Book Review / Freelance and Business and Stuff

All Images by Scott Snyder

I first discovered Amy and Jen Hood when Adobe sent us their live stream as an example before Arabela and I did our own. Their stream is really fun, and you should definitely check it out if you’re interested in graphic design (also, read more about AdobeLive here). Anyway, as soon as I watched the stream, I knew that I wanted to find out more about these twin sisters. Not only are they the founding partners and creative directors of Hoodzpah, a brand identity and design agency, but they are also two of the co-founders of Connecting Things, and have an accessories brand called Odds and Sods. Needless to say, these sisters have quite a bit of business experience under their belts, and lucky for us, they decided to share it in their book, Freelance, and Business, and Stuff.

I’m not exaggerating when I say that this is the best book on freelancing that I’ve read so far. I’ve read quite a few good ones, but this one is just so comprehensive, yet still really simple and easy to read. I read it in just a couple days, and I immediately wanted to go through it again because the information is just that good. It helps that Amy and Jen are hilarious and their lighthearted tone makes even the more boring subjects entertaining. This book is also so well designed, with beautiful graphics and illustrations - not surprising coming from two talented designers. The Hood sisters cover pretty much everything you need to know if you want to start your own business, including making a budget, pricing, making a business plan, taxes, contracts, and so much more. Here are a few things that I took away.

I have what it takes to be a freelancer.

In the first chapter, the Hood sisters go over some qualifications and attributes that make a good freelancer. A lot of times, I’ll skip these kinds of chapters because I’m already freelancing, so what’s the point in an introduction to something I am already doing? I’m so glad I didn’t skip this one. It’s really more like a pep talk, and I felt so inspired after reading it. It’s easy to become overwhelmed when running your own business, and I often struggle with feeling like I don’t know what I’m doing. Reading through these qualities and thinking about how I’ve grown and developed these skills was encouraging. It was also a good reminder of some qualities like patience and organization that I want to work on. I also loved how they talked about being honest about your skills, and the fact that a competitive ego, when in check, will actually help you be humble enough to take advice that you need in order to grow.

Budgeting and pricing advice

I am terrible at budgets. Like really really terrible. I’m the person who makes a budget and sticks to it for about one day until Anthropologie has a sale and it all goes out the window. I really liked how Jen and Amy broke it all down and made me actually want to work on this. They start by showing how your personal budget will influence your business budget because it will determine how much you need to pay yourself each year. They also teach you how to plan for taxes, and how to budget for financial freedom.

In the chapter about pricing and pitching, the Hood sisters go through the pros and cons of hourly and flat rates. This is a question that so many people have when they start out, and I felt like they did a really good job of walking new freelancers through this decision. My favorite quote from this section is, “the goal of smart pricing is to not price based on the exact cost of the services rendered, but the value of your work (which includes cost of services rendered).” I just wrote a post about why photography is so expensive, and why you should charge what your services are worth, and this whole chapter really influenced that post. They include some responses you can give to people who are requesting a quote, and a really good overview on how to pitch your services in order to win the job.

How to create a business plan

This is something that Arabela and I have been meaning to do ever since we started Weekend Creative, but neither of us have a background in business so we just didn’t know where to start. Jen and Amy make the process of creating a business plan super simple. I love how they said, “a business plan is not a crystal ball…(it) is not meant to be an unalterable, exact picture of your future business. It’s more of a possible road map, and that’s a good enough starting point to prove potential.” I tend to want to know everything before I create a plan, but that’s just not realistic when it comes to business. You have to just start. They walk you through each part of your your plan with questions that help you fill in each section. This includes market research, a financial plan, an executive summary, and more.

There’s so much more that I could talk about, but I want to encourage you to purchase this book and read it for yourself. In addition to what I mentioned previously, there is an incredible chapter on communication, as well as really good advice about taxes, promotion, and branding. It would be a great Christmas gift for any other freelancers in your life. Make sure to head over to Hoodzpah for some incredible design inspo, and to shop their beautiful prints (we have three in our office and love them). If you read this book, leave a comment and let us know what you think!

P.S.
All the images in this post were created by Scott Snyder, a talented product photographer based in Southern California. We love his work and hope that you will check out his website and give him a follow.

P.P.S
We recently hung out with Amy and Jen on our podcast, Per Our Last Email! You can listen to the episode here on apple or here on spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Is it the weekend yet?
Elle