I think this a sound strategy in the beginning to keep the lights on. In the end, though, there's more glory when you land and maintain the clients you want with no middle man.
Start proving yourself anyway you can, right now. You need to start building a kick ass portfolio if you want the referrals to come rolling in.
Take on pro bono projects for charities you respect, shitty lower-paying clients and launch a side project that demonstrates your skills in a real world use cases.
Work into every conversation that you're a freelance designer. It's a big deal.
My last piece of advice is to network with quality people. Stay far way from the insurance agents and MLM'ers; they're looking for the quick sale and they will connect you with people that want the same. Make it a point to get to know _business owners_ and people that call the shots--the ones writing the checks.
Oh, yeah. One more thing: This isn't gonna be easy. So, good luck! :)
Exactly. Despite Apple's schizophrenic application of their guidelines, Rogue Amoeba simply needs to take responsibility for everything you pointed out here. To continue to do otherwise is unprofessional and only hurts them in the end. Apple will continue to make billions.
P.S. Who else had to Google clef-de-voûte? FYI: It basically means "most important component" or "key element." (via bab.la)
It's hard for me to align myself with Anonymous because I really don't like how they give support to the ideas I agree with, but, man, it sure does look exciting from where I'm standing.
The most efficient thing for me has been Illustrator w/ wireframe symbols. It's not so low fidelity that I can't envision the end products, additionally I enjoy the control vs. mockup tools like Balsamiq.
Personally, it's refreshing to see someone bring some levity to all the seriousness. Especially considering he was obviously countering the penetrating questions the interviewer was asking.
I've been a freelance designer for over 7 years. This is something that I struggled a lot with for the first few years and still do, sometimes.
These are my bigger epiphanies:
* Started asking myself "Why do I get so attached?" I started to see that I wasn't really all that confident in my abilities. I produced good work, but I wasn't skillful with working with clients and their problems, which is a very important aspect of being a freelancer.
* As I became more skillful in my craft and maintaining relationships, my attitude shifted and I started building confidence in myself when it came to solving problems. I started being objective about the problems I was solving.
* My creative process has been important, too. I figured out the more I focused on objectives, problems and pain, the more the client (and me) got behind my solutions. My solutions started to mean something because I could tie every decision to a pain point.
* All I can do educate and advocate the best solutions. Ultimately, it is up to the client to decide what he wants to do.
* Often times, people hadn't worked with a skilled consultant before. So, they didn't understand the complexities of the solutions I provided. This means they'll start requesting, what I often interpreted as, random shit. These requests, I learned, are mostly surface symptoms of deeper issues--dig down and figure out what the real problem is.
I guess bottom line: Trust in yourself and your skill. Remain objective. Educate and advocate the best solutions to the client. Know you gave it 100%.