my first 414 days as a freelancer

A RETROSPECTIVE

MY FIRST414 DAYS AS AFREELANCER:

@kyle_unzickerkyleunzicker.com

Thursday, September 5, 13

WHO AM I? **I DON’T MEAN THIS IN AN EXISTENTIAL WAY.

MY NAME IS KYLE UNZICKER, AND I’M FROM SMALL TOWN ILLINOIS.

I’M A WEB DESIGNER AND DEVELOPER.

I’VE BEEN A FREELANCER FOR 414 DAYS.

WHAT’S MY STORY?

WHAT’S MY STORY?➡ WHY I STARTED FREELANCING

➡ MY INITIAL GOALS

➡ HOW I GOT MY START

➡ HOW’S IT’S BEEN SO FAR

➡ WHERE I’M GOING

* WILL NOT BE FULLY COVERING: RATES, HOW TO GET CLIENTS, WHAT BUSINESS TYPE YOU SHOULD CHOOSE, OR HOW TO BEAT MIKE TYSON IN MIKE TYSON’S PUNCH OUT!!

THE FIRST -1095 DAYS

THE FIRST -1095 DAYS➡ AGENCY EMPLOYEE FOR 3 YEARS

➡ BEGAN ANSWERING PHONES, DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT BY THE TIME I LEFT

➡ WENT FROM ZERO EXPERIENCE WITH WORDPRESS TO BUILDING DOZENS OF CUSTOM THEMES AND PLUGINS

➡ PAYIN’ BILLS➡ BEST PAYING JOB OF MY (YOUNG) LIFE

➡ PAY RAISES ON THE REGULAR

➡ GROWN UP STUFF➡ BOUGHT A HOUSE

➡ BECAME A DAD

WHY I QUITMY JOB

WHY I QUIT MY JOB

WHY I QUIT MY JOB➡ I STOPPED LEARNING

➡ I WAS NO LONGER PROUD OF THE PROJECTS THAT I WORKED ON

➡ FRANKLY, I WAS NOT PROUD OF THE BRAND I WAS PAID TO REPRESENT

TL;DR- I OUTGREW MY POSITION

GOALS➡ CONTINUE TO PAY MY BILLS #BENJAMINS

➡ CREATE WORK THAT I’M PROUD OF #PROUDPAPA

➡ LEARN A TON OF NEW STUFF #KNOWLEDGEISPOWER

➡ MEET OTHER DESIGNERS & DEVELOPERS TO WORK WITH AND LEARN FROM #NICETOMEETYOU

THE FIRST 414 DAYS

HOW I GOT STARTED

HOW I GOT STARTED➡ CREATED A BRAND TO SHOWCASE MY SERVICES AND

WORK (A PORTFOLIO)

➡ WINDFARM CREATIVE // WNDFRM.COM

HOW I GOT STARTED➡ CREATED A BRAND TO SHOWCASE MY SERVICES AND

WORK (A PORTFOLIO)

➡ WINDFARM CREATIVE // WNDFRM.COM

HOW I GOT STARTED

HOW I GOT STARTEDI MADE A BUDGET

➡ HOW MUCH ARE MY BILLS?

➡ WHAT’S THE ABSOLUTE BASE MONTHLY INCOME I NEED?

➡ WHAT MONTHLY INCOME AM I COMFORTABLE WITH?

➡ HOW MUCH DO I HAVE SAVED UP AS A CUSHION?

➡ WHAT STARTUP COSTS CAN I EXPECT?

HOW I GOT STARTED

HOW I GOT STARTEDI ASKED FOR HELP➡ MY #BESTFRIEND HAD BECOME A FREELANCER THE YEAR

BEFORE➡ PUT ME IN TOUCH WITH HIS OVERFLOW CLIENTS

➡ PUT ME IN TOUCH WITH HIS FREELANCER FRIENDS

➡ ASKED MY PREVIOUS EMPLOYER FOR FREELANCE WORK➡ I DIDN’T BURN MY BRIDGES!

HOW I GOT STARTED

HOW I GOT STARTEDI HOOKED MYSELF UP

➡ NEW COMPUTER! NEW DESK! NEW SOFTWARE!

➡ NEW CPA! (SORRY, DAD)

➡ NEW CPA! (SORRY, DAD)➡ WENT OVER ALL THE PRO/CONS OF CORPORATIONS/LLC’S, S-CORP, TALKED ABOUT

PAYING TAXES, ETC ETC

➡ BOOKED A TRIP TO WORDCAMP SF 2012

➡ BOOKED A TRIP TO WORDCAMP SF 2012➡ NETWORKING! SALES! AFTERPARTIES!

➡ (ALSO ATTENDED GRAND RAPIDS 2012 AND CHICAGO 2013)

HIGHLIGHTS

HIGHLIGHTS➡ DAY 1.

➡ SERIOUSLY.

➡ SERIOUSLY.➡ I FELT LIKE A NEW PERSON.

➡ (A HAPPY SCARED PERSON

➡ BECOMING THE OWNER OF A LEGITIMATE COPY OF PHOTOSHOP

HIGHLIGHTS

HIGHLIGHTS➡ OKAY THEMES

➡ REFERRED BY MY #BESTFRIEND

➡ GAVE ME A BASE INCOME TO LAUNCH FROM #BENJAMINS

➡ STARTED AS SUPPORT GURU, MY FIRST NON-RETAIL CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCE #KNOWLEDGEISPOWER

➡ DEVELOPED 1 THEME, 1 PLUGIN, COMMITTED LOTS OF BUGFIXES TO ALL OF THE THEMES

➡ FORMED A GREAT WORKING RELATIONSHIP AND FRIENDSHIP WITH THE HEAD HONCHO, MIKE MCALISTER #NICETOMEETYOU

➡ GAINED SMALL THEME CUSTOMIZATION JOBS

HIGHLIGHTS

HIGHLIGHTS➡ WORDCAMP SF 2012

➡ MET SO MANY TALENTED PEOPLE #NICETOMEETYOU

➡ FIRST TIME I TRULY "GOT" WORDPRESS AND THE COMMUNITY #KNOWLEDGEISPOWER

➡ MY MUSTACHE GOT ME A GIG #BENJAMINS #MUSTACHE

HIGHLIGHTS

HIGHLIGHTS➡ MODERN TRIBE

➡ JOINED THE DEVELOPMENT TEAM FOR THE EVENTS CALENDAR, A TOOL I LOVED AND HAD USED DOZENS OF TIME BEFORE #PROUDPAPA

➡ ENABLED ME TO WORK WITH BRANDS SUCH AS MOZILLA AND HARVARD LAW SCHOOL #PROUDPAPA

➡ JOINED A TEAM OF SOME OF THE SMARTEST MOFOS I'VE EVER MET #NICETOMEETYOU #KNOWLEDGEISPOWER

➡ PARTICIPATED IN DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT, SUPPORT, UX DESIGN, PROTOTYPING, INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE #KNOWLEDGEISPOWER

➡ TRAVELLED TO CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO FOR A TEAM RETREAT, MEETING MY TEAM FACE TO FACE #BENJAMINS #NICETOMEETYOU

HIGHLIGHTS

HIGHLIGHTS➡ CG COOKIE

➡ WAS A REFERRAL BY MY #BESTFRIEND TO TWEAK SOME CSS HERE AND THERE

➡ FORMED A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE OWNERSHIP THAT TURNED THE SMALL JOB INTO A 6 MONTH REDESIGN AND REBUILD PROJECT, LED BY YOURS TRULY. #BENJAMINS

➡ WORKED WITH PIPPIN WILLIAMSON OF PIPPINS PLUGINS, WHOSE WORK AND WRITINGS I'VE FOLLOWED AND LOOKED UP TO #NICETOMEETYOU

➡ REBRANDED AND RE-LAUNCHED THE CG COOKIE NETWORK #PROUDPAPA

HIGHLIGHTS

HIGHLIGHTS➡ SPEAKING AT WORDCAMP

➡ CHICAGO 2013

➡ GRAND RAPIDS 2013

HIGHLIGHTS

HIGHLIGHTS➡ MOVING BACK TO THE BOONIES

➡ AN ALL-IN COMMITMENT TO FREELANCING

➡ (OR, AT LEAST AN ALL-IN COMMITMENT TO REMOTE WORK)

LOWLIGHTS

LOWLIGHTS➡ DISCOGRAPHY - THE LOST THEME

➡ COMMERCIAL THEME I DEVELOPED THAT HAS YET TO LAUNCH ➡ (BUT STILL PLAN TO?)

➡ 70 HOURS WITH NOTHING TO SHOW FOR IT SO FAR

LOWLIGHTS

LOWLIGHTSWEEKEND PLANS

➡ YOU MEAN WORK?

➡ WORKED A LOT OF WEEKENDS. TOO MANY WEEKENDS.

➡ MY INCOME IS DIRECTLY TIED TO MY TIME.

LOWLIGHTS

LOWLIGHTSIS THAT IT?

BY THE NUMBERS

BY THE NUMBERS➡ 14 CLIENTS I COMPLETED WORK FOR

➡ 1 CLIENT FIRED AND REFUNDED

➡ 3 CLIENTS TURNED AWAY➡ SCHEDULING CONFLICTS, AND ALL REFERRED TO SOMEONE ELSE

➡ 1 FULL-TIME JOB OFFER

HOW I SPENT MY TIME65% OF MY TIME IS BILLED

➡ 28.5 HOURS BILLED A WEEK, ON AVERAGE

HOW I SPENT MY TIME65% OF MY TIME IS BILLED

➡ 28.5 HOURS BILLED A WEEK, ON AVERAGE

THE OTHER 35%:➡ MANAGEMENT STUFF (FINANCES, TRACKING TIME, ORGANIZING/PLANNING

WORKFLOW)

➡ REFERENCE (BLOGS, NEAT TUTORIALS, ETC..)

➡ SUPER DISTRACTING STUFF (FACEBOOK, TWITTER, IMESSAGE, GAME OF THRONES MEMES)

HOW I SPENT MY TIME

HOW I SPENT MY TIME➡ I HAD 12 WEEKDAYS OFF

➡ I WORKED 19 WEEKENDS

➡ I WORKED 19 WEEKENDS ➡ (MORE THAN 2 HOURS BILL ON EITHER OR BOTH DAYS)

HOW I SPENT MY TIME

HOW I SPENT MY TIMENOTABLE AND/OR EMBARRASSING TIDBITS

➡ I SPENT MORE TIME IN SKYPE THAN SUBLIME TEXT

➡ (FACEBOOK + TWITTER + REDDIT) TIME == PHOTOSHOP TIME

➡ MY MOST PRODUCTIVE DAY OF THE YEAR WAS A SATURDAY.

HOW I SPENT MY TIME

11 others7%

Okay15%

CG Cookie38%

Modern Tribe40%

WHERE I SPENT MY TIME

WHERE I SPENT MY TIME➡ 10 COFFEE SHOPS

➡ 6 OFFICES

➡ 4 LIBRARIES

➡ 6 OFFICES

➡ 4 LIBRARIES

➡ 6 OFFICES

➡ 4 LIBRARIES

➡ 3 AIRPORTS

➡ 6 OFFICES

➡ 4 LIBRARIES

➡ 3 AIRPORTS

➡ 6 OFFICES

➡ 4 LIBRARIES

➡ 3 AIRPORTS

➡ 2 PLANES

➡ 6 OFFICES

➡ 4 LIBRARIES

➡ 3 AIRPORTS

➡ 2 PLANES

➡ 6 OFFICES

➡ 4 LIBRARIES

➡ 3 AIRPORTS

➡ 2 PLANES

➡ 2 DONUT SHOPS

➡ 6 OFFICES

➡ 4 LIBRARIES

➡ 3 AIRPORTS

➡ 2 PLANES

➡ 2 DONUT SHOPS

➡ 6 OFFICES

➡ 4 LIBRARIES

➡ 3 AIRPORTS

➡ 2 PLANES

➡ 2 DONUT SHOPS

➡ 1 TRAIN

➡ 6 OFFICES

➡ 4 LIBRARIES

➡ 3 AIRPORTS

➡ 2 PLANES

➡ 2 DONUT SHOPS

➡ 1 TRAIN

➡ 6 OFFICES

➡ 4 LIBRARIES

➡ 3 AIRPORTS

➡ 2 PLANES

➡ 2 DONUT SHOPS

➡ 1 TRAIN

➡ 1 HOSPITAL

➡ 6 OFFICES

➡ 4 LIBRARIES

➡ 3 AIRPORTS

➡ 2 PLANES

➡ 2 DONUT SHOPS

➡ 1 TRAIN

➡ 1 HOSPITAL

➡ 6 OFFICES

➡ 4 LIBRARIES

➡ 3 AIRPORTS

➡ 2 PLANES

➡ 2 DONUT SHOPS

➡ 1 TRAIN

➡ 1 HOSPITAL

➡ 1 MCDONALD’S

I TRIED WORKING IN A CAR ONCE, BUT I GOT MOTION SICKNESS

➡ 10 COFFEE SHOPS

➡ 6 OFFICES

➡ 4 LIBRARIES

➡ 3 AIRPORTS

➡ 2 PLANES

➡ 2 DONUT SHOPS

➡ 1 TRAIN

➡ 1 HOSPITAL

➡ 1 MCDONALD’S

SO, HOW DID I DO?

#BENJAMINS

#BESTFRIEND#KNOWLEDGEISPOWER

#MUSTACHE #NICETOMEETYOU

#PROUDPAPA

WHERE AMI GOING?

WHERE AM I GOING?

WHERE AM I GOING?A BOY WITHOUT A BRAND

➡ AGENCY-TYPE BRANDING DOESN’T FIT THE WORK I DO

➡ I DON’T WANT TO PRETEND TO BE SOMETHING I’M NOT

➡ WNDFRM.COM IS REALLY HARD SAY OUT LOUD

WHERE AM I GOING?A BOY WITHOUT A BRAND

➡ AGENCY-TYPE BRANDING DOESN’T FIT THE WORK I DO

➡ I DON’T WANT TO PRETEND TO BE SOMETHING I’M NOT

➡ WNDFRM.COM IS REALLY HARD SAY OUT LOUD

FREELANCING, OR, WHATEVER.➡ I WILL CONTINUE TO CHASE MY GOALS, WHEREVER THEY TAKE ME.

➡ SERVICES AND PRODUCTS

FINALTHOUGHTS

FINAL THOUGHTS

FINAL THOUGHTSHOW TO START, LIKE I DID

➡ KNOW YOUR GOALS

➡ BE(COME) A PROFESSIONAL

➡ ASK FOR HELP

➡ MAKE FRIENDS➡ TWITTER

➡ WORDCAMPS

➡ MEETUPS

➡ KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING➡ GIVE YOURSELF AN EMPLOYEE REVIEW

FINAL THOUGHTS

FINAL THOUGHTSRESOURCES➡ FREELANCE TOOLKIT

➡ FREELANCE.TRI.BE

➡ RESCUE TIME➡ RESCUETIME.COM

➡ TWITTER➡ GOOGLE TOP WHATEVER WORDPRESS PEOPLE TO FOLLOW ON TWITTER

➡ ASK THE PERSON NEXT TO YOU WHAT THEIR TWITTER HANDLE IS

(AND NOT FALLING ASLEEP)

THANKSFORLISTENING!

Thank you to The Noun Project for the following icons: “Desk” by Jason Thoburn, “Airport” by Joris Hoogendoorn, “Airplane Internet” by David Brossard, “Doughnut” by Julia Soderberg

my first 414 days as a freelancer

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