5 Excellent Options for Creating Proposals

via vandelaydesign.com

A major part of being able to secure clients for design projects is the ability to present proposals and communicate with clients who are trying to decide which designer to hire. Having a professional-looking proposal that provides the right details for clients will help to increase your conversion rates and to land more work.

There are a few different web apps that exist for the purpose of helping with the creation and the management of proposals. In this post we’ll take a look at the leading options, along with some templates for printed proposals.

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Pros and Cons of Hiring Subcontractors

via speckyboy.com

When work volumes surge, or when you simply have a project you don’t have the skillset for, hiring subcontractors is one path you may consider. However, before you do so, it is best if you know not only the advantages of hiring subcontractors but also some potential issues to watch for. To help you with this decision, here are some pros and cons to consider...

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5 Tips on Hiring Your First Contractor or Employee

via inspirationfeed.com

Most businesses start pretty small; sometimes with only you or yourself and a partner to handle all the responsibilities. But at some point, as customers increase and business grows, you’ll need to hire an employee or a contractor to outsource work to. Hiring your first employee can be relatively simple; most managers or business owners utilize the traditional resume and interview method.

This can usually work out fine, but you might want to consider things a bit more carefully before saying yes to any applicants. Read these tips on hiring your first employee and you’ll improve your chances of ensuring that the employee or contractor is one that will perform to your expectations, as well as stay with you long-term instead of seeking employment elsewhere.

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12 Points to Include in Your Design Contract

via freelanceswitch.com

When I started my own design business, one of the first things I put in place was a well-written contract. Before I spoke to an attorney about drafting an official document for me, I made sure I had my design process established.

I also did a lot of research as to what other design firms and freelancers were including in their agreements. With something as subjective as design, there are lots of gray areas that need to be clarified as much as possible on paper.

If you’re in the process of drafting a client contract, or if you are considering revising one that already exists, I would recommend including the following list of items...

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Designers: Know your rights! 4 Must-have Clauses in a Contract

via hongkiat.com

Freelancers, you have learned to never start work without a written contract, but it’s hard to like contracts. They’re impossible to read, long and boring and you just can’t wait to sign that piece of paper to get it done and get to the real work. Well this post is here to help.

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5 Essential Contract Templates for the Freelance Designer

via designmodo.com

You’ve heard this before: “Sign a written contract for every design job! And most importantly, sign it before starting to work!” What you don’t often hear is the answer to, “What do I have to sign, exactly?”. This is particularly important in those cases where your receive a contract from your client. You want to know if they are making reasonable requests, and not hiding some tricky provisions in the legalese. Let’s break down the most frequent contract types that a freelance designer will encounter sooner or later in his/her professional life, and let’s try to take the mystery and fear out of them. A contract is a pretty important business decision, and you should understand 100% of what you sign. So, read on and try not to fall asleep.

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How To Do Effective Social Recruitment [Infographic]

via thetechnologycafe.com

Social recruitment market is going crazy these days as more and more companies are getting into the segment which has huge potential. Two weeks ago,Social Talent was asked to pick the brains of recruiters, agency and in-house alike, in their use of Social in their recruiting mix. There was such scarce up-to-date data available on how recruiters actually use the net to hire that some of the results of our survey took them by pleasant surprise.

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The right size of legalese: 5 design contracts for diverse needs

via webdesignerdepot.com

The law: stuffy, complex and boring. You’re a designer; you’re bleeding edge; you laugh in the face of ‘the rules’; if you wanted to be hemmed in you’d have become a banker. Right?

Well if that’s the way you think you’re heading for a fall. Design is a profession. As with all professions you need to protect yourself. Sorting out the details of a job up front will ensure you don’t end up in a mess.

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6 Good Tips for Your Freelance Design Contracts

via sixrevisions.com

In freelance work, having legal contracts between you and the clients you work with is important. Contracts legally protect you and your business in various ways and helps in making sure that you’re properly compensated for the work that you do.

What follows are a few tips you should keep in mind when you’re drafting your contracts for your design services.

Though we’ve focused on the needs of designers, these tips are also applicable to a wide range of professions (especially creative services professions).

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Useful Legal Documents For Designers (PDF/DOC)

via smashingmagazine.com

Contracts are a source of anxiety and dismay in creative work, but they exist for a good reason. A good contract ensures that you and your client have the same expectations, and protects you in case things go south. Ideally, your contract should be a combination of industry standards, legal protection and personal preferences. To help you get started, here’s a set of 10 basic agreements for a variety of common business situations that creative professionals face.

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How To Tell If Someone Is a Good Web Developer For Your Project

via makeuseof.com

Picking someone to build a website for you is not an easy task. Even if you are not building the next Gmail, you should be doing things right the first time. But picking a good Web developer is not a simple task, especially if you don’t know much about creating websites yourself. If you can’t really tell PHP apart from CSS, how should you know if the person in front of you (or on the other side of the email) really knows their business?

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Should You Hire Employees or Contractors for Your Freelance Business?

via freelanceswitch.com

Freelance business owners often struggle with the question of whether to hire a contractor or an employee. Many claim that contractors are the way to go, hands down; still others have only hire employees and claim they would never do anything different. So, what should you do when faced with this decision? Is there one that is better over the other, overall, or does the “right” choice depend on your type of small business?

When mulling over this decision, it is important to realize that you actually need to consider four simple questions. Answer these questions specifically to your business and you will be better educated and more confident in your choice between hiring employees or contractors as a freelancer.

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Legal Concerns for DJs: Negotiating a DJ Contract

via djtechtools.com

Negotiating a DJ performance contract can be a tricky thing, but doing it right is an essential step in turning your hobby into a career. Today, we discuss considerations for DJs that sign performance agreements, and provide some tips for minimizing risk and maximizing return. In a new column, Legal Concerns for DJs, our favorite lawyer and legal expert Noah Sutcliffe shares his tips to making your paperwork quite a bit easier!

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7 Warning Signs to Watch for When Working with Subcontractors

via freelanceswitch.com

Subcontractors can make a world of difference when it comes to how quickly you can complete a project. But if a problem creeps in, the back and forth with a subcontractor can drag out a project.

Making sure that you work with reliable people, whether we’re talking about a subcontractor you work with normally or another freelancer you’re bringing in just for a particular project, is important.

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How to Create a Killer Web Design Proposal for Your next Project

via conceptdezain.com

Times are tough and so is the competition. You are no longer floored with projects after projects, those good old days are gone. In fact, jobs are few and far between and that means, you need to do some extra works to impress the prospective clients.

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9 Elements Of A Great Writing Proposal

via aboutfreelancewriting.com

Proposal writing is not rocket science, but it does take some work and some understanding of general business ideas. And yes, you will find job postings for writing proposals. Some of them will fit in this model, but many won’t.

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Government Contracting Insights: Looks Matter

via openforum.com

You’re probably a lot more concerned with how your business operates than about the design of your logo, business cards, brochures, signs, stationery, website and other collateral materials. But making sure these items represent your company in attractive and effective ways can pay big dividends. “Your collateral is your silent salesperson,” says Vicki Lynn Morgan, an entrepreneur, consultant and counselor with the New Jersey Small Business Development Centers. “If it’s not up to snuff, you lose credibility.”

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10 Essential Guidelines for Freelance Collaboration

via designm.ag

Freelance collaboration is on the rise. Increasingly, teams of freelancers are now doing the work that in-house departments used to do. Graphic designers are now working on teams with writers and programmers.

But many freelancers are used to working alone. Collaboration definitely requires freelancers to make a few adjustments.

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Apple founding contract sells for almost $1.6 million at auction

via digitaltrends.com

The historic papers weren't expected to sell for anywhere close to $1.6 million, but that's how much one keen bidder ended up paying on Tuesday for Apple's founding contract.

The contract that established the Apple Computer Company sold at auction at Sotheby’s in New York on Tuesday, fetching way more than expected.

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How Government Contracting Affects Your Accounting

via openforum.com

I previously wrote about ways that lawyers can get involved in government contracting work. At the very least, your attorney needs to be aware of legal requirements that are specific to government contracts, to represent you well.

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