Bob, please share your thoughts on SCORE, once you have had a chance to talk with them. I’ve considered getting in touch with the local chapter for assistance in setting up my freelancing as a business, and I’d like the hear your thoughts on SCORE and if you felt that they are helpful.

You mentioned in the podcast that you were interested in online art communities so I thought that I would steer you towards: Wetcanvas.com.

It’s a huge resource for anyone interested in art. It’s basically a huge forum subdivided by medium and interest. The different boards have games, contests, classes and other forms of encouragement. Best of all, it’s free.

And VOLUME is the key!!! Get busy, real busy!!

I actually joined a local network about 3 months ago. I have been working at FULL BLAST ever since. I was not really enthused about joining in the first place, but the leader asked me to join, and happened to be one of my biggest fans, as we used to work together (they are a white collar worker).

I listen to a lot of podcasts (with whippersnappers talking like they are the authorities, who give out advice that is the opposite of what really works out here), but I have to tell you. I truly believe I was in the right place at the right time. Plus, our group is exclusive, no overlaps. It sounded snooty to me at first, but is an absolute God send. I’m busy, they LOVE my work, and we are both happy. THAT’s what it’s all about for me.

I have been a graphic designer going on 20 years and have never had such a massive flow of work before (knock on wood). I am getting hooked up with big leaguers’ in my area that I never ever thought I would deal with.

My advise is if you even THINK you want to join a group, be IRREPLACEABLE to someone within first. Impress the hell out of them with your work, geared towards them. Yes, it sounds like a game…. but it is the game of your bank account and your bills getting paid. You are only just showing your worth. How else would they know?

Anyway, that’s my two cents.

P.S. – I am listening to your shows backwards, I started out at the next to last one you did (the last one is corrupted or something, maybe you know that? That is why I am just posting a comment to this one a year later!!

Yep, I’m still in CT, working days at ESPN and moonlighting in the evening. A4F is going to take an interesting turn starting in 2008, but we’re going to answer your email in our last 2007 episode.

Stay subscribed, we promise to make it worth your (and everyone else’s) time.

-Chris

And Chris, are you still in CT? I used to live in Terryville, right down the road from you! To think, my fav podcast right around the corner!

I just found your podcast on iTunes and blew right through all of them in a week while commuting an hour to and from work… love them!

I went to Johnny’s site and the videos aren’t up anymore…

I have a question for BOB! I’m about ready to finish up my 2 year associates degree in Graphic Design and interactive media… I’m interested in moving on and going for my bachelors. 1.) Do you have any tips and or recommendations on finding a school that’s right for you… any special sites that review GD schools? Do you find it’s better to learn a little about coding, a little about drawing, a little about design… or to just specialize in one particular thing.

and 2.) How important are internships? I’m doing one now… should I be looking for more to continue with, or should I be growing my own freelance business instead.

Thanks guys, keep up the good work – and thanks for not playing music the entire episode like some podcasters do… that’s really annoying when you’re sitting in traffic and trying to tune out the noisy truck next to you by having to constantly adjust the audio settings in your car!

Katie

And thanks to all our listeners for sticking with us. We’ve got some really great things coming up and we can’t wait to share them with you.

Many thanks to Seth Harwood for giving us that great intro and for plugging my site Bob O’s Logos.

Seth, sorry about the botched edit at the end of the show.
I promise we’ll play it again.

Bob
A4F

I really, really missed you. I’m glad to hear yet another great show, hopefully we’ll have many more.

Cheers,

Luis

Listeners, please remember although it’s our policy to run a clean show we generally do not to censor our guests language. We do however make it a point to mark each show with an explicit tag if we feel any of the language inside may be considered offensive by some.

If you are easily offended or are in an environment where colorful language is not well tolerated please check the tags before listening. We will continue to make our best efforts to keep you alert and informed to the content of each show.

Thanks for listening
Pod On
Bob O

So listeners… if you can bear the cute sound effects in this episode I guarantee you’ll have a good laugh. If not… simply skip ahead to the next episode. I’m sure you’ll find it both informative and entertaining.

Also listeners if you haven’t already checked out DaniDraws please do, you’ll find some really great info posted there.
http://www.danidraws.com/

Thanks for listening.
Pod On

Bob
A4F

Alex, you might also consider where you are marketing yourself. Let’s say for instance your client base is mainly IT. You present them with your children’s book art and everybody loves it but, as an IT company, they simply don’t have a need for illustration.

Do a little market research and find your target audience. Find the companies who are most likely to buy children’s art and begin marketing to them. Consider advertising in one of the many publications or directories that list illustrators (Some even cater specifically to the children’s market). The closer you can get to your target audience the more bang you’ll get for your buck.

Try creating a separate portfolio to show off your illustration skills. Take this opportunity to shed the catalog designer image, if you wish, by leaving the catalog design stuff out. Since these will likely be new clients they have no point of reference other than what you show them. You can re-invent yourself anyway you like. Present yourself in the way you would like to be seen and you will be on your way.

Hope that helps
Good luck
Bob

Your “company brand”, even as a freelancer, can be what you make of it. Choose what it is you want to do, and how you want to do it, and you can build a brand for your business. Now, as a freelancer, your personal brand also becomes a driving motivator as to how people see your business, since your personal traits will come through in how your business interacts and delivers to your customers. Even so, your company brand lives separate from your personal brand and can be completely re-branded if it needs to be, as long as you can deliver on the re-brand. For instance, if next week I decided I didn’t want to draw anymore for a living, I could become a Mountain Bike repair man. That’s OK to re-brand. It’s much harder to re-brand the fact that I like Country music, and if I tried, it would leave those who know me wondering about my truthfulness on the matter.

I think I know where you’re coming from, Alex. Its like the time when I started attending Chamber networking events, and after a few months, everyone referred to me as ‘the web guy’.

After that started happening, I had to stop and think about the reasons that had happened. There were several. First, if you let them, people will bucket you where they most need you, and while I provided a number of services, the most relevant to these small business owners was that of a web designer, not an illustrator, so that’s what they remembered. Second, since people kept asking me about web-related stuff, that’s where a lot of the conversations led, which reinforced the “web” idea onto my company and personal brand. Third, I wasn’t really telling my story, so people weren’t hearing about the fact that I was an artist.

So, you can look at the services you offer, and re-brand your business based on the ones you want to focus on. If you feel a client is overlooking some of your skills, focus on the conversation you are having with them. If you want to reinforce that you do caricatures and children’s book illustrations with a client, you can mention them when you talk to them. When you finish a project, send out a small email inviting your clients to see the finished work. Make sure those services are easily seen in your business cards, stationery, signature, literature and website.

You see stuff like this all the time from companies. “You already use us for X, did you know that we also offer Y & Z, and that we’re the best in the industry at them? Come see what we’ve done for others and how we can help you with Y & Z.”

So, if you feel that people aren’t ‘getting’ something about you, as Mitch says, focus on the conversations you are having.

Also, if you haven’t started listening in to Mitch’s show or reading his blog, check it out at http://twistimage.com/blog/ There’s lots of good stuff there.

Pod on!

See, you are not a company where you’re trying to define a differentiator and then putting all of your marketing and communications into what could be a “bad play.”

You are who you are. I’m sure people tried to change or re-focus people like Albert Einstein, Shakespeare, Seinfeld and Picasso. You see, most people try to fit themselves into a category where they are like everyone else (because they think that’s the “right” way to be). It’s the “lunatics and freaks” (as Tom Peters calls them) who really make a difference and change the world.

Personal Brands can’t be re-branded – you are who you are. What you can do is work on developing your brand, through understanding the three types of conversations, so that your message – your personal brand – is connecting more effectively to the “right” people for your success.

Re-branding your personal brand just seems inauthentic to me. Developing, nurturing and connecting to others who are like-minded seems much more natural.

I hope I answered your question.

Thanks again,

Luis

I understand what you are saying about the need to meet face to face. I don’t think we meant that you actually had to meet all of your contacts face to face. In fact, some of my best references have been clients whom I’ve never met face to face.

Instead, I think what Bill was talking about was blindly making connections or recommending people that you don’t really know and whom you’ve never seen the quality of their work. Some people who use online systems like MySpace or LinkedIn abuse the system by playing the numbers game and accepting anybody that asks to be their friend. While that may be OK for people who are just in it to have fun, in the professional ring, that could ruin your reputation, or at least make people question the value of your recommendations. Its inadvisable to recommend people that you don’t know to people who trust you.

For instance, I know the CEOs of several companies because I’ve worked directly for them. When looking at my LinkedIn profile, someone in my LinkedIn network might find them and ask for an introduction. If I know a person, either through a working or personal relationship, then I might make the introduction. But if I hardly know the person, I might be reluctant to risk my own access and reputation by recommending that person.

Other than that, use the tools. They are a great way to manage contacts, and a great way to see who your friends can introduce you to.

Dave

To our listeners, Rick is the father of Jason Bergman, one of my artist buddies when I was growing up. Rick is also the man who introduced me to several of life’s key pleasures, including The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Monty Python.