Freelancer Lifeline is a resource destination where FX members can find grant opportunities, loan information, digital events, creative tools, and more. We hope it serves as a source of comfort, inspiration, and support as we navigate the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic together.

Volunteer to Level Up Your Business and Find Freelance Success

Would you believe? One of the secrets to finding freelance success is to get involved.

Get involved with organizations (like The Freelance Exchange!) … but don’t just join. Get the most out of your membership by becoming an active member. Go to events, participate in conversations in person and online, and yes, volunteer on committees and serve on boards.

That’s the pro tip. That’s the secret sauce.

That’s how so many of our FX members have found freelance success. By volunteering.

Why?

Because people like to work with (and refer!) those whom they know, like and trust.

So, you need to become that person!

People will send you work and referrals when they know:

  • WHO you are
  • that you’ll do good work
  • you’re reliable

And a great way to do that is by giving back to the community.

In doing so, you can create a name for yourself and your business. You can establish and improve your professional reputation. And you can be rewarded greatly with new business and find freelance success.

Not only will you get warm fuzzies when you volunteer, you’ll also get to have your voice heard AND be able to make a difference for our organization and members.

Think of it as Part of Your Marketing Strategy

You probably post on social media. Maybe you have a website. You might send emails. What else can you do to improve your company’s reputation?

Obviously, there are tons of opportunities for self-promotion. And, if you’re self-employed, you may very well be seeking out free or inexpensive options to do so.

Newsflash! Volunteering fits that bill.

Just think … you could join a committee and help out with simple tasks. You could serve on the board as a Chair or Director, helping lead special projects or events. OR, you could even share your leadership skills on the Exec Board, helping guide the ship.

Each and every time you volunteer—in whatever capacity—you get the chance to:

  • rub elbows with movers and shakers
  • take ownership of the organization
  • and be rewarded for your hard work

This is one very easy way to put your company on the map. And find freelance success with free PR!

Just by donating a bit of time here and there, you get plenty of opportunities to share about it!

You’ll now have an added reason to share something on social media. You can add that impressive bullet point on your bio or résumé. You could add it to your website and/or FX portfolio page. You might be listed on a leadership page. You might win a Volunteer of the Month award and get added recognition. You could even get a special name tag. Plus, as a bonus, you’ll make new friends!

There are endless benefits to volunteering. You just have to put yourself out there. Level up your business by volunteering, and reap the rewards with more referrals and more business.

Interested in serving on a committee or on the board for FX? Check out our current needs and openings, and throw your name in the hat today!

How to Prepare for the 2022 FX Portfolio Showcase

The Freelance Exchange’s annual Portfolio Showcase is coming up on November 9th. Are you ready??

FX puts on this signature B2B trade show to give you, the freelancers, a prime opportunity to get yourself and your work in front of the very people who are looking for you, including ad agencies, design shops, large corporations, small businesses, non-profits, and more.

For those looking for freelance talent, it’s a one-stop shop. They can find the one freelancer they need or put together an entire virtual agency. The possibilities are endless!

When / Where / What

First, the logistics:

Wednesday, November 9th

  • 3 – 5 p.m. Exhibitor Setup
  • 5 – 8 p.m. Portfolio Show/Open House, appetizers & drinks 
  • 8 – 8:30 p.m. Teardown
  • The Guild (in the Crossroads), 1621 Locust St., Kansas City, MO

Portfolio displays and tables are to be set up prior to the doors opening at 5 p.m. We recommend allowing ample time to set up … and go around and meet your fellow FX members and view their portfolios!

A bar will be on hand for purchasing beverages throughout the event, and appetizers will be available (for free).

Best Practices for the Best Exhibits

You’ll choose either 3 or 6 feet of a 6-foot table (or sponsor for a 9-foot table) covered with a black tablecloth. You can customize your display as much or as little as you want. For examples of table displays from past Showcases, look at pictures (see albums) on our Facebook page.

Things to keep in mind:

  • Think visually. The more visually appealing the display, the better chances of results.
  • Don’t just think flat table display. Utilize vertical and get crafty! That said, don’t get too ambitious and have a huge display that blocks your – or your neighbor’s! – view. Also, no floor displays are allowed.
  • Showcase your brand. Have your logo prominently on display, use signage, and bring plenty of business cards. Consider brochures, sample books, giveaways, raffle prizes, promotional items, etc.
  • Have an array of work available to view: Different mediums, industries, one-off projects, complete campaigns, etc.
    Not a creative type and no portfolio to show? No problem! Consider having testimonials, case studies, and more available. Use this opportunity as a meet-and-greet to share your services.
  • Be organized. Use a flipbook, brochure stand, or any other piece that will help accomplish this goal. Laptops and monitors are commonplace as well.
  • Need electricity?

If you didn’t note that when you signed up, your table may not be near an outlet. Let us know ASAP: [email protected]. Otherwise, plan to bring an extension cord; we’ll see what we can do.

Be Prepared

Aside from getting your portfolio and table display ready, there are a few things you can do to prepare, such as:

  • Determine your Unique Selling Point (USP). Figure out what makes you unique/different/better, and highlight that.
  • Write up your elevator speech. And practice it so it comes across naturally.
  • Bring a note pad and pen. Use this to take notes of what you spoke about and with whom so you can remember when you follow up.
  • See the big picture. Figure out how you can best communicate value to your prospects. Remember, you are not just a writer, designer, etc. You are part of this amazing collective in which you can partner with others on projects, form a virtual agency, and refer other members who may be perfect for a job.
  • Don’t just hand out your card. Have a conversation. Engage with your visitors! And get any prospect’s card as well.
  • Prepare for all types of questions. You may be asked about your capabilities, availability, and rates. While you get to determine how you want to answer these questions, FX suggests – in particular – you deflect any questions about your rate. Communicate your value, and ask for the opportunity to put together a formal project estimate instead.
  • Don’t be surprised. While we target heavily those looking to hire freelancers in our promotional efforts, we can’t prevent others (i.e., vendors, other freelancers, students) from coming to the trade show. We recommend greeting every visitor and engaging them in conversation up front to determine how much time you’d like to spend with them.
  • And, after the event? Follow up. Follow up. Follow up! Don’t miss out on a great opportunity. Make yourself memorable and begin a great relationship with your best prospects. Connect on LinkedIn, follow on other social media channels, send articles, emails, invitations for a coffee meeting, etc. (But not too much or too often. You don’t want to be a pest!)

Keep in mind, results may vary. Some years may generate some amazing hot leads. Others not so much. But it’s all about brand awareness and recognition. Meeting your peers. Getting referred and offering referrals. And who knows? You may end up with an amazing project years down the road from someone you met at this year’s show! So do your best to have a successful show, and keep the hope alive!

What You Can Do to Help

We promote this event far and wide through the use of email, web, social media, PR, outreach, and more. See more about our efforts in the FAQs section on the event page on our website.

Please help us spread the word and invite your contacts as well! Forward emails, share on social media, and help us get the word out.

Questions about the event? Contact Special Events Director Kate Bradshaw at [email protected].

‘Seize the Day’ is the Mantra of Freelance Graphic Design Members

Freelance graphic designers are a fearless bunch!

That theme came through loud and clear from the graphic design members of The Freelance Exchange of Kansas City who responded to our email questionnaire.

They overcame the doubt, ditched the hesitancy, and jumped headlong into the world of freelancing.

For instance, Linda Waterborg wrote that she had wanted to go out on her own for years, “but I was scared and always found a reason to stay in a 9-to-5 job.” She added, “I kept trying, and learning, and failing, and trying again, and growing.” Then, one day, she realized she had all the right skills and building blocks in place to make the move.

The biggest lesson for Waterborg as a freelance graphic designer was to keep pushing outside her comfort zone, something Holly Hempfling embraced as well in describing the best piece of career advice she has received: “Lean into fear! If it feels terrifying, you should probably go for it.”

It’s cool how these sentiments transcend our specialties. Many of us can identify with that feeling of being on the edge of the high dive with our careers — wondering if we should leap into the unknown waters of freelancing. According to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, of the approximately 265,000 graphic designers employed in the U.S in 2021, about one in five was self-employed.

Who among us, for instance, has not had some version of the experience related by Annie Monfort, a freelance graphic designer? She wrote that her tipping point came when “the certainty of staying in a job where I was bored, became scarier than the uncertainty of figuring out everything you need to know to support yourself.”

Tolerating the unknowns and discomforts of freelancing, she wrote, “is honestly one of the most valuable lessons for all aspects of life.”

Freelancing also provides a greater promise that we will love what we do for work, a sentiment underscored by Jake Edmisten and Jen Rarey. Their comments apply well beyond those who work as freelance graphic designers.

For Edmisten, that realization came in the form of advice from someone he used to work with, who stressed the importance of pursuing passion projects. That former co-worker, Edmisten wrote, “told me that I needed to make time for myself, because I wouldn’t find the jobs that I want by doing the work I didn’t want.”

Rarey has learned that investing your time and talents into work that has meaning allows you to “always be passionate about what you’re creating.” Be bold, she urged, and “see challenges as the opportunities that they are, and learn from every experience so you can keep evolving and fine-tuning your skills.”

One other lesson that came from our freelance graphic designers is that there is no one tried and true path into the career you love.

Will Mackey, for instance, discovered his interest in art as a 5-year-old. “Then I just kept working at it for years,” he wrote.

But Erin Albright did not really think of herself as an artist, even when she loved designing pages for her high school yearbook. So in the end, she wrote, “I took a windy path and am self-taught/taught by many amazing designers that I’ve worked with along the way.”

The FX of KC is for Freelancers, Contractors, Consultants and whatever else you call yourself. There’s a place for you here! Want to learn more about FX of KC

Freelance Copywriters Sound Off About Silence

In the popular imagination, a freelance copywriter is the coffee shop customer wearing earpods and click-clacking away on their laptop. Even ad agency writers working in cool offices might be envious of the flexibility their freelance peers enjoy.

But reality does not correspond with perception, at least according to what The Freelance Exchange of Kansas City (FX of KC) found in an email questionnaire sent to its copywriter members. Our respondents overwhelmingly said they prefer the quiet of their home office.

Typical of the responses was this one from FX of KC founder, and freelance rockstar, Julie Cortes: “I can’t concentrate in a coffee shop,” she wrote. “Too many (Shiny things!) distractions. I usually have to have it be super quiet, too. No music, no podcasts, no nothin’.”

Solitary home offices can be, well, awfully solitary, so public libraries and patio tables got a nod from Mallory Herrmann to “keep myself out of a rut.” You might also see her at a coffee shop!

Another interesting similarity among our freelance copywriter respondents was the way they approach writer’s block. A couple typical strategies included taking a walk or just simply getting something down on paper, knowing that there is always room for editing and rearranging.

Christine Knauer talked about “working around the margins of the project” to get started, such as doing research, editing transcribed interviews, and even formatting the page. “It allows me to keep moving forward with the project without having to be creative just yet,” she wrote.

By now, most of us have heard about the Great Resignation — where the COVID-19 pandemic spurred droves of workers to quit their jobs after taking stock of their lives during the months of lockdown. Many of these workers decided to hang out their own shingle — and freelance copywriters were surely among that group.

There are now nearly 60 million freelancers in the United States, according to Don’t Do It Yourself (DDIY), which provides advice and reviews for businesses seeking freelance workers. DDIY says 41% of the American workforce freelanced in the year 2020, up 13% since 2013. 

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh noted that many of these new solopreneurs do strictly online freelancing, through platforms like Upwork and PeoplePerHour

The researchers wrote about the familiar benefits of flexibility and the potential to earn more money, but they also highlighted downsides like commoditization of work and the “unpredictability of a contingent labor market, especially in the absence of labor regulations and rights.” 

But FX of KC freelance copywriter Mike Sherry did not see much of a downside to his decision to go out on his own. He said, “After 30 years in journalism, I wanted to apply my skills in a different way and to be my own boss. The pluses are that I make my own decisions without any second-guessing from colleagues or vetoes from bosses. The minus, of course, is the difficulty of chasing and landing new business — but that is a challenge, too, which could sort of go in the plus category.”

Regardless of the ups and downs of freelancing, many choose this path every year. Joyce Allard said, “I was a copywriter at a full-service advertising agency earlier in my career. After 20+ years in public relations and communications, I decided it was the right time to start my own business as a freelance copywriter. Working with clients and having their projects come to life is rewarding in many ways.”

The FX of KC is for Freelancers, Contractors, Consultants and whatever else you call yourself. There’s a place for you here! Want to learn more about FX of KC