Franklin Mcmahon
Forum Replies Created
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A few things..
I don’t like the term “freelancer”..its an excuse to become a doormat. You own a company, even if you are one person. Your website should reflect that. The difference between owning a motion graphics design company and doing freelance motion graphic design should net a higher rate. It even sounds better. Again, even if its just you, start to think of yourself as a company. The change of speech from “my company would like to work with you” from “I am available for freelance work” makes a difference, perception is key.
You say you have been doing this for 5 years..so have you been upping your rate? You have 5 years of experience now, you need to move to a new bracket of work. The biggest pitfall is creative artists stay in their bracket, afraid to move out, they are just happy to have clients. As you progress in your career, you will outgrow clients, your asking price will cause existing clients to need to move on. If you don’t progress, you just attract more of the same clients, at the same rate. Think bigger and tackle potential clients you would not have even approached 5 years ago.
Listen to my podcast “Media Artist Secrets” in iTunes. The process of marketing and branding yourself is a hugely creative and fun task. It’s a skill and art that needs to be developed. Become a creative marketing ninja and read business books and learn to pimp yourself anywhere and everywhere. The more chances you take, the bigger your circle of contacts is, the more often you’ll get great opportunities. Donald Trump no longer focuses on 3 story condo buildings. He’s moved on. He has a unique thirst to take it to the next level, ready or not. The creative people who have this desire become very successful, it does not even depend on skills often, its tenacity and drive. The day you decide IF you want to take on the client (as opposed to you NEED to take on this client) is when you start to make progress.
Fire grinders. If you feel a client is constantly taking advantage, cut them loose. Don’t be happy just to be working. Aim higher and find clients the same quality as you are. If you are waiting for checks, and doing work upfront while your client takes their time, they do not respect you and they do not deserve your services. Years ago when I turned away grinders and people who were at a lower level business-wise (“I’d rather starve” was my mantra) was when my creative career really kicked into high gear and I have been doing great ever since, especially last year and this, even in a down economy.
You drive ALWAYS needs to be HIGHER than your talent. If you talent is HIGHER than your drive, you will just join thousands of creative artists who are struggling.
FInally…download the song “You Get What You Give” by New Radicals…that song always get me going! 😉
Frank
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Franklin McMahon / Host
CreativeCow.net PODCASTCreative Cow Podcast in iTunes /
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Be everywhere. Make sure you are present and engaged on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, all the usual avenues. Marketing has changed, you are the brand now to the public. Position yourself as an expert on the various social networks. There are so many paths these days to easily market yourself at no cost.
Years ago I started a Yahoo Group, Portland Media Artists https://www.portlandmediaartists.com – it was just to help fellow create types post projects, but I get a lot of leads from that.
I do sub-domains for all my networks
Facebook – https://facebook.franklinmcmahon.com/
Linkedin – https://linkedin.franklinmcmahon.com/
Twitter – https://twitter.franklinmcmahon.com/Very easy to do.
Use the Share Bookmarklet on Facebook..share all your stuff with your followers
https://www.facebook.com/share_options.phpMy website has buttons to all my networks right on the front page
https://www.franklinmcmahon.com/These networks have been a tremendous source of revenue and contacts for years for me, and to be honest, I don’t even work them that hard.
You basically have to go back to caveman times, there are leaders and there are tribes. You expand your tribe, your audience, your followers…you always keep on their radar. Yes it is personal and yes its not like traditional marketing of years past. Those days are over.
But you have to be IN IT to WIN IT. You can’t just join twitter and wait. You can’t start a Facebook Group page and hope it’s discovered. It takes some focus, but its free and over time gains you access to a global audience.
Yes its new, and its often hard to figure out. But its a high speed train, don’t let it whiz by, jump on board and you will find yourself gaining contacts/jobs you never dreamed of, instead of wringing your hands worrying about the “down economy” like so many producers. The old economy is down, the new economy is booming.
Good luck!
Frank
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Franklin McMahon / Host
CreativeCow.net PODCASTCreative Cow Podcast in iTunes /
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Dump them..completely. You obviously have a lot of potential since they feel so threatened.
I would edit a demo reel using whatever you want and privately send it to prospective clients.
I would sever all ties with your former employee. They will not be offering you much of anything in the future, even if you bend to their demands. Never EVER agree to anything that promises potential future business, it never happens once the ink is dry.
As for having your projects done under them up on the web, that is a little trickier. In one sense, if you have no agreement currently forbidding it, you could leave it up until they take legal action to demand it be taken down. They may not go through all that trouble.
They are asking you to erase entirely the past, and that is not fair for them to do. I would do what you want until they legally escalate it, just my opinion, I am not a lawyer. I only say that because from what little I know about the situation, they are not being fair.
My question is are THEY using your stuff to market to new clients? Would THEY sign an agreement that they use nothing you created? That could be your leverage.
It is great you are off on your own, but part of that is now playing hardball. I would not let these guys intimidate you, which it sounds like that is what they are doing.
Frank
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Franklin McMahon / Host
CreativeCow.net PODCASTCreative Cow Podcast in iTunes /
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Whatever you do for fun now, start it as a business. I have so many branches of my business, photography, design, podcasting, consulting, music that started as hobbies and blossomed into revenue once I let other people know I was doing them.
The key is, there is a market for just about anything, so if you love to play video games, write game reviews or become a tester, etc.
The main thing that stops people is, they think they are not talented enough or not pro enough yet. What happens is once you have clients asking for the services you snap into fast-forward learning. Yes going page by page through a manual is nice in your off time, but nothing gets you more fine-tuned and educated like a few demanding clients and deadlines.
The other key is to educate the public on your new talents, put it on your website, linkedin, twitter, facebook, myspace, everywhere. None of this will work unless you get the word out and email all your contacts to let them know of your new services.
Finally, be flexible enough to start in new directions you never expected. Because that is very often where the money is.
Frank
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Franklin McMahon / Host
CreativeCow.net PODCASTCreative Cow Podcast in iTunes /
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When I started a photography division of my company this was a big issue. Years ago I would have separate rates for specific usages. Eventually I just charged higher rates and baked the usage into the cost. If clients had concerns with the high price I would allow them to throttle back to a limited usage arrangement, which most did not go for.
As for video, you may be asking about turning over the raw footage so a client can edit future productions…not sure.
Bottom line, if the client can use items to do something new from your work instead of potentially hiring you for this repurposed project, then you need to charge a premium to that client for that luxury. To me it’s that simple.
Frank
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Franklin McMahon / Host
CreativeCow.net PODCASTCreative Cow Podcast in iTunes /
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I would look at the AVCHD format and memory card (not built in HD) storage. If you can ramp up the cost then go with AVCCAM…if you can go higher go AVC Intra..but there are plenty of AVCHD camcorders in your price range…Sony and Panasonic are usually good bets..
Frank
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Franklin McMahon / Host
CreativeCow.net PODCASTCreative Cow Podcast in iTunes /
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Here is one:
https://www.videobusinessadvisor.com/sample_video_production_contract.html___________________________
Franklin McMahon / Host
CreativeCow.net PODCASTCreative Cow Podcast in iTunes /
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One note about rights..just about any major site where you upload content, especially video, has the same setup..once you upload, the website has the rights to repurpose or do what it wants..even though you still retain the copyright. Sites almost have to do this these days to cover themselves for the future. I’ll check out the link..looks interesting…
Frank
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Franklin McMahon / Host
CreativeCow.net PODCASTCreative Cow Podcast in iTunes /
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I’ve had great luck with https://www.buydig.com/ – they always have one of the lowest prices. Other than than B&H is always a solid bet.
Problem with buying an HD setup is you want it pretty impressive looking to “show” for clients and shoots. You don’t want to go in to a shoot with a client with a little dinky camcorder, even though a lot of the small palm HD camcorders, especially from Sony and Canon, have fantastic image quality and are quite usable for mid-range production.
The way around this is to offer two packages to clients, the “compact” package and “premiere” package. The premiere costs twice as much. The client will ask what the difference is, and be honest, not much. So they will almost always go with the smaller package to save cash. That way when the small camcorder arrives for the shoot they know that is the one they requested. If they have a big budget and want the big guns, just rent a bigger camera.
Also when looking at purchasing the items look at ramping up one while dialing down another feature-wise. For example, if you get a cam with better low-light and dynamic range, you can get by with less lights, if you spend more on a quality wireless lav set, you may not even need the stick mics.
Frank
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Franklin McMahon / Host
CreativeCow.net PODCASTCreative Cow Podcast in iTunes /
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Yes rush jobs should incur an extra fee. Is always best to provide a choice, such as, I can get it done on Monday for XXX or I can have it done Saturday by 5 for XXXX. That way the company can choose how important it is. If they are like, whoa, I have not paid extra before, you can pin the blame on other clients rush jobs. Inferring that you are getting more rush jobs lately and because of “them” you had to come up with a system.
When you don’t compensate yourself for rush and extra work you eat into your profits without even knowing it. Like a convenience store where a customer buys something and then says, well can I grab a second one for free? The store will quickly see its profits dive even though it may be busier than ever.
You also have to be willing to lose a client. Its the most pivotal point in building a successful career. A client may just have to go elsewhere. Once you are comfy with playing hardball and not backing down, and it may take losing a client or two, you move from a large mix of grinders in your client-base to attracting the cream of the crop. You also go from being bleary-eyed working all night for tons of hours to working a lot less, charging more and having a better breed of clients.
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Franklin McMahon / Host
CreativeCow.net PODCASTCreative Cow Podcast in iTunes /