For the love of Money

Coming from a middle-class household, my parents always loved to use the popular phrase "money doesn't buy happiness", and growing up I always believed that was true.  Designer clothes may sometimes look nice, but they wont really make your life better.

Now that I'm a young adult living outside of my parents home, I'm starting to realize that while money may not buy happiness, you need a lot of it to pay for the things to keep you going.  

How do freelancers manage their finances? 
Managing your own income can be a difficult and stress-inducing task, but it's important that you track your spending and set finance "goals" for yourself before your freelance work begins.  Being your own boss can be difficult, as you have to determine what amount you deserve for the hours it takes to complete each individual project.  

It's a good idea to create a spreadsheet detailing how much you expect to need each month for all necessities; Software, electronics, travel, rent, etc.   Try to get a better understanding of your monthly spending habits, and plan-ahead for set-backs and emergencies.  

Tips & Tricks

There are many suggestions and pointers on how to efficiently manage your money as a freelancer, but we don't have all day, so I compiled a list of the most important tips to help get you started:

Create an Emergency Fund -  I've said it twice now, but it's so important I'll say it one more time: CREATE AN EMERGENCY FUND.  Everyone should have an emergency fund, but when you're working for yourself it's important to realize that things will not always be easy or go according to plan.  Being a freelancer means that you wont consistently be bringing in money every month the way you would with a salaried job.  To insure that you can live healthily if unforeseen issues arise.  It's recommended that you put away at least enough money in savings to last you a year before venturing off on your own.   

Project your monthly income and expenses - Track your monthly expenses and create a budget based off of your research.  How much will you need each month for basic living expenses?  Create a household-budget, and a balance sheet to help with determining cost-of-living.  Play your averages (take yearly income and divide by 12 to determine your monthly budget) and expect the worst.  As stated before, being a freelancer means your work-flow will be inconsistent.  Expect lulls in work-flow and plan for these times accordingly.

Use software/applications to help with budgeting/spending overviews - There are many budgeting software's available to the public that are free, easy-to-use, and very beneficial to those who need to track their spending habits.   The budgeting software Mint, for example, works on all PC and mobile platforms, and is a one-stop-shop for all financial information.  It's easy to set-up an account using your banking information, and once set-up will give you up-to-date information on your banking account, upcoming bills, and credit cards.  Best of all, it's free!   Mobile Apps like Expensify take money management a step further by offering the ability to scan receipts and save purchase details, as well as track your distance traveled by odometer, allowing freelancers to determine the miles/time it takes to travel to a job site.


How do you manage YOUR money?

I'd love to say that I have accountant-level skills at managing my finances, but as a student in college and a young-adult, it really can be difficult to create budgets and plan-ahead.  After doing my own research (and because I will be in the freelance-field soon) I took a lot of the advice I read to heart.  Managing your money can be difficult, but it's another important step in adulthood.  Even more so when you're trying to become your own boss.

Change Agents: Making Your Business Better

"The people who resist change will be confronted by the growing number of people who see that better ways are available, thanks to technology." - Bill Gates

What is a Change Agent?

A Change Agent is an individual or group of individuals who work to help a business transform itself to best fit the needs of it's market and consumers.  Change Agents focus on today's changing technologies/markets to effectively help the business implement better strategies and developmental progress.

According to Education-Portal there are four important skills a change agent must have to remain successful:

1.  Broad Knowledge - Keep strong ties with your industry, know what is the most sought-after elements and keep up-to-date on standards and practices.  Understand that it's important to not only know about your industry, but industries and markets that are related to your own.

2.  Operational/Relational Knowledge - Have strong communication skills.  Be able to listen, trust, observe, and identify with your employees and consumers.  Be flexible and able to handle all behaviors.

3. Sensitivity and Maturity - Be aware of your own behaviors/attitudes, and how these behaviors may impact your relationships with others.  Demonstrate empathy and sensitivity with others.  

4.  Authenticity - Act in accordance with your beliefs and values.  Work for your consumers and your company, not for yourself.  Be someone others can trust to be honest and forth-right.

To keep your business growing in an over-saturated market, it's important that your company has an individual who can use these skills effectively, keeping your business informed on new market developments, while also paying attention to what methods and design choices are most popular and desired by your clients.

Are Change Agents important in the Digital Media Field?

As a young adult in the Digital Media field; being a change agent is crucial to business, because new technology and software is constantly being developed and implemented into design and web standards.  It's imperative that we stay ahead-of-the-curve not only when it comes to technological advancements, but also that we pay strict attention to what elements and design choices are desired in our ever-changing market.

Being a change agent can be difficult, as you not only need to understand that things HAVE to change, but also WHY that change is important and what repercussions your business may have because of it.  Though many claim to welcome change, it's often difficult to accept when it comes to turning your back on a beloved software or design-standard that is becoming outdated.  Accepting change can be difficult, but it is a trait that all professionals must learn to handle to remain successful, myself included.


How badly does technology affect those in the Digital Media field?

What's interesting (and difficult) about change in this field is that one person can make it happen.  One small web-design change or camera-technique that people find interesting can spark a chain-of-events that often leads to that change becoming the thing to do.  For example, the 48fps filming technique Peter Jackson used in "The Hobbit" left many in the film-scene bewildered and sparked discussion on how popular that method of filming would be in the future, leading many to create films of their own using this method.

In the few years I have been in the Digital Media field we have seen major developments with software/standards, such as Adobe Flash being phased out in lieu of HTML5/CSS3 coding, the discontinuation of software such as Adobe Fireworks, and the release of new design software like Adobe Muse.     

The popularity of cell-phones/ tablets isn't going away, and as these technologies grow and develop, so too will designers need to learn to develop applications and websites that can work with the new technology.  I imagine that as the popularity of mobile tech rises, newer forms such as smart-watches and other wearable tech will make it onto the scene.  

How do I continue to change?

Because technology is constantly being updated and revised, it is important that I remain educated on the standards and up-coming software/technology to stay knowledgeable and successful in my field.  But how is that possible when new tech and software is released so consistently?  

One word:  Internet.

Websites that are dedicated to technology and the web, such as Gizmodo and io9 are constantly updated and a great way to learn what is new and popular in the technology/"nerd" world.  Community forums such as Reddit's Technology and Graphic Design pages are also a great resource for news and discussion on all Digital Media topics.


The internet is the BEST place to find reviews for software/tech, discussions on popular design choices and implementations, and a great way to get consumer feedback/opinions on what is most important for your business.


For more information on Change Agents and why they're good for business, check the links below:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2014/03/24/every-leader-must-be-a-change-agent-or-face-extinction/

http://www.themanager.org/Strategy/change_agent.htm

So, what's the deal with blogging?

Why are blogs getting to be so popular?  Why does everyone (and their mother) have one?  WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH BLOGS?  In this post we will discuss why blogging has become an important staple in kickstarting a business, and tips on how to make your blog successful.

How popular are blogs, really?

In 2012, Blogging.org, conducted a 1000-people-survey from bloggers across the United States to create an infographic showcasing blogging's most important data.  The survey found that there were over 31 million people in the US who had a blog in 2012, and of those 31 million people 43% preferred Wordpress.

Blogging.org 2012 Blog Infographic

Today Wordpress states that over 409 million people view content posted using their blogging platform, and that Wordpress users produce around 48.7 million new posts each month.  The site has a page showcasing their statistics for posting, uploads, and created pages on a month-to-month basis. In January of this year exactly 48,694,922 new posts were hosted by Wordpress, and 63,371,065 comments were made by readers.  

Considering Wordpress is but one of several blogging platforms available, it's obvious from these statistics alone that blogging is continuing to rise in popularity.  

But how will blogging help my business? 

Blogging is a great way to connect with your customers and humanize your company.  Blogs are becoming the go-to medium for updating customers with new business information, and allows the readers to have a back-and-forth with the company's managers/PR through post-commenting and suggestion/contact pages.  Blogging can give a company the appearance of being more open and personal, and helps with building credibility and trust with the company's fanbase.

Hubspot, a website focused on helping companies with their marketing strategies, posted a report on Inbound Marketing in which they surveyed 644 business professionals using their service.  The research found that 57% of the companies reported they generated more customers through leads from their blog.  In fact, the report states that businesses are now in the minority if they do not have a blog!

Jim Blasingame, small business advocate and contributor to Forbes, believes that having a blog can often be better than having a website, due to the fact that it's easier to create content and connect with your audience and future customers.  Even if you are not a great writer or do not have a lot of free time, blogging is a way to get your message across in a quick and efficient way with little effort.  

(For Jim's full video on why blogging is important visit this vimeo link.)

Blogging gives your company a voice, allowing you to talk about new products, company issues/news, and share your expertise with a much larger audience.  Having a blog allows you to gain closer connections with your audience, and the icing on the cake: it's free.  If you don't have a blog already, open a new tab and get started!  

Okay, I started my blog!  But I need some help!

Creating a blog and getting it set-up is easy, but the real issue is staying focused and producing the kind of content your audience craves.  After all, the point of the blog is to have others read it!  

I scoured the internet for the best tips and tricks to maintaining a successful blog, which I have outlined (in no particular order) below:


Speak to your target audience -  Figure out who is buying what you sell and write for them.  It's important to determine what group of people you are selling to and address them in a way they will understand and be able to discuss.  Emphasize with your consumers: put yourself in their shows and write about what you believe they are interested in.

Make your posts quick and easy to read -  Readers to not like to scroll through endless lines of text.  Your posts should be long enough to get your point across, while also quick to read on a time-limit.  Make posts scannable by cutting up content into sections, using lists and bullets, and having easy to distinguish headers and fonts.  

Make your blog easy to search - It's important that your blog focuses on the type of content you want to write about.  The title of your blog should be catchy and easy to remember. The easiest way to generate readers is though web searches: when your blog focuses on keywords and phrases that customers generally search for, it will often be found easier.   

Make your blog easy to share - Whether you're using a site like Tumblr that automatically posts to other social media sites and offers customers the option to share your posts to their pages, or a site that requires a plug-in to enable cross-platform social media posting, it's important you make your blog as easy to share as possible.  Many internet users are often using mobile devices to browse sites, and because of this it's often impossible to copy/paste site links.  Make sure your site has it's own Facebook/Twitter/G+ share buttons so mobile users can easily share your content with their followers.

Make your blog easy to view on all formats - Remember those mobile viewers we were just talking about?  It's important that you create a responsive design for your blog layout, so that your blog can be easily viewed on all mobile devices.  It's also important to keep those who are color-blind or have poor eyesight in mind.  Use simple color schemes and fonts to make your blog easy to view for everyone.  

Well, what about you?  What will you blog about?

As a designer/digital media professional, I believe the type of content enthusiasts of my industry would be most interested in would be new and interesting software/application/website reviews pertaining to working within this field. 

Reviews for editing software, tablets, and other devices designers need to work in this industry, as well as my own work and projects, would generate an audience of others who are interested in working with photo/video editing, and are interested in networking with others in the graphic design field.

For more information on blogging tips and why business should blog, visit the links below:

http://webmarketingtoday.com/articles/114117-25-Things-Every-Business-Blog-Should-Have/

http://www.toprankblog.com/2012/03/increase-blog-traffic-readership-community/

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/7-tips-for-making-your-blog-a-content-marketing-magnet/

http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2011/10/10-tips-for-corporate-bloggers/