Becoming A Freelancer: Insights, Tips & Trends From A Senior Product Designer
We recently caught up with Zeltonique Damon, a Senior Product Designer with multiple years of experience freelancing on early-stage startup teams. Her impressive portfolio, alongside her experience working on various YCombinator (YC) backed startups, means Zeltonique had some invaluable advice to impart on up and coming, or even established, freelance designers.
Why did you become a freelancer?
Ever since studying design, I’ve always dreamed of running my own company or design studio. Growing up surrounded by entrepreneurs, I felt a strong pull towards building and growing something myself. My parents had their own business, and I saw the passion and excitement that came from nurturing their brand. This inspired me from a young age.
After graduating, I initially took the conventional route of working in corporate. I started as a graduate student at Accenture South Africa. Although this was a valuable learning experience, I soon realised that I still longed to build and nurture something of my own. My fears of failure kept me from starting freelancing. A pivotal moment came when I had a conversation with someone about health and managing stress.
He said, "Stress is an inevitable part of life. But if you channel your stress into building something for yourself, you invest in a dream that truly matters to you."
This resonated deeply with me, prompting me to evaluate my current path and consider the long-term fulfilment of pursuing my own dreams over someone else's.
It wasn’t a straightforward or easy road after this realisation. I quit my job with little plan or direction. I took a month off and traveled around South Africa. During my time in Cape Town, I visited friends and fell in love with the city's creative energy. Everywhere I looked, there was creativity and inspiration, which fuelled my perspectives.
For the first time in a long while, I was surrounded by such a vibrant, creative environment. I wanted to immerse myself in this atmosphere of inspiration; I craved the freedom and flexibility to work from anywhere, learn about different cultures, and nurture something of my own while crafting solutions that positively impact people.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to aspiring freelancers?
Just start. Don’t wait for the perfect time. I often struggle with this concept myself. As a perfectionist, I sometimes wait too long, waiting until I know more, or until I have more followers on LinkedIn, or whatever might make me feel ready before taking the leap. Once you start, keep going.
Follow aspiring designers in the field who are doing what you want to achieve, and surround yourself with inspiration to help you maintain momentum. This could be through mentorship, having conversations with a friend pursuing the same goal, or following people on social media who inspire you. Follow inspiring podcasts or YouTube channels. Inspiration is all around us; we just need to seek it daily. I’d also suggest having a good accountant to help with the financial aspects of running a freelance business.
Often, freelancers might have a few weeks between clients, so it’s great to speak to an accountant to help you set up your business or personal finances to serve you during these gaps. Making sure your taxes are done correctly can save you a lot in the long run. Additionally, learn more about investing or seek out professional financial advisors to help you build wealth. Let your money work for you.
What’s your favourite plugin, tool, or software right now?
- Lately, I’ve been exploring Framer a bit, and I adore the Figma to Framer plugin.
- Bonsai. It’s an amazing tool for managing the financial aspects of my freelance ventures. They offer everything from invoicing features to proposals, time management, and more.
- Often, when I hit a creative block, I turn to the internet for inspiration from other designers and how they approach everyday challenges. I use tools.design to seek out inspiration from different sources listed on the website; they have an amazing library of creative resources from podcasts to design inspiration.
What’s one trend you’re noticing within freelancing or product design?
With the rise of AI, I realised this could be super advantageous for companies and designers. However, similar to chatbots, it can create a disconnect with people who use these brands or services. I would say, stay adaptive as a designer and learn to use these AI tools to co-create innovative solutions and ideas, but always keep that authenticity.
Speak to the people using the products or services you’re helping to build, listen to their needs and wants, and offer solutions that positively impact the user’s life. Keep that human element.I'll end with a quote I love: “How do I explain what I do at a party? The short version is that I say I humanise technology.”— Fred Beecher, Director of UX, The Nerdery. As freelancers, let’s stay authentic to our core. Let’s humanise tech and keep adding value to the companies that hire us for our expertise. But also, let’s add value to the people using the designs or solutions we craft daily.
What does freelancing look like in 10 years?
Before COVID-19, working remotely or freelancing seemed to have a high barrier to entry. It was somewhat taboo to work remotely from places like Bali or even from home. However, the pandemic has opened people's minds to the possibilities of remote working and freelancing. I believe we'll see more and more people choosing to freelance due to the incredible benefits it offers individuals—flexibility, autonomy, and the ability to work from anywhere.
Additionally, freelancing provides significant advantages to companies.
Startups and small businesses, in particular, may prefer working with freelancers or consultants on projects since they don't always need a full-time, in-house team. That said, I often wonder and get concerned about the market becoming saturated with more people freelancing. However, even if that happens, I believe those who are passionate about building and nurturing their own brand will stand out. This competitive environment will push freelancers to differentiate themselves. It will challenge us to ask: What can I do to stand out? How can I add value and differentiate myself? How can I convince clients to choose me over other talented freelancers?
These challenges ultimately help us grow and refine our own branding and positioning. Additionally, it will push us to potentially collaborate with other freelancers to build stronger solutions or products. It can cultivate a dynamic energy of collaboration, allowing different freelancers to expand and grow together.
The future of freelancing is uncertain, but as the saying goes, "When nothing is certain, anything is possible."
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Original LinkedIn post here.
