10 MISTAKES I MADE

IN MY FREELANCE
DESIGN CAREER

Ethan Himka
 INTRO
Who Am I?
Before I begin explaining some of the mistakes I made, I think it’s best that I actually tell you who I
am and why you should even listen to me!

I graduated from college in May of 2020 (in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic) with a Graphic
Design degree. Hearing of so many people losing their jobs due to the Covid restrictions, I knew one
thing for certain - I wanted to be in total control of my career. I wanted to be able to work from
anywhere, anytime I wanted. My goal was to be the one in total control of my successes and failures.

All throughout the summer of 2020, I posted my work on my graphic design Instagram account. I
picked up some smaller design projects every couple weeks, even while working part time at a
nursing home. I was still living at home with my parents to save some cash.

When August came around, I knew it was time to make that leap of faith. I put in my two weeks at
the nursing home job and moved 1,000+ miles away from my parents. I was moving away to go full
time freelancing. I wanted to put myself in the most uncomfortable position possible so that I could
grow my business...and it worked! Within one week in my new home, I landed two retainer clients. I
felt a little more stable financially, but I kept advertising my services on social media and somehow
picked up seven client projects all within my first two months on my own.

Thanks to some good client referrals, my constant social media posting, and ultimately God’s help,
I’ve been able to double my monthly income from my first month on my own (September 2020) to
today as I write this (May 2021).

All that to say, I’ve made several mistakes along the way. Even though I made some big mistakes that
cost me time and money, I learned from them. My goal is to help teach you about these same
mistakes and what you can do to avoid them. As Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Learn from the
mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.” I hope this guide is helpful
for you.
 MISTAKE #1
Not Niching Down Right Away
When I first started freelancing full-time, you could have described me as a generalist. That is, I
offered basically everything in my freelance design services - and I mean everything. In addition to
logos and websites, I was also offering photography, copywriting, social media management...you
get the point.

And honestly, this makes sense. When I was first starting out, I was fighting for the scraps with
everyone else; I was willing to take whatever I could get!

There are a few problems with this approach. For one, I was “good” at multiple different things...but
not “great” at any one thing. As one of my good friends likes to say, “Your skills are a mile wide, but
only an inch deep!”

Secondly, I was spreading myself way too thin. I felt like I was constantly switching between
completely unrelated tasks and couldn’t get into a good flow.

What was my solution to this? Well, now I just focus on logos and websites. I have one separate
design business where I just specialize in logo design for real estate agents. And then I take on
logos and websites for any niche.

I do offer a wide range of graphic design services to my retainer clients (flyers, business cards,
website graphics, etc.), but I outsource them. Which brings me to my next point...
 MISTAKE #2
Not Outsourcing
When I first started out, I was content with just being a one-man team. I didn’t want the extra
responsibility of having other people work under me. Plus, if I’m being completely honest, I just
didn’t feel like having to pay someone.

However, this past spring my opinion on this changed. I got to a point where I was making good
money, but I had very little free time. I was doing everything for my business - client outreach,
social media marketing, personal branding, etc.

One question I had to ask myself was this, “If I end up making $10k/month, but have to work 10-12
hours/day every single day, am I truly even rich?”

Wealth isn’t just measured by how much you have in your bank account. Several other factors go
into it, like your health, free time, and overall well-being. Chances are that if I kept trying to do
everything myself I would have severely burned out.

What do I do now? Well, now I’ve got an assistant working for me part-time! He’s able to help me
with things such as social media, and smaller graphic design projects. Even though I’m spending
more money every month to pay him, I’m able to buy back my time, and spend it on the design
projects that I actually enjoy doing. And believe it or not, as the business grows and more projects
come my way, I plan on paying him even more...and maybe even bringing on a second assistant!
 MISTAKE #3
Not Using A Contract With
My Clients
In the beginning of my freelance journey, I neglected using contracts with my freelance clients. I
figured that people would do the right thing and pay me how much they said they would on time.

But that couldn’t be the furthest thing from the truth.

I laugh (and slightly cringe) looking back at a few of my first client experiences.

I once created a logo for an investing tips Instagram page based out of Germany. The owner of the
page wanted a round of revisions. That was fine. I told him that was included in our DM
conversation. I made the changes and then he decided that he wanted to go a completely different
direction. So I obliged - I was scared that he wasn’t going to pay me for my work if I didn’t! Well,
long story short, there ended up being another round of revisions, then another, then another...and
I didn’t ever end up receiving any money. The owner of the page told me that his PayPal account
wasn’t working...

Thankfully, I can chuckle at this story now, but I was very annoyed when this happened. I could’ve
easily prevented all of this from happening, if I’d put together a contract outlining how much and
when I was getting paid, how many rounds of revisions were included, how many logo options were
included, etc. Not only that, me and the client would’ve both felt more protected in case anything
went sour. If he didn’t like what he was given, he’d know that he still would have a set amount of
revisions guaranteed. I would also have known that I can charge him extra if he needs extra rounds
of revisions. This is just one example of how using a contract is a win-win for both parties.
 MISTAKE #4
Having My Clients Pay
Everything At The Project’s
Completion
Going off of my previous story, it was foolish of me to not ask for a deposit upfront from my client. I
used to think that clients would be too scared if they had to put any money down in the beginning.

One thing I learned, though, was that if a client is too hesitant to make a down payment, they’re
probably not someone I’d want to be working with anyway. Down payments are a pretty standard
practice for most professional services. If a potential client is not willing to make one, they
obviously don’t respect me or see the value in what I’m offering to them. They will most likely be a
headache to deal with. Use a down payment as a “sniff test” to weed out people you don’t want to
work with.

It’s also very easy for a client to just take your design that you completed for them and disappear
off the face of the earth when it comes time to pay.

By making someone put down a deposit, you are also making them invest more into the project.
They are now going to want to see this project through to the end and feel obligated to make it
work. They’ll be offering helpful input and doing everything they can to make things work.

At the end of the day, the more I started treating my freelancing like an actual business my clients
started taking me much more seriously. Which bring me to mistake #5...
 MISTAKE #5
‘Less Professional’ Systems
If you want to be treated like a business, you need to start presenting yourself as one! All of the
systems that you use in your work process need to be on point.

Here a some of examples of how I used to be “unprofessional”:

• I would tell my clients my Venmo or CashApp username and have them just pay me on those
platforms.
• I didn’t use an email with my domain name (ethanhimkagraphics@yahoo.com)
• I would send my clients a Word document contract, have them type their name into it, and then
send it back to me.

Here’s what I now do instead:

• I invoice my clients via Intuit Quickbooks.
• I have an actual branded email address (ehimka@ethanhimkagraphics.com)
• I use actual contract signing software.

Not only do these changes in my work process make me look more professional, but they also make
my client’s life so much easier.
 MISTAKE #6
Forgetting To Follow Up With
Potential Leads
My primary method of lead generations has actually been Instagram DMs. I typically contact
business pages in my niche with a scripted (but customized) DM, telling them about my services
and how I can help them.

Here’s how a typical DM conversation used to go:

Me: “Hey there, Brad. Hope you are having a great day. I just wanted to let you know that I run a
logo design business that helps businesses like yours establish their visual identity. If you are
interested and would like to see more of my work, feel free to let me know :)”

...and then I wouldn’t hear anything. And honestly, I’m not surprised! Nowadays, everyone is
getting spam in their Instagram DM inbox. It’s hard to know who is actually legit.

What I like to do now is follow up every week or two. For one, this shows that I’m actually serious
about working with this prospect. This also keeps me in their mind.

There’s quite a few times that I’ve forgotten to respond to a message, only to remember once the
sender followed up a second time with me.

A good rule of thumb is to not stop following up unless someone directly tells you to “STOP” or
blocks you! There’s also a fine line between actively pursuing a prospect and being too desperate.
More on that next...
 MISTAKE #7
Being Too Desperate
When I first began freelancing, I was happy to work for anyone and take on any type of
project...even if that meant working for someone who was extra picky and paying me less than $50
for a logo. That got old very fast though...

Prospective clients could sense my desperation and would turn the other way.

I had to change my mindset and constantly remind myself that I was the one with the design
expertise offering the service. If they don’t see the value in what I’m giving them, then why would I
choose to work with them? There are thousands of other people out there who would be a great
fit!

One advantage to being a freelancer is the abundance of clients at your disposal.

Say I was working a 9-5 design job, things didn’t work out, and I ended up getting fired. I’d be
without a job!

Now, say I was working with a freelance retainer client and it just wasn’t a good fit so they dropped
me. Obviously, that’s not something that I’d prefer. However, if I’ve been stacking retainer clients
as I should and have a steady stream of new clients coming in, this should not be a problem at all!

Always remember - don’t chase; replace.

 MISTAKE #8
Charging Way Less Than I’m
Worth
I used to be scared to charge more than $50 for a logo.

Now the cheapest that I ever charge for a logo is $500.

What changed?

My mindset.

I had a scarcity mindset, and like I mentioned before, I came across a bit desperate. I was afraid that
if I raised my prices, I’d end up losing my chances of getting any customers.

I was dead wrong.

Not only do I have more customers, but I’ve also realized a few things:

The higher paying clients were way easier to work with than the cheapos. I found that the cheapos
always were the most inconsiderate, picky, and just bad customers, overall.

Prospective clients respected me much more when I actually stood firm on my pricing and didn’t
budge every time they wanted a little discount.

Ultimately, I was just taken more seriously. Anyone can go on Fiverr and sell a logo for $30. But an
actual professional designer is not even going to touch anything in single digits.
 MISTAKE #9
Majoring In The Minor
One thing that I had to learn was to stop focusing on low ROI tasks everyday.

I used to spend hours everyday creating content for YouTube, posting content on Facebook,
LinkedIn and Instagram, and tracking every single expense/mile driven for my business.

None of these were necessarily bad things to be doing. But they were taking up hours of my day,
and they weren’t directly bringing me any actual profit.

I realized pretty quickly that I needed to take a step back and see what I should actually focus on. I
was making all of my money from selling logos to businesses, and most of those businesses were
finding me on Instagram.

So I actually stopped posting on all social media except Instagram. And I started posting content
that would actually show my expertise and how I could help a potential client. I also stopped trying
to manually track my expenses and profit, and I instead used a software (Intuit QuickBooks) that
automatically tracked everything for me.

Not only do I have more free time throughout my day now, but I also feel like I’m more productive
and focused on what actually matters for my business model.
 MISTAKE #10
Communicating Over Email &
Text, Instead Of An Actual Call
I’m naturally a more introverted person. In fact, the thought of getting on a phone call with a
random stranger used to terrify me.

But I realized that failing to do this would significantly decrease my chances of working with new
customers.

Why’s that?

I would be failing to make an actual human-to-human connection.

Think about it, when you communicate with a friend over FaceTime or a call instead of texting,
don’t you feel a much stronger bond?

There’s only so much that can be communicated through text. You can tell someone’s tone of voice,
mood, or even their exact emotion that they’re feeling when you actually speak with them.

At the very least, get on a phone call. If possible, use a video chat software like Zoom. This can be
helpful, since you will be able to see each other face-to-face. You’ll also have the ability to share
your screen, which can come in super handy as a designer.

At the end of the day, you actually want to see if you and a client are even a good match. More
often than not, people like to do business with other people that they actually like personally.
 CONCLUSION
I have LOVED getting to run and scale my freelance design business. I enjoy the work that I do and
am constantly learning and growing. Since I learned how to successfully start, build, and scale a
freelance deisgn business, I am now teaching others how to do the exact same thing!

I wrote this guide to help you learn and avoid the biggest mistakes I made when I started my
freelance deisgn business. If you follow my guide then you will save thousands of dollars and save
yourself hundreds of hours of unnecessary work.

Still wanting to learn more?

If you’re wanting to take your freelance design business to the next level then my mentorship
program might be for you.

You will learn how to find and convert clients on Instagram, improve your design process, and take
your freelance game to a whole new level!

You can learn the secrets that would have saved me thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of
time.

If you want to take your freelance design business to the next level, want to learn how to get more
clients from Instagram, and are ready to start making more money with your skills, then book a
free call with me below!

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