Numero Uno : Dump licensing. Seriously not worth the effort. If I count the hours spent generating art and submitting compared to the payoff - not worth it. Out with the dead wood. Besides, licensing seems more like a pyramid scheme than a legitimate way to earn a living. Well a living that you can 'live' off at least.
Numero Dos : Spend more time asking for referrals. I pride myself on being easy to work with, on time, and deliver a great product. My customers love me, and not in a weird way, but in a 'You just saved my bacon' sort of way. With that kind of relationship I need to ask for referrals. They know people, and if I can make their contacts look good, we all come out heros.
Numero Tres : Revamp the website and put the work that pays and is in demand at the forefront. Seems obvious but I get busy with paying work and the website loses out.
Numero Quatro : Be a better blogger. I know, I know I have said this before. Maybe not on my blog but in my own head. This year, more sharing of my work, my successes and my mistakes. What works, what doesn't, and musings along the way.
Numero Cinco : Be a better networker. I like people, I am chatty, don't mind meeting new people and make friends easily. Not to mention I like to snack and drink wine. Why am I NOT going to more networking events? I don't know either.
Numero Seis : Don't be ashamed to toot my own horn. I have been thriving (more or less) as an illustrator for the last 10 years, I need to stand up and shout about it and let people know without feeling all humble and embarrassed.
Numero Siete : Keep volunteering and doing good deeds. This isn't really career related but it feeds my soul and reminds me why I am alive.
3 comments:
On #3:
I always tell the students I talk to that a designer has three portfolios: the student portfolio of work that you paid to make, the new designer's portfolio of anything you've ever made, and finally, the portfolio of work that shows the work you want to do.
I see so many designers get jobs for projects they don't want but need to take because that's what potential customers see in the work history. That's happened at three of the agencies I've been at in the past. It's a lesson we all keep relearning.
I like your list, but I think you may have it out of order... Number 7 sure seems more important than some of the others, as someone on the outside of the fish bowl... Or maybe the numbers aren't priority... In which case, like Emilie Litella used to say, "Never mind."
So true Ross, that is a good way to look at it.
And Johnny, no real order to the to-do list, more a rambling list.
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