Course Description
1. Rates, Invoicing, Collection, Cash Flow
Objectives
- Understand the need for creative freelancers to value their own work (and how to do it).
- Internalize/Reinforce a sense of self-worth and the value of your work.
- Enact best practices for freelance workers when it comes to setting rates, invoicing, collecting payment, and monitoring cash flow.
- Advocate for yourself.
• Identify the components to consider when setting an hourly rate, and calculate that rate based on your last job.
• Differentiate between an hourly rate and a project rate, determine which to charge for a given job, and understand the basics of negotiating your hourly rate.
• Calculate your floor rate.
• Define rules and systems to take the emotion out of raising a rate.
• Understand the basic components of an invoice, choose an invoicing system, and create an invoice.
• Craft a payment system and plan for following up with clients.
• Understand potential consequences of undervaluing your own work.
• Understand the basics of cash flow management, and concurrently set minimum viable income goals and ideal income goals.
• Produce a 12-month cash flow projection using the spreadsheet provided.
• Organize monthly income and expenses, and, over time, monitor seasonality, consistency, and other trends in cash flow.
• Schedule monthly cash flow check-ins to set and evaluate action steps.
• Revise marketing, sales goals, and projections based on cash flow spreadsheet progress.
2. A One-Page Business Plan
Objectives
- Understand your project as a business.
- Focus the scope and goals of your business.
- Achieve greater recognition and success with marketing and income generation.
- Develop and grow your creative business ideas into concrete actions.
• Identify the components of a one-page business plan.
• Explain and evaluate your business in relation to the eight questions asked.
• Examine the underlying foundation of your business, and differentiate it from others.
• Compose an elevator pitch based on the eight components of your business plan, and present and defend the business to others in a focused, effective manner.