emmalaiho.net/blog

colour sketch for an invite to a jazz-happening, drawing texts next

I am a busy busy worker bee right now, so just inspirational links today:
my namesake emmas designblog, where you can find all kinds of wonderful things like.. bubbo-tubbo’s lettering and finders keepers.

Any young entrepreneurs out there who do your own accounting? Do you use some kind of software or do you stick to your excel sheets? I’ve been excelling so far, and that’s fine, but… I’d like to find a simple and free system and there’s tons and tons of those for personal finance, but you can’t log in VAT and stuff like that with those.

For personal pennies I really like moneytrackin. And here’s some others.

While other people seem to think accounting and billing is a drag, I have to admit I secretly get a kick out of doing paperwork. What can I say, I like numbers… sometimes I think I am more of a business person than an artist.

new work

Last week I talked with some clients about potential projects. What I find difficult is pricing. Especially giving quotes.

I tend to underprice myself horribly. I’ve noticed that when asked for a price for a job, I instinctively think a price that is about a third of what I should actually ask. Thank god these days I think again! But I still am in a situation where I work pretty much all the time, just to make ends meet.

As part of my money/business emancipation I read this book that got me thinking about my attitudes on money. I realised I’ve never asked for better pay, even with steady jobs. I have trouble asking for a fair price, because it makes me feel greedy. Typical of women, apparently.

When hiring a freelancer/solo designer, many clients don’t consider that the price is not at all comparable to, say, their own hourly rate at a steady job. Neither do many freelancers, though.

What really goes in a price:
time spent meeting/emailing/talking on the phone with the client
looking for ideas for the job, sketches
actual time doing the job
possible corrections from the client
+
cost of equipment and materials:
computer, software, scanner, paint, stamps etc.
business maintenance time:
writing bills, queueing in a bank, making purchases.
time spent networking, getting new clients:
updating website, emailing, mailing
sick days
holidays
retirement payments

On estimate half of what you earn on a job is actually payable to you (and out of this you pay income tax). Half goes to business expenses. Off all business income you pay 22% tax (in Finland), so this has to be added to the job price as well.

Pricing for me is especially tricky. I am still a student, so some clients expect a student price. I, of course, have the same expenses as any business and am not currently eligible for student grant either. Also note: It is actually illegal to sell work that is done on student software licenses.

I have thought of doing a pricing chart. Mostly as a reminder to keep me from giving too low quotes, but maybe even to give to clients.

Resources:
How to Set Rates FAQ
Quoting to win
Pricing strategies that work
Graafisen työn hinnoittelu (in finnish)

edit: When negotiating a fee with a client, it might help them understand the pricing better if you break down all the different phases the job entails and how much time it will take to do them.

The business papers are now in registration. A week or so and it should be official. I’ve been reading and reading about taxes, budget planning, and everything related. It’s a good thing I love immersing myself in new things.

I also did one illustration gig last week, I will post it on my portfolio when the magazine is out. There is also a couple of other projects cooking up. It almost seems like I am attracting work!

Lately I’ve been looking around for web-based project management tools again. (I wrote something about them last year.) Preferably free ones of course. Web-based (versus notebooks and calendars) so it is easy to copy-paste relevant notes, links and email addresses in the same place.

These are the ones I tested:
- Basecamp
- Tasktoy
- Backpack
- Nozbe

Basecamp is a heavy system, suitable for big projects with multiple users. It also allows you only one project with the free account. Not for me.

Tasktoy is completely free with no maximum project amount. It’s divided in tasks, projects and links -categories. Probably very usable, but somehow very bland.

Nozbe is very task oriented and usable but the interface is really ugly. I would probably use it if it looked nicer. As for now, all accounts are free but they will start charging at some point. You can have five projects with the free account and link ‘actions’ to them.

For some reason I’ve settled on Backpack. It is very clear and simple, although I miss the linking properties on Nozbe. As with Nozbe it is five projects free, for more you have to upgrade. The next pricing category is $5/a month, and could be well worth it. With Backpack you can also use writeboards.

I will tell you how it goes. Test around or give me your tips!

When things go sucky, they go sucky… I had a horrible cold for a whole week. Too sick to do pretty much anything, even read, I am even more late with work stuff and school projects. This makes me immensely stressed out, and is probably not helping me get better. Oh well…

On Friday I started to work on a promo postcard for myself. I have wanted to get some printed for the longest time but always kept putting it off. No more of that! The above pic is the first draft for the back of the card, which will have all my contact info. I’ll probably get them printed at Print100. Six hundred of them. Happy mailing!

I’ve also made the decision to register my own business. Since even my steady writing job is done with a freelancer contract and I need buy all my own hardware etc. this makes sense. The goal is to do my future illustration work via my own company, and make a living doing it, of course. Since making the decision I’ve gone back and forth between excitement and total panic, but it’s the right step. If you have any experiences, advice, pearls of wisdom to share about starting your own business I would love to hear them.

Naturally, my latest inspirations are business oriented:
Sheepdog Print and Design (these ladies blog about starting a business)
the anti 9 to 5 guide