Wednesday 30/01/2013 (3)

How I Would Advertise Myself

Criteria 4

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I cannot really think about many ways to advertise myself as a freelancer but these are the things i can think of:

Advertising

• Yellow Pages

• Newspaper

• Flyers

• Posters

• Website

• Social Networking Sites

• Word of Mouth

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Yellow Pages

Advertising in the yellow page can be a good idea since pretty much every home has a yellow pages even though most of the time a yellow pages is not touched but sometimes it is

Newspaper

Advertising in the newspaper is a great way to advertise since millions of people read newspapers. People normally skip the things they do not want to read like advertisements yet there is always the chance that someone will see it which can increase chances of getting known.

Flyers

Handing out Flyers... in my opinion is a 50/50.. even more so than most other advertising methods since even if flyers are handed out or even posted door to door most people normally throw them away without even looking at it.. yet like the newspapers there is always a chance someone will see it.

Posters

Hang posters around and maybe get some friends to help with the posters and get them hung up in many different places instead of just a small area.

Website

I believe that websites are an amazing way to advertise your profession and skills since you can write all about the work you have done and post reviews said by previous clients and also you can put some of your work on there for people to look at. 

This can be very beneficial for me, however that is only if people know of my website. If people do not know of my website then it makes it rather pointless.

Social Networking Sites

Be active on Social Networking Sites like Facebook and Twitter and getting my name known so people will learn of what i do and how i do it and how good i am at it. 

Word of Mouth

The best form of advertising in my opinion. 

If i have done good work for a client and they are happy with the result then the chances are that they will ask me if they have another job for me and also that they will tell people they know of me.

This can potentially increase the amount of work i would get as a freelancer. 

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This is just my opinion and my thoughts about the advertising ways i could think of. I tried to do a pro and con for each of them so that you can see how i think about these things.

Wednesday 30/01/2013 (2)

How I Could Improve My Skills

Criteria 3:

This criteria, from what i can understand is about "look at how i would better myself as a freelance worker, how would i improve my skills inside and outside of work hours designated by a short-term contract)

So for this i will talk about how i would personally improve the skills i can think of.
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Skills:
• Maya Skills
• Photoshop Skills
• Drawing Skills
• Researching for Inspiration
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Maya Skills
I would improve my Maya Skills by practicing using the program and learning how to do more visually appealing objects.
Learning how to properly use the tools i already know and then try to learn all the further advanced tools and methods that can help create a visually stunning object which is also well textured.

Photoshop Skills
Photoshop skills in my mind would be improved the exact same way i would improve my Maya skills and its the same with any other program i would use.
Just keep using the program till you have learned enough to have mastered the basic tools and then have a go at the more advanced buttons and features and learn what they do and with more practice after that i would learn how to use them properly and make even greater quality work.

Drawing Skills
If i was a person who loved doing graphic designs i would do drawing all the time and keep improving my drawing skills all the time, making better and better drawings as more time passes.

Researching for Inspiration
When you start doing this for the first time its hard to think about where to start even though 99% of people come to the same conclusion "Google", i did the same and ended up on Google and i still use Google however how you word what you write in Google effects the end results of what you will find and it helps if you know the places where to look without Google. 
So to get better at this i would learn the best places to look so i can see what i need to see to get inspiration.
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As a freelancer i would not restrict the times that i would work, i would negotiate the times with the people who are employing me and any parts i have free i would donate to family time and practicing all my different skills in order to improve myself even further.

Wednesday 30/01/2013

Contracts and Pay

Criteria 2:

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Original Reference: http://www.slideshare.net/ecerrone/types-of-jobs-contracts
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Different types of Contracts and the Pay:

• Full Time, Permanent
• Part Time, Permanent
• Fixed-Term and Freelance
• Shift Work
• Office Hours
• Irregular and Anti-Social hours
• Salaried
• On Completion
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Full Time, Permanent
You work on a full-time bases, usually 39 hours a week. A permanent contract means you are a regular member of staff entitles to company benefits including pensions, sick pay, maternity/paternity leave and holiday pay.

The job roles most likely to be full-time, permanent are managerial, editorial, financial, creative and sometimes sales and marketing.

Part Time, Permanent
This means you work a fraction of a full-time contract, once again you will a set amount of hours per week. You will also be entitles to the same benefits as full-time, permanent but on a reduced bases due to fewer working hours.

The job roles most likely to be Part-Time, Permanent are financial and sometimes sales and marketing.

Fixed-Term and Freelance
These contract and similar in that they are both temporary and will only last for a certain period of time. Under a fixed-term contract you may still be entitled to company benefits if outlined in your contract. However, a freelance worker will be responsible for their own arrangements in terms of pension, holiday and sick pay and other allowances.

The job roles most likely to be fixed-term and freelance are technical, creative and sales and marketing.

Shift Work
This means your hours are set to a certain time of the day, for example, 7am-3pm or 11pm-7am. Shifts can include late or night work and are often used in places that need to be manned 24 hours a day, such as broadcasting centers.

Office Hours
Traditionally, these are Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm. This contract is very common for people working in administration and office-based jobs.

The job roles most likely to be office hours are financial and sales and marketing and some assistants jobs such as research assistant.

Irregular and Anti-Social Hours
This is a little like overtime, when a person is paid extra money on top of their normal wages for working over or working unsociable hours. This is quite common in the media industries, as production work, especially on location, can be irregular and may involve working very early in the morning or late in the night. These payments are an incentive to people to work these unsociable hours above and beyond their normal contracted duties.

Salaried
A set annual wage that is broken down into monthly payments. A salary will be advertised as, for example, £20,000 per year, this is then divided by 12 to give you a monthly payment of around £1,666.

The job roles most likely to be salaried are managerial and sometimes technical and creative.

On Completion
This is also quite common in the media industries, especially for people commissioned to do work. A contract outlines what you are required to do and by when, and you will be paid the agreed fee when the work is completed according to the contract.

The job roles most likely to be on completion are creative and sometimes technical.
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Personal Opinion:
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 Personally i would say that all the contracts have their pros and cons however i like the idea of either on-completion contracts or freelance contracts. I like the idea of having the pressure on me for the work to be done.
Without the pressure on me i cant seem to work. Let alone work well, of course it does help if i enjoy my work but i still need that pressure on me.

I noticed that between all the different types of contracts that 2 things are ALWAYS mentioned.
1. Working hours
2. Payment

In every contract there is always these 2 things which i believe to be the most important things in the contact.

Tuesday 29/01/13

What is Freelance Work?

Criteria 1:
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Original Reference: freelance-job.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/definition-of-freelance-job-and.html
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freelancer (freelance worker) is a self-employed person working in a profession such as journalism, computer programming and graphics design.

The word freelancer (freelance worker) derives from medieval times where you would have a "free lance" knight which meant a knight which was not tied down by a king and could be hired.

Freelance practices varies depending on the person, some require clients to sign a contract, others prefer a verbal agreement.

Payment for freelance work also varies, freelancers can charge by day or by hour and also on a per-job basis.

Freelancers also negotiate before accepting or declining a job offer.
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Original: www.freelancewell.com/what-is-freelancing.php
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Freelancing definition is basically working for yourself.

Nowadays there are many reasons why people go into freelance however the top 3 reasons (as depicted by the site) are:

1. You can work with the convenience of your own schedule.
2. You can work from home
3. You do not have a boss.

It is not advisable to leave a full time job to go freelance if you have little experience in your profession.
Freelancing does not put any pressure on you

The most important thing in freelancing is getting clients and spreading the word off your services but it is not all that hard when it comes to advertising or spreading the word. Emails are a quick and useful way to do it and you can also advertise in the yellow and white pages.

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Original: speckyboy.com/2010/12/02/is-working-freelance-really-worth-it-pros-and-cons/
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Pros and Cons:

Pros
1. Choose when you work
2. Choose where you work
3. Choose what you work on
4. Potentially make more money
5. Fire bad clients

Cons
1. Work not guaranteed
2. Inconsistent monthly income
3. Potentially make less money
4. You have to find work on your own
5. Do your own accounting


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My Opinion:
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I was considering being a Freelancer and doing this has given me the chance to think about it more in-depth and i believe that most of this information is correct to a degree but i also believe that alot of it is also personal opinions and personal thoughts.

To me personally this has strengthened my desire to be a freelancer. The pros overweigh the cons if you do your part of being a freelancer properly.