Happy Friday everyone! I couldn’t be more excited for this weekend as it’s supposed to be nice and warm here in Denver. The mister, the pup and I have big plans to go hiking and get some much needed fresh air. For today’s post I wanted to share the second batch of reader questions & my answers. A couple months ago I shared part 1 – Read FAQ Part 1. 

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Reader Question: As a creative, did you ever face a moment of deciding between a safer, more financially stable path and an option that would give you more creative freedom but also be more risky? (Read How I Got My Start in the Creative Industry)
Answer: Most certainly. I worked at an advertising agency as a Digital Art Director for almost 4 years. During that last year, I debated starting my own company time and time again, but was always paralyzed by fear. Fear of the unknown and fear that I would be making an irreversible decision. It was also convenient and easy to just stay put.

Now that I’m running my own company the allure of a stable salary, health insurance package, and paid time off sounds appealing sometimes. Usually this is when I’m making scary changes to my business or taking a big leap of faith.

The grass is always seems greener right?

More questions and answers after the jump

Thank you to all of you who stopped by and left a little question for me. I’ve compiled all your questions into two FAQ response posts. Many of you seemed to be interested in the freelance side of things, which is all very exciting. I’ll do my best to answer your questions, but don’t hesitate to leave a comment if I’ve missed an aspect you wanted to know.

Reader Question: I’d love to know how you go about gaining clients you’d like to work with (other than via word of mouth).
Answer: Gaining a solid client base is one of the trickiest parts of freelance and the honest truth is that it just takes time…lots of time (you probably didn’t want to hear that). It’s also a lot of word of mouth…I know…sorry. When you finish one project and share it, you’ll most likely gain others very similar to it. Word of caution – share wisely. Say no to projects that don’t grow your brand in the ways you want and say yes to those that are spot on…even if they don’t pay as much. Be picky and super selective. When first starting out, I did a lot of collaborations with like-minded creatives that allowed me to grow a mini portfolio filled with my passions and design aesthetics. I actually still do this from time to time. Another thing you can do is seek out the brands/people you want to work with and pull a few work samples specifically for them. When they see you’ve gone over and beyond just to show them your capabilities, you’ll most likely development a great connection and maybe even gain a paying client. Keep going.

Hi There lovely readers. As time goes by, I’ve been wanting to compile all your questions into one post and share a few answers. I’ve started a good list of questions that have already come through my inbox and will be answering them soon. Some of the more business related questions might make their way into a full blog post so I can ramble a little bit more.. If there is anything you’ve ever wanted to ask me or inquire about, leave a comment for me. I don’t typically touch on a lot of personal aspects of my life, but everything is fair game as long as you play nice 😉

A few questions that have already come in….How did you get your start? Did you go to school for design? What camera do you use and how do you edit your photos? What design services do you offer? How do you go about setting your daily schedule? How do you set a minimum hour working agreement with your retainer clients? How do you make freelancing work from a money/income standpoint?

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Look forward to hearing your questions and providing some answers.

What do you want to know?

It seems like sharing what’s currently inspiring you is an ongoing hot topic in the blog and freelance world. Most of us probably start our mornings with a few solid minutes of finger scrolling through our favorite sites before we jump into the tasks of the day.  For me, I start my mornings with a cup of french press coffee, my iPad (sometimes my laptop if I’m feeling ambitious) and my two favorite sidekicks – Pinterest & Feedly blog RSS.