Friday, January 27, 2006

Freelance Business

so i’m looking into the freelance graphic design market here in Grand Rapids.  i see a lot of opportunities in the city, and i want to take advantage of that.  just recently i was at several restaurants looking at their menus.  i noticed how bland they looked even though the restaurants were fairly classy.  in hong kong, restaurants paid a lot of attention to menu design.  restaurants here deserve better ones as well.  and that’s just one example!  i could go on and on… what i see is an open market that has space for freelance graphic designers like myself. 

there’s just one slight problem…

...i need a car and a driver’s license to meet clients.  the license takes time; i’ll need to wait until june before i can get a full license.  i can get a permit now, but i’ll only be able to drive if there’s someone with me who has a full license and is over 21 years old.  that’s not too bad though.  june is right before summer, and that’s the time i’ll really need a car.  i’ll probably spend a lot of time in Toronto, since it’s the nearest city with friends and relatives.  plus, i’m familiar with the environment, having spent 5 years living there.  i was also there during the summer before i went to calvin.  so i guess i’ll just need to be patient with the car.

oh, and interim break is a perfect time to learn about the legal guidelines of freelance work.  thankfully, a sole proprietorship is not too complicated.  i just need to register my business name, njchu.com.  then i must keep track of my business finances for taxes.  thank God i took accounting classes in high school!

and another thing.  i’m in the process of building up my portfolio (can be seen at www.njchu.com) so any graphic design jobs are fair game at the moment.  i just recently discovered a project-based job opportunity designing Christian postcards.  basically, i’m to design postcards that visualize a Bible verse.  the goal is to make them attractive enough so that the reader will be compelled to flip open a Bible and read the verse for themselves.  pretty sweet job!  not only is it for a Christian employer, but it also has a purpose and gives me a lot of artistic liberty.  i can work from my own room too.  the employer has asked me to create him a sample, so i must do that to get things rolling.  my fingers are crossed on this one!

Posted by Nehe555 on 01/27 at 03:14 PM
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