Havoc Inspired

If you’re just starting out as a freelancer (working alone) or a new design agency (non-established or very small team) it can be very tempting to go after those big clients and huge projects as soon as possible, a pitch opportunity may arise or maybe you’re even approached for the job. The appeal is obvious:

• Highly recognised clients look great in your portfolio
• A great looking portfolio makes winning new clients much easier
• The big clients pay the big money
• You want to make your mark on the industry

However it’s important to ask, are you challenging yourself by undertaking this project or are you simply being unrealistic with the proverbial dollar signs flying in front of your eyes?

There’s good reason why these huge projects are typically won by established design agencies.

• They have the man power to achieve it
• In house staff are cheaper than hiring freelancers
• They’ve built up a solid foundations and procedures to take on large scale projects

Consider for example that you do win the pitch and the project is beyond your means. All the positive points I mentioned earlier become negatives:

• Even if you complete the site to a degree that it can be launched, the likelihood is that it’s not going to look great and the fact that your client is a “big” client simply means that your mistake is seen by more people
• Nobody is going to want to work with you because you obviously cannot deliver
• All the money that the client has paid you has most likely been spent on paying freelancers or another agency to bail you out and complete the work you couldn’t do in the first place
• You’ve definitely made your mark on the industry but for all the wrong reasons

It’s important not to run before you can walk. It’s great to challenge yourself, in fact it’s important that you do to avoid complacency and stagnation, but this shouldn’t be done at the clients’ expense. In fact one of my personal “golden rules” is:

Never take on a project that you’re not 90% sure you can achieve.

10% uncertainty is enough of a challenge in my book, and 10% of a project that you may possibly have to hire another freelancer to complete isn’t going to cut into your profits too greatly.