A Day in the Life of a Freelance Instructional Designer

How do freelance instructional designers spend their workday? Nicole Stephens talks about starting and maintaining her freelance ID business, and gives helpful insights for those who want to do the same.

Transcript

Devlin: [00:00:00] Welcome to our series on freelancing as an instructional designer. Freelancing offers a lot of autonomy and flexibility and can be a great way to break into the field. In this series, we’ll hear from designers with successful freelance ID businesses and hear valuable insights from Q&A sessions that can help you jumpstart your own instructional design career. So let’s dive in to episode 3 of the series, A Day in the Life of a Freelance Instructional Designer with Nicole Stephens.

Devlin Peck: All right. Hey, everyone. We're here with Nicole Stevens. Hi, Nicole. [Hi.] We're both happy to be here. So the topic of today is 'a day in the life of a freelance instructional designer.' So I met Nicole at the beginning of last year in the bootcamp.

Nicole put together a really strong portfolio and then it seemed like that had a full client load and was referring clients out to other people in the community. We're going to talk a little bit about how Nicole did that as well as what Nicole's days look like now as like a full time and very busy, maybe even too busy, freelancer.

So we're going to get into all of that here. Nicole, I guess before we get too deep [00:01:00] into it, can you tell us a bit about how you came to freelance instructional design work? 

Nicole Stephens: Sure. Hi, everybody. Thanks for being here. Yeah, I started back a while back in the late 90s, actually.

 It's, a strange path how I got here. I never really pictured myself here in the beginning days, but I started out as a software engineer actually, doing database work and all that kind of stuff, which was so far removed from where I ended up, but I've always had an interest in the arts and in that creative side of things. And so, close to the year 2000, I would say, I saw an opening at a creative agency. And I went for it and I got hired on and originally to do just back end work, but it was a very small agency. As often happens in smaller companies, you wear a lot of hats.

And I kind of got brought into that world of visual and interactive design. And it was there that [00:02:00] I really started doing the work of instructional design. Although at that time, I'd never heard that term. I didn't really realize that's what I was doing. But yes, like working with the clients. Working with SMEs, figuring out business problems, and then, doing needs analysis and applying those to the solutions that we came up with. So I had a lot of fun in the corporate space doing that. And as I grew with that company, we grew quickly.

 I ended up with a team of about 10 media specialists that I was working with. And so I was doing like contracting and project scoping and like a lot of different things like that. Which really helped me later on, as I realized like there's a whole business part of things that end up in freelance, right?

So that kind of helped me with that. So I was doing all the things and I was loving it and having a great time. But a few years in, my husband and I, we decided we wanted to start a family. So I made the decision to stay home, and I took a break from all that[00:03:00] and did the stay at home mom thing for a while.

And I did some contract work here and there during that time, but primarily took a break from that. And when I finally did go back into the workforce full time, I went in on the K 12 sector. So totally different experience, but also doing ID work in that space. And it was neat getting to compare those two perspectives. There was a lot of things that were different, a lot of things that were the same. It was very interesting. I had a much closer connection with my end users in that space. You get to see those 'aha' moments. You get to see your trainings come to life and how your learners interact with that.

Just not as easy to do in the corporate world, a little bit, but maybe if I would see my stuff out in the wild, like an exhibit or something like that, and I would see users interact with it outside of like usability testing or something, that was pretty cool. But most of the time in corporate, you didn't get that opportunity.

So there was some really neat experiences there. But I [00:04:00] couldn't really grow in that area where I was. There wasn't a lot of training opportunities and that sort of thing, so I decided well, what can I do that will let me grow and let me make a bit more money, and you know, I really saw that I enjoyed that work, but how could I make that work for me in the long term?

And I decided to go back and get my master's in instructional design. By that point, I had heard of instructional design officially and realized that I really enjoyed those pieces of it and I could bring in some of that multimedia experience that I had earlier into combining those things.

So I got my master's and then set off to see what that would bring. At the time I didn't know it would be freelance, per se. But in the process of figuring out my portfolio and all of those things, I went in that direction. 

Devlin Peck: All right, nice. So you started getting experience in these like instructional design [00:05:00] adjacent things as early as the late 90s. Nice, okay. So you didn't know what instructional design was at the time, but you're getting that creative experience, the corporate experience, building all the skills that you're kind of using on like a daily basis. Now, it sounds like you took a break to focus on your family and like raise your kid, which I know other people do as well.

I get emails from people who are, you know, 'I've been out of the workforce for a decade. I'm like coming back into ID now'. So you've experienced that. And I know you had some anxieties around that gap maybe, but it seems like with how things worked out, it hasn't really held you back too much. 

Nicole Stephens: Yeah, I didn't know what to expect when I decided to go back in officially.

I know how people would take that because you hear a lot of things. If you've had a gap in your history, you're not going to get hired. If you're a woman, you're not going to get hired. If you're a woman over a certain age, you're not going to get hired. And I [00:06:00] was like, oh, great. I'm all of those things. So I really didn't know. It was really a leap of faith. But it's been successful. I'm sure that there are people that have passed me over for any number of those things that I'm not aware of, but it doesn't, I don't need everybody to hire me, so that's okay.

I've been able to break through those barriers that at least are barriers in my mind and just push through that. 

Devlin Peck: Yeah, that's good. And do you think that your family like played a role in your decision to freelance or can you talk more about that? Because it sounds like in the beginning you were like instructional design is right for me.

When did you decide freelance instead of full time role? 

Nicole Stephens: Actually, that came from a conversation between you and I, Devlin, early on. I was working in... yeah, I don't know if you're aware of that, but I believe I was finishing up my portfolio as part of your bootcamp.

And we were talking and I [00:07:00] had built my website out. I had built out like one major project for my portfolio. And I think we were talking about what other projects might I want to showcase there. And you asked me a simple question. You said, 'what do we want to focus on?' Because we were saying like, well maybe I show storyboards in my portfolio, or that I can do, this, that, or the other. And I was really just paralyzed with indecision because it occurred to me as I thought through that, I had been in this role for so long where I had to do everything and I had to wear all of those hats that I just got in this mode of you just do it and you get it done. I never really stopped to think, what do I enjoy doing?

Do I do storyboarding because I like it or because I can do it and it needs to get done? If I didn't do it anymore, would I miss it? Same [00:08:00] thing with working with clients or doing development work, like any piece of that, I wasn't really sure. So when I started looking, I was like I don't know the answer to that for myself.

What would I enjoy? And freelancing became that answer to me because it didn't pigeonhole me into any one piece of that. And so it let me explore that. And then I've, and we can talk about this later if we'd like, but I have made a evaluation tool for myself as I take on these jobs to see like, okay, how did I feel about that?

So that maybe in the future I can answer that question, and maybe start to specialize a little bit, but am I putting this work off because I don't really want to do it? Do I get really excited about this other piece over here? And I document that as I go, because that really helps me to define that for myself. And freelancing has provided me that opportunity a hundred percent. [00:09:00] 

Devlin Peck: Okay, nice. So the freelancing is more for having that like professional flexibility, being able to take on the projects you want to take on, as you find out what you like, be able to take on more projects like that, instead of just doing whatever you're like, told by someone at whatever company you're at. So I can see how freelancing would definitely be a good answer to that. Yeah, you kind of reflect on the projects you take on, see how they make you feel. Because as a freelancer, you can set that direction. So if you're not like reflecting on these things, you might not be making decisions based off the best data available.

So that's good. That's smart. So let's get a bit closer into this, into what an actual day in the life looks like for you.

But first, just paint the picture, like, how did you start landing clients so quickly? Because with you and Robbie, I know some people here saw the Q&A we did with Robbie, I'm like, why are y'all making it look so easy? I don't know. It seems like it was so fast and you were referring work out. So what do you think helped you so much?

Nicole Stephens: I don't know that I have a firm answer to that, but I do [00:10:00] know that I think it really helps to have a mindset going in of what you want out of freelancing, because there's kind of two different ways you can approach it, right? You can approach it as this is going to be a kind of a gig to gig job until I get that full time role I'm looking for, right?

And that's a perfectly valid strategy. Maybe you want to upscale in a very specific thing, or you just want a little bit of extra income coming in as you're looking for something else, or get a little bit of experience under your belt in a certain area.

Or you can look at it like I did. And I think Robbie did the same thing, which was helpful. And this is a business, right? I'm looking at this as a, this is my full time job. And so it sets the tone as you're starting out for how you spend your time and how you [00:11:00] upskill. For example, me, I'm like, this is my mindset.

I gave myself a timeline. Let's set goals. And I was able to give myself six months upfront for getting myself ready for this. And so I spent some of that time branding, creating my website, portfolio logo, that sort of thing, but also just like opening up a business and figuring out the business end of things.

And just really, what is my path forward going to be? Somebody doing the gig to gig thing might be spending their time doing interview prep and things like that. So it's just your mindset and setting that initial feel for, what are you really after?

And then that also helps me in determining what my clients are. So for example, I had an opportunity just this morning as a matter of fact, where somebody reached out to me for some work and I wasn't able to do [00:12:00] that at the time, just because my load is too heavy right now, but had I been able to, I would very much have wanted to speak with them further because what they told me was like, they're looking at bringing me on as an ID and then working with me through multiple projects and training me up in their way for doing like, project management with them and the way that they do things and that sort of thing.

What that tells me right up front is that they're willing to invest into me. They're not looking for that quick little gig job. They're looking for a long term contractor. So that tells me, okay, that's something I'm interested in learning more about.

I have to get back a little bit more to your question though, like what did I do aside from that planning, as I also just reached out in the community. So on LinkedIn, I got my LinkedIn profile up and going, but I [00:13:00] didn't have to do a lot of reach out, which surprised me. I thought I would be, as far as for actual jobs.

 I've been very authentic and making connections with people, and I don't just mean clicking the connect button on LinkedIn. Like, literally finding ways that we have something in common and reaching out, or maybe they reach out to me and responding to that, and really whether that's just a quick, you know, I help them here or they help me in some way, or just to say hi.

But then it's more than just how many people you have following you on your LinkedIn. It's really making those connections. Those connections have helped me. They helped me get started in the beginning, particularly because I've had people that recommended me. Other IDs that maybe their workload was full, they couldn't get to it and they recommended me. And then once I got in, that made it easier for the next job. That helped. I've done that in return to people. Don't ever recommend somebody unless you can [00:14:00] stand behind their work because you are putting your name and kind of attaching it to them.

So that may not work for everybody, but if those connections are there, it definitely can help in the long run. That was helpful to get started. And then, once I got a few clients under my belt, the people that I started working with, it was going back and really observing again, not just what I liked doing as part of that, but observing them and their processes and how I want to work with them in the future.

One thing that I've done that I think has helped is, I reach out about three months in advance to these contacts. Maybe it's somebody I've had to turn away, but I still keep their information, right? Still have them for later on, or somebody that's come to me in the past. And so I've said, okay, I will reach out to them about [00:15:00] three months in advance and I'll say, I can't work right now, but here's what my availability is. Do you have something coming up in the next three months or the next six months even. So what that does is, it's putting my name in front of them, and it goes back to that long term versus short term, what do you want? Because a client that's working on these bigger projects, they're writing these proposals out, they're doing that three to six months in advance, right? So when they're looking at ,'what ID do I wanna put on this? What work do we have?', your name is suddenly back in their inbox, right? You're coming back to mind. And so I've gotten put on projects that way, whereas if I just reached out to them and said, okay, I'm done now. Do you have anything next week for me? They've built those projects out.

They've built their project teams out by then for those big projects. They may have that small [00:16:00] piece that they want me to do some little thing that will take me two weeks and I'm done, which would be good for that person looking to upskill, right? But it's not going to help me get those bigger jobs. So I think the timing on that and reaching out has really benefited me and helped me to grow repeat work. And sometimes you get to put on a project that's not the meatiest project in the beginning, but if you feel like there's some room for growth when you first hear from these people and talk with them in those first conversations, I've soon gotten put on bigger and bigger projects as I've done repeat work with people. Being willing to do that too and look at it from the long term has helped me.

Devlin Peck: Very nice. Okay. So in the beginning, focusing on longer term clients going into this. You want to freelance full time, you're building a business, you're not doing this for the short run. You're actually trying to build something sustainable here. And then, [00:17:00] obviously, I mean, your work speaks for itself like, your portfolio speaks for itself. Like, I know I referred a client to you like, pretty early, I remember that.

And like you said, I'm like, I see the work that you're doing, so send a client your way, and then yeah, it seems like soon after that you were sending clients back around to other people. So that's good. So the referral seemed to work really well for you. Something that you didn't mention, but that like struck me with like how you were approaching your client work is, you were very methodical and thorough.

 It did not seem like you were a new freelancer and obviously because of some of your early experience, but I imagine that made a very big impact with the clients who you're working with. It's like, wow, this person is like professional. That was bound to have made an impact. Like, I'm sure no one got the impression you're like there to make a quick buck or anything like that. You're investing in like the long term with these clients you're partnering with.

And I'm sure that made a really big impact so that when Nicole's schedule is opening up, it's not, 'oh, Nicole's desperate for work', it's 'yeah, Nicole is a great ID, if we don't take that spot in Nicole's schedule like, someone else is going to, so thank you for giving us the heads up three to six months in advance'.[00:18:00] 

So it's really cool seeing how you like, put yourself in that kind of position. And then it's nice too, so you don't need to worry as much about the feast and famine because you're booking out three, six months in advance. So that's good. So the networking piece, yeah, very important. And that does seem to be what worked for you.

But if you didn't have the work to back it up, if you didn't have the strong portfolio, people may be a little bit more hesitant to refer work to you because like you said, when you're referring someone to someone, you don't just do it because you like them. You also do it because you know they'll do a good job because yeah, you're attaching your name and your credibility to that person doing a good job.

Nicole Stephens: Exactly. And I think that's very important too. When I'm going back to that, like that six months that I gave myself to get ready, so to speak. Yes, I did not post my website. I did not post my portfolio or any of that until I felt it was ready. Now notice I didn't say perfect. I always have work that's in some various state of unfinishedness. That's not even a [00:19:00] word, but yes, I'd like to do more, spend more time and put more things on there. So my portfolio is always in a constant state of progress. But I made sure like, my website was solid, right?

I didn't have errors, or not that I'm aware of. And I made sure that at least that one piece, that flagship piece that I did through the bootcamp, I made sure it was solid, and then I spoke to my work. I explained to anybody who might be wanting to read that, I explained like, here's my process.

 I didn't just put something out there and then let people wonder like, how did I go about doing that? So I think that really helped me. Because I feel like a lot of people may go to your website, and if they see something they like and you don't have a lot up there, 

 iF they go to your website and you've got it up there too early and you rushed to do that, and they're not impressed with what they see, then they're not coming back. So I think that really helped, giving myself the time.

And yes, I was anxious. And [00:20:00] yes, I was kind of like, oh, I want to get something up. I want to start getting feelers out and that kind of thing. But I think giving myself the time to get it right up front before I launched, that helped me because probably 80 percent of the work that I got was from people contacting me through my website. Maybe they had seen it through LinkedIn, or got sent to it from something through LinkedIn, but they went to my website, and then they filled out that contact form, and that's how the communication started.

 If they had gone there and it was just in some half state of readiness, I don't think they would have taken that next step to contact me. So it was important. 

Devlin Peck: Nice. And yeah, when people ask me for referrals too, that's what I'm sending them.

I'm like, yeah, check out Nicole, link to website. I'm not sending resumes or anything like that. And again, if the website wasn't in that state you're talking about, I wouldn't be sending it. Oh, here's like draft [00:21:00] 0.5. Some of the projects don't work, but like they're really good. Trust me. [Yeah.]

Oh yeah. Good point, good point. And I know there are differing opinions about that. [Yeah.] It's never perfect. Just like anything else, it's like iterative. Like you've got to constantly be improving it. Anyone who has a portfolio, I know, you look back at it a week after you get it live and you're just seeing like problems with it, but it will probably be a good idea to collect as much feedback as you can and make sure there aren't any functional errors before actually like, sharing your website around. [Yes.] Okay, so maybe let's dive into some of the projects you take on. All these people started reaching out to you. Yeah, what do your projects look like?

Are they super eLearning development focused? Are they instructional design? Can you paint us a picture of... 

Nicole Stephens: Yeah, that's a good question. Because I come at this as wearing two hats, like I have that ID role, and also as a former multimedia specialist, I have that development piece that I love doing as well.

When I look at [00:22:00] projects and I look at my timeline, I figure out what that is. Those two things are very different to me. Maybe it's because I'm a methodical thinker. I don't know, but they take up different parts of my brain. So I have to really do a lot of like writing, and talking with SMEs, and just doing the whole ID portion of things.

 You're doing some creativity there, but it's just like a whole different level of thinking that I have to do. Whereas doing the development work, it's a different space in my mind.

So when I'm looking at projects, I usually try to take on just one ID role, if it's a major one. And then I kind of supplement that with the development things. So the things that are more quick and that I can work in around that ID piece. I don't like when I have multiple ID roles going on at the same time, because I feel like that's [00:23:00] stretching me a bit too thin.

So I do it that way. Another thing that I have started doing that I think has been great for me is just doing QA work, which I know doesn't sound too exciting sometimes, but companies that know what IDs do and value ID work will often look for IDs to come and do their QA work, because you're looking at things from a different lens. Sometimes it's proofreading, right? But you're also looking at things like clarity of content and cohesiveness. If you've got multiple deliverables that maybe are all part of one solution, you're able to provide that continuity and make sure that things are lining up in that way.

And so it tells a hiring manager, if they see that on your resume, that you're organized, that you're a good writer, that you're a critical thinker. It can tell a lot about you to somebody who might be seeing that on a resume. It's been great for me [00:24:00] because it's just like an hour here, an hour there. It's not intense work timewise, so I can filter that in with other projects pretty easily. 

But also, it lets me look at what other IDs are doing and how they're approaching these solutions, which you don't always get the opportunity to do when you're working in freelance sometimes. It's just neat seeing how other people approach problems, and how they're scripting things and doing things.

So it, I feel like it helps me grow in my profession by being able to see that and do that and approach ID from other perspectives. So that's been a fun thing. That's pretty recent that I've started doing and taking on work that way. 

Devlin Peck: Very nice. Yeah, I imagine we'll have some questions about the QA piece, because we haven't explored that much on the channel before, but that does seem like a really good way to do exactly what you're saying. Yeah, shows off your attention to detail, but also, yeah, you get exposure to all these different projects that people are [00:25:00] creating in the industry. Yeah, it seems fun.

It's like being like, a video game reviewer, if you like video games. It's, let me just review these storyboards and eLearning, review everyone else's work. If you're getting inspiration and doing like, your own professional development, so that's a really good point.

I'm sure people will be curious how you like, came to land that type of opportunity. I can totally relate with the ID and eLearning development piece. When I had a lot of ID client projects going on at once, that would definitely be the most mentally draining. I could sit on my computer for like 12 hours a day in like, Storyline,

but if it comes to writing storyboards, I got a couple hours, a few hours a day in me, and my brain is ready for a break for a week. Not actually, but yeah, it's more like, mentally taxing. And maybe it's not like that for everyone, but I can definitely relate to that piece.

And then what about the work you've been doing for the bootcamp? Because I know we didn't talk about that. And to give people context, I guess maybe in January, you started helping with giving feedback, and then even like doing coaching and one on ones. Like the coaching, like you do that as well as part of the projects you take on.

Nicole Stephens: I have [00:26:00] loved doing that. That's one of my favorite things that I've enjoyed doing. And it goes back to what I was just saying about the benefits of some of that QA piece, right? Yeah, I get to meet wonderful people.

It helps with the connections, I get to work with all these practitioners that are coming into this field from different perspectives, and with so much to offer from their viewpoints, right? They're creating these projects that are an extension of them and their interest in what they've been doing and something that kind of talks about them a little bit.

 Again, you don't see that in an everyday role. So it gives me that exposure to really be able to help and see other people make the best of what they've got, and then move and grow in their own space in that way.

So I've really enjoyed that. And it's also one of those things where I can schedule that within my week. It's an hour here, an hour there. It's not [00:27:00] something that's like, all encompassing. So it's very easy to work that into my current workload and still be successful with that and provide help to other people. So it's been really fun. 

Devlin Peck: Very nice. Okay. So let's get into what we're all here for, the title of the session. What does a typical day look like for you with all of this going on all these different projects and growing your business? Yeah. What does a typical day look like for you? Maybe you want to paint us a few different days because I know it can vary a lot. 

Nicole Stephens: So I have a home office. So for me, it's very important to have a routine in my day, so that there's clear balance and distinction between, this is my work day and this is my family life, right, after work day. So I have a very set routine, like I have work hours and here's when I do what and that sort of thing. So that's helped. For one thing, it allows me to set a time for my clients to say, here's when I'm available for client [00:28:00] meetings and that sort of thing.

So it keeps that easy to say, these are my times. In the mornings I look and I see, what are my meetings for the day? There's a lot of meetings in my day. Sometimes I feel like I'm meeting about the meeting. But it's good. I look at my schedule in the mornings and if there's anything that needs to be shown, maybe I'm demoing a prototype to a customer, maybe I'm going to be doing a SME interview and I need to come up with some questions that's preparing for that meeting.

So I make sure those things have that priority, if not already. And then I look at what my meetings are for the day and figure out how much work time is around that. What kind of meetings I have might be interesting just because it's all ID related. So I may have a meeting with my project team. Sometimes, depending on the role, I may wear the whole hat. I may do things from start to finish. A lot of times I get the [00:29:00] benefit of working with teams, so we have to meet with the whole project team, whether it's maybe a creative director, the project manager, myself, whoever's involved in that project.

We have weekly meetings usually, just to make sure that we're keeping up. We know the status of the project. If it needs to change hands at any point, or if anybody's running behind on a certain piece of it, we're all in the loop on that. So there's those kinds of meetings. There's usually weekly meetings with the client.

So it's client check in. Where are we on this? What's in review with you? What are we working on? Are there any questions? So those are another type of meeting. And then sometimes I will not be the only ID on a project. I'm working on a project right now where I'm one of three and so we will have our own meetings sometimes, and that's very important because we're working on a solution that has multiple pieces and parts.

You don't [00:30:00] want that client telling one ID, 'hey we're not using this term anymore', for example. Because often times we find our clients are in some sort of state of flux as we're working through these things. We're kind of working it hand in hand. They're saying, 'oh, we're changing our branding, or we're changing our methods, and we're not really sure what that's going to look like yet'. So we're working through these questions and things with our clients as we go. And so it's important that our voice on all these pieces are the same. And if we have one ID that their materials have all the new terminology, and she didn't reflect that to the rest of us, then that's frustrating for the client, and then we've got to make changes and time is taken down the road.

So we have regular meetings amongst the IDs to make sure we're keeping that continuity across all deliverables for what we're doing. So that takes up some [00:31:00] time. But it's cool too, because you're really learning from each other, right? We brainstorm a lot off of each other and how we might want to do these deliverables and that sort of thing.

And then just like one on one SME meetings and things like that, where I'm meeting with them and discovery and that sort of thing. So those are the types of meetings that take up a lot of my day. And then project wise, like I just finished working through a bunch of transcripts.

So I've had the discovery with a client and in this case, it's a pretty big project. There's a lot of SMEs involved in different pieces and parts of it. And so there's several hours' worth of discussions that we've had with them and pulling this information out.

And so I've gone through these transcripts, and I'm coding the data, and I'm looking at it and figuring out. What's important, what are the key takeaways? And trying to form a design [00:32:00] document, an outline of what this training might look like. 

And then I'm working on, like I said, a project with multiple IDs, where there's an eLearning component. I'm building an instructor led training. So there's like a facilitator guide and then there's going to be some handouts and things for the users of this piece to actually work through as they're going in person, kind of a cohort style thing.

So I'm working through creating the script for that and like guided questions for these activities. So I'm going back and forth with the SMEs, like what are some scenarios that we can build out around this that would make a good hands on activity? And then writing that out. And then, like I said, development, QA work always comes in there as I can. If that, did that help? [laughs] [Yeah.] Gave you a lot of information there. 

Devlin Peck: Yeah that was a lot, but I think it's good, especially like you mentioning how many meetings there are, [00:33:00] because I think a common misconception maybe is that when you're working as a freelancer like, you're kind of alone in a bubble all day.

And you don't really have a lot of interaction with like other instructional designers or other teams or anything like that. So that's a common concern I get. People are like, I'm interested in freelancing, but like, 'I want to work with a team'. But it sounds like you work with quite large teams, project teams, other instructional designers, subject matter experts.

I don't think you mentioned this one, but I'm sure you do like, discovery calls too, I would imagine, with like potential new clients. So that's another type of meeting you've got in the mix, closing new business. 

So lots of meetings for sure. So I don't know if that came as a surprise to anyone here. And then as you said, between your meetings, you're kind of working on these different deliverables that I'm sure you have prioritized by what needs to get done first. Yeah, what are the most pressing deadlines? What am I going to have like the mental energy for between these meetings today? 

Nicole Stephens: And I do have to, so that I can have that kind of heads down time and get the work done, I try to schedule [00:34:00] one to two days a week that are meeting free.

Like all the meetings happen at a certain time of the week. We get those kind of wrapped up front, and then the rest of the week if I have a question, we can reach out by email or something like that. It's fairly quick touch points, but I have to give myself that time to just really sit down and focus on the work itself. I always sit down on Mondays and schedule my meetings for the week. And like I said, most of these meetings are standing meetings. Here's when during the week they're going to happen. So it's not coming at you as a surprise. Once that starts happening, then you can get sucked into a world of hurt really quickly. I think the key for me has been being able to plan. This is what my workload looks like in advance for that weekly picture. So it's helpful, but I found that most of the clients that I work with, they work that same way. They want [00:35:00] that planning. They need that for their own schedules. If they don't already have that in place and I've requested that, I rarely get any pushback on that. 

Devlin Peck: Nice. Okay, I know we still have some questions prepared here, and you're giving us really deep answers. 

 Is freelancing what you expected it to be? Let's go there next. So you are working on this variety of projects. You're working with a bunch of different teams, seeing how the industry kind of works. How do you feel about freelancing now that you've been doing it for a good while now, probably about a year?

Nicole Stephens: Yeah, given the caveat that I was somewhat fuzzy going in about what my expectations were, then Yes, I would say that it's more or less what I expected it to be. I think it goes back to that, I was very comfortable in the business side of it though. So writing those proposals, working with budget, working with different resources.

And I had gotten that project management [00:36:00] experience where I was juggling multiple projects, multiple resources on projects. And yeah, it had been a while since I had done that. So I had to jump back into that a little bit, but at the same time, it wasn't a huge surprise to me that there's a lot of things coming at me at one time.

But I think that could be a huge surprise to some people if you're not used to that, but I expected that would be coming with it, and so that didn't really surprise me. And I think if anything the thing that has been, I don't know if it's frustrating is the right word,

I think it's just the fact that there's so much uncertainty that comes with it. Because even though I'm getting all of these projects and they're coming in steadily, I've been blessed in that regard, you always have this picture, this voice that says, oh gosh, this could stop at any moment, right?

And so like, how long is this going to go? So there's a little bit of uncertainty there, but I've been pleasantly surprised at the steadiness of it all, because when I [00:37:00] first started, I was very skeptical and worried that gosh, I could not even picture myself with one client, much less having to turn people away.

It was very intimidating jumping into it. So I'm happy that it's ended up being what I hoped it would be. 

Devlin Peck: That's good, yeah. I could see how that past experience would help. I didn't fully understand like, the scope of your past experience, like, when we were working together, and so then when you started landing clients and we're just having conversations about the proposals you're sending out and like, the deliverables that you're working in, I'm like, just because when I started freelancing, I was like out of school, I had never really had an actual full time job.

I was like figuring out the business side as I was building my skills. So then I was like, why does it seem like you've been doing this for like a year? So I was like...but that makes a lot of sense. Yeah, that past experience helped a lot. So that's good. 

I have some more questions here, but let's try to get to a few of the most upvoted questions from the audience. 

 So the top question is from Debbie. What resources, if any, did you use to [00:38:00] teach yourself how to run a business? Also any legal resources? It sounds like you leaned on your lived experience pretty heavily. 

Nicole Stephens: Yeah pretty much. I don't recall any specific resources that I used.

That's a great question. I think it just came like I said, as part of my lived experience, so I got it here and there, but I think if anything it was more researching maybe just how to manage it, like the technology I might use, like what programs might I want to use for contracts or invoicing or things like that. There's that whole piece of it.

So figuring out what I wanted to do and what that looked like, and then applying my branding to it and just making sure I thought through all of those things in advance before those contract opportunities started rolling in. So I was set to go when they hit but no, no specific resources.

Devlin Peck: Maybe some people here in the chat have some that they can share with you, Debbie, and then we have questions about your portfolio website. Was it built with WordPress? I [00:39:00] think you built 

Nicole Stephens: it with Webflow.

No, I built it with Webflow. Ground up. Yeah. 

Devlin Peck: We have a question from Jasmine about how you found that QA work. Did it fall in your lap like the others or did you seek it out?

Nicole Stephens: Yeah, good question. So one of the things I always do when I'm looking at future work, when it's somebody that I've worked with, is I ask for a retrospective at the end of that project. And most companies are willing to give it to me because they want you to have a good experience, right?

And so that tells me something right there. If they don't want to do that, I don't know how I feel about doing future work with them. But I had an opportunity in that retrospective, and it's just talking about what worked well, what didn't work well, what can we improve upon in the next project, right? They're very aware that as freelancers, you have a choice in who you work for. So it's a two way street. It's very much like an interview. You have the opportunity to say no to them as much as they have the opportunity to not offer you something. And as often [00:40:00] as you can, sit down with them and talk with them.

And I was talking with them and they were like, 'what is it that you're good at? Or do you have any questions for us?'. And I brought that up and I said, I did QA a good bit in my former job as a media specialist. I mean, it was kind of funny that it was said, 'it doesn't go out the door until she's seen it because I just have some weird - that's, that's a weird skill. So anyway, so that kind of developed over time. And so I mentioned that to this customer and I said, Hey, if you're looking for that, I happen to be pretty good at it. And so within probably two or three days after that conversation, they said, 'hey, we got a job for you.

Are you interested in doing QA?' [Brilliant.] Yeah. And it's like a hundred hours over the course of the project. [Wow.] Just QA work. So it can add up and be really profitable as well as, beneficial too. 

Devlin Peck: Very well done. So yeah, building that relationship, seeing what the client needs, and then turning [00:41:00] it into an offer because you already have trust with them.

So very cool. It's not like you're out on a job board looking for QA work. It's coming from the relationships that you're building. So great example of that. 

Nicole Stephens: But those retrospectives, do that. 

Devlin Peck: Yeah, we haven't talked about that much on the channel either before, but I can see how valuable that would be.

So project retrospectives. Very nice. We have a question from Heidi about, is freelancing what you were expecting financially? If you feel comfortable answering these. 

Nicole Stephens: Yeah, I didn't really know what to expect financially.

I had heard that there was great opportunity, but I've been very pleasantly surprised. It has worked out financially for me. It's exceeded my expectations a little bit. But that being said, I will say in the beginning, it can be rough because freelancing to get started, there are a lot of upfront costs and if you're lucky, you're getting paid maybe 30 [00:42:00] days after you do the actual work. I recommend that you be able to float several months out of the gate. Once you start getting that work coming in pretty steadily, then yeah, the payoff was pretty nice. You know, especially when you can work in kind of those multiple jobs at once, be able to support that and still provide that good value to each job and your customer. It helps for sure. 

Devlin Peck: Good response. Yeah. It is rough in the beginning. You got to bear those costs. You got to make sure you have runways.

So you're not like desperately taking on like anything at all for any rates at all. You do want to have some kind of bargaining power. And if you need that project to pay your bills, it doesn't put you in a very good position. So you're having several months at least in the bank to have you covered while you get the business started, obviously helps a lot having that safety net.

[Yes.] Thank you, Nicole, for spending time with us. 

Nicole Stephens: Thank you, [00:43:00] Devlin. Thanks for having me. 

Devlin Peck: Thanks for all the applause emojis for Nicole. I always love to see them. Alright, talk to you all soon. Thanks for coming. Bye bye. [Thanks.]