Real estate agents and builders.

I don't go after them that much now but it served me well when I was starting out and survived on many small scale renos / repairs. It works well with moonlighting as the scale is usually small the fees can be okay particularly when you are doing piece work and fits with a flexible schedule. I still get lots of work from these sources and helps in future when the tables turn and you need a good builder to work with.

As for Real Estate Agents I don't have a lot of good things to say.

How did you normally contact these people? Direct mailings, or cold calls?

Has anybody tried craigslist.org with any success?

Can you call any of your firm's former clients, who might be not totally crazy about your dysfunctional bosses but saw that you as an individual did a good job, and see if they need any further work? Or call consultants you have worked with who, again, may think your current bosses are crazy but liked working with you?

whistler,

I'm curious...
how did you approach builders?

ditto. here. I'd say almost 99% of the freelance stuff I did was for real estate agents or builders.. Sometimes one lead to the other.
The way I got involved was by sending out an email advert to the entire database of realtors in my area the MLS (multiple listing service) Check your local association of realtors. Most had their hands in development projects with builders and needed pre-viz stuff to generate sales before the project was under way. The builders generally wanted cheaper plans than what they would get going through a whole architectural process, some of it wasn't glamourous but it did lead to some more interesting projects that I got to do on my own.

Craigslist has worked but more from the end of me finding someone who is looking for a contract job, not really the other way around. If you got any photoshop skills you can make a bit of money just doing one-offs that various companies request via craigslist.

PS Having a website no matter how mediocre, helps. That seemed to get me quite a bit of business, as I was able to just point people
there rather than go into a whole spiel.

If you're just looking to do contract work for firms, it seems like directly contacting( i.e. dropping off resume/business card) works the best, at least where I'm working now.

I look at it this way ... Real Estate Agents and Builders both need work too. If you can show them that improving a building will make it sell faster and or improve the look of some dump for a new owner then you can and should talk them into hiring you. I started with a simple flyer / brochure that I printed out and sent to every agent in town. Go to home builder association meetings ( most towns have a local branch ) network the builders. Every couple weeks I take and afternoon and drive around some of the better job sites and introduce my self directly. Many times (most times it went nowhere) but it takes time, I cold called a couple small scale developers and that worked too. You have to earn their trust, no ones is going to hand you a big job when you have no experience but if you can prove that you have the skill set on a small scale job when big one comes by they are going to be more open to let you bid for it.

Over the early years for every builder I did a project for the year previous they came back to me with a new client, I gave them straight service and didn't get too much into high end design unless I saw that the client wanted something a little different, but over time the jobs got bigger and the clients more sophisticated. Its not how all firms start out but it worked. I have a great network of builders who I can call on and we have a very positive relationship with all of them. Makes the work enjoyable and they produce great quality work and more often I can get them to do more interesting things as the level of trust has improved over time.

Craigslist is how I set up an office...

Got my first couple of freelance jobs off of there, worked for cheap and busted my ass and got plenty of referrals.

Depends on what community you are in and your social networks, but I basically just made it known to "people" that I was looking for freelance work.

I would mention to a Builder that I had a good relationship with that I was looking for small work that is too small for them to recommend to a "full size" firm. In the residential market, there is always a market for people willing to do small stuff.

Ditto, other Architects that I knew that had small firms (ie. a couple of people that had left my firm to start on their own). As they were getting busy, they would always have tiny little jobs that were too small and too much trouble for them to deal with. Those type of jobs are very hard to recommend, because nobody will take them. Make it known that you will.

Getting freelance work is really no different than getting work once you start your own firm. In the beginning it basically comes down to letting people know what you do, expressing a level of competence, and being scrappy.

Good luck.

By the way, all of this sounds easy, but I can remember being frustrated/terrified of the process of getting work in the beginning. Being scrappy is the key. You are basically trying to convice someone that you can do their project, without any experience (on your own) in doing it. Not easy.

But, it gets easier and easier. I now find it fun to interview for new work, make new contacts, etc. But in the beginning. . . I hated it. After a couple of hundred interviews (hopefully not all rejections) you get the hang of it.

Tyvek has it right!

I think one of the best experiences is the interview for new work, don't be afraid that you won't get the work, I look at the interview as an opportunity to look at what could come from it down the road. Single family work may not be that way but if a Spec builder is doing high end custom houses he may see that you aren't right for this job but others may follow where if you make a good impression he may hire you later.

Or other developers / municipalities etc. building up a network of people who trust you and the work you put out. Integrity is important.

Be truthful, trusting and do good work, oddly enough it still works that way, if you want it to.

Thanks... I already have a pretty good website up and running, but I don't want to post the link here while I'm still working for my current employer.

This is helpful stuff... Keep it rolling.

By the way, does anybody have a standard contract for their freelance services, perhaps in a template form I could borrow and modify?

I've done freelance work before, but it's always been sporadic small projects with verbal agreements, usually with friends. But if I'm going to go "legit", I'd like to start using some sort of written contract.

Also: Are there any steps you've taken from a regulatory point of view, such as registering yourself as a company? Or do you just stick to filing the 1099 forms each year with the IRS?

design/build comapnies. Small companies with small work. That's what I do, simple elevations and sketchup renderings for city approvals that blow them away as well as their clients. Almost no time at all to do and I charge $100-$200 a drawing.

try contacting a local small business association for advise on tax-paying, etc

and contact your local AIA chapter (or other regulatory figure for non USA) for advise on contracts - usually they are friedly, even if you are not AIA - you might be able to use a standard AIA form, or modify their wording to fit your needs. (make a copy of a blank form at your current firm, take it home, use as a guide, but dont copy exactly)

if all else fails, contact a lawyer, an accountant? they might be able to offer you suggestions to keep you legit.

Gin,

I would try an hourly rate that is at least double what you would earn in an office. ( Since you are a small operation and I would expect that you have little overhead you could justify the fee, but as you get bigger / more equipment etc. Your multiplier shoudl increase. Ie my office uses 3x rate as a basic hourly rate. )

I would also suggest that your contract proposal have two components a) the first is a proposal that outlines the detailed scope of work that you intend on performing and then an assoicated fee schedule to accompany the tasks. the second b) is the actual contract that accompanies the proposal with fee rates, overtime, recycle issues, expenses, what you will pay for what the client should pay for etc. the reason for the first part is that if they don't like what you charge you can say ok I'll drop my fee but I will also drop my scope of work. They go hand in hand and clients need to understand that if you pay more you get more.

what's the risk of using bootleg software for freelance work?

No big deal if no one is ever going to audit you.

Keep in mind that if the company that pays you files a 1099-misc for the amount they paid at the end of the year, YOU HAVE TO file a schedule C on your taxes (I.E. fill out the forms claiming your own company). Even if it's as low at 1,000 (which is what happened to a friend of mine) and you will have to pay taxes on it. Now you can write off the taxes, i.e. he used his printer that he bought and 10% of his apartment rent (since he estimated his work space took 10% of his apartment). That was enough to get the taxes down to 0. Now if you are making a lot more money, they may easily do an audit on your home/office and there they may find that you have bootleg software. The smart thing to do would be to purchase the software and use it as a write-off that will negate the taxes that you'll have to spend anyways.

Ofcourse if you can confirm that it's all under the table, then you have no problem.

Another question:

In your initial marketing contact, what mention (if any) do you make about your billing rate? Do you typically include a fee schedule upfront, or do you wait until somebody has already contacted you?

I can see advantages and disadvantages of doing it either way. On one hand, I don't want to scare away potential clients, but at the same time, there's no point in wasting my time meeting somebody who is thinking I'll gladly accept $10/hr for my work.

Also: For a one-person operation, is there any real advantage to opening a business checking account?

...isn't this sort of how Frank Lloyd Wright got himself fired?

FLW got fired for moonlighting with Sullivan's own clients.

If I were to contact any of our clients, contractors or consultants about freelance work, it wouldn't be until I've already left this firm.

Our own employee manual states that moonlighting is permitted as long as it's not done on company time or uses company resources, etc.

Yea, Louis busted his ass and look what happened to that poor bastard.

I would NEVER mention anything about billing rate in any marketing material. I will never even get specific when a potential person calls.

What you bill will vary depending upon the job. For a small job, you will have to bill more on a percentage basis, or have to bill hourly if the job is too small (with a high hourly rate).

Sorry, I just think that it is a terrible idea.

And yes, we would never allow an employee to use company time/resources on freelance work. Actually, if the employee got sued by thier freelance client and it could be showed that the employee so much as used our fax machine, telephone, etc. WE could get sued by the freelance client. Unbelievable, but true.

Tyvek in right on the money,
There is a huge liability issue with staff doing side job using their place of employment, even if it’s not in direct completion. If any principal has got a clue or has read the DPIC’s Risk Management for Architects and Engineers will make it a policy not to allow their staff to due side job under the firm name.

I wanted to do my own thing- I’m on my way by screening my client as hard as they screen me, doing the work on time. Keeping the line of communication open, going beyond what is written in the contracts to make the project meet everyone’s expectations.

My Problem has always been not changing enough for the work

If you are freelancing, would you ask for an upfront fee in the manner of a deposit in case the client decides to not pursue the job, or would you just send them an invoice for the initial work you have done for them.

I would imagine that sometimes you and a client will have an agreement to pursue a job, however they decide not to go any further and you have already begun working on site analysis and code searches. How do freelancers prevent a client from stiffing them?