I started freelancing over 4 years ago. Over the course of my career, I’ve worked with over 80 clients designing websites, marketing material, and photographing events under the business name: Sondr Media and Design.
I originally wrote this as a single blog post to talk about my experiences and share some lessons I learned. However, I realized that I have so many stories to tell: From how I juggled school and business, to recovering from fuck ups, to the toll it took on my mental health—and what finally led me to take a break.
So instead—I’m going to make this a short series.
Here’s the story of why I got started. I talk about how to get your first clients, figuring out what to charge, my process from start to finish, and some challenges I faced in the beginning.
Getting Started
I was in grade 11, confused and nervous about what the future had in store for me.
I felt unfulfilled. I felt like I wasn’t working hard enough—that I wasn’t doing anything meaningful in my life. I hated how mundane my hostess job was. I was nervous about not being able to find a job when I graduated university.
I did know a few things about myself though. I knew creativity was one of my strengths. I knew I did well in school. And I thought I would pursue a path in either graphic design or marketing.
I looked up marketing and graphic design job postings and they all required a certain amount of experience. I figured if I started at 16 years old, by the time I graduated university, I would already have 5 years of design experience under my belt.
“I’ve been a designer since 16 is a lot more impressive than I did graphic design at 16,” I thought.
I sought out the perfect high school co-op that would allow me to take on design projects from start-to-finish with the sole intention of starting my own business after.
I went in and asked every basic, “dumb” question I could think of.
“How much do I charge?”
“How do I find my first clients?”
“How do I ask for money?”
Although my manager didn’t have much experience in the freelance world, they were still able to give me some sort of direction—which was all the momentum I needed to get started.
When I completed the co-op, they saw the commitment I had to making freelancing work, and gave me my first two clients. Off I went.
As I got clients, I would feel moments of imposter syndrome. Why would anyone trust a teenager with their business? Why was I so nervous all the time? This was all new territory to me and I had absolutely no clue what to do or where to find answers.
"Remember the excitement of breaking new grounds. That nerve-racking feeling. When you get older, there won’t be much ground left to break," my photography teacher told me.
While my teachers were able to give beautiful life advice, they didn’t have answers on how to run a business. I was hitting walls with no one to help me over them.
Then, I applied for Vaughan Summer Company, a grant program for students who want to experiment with entrepreneurship. They offered me the mentorship I needed and hosted biweekly workshops. This is where I learned the fundamentals of running a business including sales, marketing, and allowed me to network with fellow young entrepreneurs.
I debated whether or not I wanted to pursue a post-secondary education.
"Look at it this way, you are 17 building a solid portfolio. Don’t get caught up on the money," my graphics teacher reminded me.
I realized that there are opportunities everywhere. Like creativity, the more you use it, the more that will come your way.
I ended up going to Ryerson University to study marketing. I figured I was already working as a graphic designer, it didn’t make sense to go to school for it. I thought by studying marketing, I’d gain a more strategic perspective that I could use to compliment my design experience. And I didn’t want to move to a small college town, afraid it would be harder to find business. So Downtown, Toronto made sense.
Since then, I’ve grown my business, my network, and I’ve professionally developed in ways my 16-year-old self could never imagine.
Getting my first clients
It's getting the first set of solid clients that’s the challenge. After that, as long as you deliver excellent work and are an easy person to work with, you will start getting referrals.
My first few clients were referrals from my friends and through my co-op program. My next few were from networking.
Through Summer Company, I had the opportunity to set up a booth at Ribfest. Now, the guests of Ribfest weren’t exactly my target audience. However, the other booths there were. They were businesses looking to promote themselves. With a little boost in confidence from my mentor, I walked to each booth to casually ask them about their business operations—hoping that there would be an opportunity for my services to benefit them.
I got one new client that day.
Photo by: Jonathan Chiovitti of Loose Noose Entertainment
Leveraging your current network
First things first, you need to get the ball rolling. The easiest way to do this is by leveraging your current network. Do your friends or family know any small businesses that need marketing support? Ask them.
Leverage your personal social media following to make people aware of the services you offer. Share your passion projects. Work you're proud of. To serve as a reminder that "Hey I'm here and I do this."
Networking
Networking was the most effective sales tool for me. Being a B2B service, it’s important that you build human connections with clients enough that they could trust you with their business. Especially with small business owners—their business is their baby.
It's not about what you want, it's about what they need. Which means being a good listener. Get them talking. Ask them about their business and their business goals. Ask them how you can help.
Go to your city-held seminars supporting entrepreneurs, or visit Eventbrite and find start-up or small business events.
Community Business Centers
The question will always be, where are your clients going to be? Toronto offers one-on-one consultations for entrepreneurs. Can you ask to leave your business cards or a pricing brochure?
Facebook Groups
Facebook has a huge community for entrepreneurs. Sometimes you’ll see posts looking for graphic designers, photographers, website designers, and more. You may be the right person to help them.
Grant Programs
I started my business with the support of Vaughan Summer Company. Not only did I receive a grant and mentorship, but all my peers also had a startup and I had the services to support them. Summer Company is for students only, but there is also Starter Company as well as many other programs out there. Your local small business consultant may be able to better direct you to existing grant programs.
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Everyone starts with zero clients. It isn't easy. Start by getting one. Provide excellent service, and maybe they'll refer you. The goal is to gain momentum. The more you put yourself out there, the higher the chances you'll get a lead.
There's a market for what you do. Grab your share.
Setting Prices
I quit my job as a hostess at Denny’s when I got my first two clients. The only “rates” I knew was the hourly minimum wage I was getting paid. After doing some research about what the industry average was for freelance graphic designers, I couldn’t fathom the idea of charging $50/hr. So I more than halved it, charging $20/hr. Even that made me feel uncomfortable.
With a push from my mentor, I developed the confidence to raise my rates to the industry average.
“But how?” I asked.
To which he shrugged and said, “just do it.”
Your new clients aren’t going to know what you charged your last ones. You set your rates. Not them.
What if they walk away?
The impending doom you feel, afraid that you will lose a sale is daunting in the beginning. The good thing is, if your rates are too high, you can turn the question on them, “okay, so what is the budget you had in mind?” Then scale the project scope back until everybody wins.
I quote clients based on projects.
- Estimate the number of hours you anticipate the project will take breaking the project down into tangible steps (i.e. research, wireframing, design concepts, high-fidelity wireframing, feedback, development) chunking them into half-day (4 hour) or full-day (8 hour) time slots
- Include a 1.5x buffer
- Take the total hours and multiply it by your rate
Then, invoice the client the first 50% of the project using Wave Invoicing to hold their project timeline.
It will take a little bit of trial and error to develop an accurate sense of how long things will take you. Sometimes projects go really smoothly and other times projects seem never-ending. I like to think they balance each other out.
My process from start to finish
My process has evolved over the years. I started by taking notes in my notebook, emailing them a summary, doing the work, then collecting payment at the end. Until I realized - the power dynamic really shifts when you deliver work before getting paid.
Then my process became a lot more professional. I wanted to be taken seriously so I put in the work to look professional. I spent hours designing the perfect proposal for the services I thought they’d need. And it was effective, but way too time-consuming.
I found a medium ground. This is my process now:
(1) The First Touchpoint: Maybe they contacted you through email, phone call, or you met them in person at an event.
- If it's an email, ideally, they’d tell you what their business is and what service they’re looking for.
- If it's a conversation, I’ll also always try to ask for their budget and timeline here too, however usually, they won’t bite first.
(2) Prepare for the official pitch meeting: Go into the pitch meeting with a bit more preparation.
- Understand who the local competitors are to benchmark what the project should look like;
- Prepare what your availability is to give them an estimated timeline;
- Prepare a few sources of visual inspiration to get a sense of creative direction.
(3) The Pitch Meeting: This should give you all the information you need to complete the project
- Introduction - get to know their business
- What is their goal?
- What are they looking for? Do they have creative direction already? What features to include? etc.
- Get creative direction - what brands/websites/logos do they like?
- Who are their competitors?
- What is their ideal timeline?
- What is their budget?
- Walk them through the next steps
(4) The Creative Brief: Now that you have all the information you need, follow up the meeting with a creative brief summarizing your meeting notes.
(5) Deposit & Contracts: If all is in order, collect 50% of the project payment using Wave Invoicing and send them the contract. There are a variety of contracts available on Google. Read it over and customize it to your needs. I like ones that use plain language.
- This is important to ensure your time is compensated in-case there’s a disagreement. Plus, it ensures the client is seriously committed to the project.
(6) Do the work: Collaborate and request feedback and sign-off at each major stage in the process.
- If the client is a better written communicator, do everything over email. If they are better verbal communicators, set up phone calls, video calls, or in-person meetings.
(7) Payment + Handoff: I’ll collect the final payment before launching the website, handing them print-ready files, etc.
Challenges
Staying motivated in the beginning (when there isn’t immediate gratification)
I was really excited to start a business. It felt like a fun adventure I was embarking on. I had so much energy, with little clientele, and nowhere to apply it.
Which meant I had all the time in the world to strategize and experiment.
In the beginning, I had a lot of fun just doing research. Strategizing. Positioning my business’ brand. Designing my website. It was a project. It was a game. I had the full say in my own business. And if I was going to market another business, I have the perfect testing ground—myself.
I knew that if any method was successful, my business would grow. And if it wasn’t, then I’d have some experience with that chosen marketing tool.
Stay motivated by finding ways to productively stay busy, and have fun learning while experimenting with your own business strategy.
Being so young in an adult world
Going into my first meetings, I tried to wear clothes that would make me appear older. I was afraid I wasn’t going to be taken seriously. I didn’t even know how to write an email.
When asked how long I’ve been designing for, “a few years” I would shrug.
I’m a bad liar. They could probably tell. Yet I wasn’t going to tell them they were one of my first official clients. At the start, I carried this fake-it-till-you-make-it attitude until eventually, I garnered enough confidence and experience that it could just carry itself.
People would ask me how old I was. And in the beginning, I would tell them the truth. Sometimes, they’d be impressed. Sometimes, they’d be skeptical. Sometimes - both.
Over time, I learned that even if asked, I should stop mentioning my age. I would turn it into a joke, “isn’t it rude to ask a lady how old she is?” That one worked more so on men.
Sometimes, when people find out how young you are, they will try to use it to lower your rates. “It’ll be a great learning experience.” “It’ll look good on your portfolio.”
It's just best to proactively avoid the topic altogether.
When people ask you how old you are, what they’re really asking is,
“Can I trust you with my business?”
To me, I know that an 18-year-old entrepreneur with two years of experience is not any less established than a 40-year-old entrepreneur with equal experience. There doesn’t have to be a correlation between one’s age and their abilities, maturity, and competency.
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Getting started is the funnest, most exciting, yet also the most challenging part. You can read all the blogs. Do all the research. Talk to all the people.
At the end of the day, the best teacher is experience. When there’s no family to feed and little expenses—it’s the best time to start a business. There’s little risk. And as a creative entrepreneur, there are typically no major upfront costs.