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This is a show for burnt-out fashion designers (and TDs, PDs, patternmakers and beyond) who want more flexibility while still doing work they love. As a freelance fashion designer, you can build your fashion career on your own terms. Freelancing in fashion is the only way to get freedom in your day (instead of being tied to a desk). Whether you want to earn extra money on the side, fund your fashion brand, or replace your salary, the FDGP podcast will help you get there. Listen in for actionable tips and strategies to kickstart or grow your career as a freelance fashion designer, build your confidence, and create the life you want. Hosted by $100k+ fashion freelancer Sew Heidi, the show features interviews and strategy sessions with successful freelance fashion designers from around the world who've ditched toxic fashion jobs and taken control of their own destinies. This is the only place to get REAL insights from REAL freelancers who have built REAL careers on their own terms. (Formerly the Successful Fashion Freelancer podcast.)
Heidi [00:00:00]:
Freelancing can seem like a roller coaster of making $3,000 1 month and a $100 the next, and you're left wondering where's your next project coming from? Where do you find another client? And I know that the never ending quest to make consistent income as a freelance fashion designer is at the top of most freelancers' minds. So if you've ever felt like you're on an endless job hunt to find your next client, I wanna be super blunt. 1st, getting started is the hardest part. Reaching out to your network or cold pitching or sending out your first emails is really hard. And then you land 1 small project Paid you make a few $100 Paid you wonder, now what? But here's the reality about freelancing and fashion. Once you have built a foundation, you can grow much more quickly with ongoing projects and referrals. There are a ton of strategies to make consistent income, and I go through all of them inside my premium program fast. But in this episode, I wanted to share 2 simple strategies that will help you get more work that you can literally start implementing right now.
Heidi [00:01:03]:
So if the first is to do an exceptional job, and I say this because it is actually much less common than you might think. It ultimately comes down to going above and beyond to showing your client how great you are to work with. And the reality is that most people don't do this. When you do this, not only will you stand out, they will love you, and they will happily give you more work. I'll be totally honest that the reality is with freelancers is they have a stereotype that tends to be true, for being really flaky Paid for being late to deliver and for not paying attention to detail. And over the years, I have hired and fired a ton of freelancers, and this is true. Most people do not deliver on time. They don't pay attention to details.
Heidi [00:01:48]:
They're not very communicative. And so at the core level, there are some simple things you can do to outshine the competition. A couple examples might look like giving a couple extra design options. You can say something like, I know we agreed to 5 versions, but there were a few extra ones I threw in there. I thought they looked really great, so I included those as well. I interviewed a woman by the name of Hillary Glenn on the podcast. We'll link to that in the show notes, and she talks specifically about how you she uses that strategy to get more paid work. It's a very simple strategy to just do a little bit above and beyond what your client asked for to really kind of wow them.
Heidi [00:02:25]:
There's a fine line between doing a ton of work that you're not getting paid for, versus doing a little bit extra to just show your client you really care. And when you cross that line of just doing a little bit extra, it goes really, really far and people notice. Another option here is to beat your deadline. Most freelancers are late, like I mentioned, and and they have a reputation for being flaky and not delivering. And so as soon as you deliver a little bit early, you really wow them. And, again, I would always outline this. I know you could say something like, I know we set it Friday deadline, but I have this done a little early, so I wanted to help you get ahead of your work. Whenever you do one of these things to, like, do an exceptional job or go above and beyond, just make a one sentence comment to let them know that you've done that Paid you're conscious that you're meeting you're beating the deadline or that you did a little bit extra to help them out.
Heidi [00:03:16]:
So not only do they get that extra benefit, but you're pointing it out to them Paid they Sew, like, wow. This freelancer really, really cares. And then the last one is something that feels really basic to me, but I I've learned over the years that most people don't take action on, and that is making yourself available and replying quickly. And there's, again, a fine line here. You don't want to always reply within 5 seconds, and then your client come sort of trained that you reply within 5 seconds. And that can set a really bad precedence. But, it it kinda comes down to, like, even if you can't get to something right away, acknowledge the email or the message Paid let them know when you'll get it done. I've worked with freelancers before where I pass something over, and I'm, like, sitting on it for, like, 2 or 3 days.
Heidi [00:04:05]:
And I'm thinking, did did they get did they get the message? Are they working on it? Do they even have it? Do they have any questions? And so, again, I'm not looking for an answer right away, but just being communicative and just saying, thanks so much. I got this. I'm working on it, and I expect to have it done by Friday or whatever that looks like. And so just letting people know. The thing is that when you're hiring a freelancer from the client's perspective, it can often feel like, are things just going into a black hole? If I send you something to do and you are there happily working away, and you know that you're working on it Paid you know that it's gonna get done, but the client is sitting there wondering, is it getting done? Is anything happening? And so you really want to be communicative, and I always air on the side of being overly communicative at first. And then if it's too much, your client will tell you it's too much. But I would much rather have someone be a little bit overly communicative, and I could tell them to back off than having them just kinda feel like they've disappeared into a black hole, and I have no idea what's going on. So let's wrap that up.
Heidi [00:05:09]:
Do an exceptional job, and this can look like doing a little bit more than promised, delivering early, and being communicative. This alone will make you the kind of freelancer that brands want to hire again and again. I know it sounds basic, but I'm telling you most people don't do that. Alright? So that is the first thing that you can do to get more work, get ongoing projects, get referrals, etcetera, is just doing an exceptional job and going a little bit above and beyond. And the second strategy that I would love to share is asking for more work. Because here's the thing, just because you landed a project doesn't mean that they're gonna just start throwing work at you. They may, but a lot of the time you have to keep asking for it. And the best time to ask for more work is once you've completed your first project and your client is thrilled, and they're gonna be thrilled because you followed the thing we just talked about, meaning you did an exceptional job.
Heidi [00:05:55]:
And you don't need to bombard them, but you can offer to help on whatever logically comes next. So if the design just got wrapped up, then offer to help with line sheets. If you've just finished sketching the fashion flats, let them know you can help with tech packs. If you finish the tech packs, ask to help with sourcing and product development. Paid if these are things you don't offer, you don't wanna offer, then that's fine. The project can sort of cut off there. But I would always ask, great. I would love to help you out the next time you're you need fashion flats.
Heidi [00:06:24]:
When do you think that might be? I'd love to just follow-up. Right? And just sort of ask that next opportunity, to ping them and remind them that you're around. And you should also ask for referrals because here's the thing. At the end of the day, freelancing is a relationship Designers, and people in fashion know other people in fashion. And if you don't ask for these things, if you don't ask for these ongoing projects, if you don't ask for referrals, you will not get them. And this is the very, very at the at the foundational level, this is the most easy way to make consistent income, as a freelance fashion designer. So here's something you can do. Right? So you can remind your clients by saying things like this.
Heidi [00:07:00]:
I'm always looking for new brands to work with. If you know anyone who needs help in the whatever your niche or category is Paid in the lingerie Paid, and who needs help with Cloe 3 d, who needs help with Fashion flops, who needs help tech packs. Right? Get really specific on your offer, or what if you know who anyone who needs help with whatever your offer is. I'd really appreciate getting any names from you Paid would be happy to reach out to them and see if there's anything I can help them with. Or if you know that maybe they used to work at another brand or they know someone at another brand, you could say, hey. I'd love to reach out to brand x, y, and z. Would you be able to tell me who I could email to see if they, might have any opportunities for me to help them with their Cloth 3 d, with their fashion flats, with their type packs, etcetera? Would it be okay if I mentioned your name in reference to that? So at the end of the day, you have to ask for what you want. And if you don't ask for these things, they're not gonna come.
Heidi [00:07:54]:
I have so many stories of my own and of, freelancers inside Fast who have used these strategies to really build their freelance business by referrals and ongoing projects. And if you start doing these things today, going a tiny bit above and beyond to do an exceptional job Paid asking for more work in a way that comes off nice, you can use the scripts that I shared, This is how you start earning consistent income as a freelance fashion designer. You're doing great. You got this.