would I ever freelance?
As a third-year university student, I'm slowly but surely coming to the end of my time in education, so this question is a big one to think about. We all hope to have our dreams met but I like to live with a hint of pessimism. I would prefer to work in a studio or business for a few years before deciding to take the plunge or not. It's quite a big decision and there's lots to think about.
But I think with being employed at a studio, if I have the spare time and work ethic, I can always do some freelancing in my spare time, not just to earn more money but to find new challenges and create new pieces of work.
To answer the question; right out of the gate? absolutely not, I think I have too much imposter syndrome holding me back but after being emplyed in the industry for some time? I would consider it a more viable option.
Comments