Moderated by Raymond Lee, Founder, UXr Guild
This is an abridgment; view the full video presentation here.

In this “How to Freelance” session, UXr Guild Founder Raymond Lee dives into how to select and establish your business entity, as well as tax strategies, contracts, and collections.

What is an Entity?

An entity is something separate and apart from you; an organization that has legal rights and is created in order to conduct business. 

Does a Freelancer Need a Business Entity?

A natural first question is whether you really need to create an entity as a UXr freelancer. If so, which entity should you choose and when is the best time to create it?

To answer the first of these questions, it’s important to consider the following benefits that an entity can afford you:

• Protection from liability. Whatever goes wrong in your business can cross over into your personal life, taking assets to rectify the problem or compensate those harmed. This can include your home, savings, and cars. Most people are very interested in protecting their personal assets from business liabilities.
• Tax advantages. 
• Elevate the professionalism of your business. 

Ideally, an entity is inexpensive and easy to set up and maintain. Consider the following:

• Will you need to hire a lawyer to help you create your entity?
• What are the maintenance requirements and annual fees to keep it current?

What Business Entities Can a Freelancer Use?

Sole Proprietorship. With a sole proprietorship, you are choosing not to create an entity. You don’t have an entity apart from yourself. What are the aspects of this option?

• You are doing business as yourself.
• You can operate in your own name or a DBA (doing business as another name of your choosing). 
• If you use a DBA, you must file a fictitious business name statement (usually within your county), which notifies the public that you are doing business in that name.

This is the simplest way to conduct business and it is the way most freelancers start. Many researchers start this way and wait to see if they are successful. They create a separate entity only when business volume and conditions warrant. 

Corporation. Creating a corporation is a more complex and formal option. Here are some of the reasons why:

• Corporations are governed by laws that differ from state to state, or province to province in Canada. 
• They generally have a board of directors, the size of which you can determine, 
• Corporations have regularly scheduled meetings, where minutes of actions and assignments are kept
• Bylaws are created to determine how the corporation will operate. 
• The Board must ratify important decisions: such as borrowing money, going public, acquisitions, layoffs, etc.

Publicly traded companies need a robust system of governance. As an individual freelancer, you probably don’t need all of that structure and governance. it is generally more formal and complex than a solo researcher requires. A corporation, with its Board of Directors, has many benefits, one of which is shielding your personal assets from business liabilities. But if a corporation doesn’t hold regular board meetings and maintain accurate records, the validity of the organization, as well as its liability protection, can be challenged.

That being said, in Canada, this is the only entity available to freelancers. Here in the United States, however, there is another option available. 

LLC. This stands for “Limited Liability Company” and is an appealing alternative to Sole Proprietorships and Corporations.

• An LLC offers liability protection like a corporation but is less work. 
• There is no board of directors, meetings, minutes, or bylaws to be concerned with. 
• While LLCs can have many people, even up to 100 individuals, a single-member LLC is very simple and does not require an operating agreement.
• It is a low-cost alternative that is easy to set up by yourself without the need for an attorney. There may be annual maintenance fees, but these will be considerably less than with corporations. 

With all this in mind, when is the right time for a Sole Proprietor to set up an LLC? You could set one up at the beginning, but most independent contractors wait until their business grows before creating a separate entity. It makes sense to match the entity with your business growth.

What Are Liabilities for Freelance UX Researchers?

If you are protecting yourself against liability by establishing an entity, how risky is freelancing as a UX researcher? It is extremely low risk compared to other businesses. The chance of being sued is extremely small. Nevertheless, there are still some exposures that should be considered.

The first is if you’re freelancing on the side, and have an employment agreement that prohibits it, your employer could sue you for violating your non-compete. In this situation, the damages are likely to be small. Generally, the employer will just want you to stop freelancing, however, it could also result in termination.

A second scenario is being accused of violating a non-disclosure agreement where you’ve posted a case study online. Once again, your employer will probably just ask you to take it down, although there might be some other repercussions, including termination.

A final consideration involves proprietary research and participant data that you collect or have access to as a researcher. If, for instance, your laptop is stolen, such data could fall into the wrong hands. This is an area where you need to take real precautions because it’s likely your biggest exposure.

Which Business Entity Saves Taxes for Freelancers?

With a sole proprietorship, you don’t file a separate tax return because there’s no other entity to file a return, it’s just you. For your federal taxes in the U.S., you file a form 1040 and a Schedule C, which is where you put your profit and loss from your business. It’s very simple; you don’t have to have a second tax return. (In Canada, you would use a T1 General plus a T2125, a Statement of Business or Professional Activities). Whether in the U.S. or Canada, you can still write off many business expenses, such as traveling to a conference, buying supplies, or spending money on marketing. Writing off a home office and healthcare premiums are some of the trickiest, so it’s best to consult a CPA to know whether these are allowable in your situation.

With a corporation or LLC, you can be taxed twice, once at the company level and again as an individual, and generally, the company will require a separate tax return. If you want to avoid double taxation (and who doesn’t?), you can make an s-corp election, which allows the income to flow to the corporate shareholders or LLC members without taxation at the company level.  Hiring a CPA to do these returns is a typical expense of freelancing, as are any required annual renewals and fees. If there’s not an offsetting benefit to creating the entity, you probably don’t want to do it or you may want to wait until the benefits exceed the expenses. 

A very attractive option is called a single-member LLC. These are considered disregarded entities by the IRS, meaning they know that you are operating as a sole proprietor, so there is no need to file a separate tax return. You do of course need to keep separate books and know what your business income and expenses are, but those can be listed on a Schedule C of your individual 1040. Avoiding a second tax return can save you $500 or more per year and the taxes may be simple enough to do yourself.

Do Freelancers Pay Self-Employment Tax?

As an employee, you pay 7.65% of your wages in FICA tax which includes Social Security and Medicare. Your employer pays the other 7.65%, for a total of 15.3%. If you are a sole proprietor (freelancer or independent contractor), you are required to pay self-employment tax of 15.3% on your earnings. Because there is no employer, you pay both halves. If you set up an LLC, you can define some of the income as wages, and some as income for the LLC, therefore reducing the amount on which you pay self-employment tax (because it is only paid on wages). 

Here is a sample of what that breakdown might look like under these various entities:

Freelancers Can Save Taxes with an LLC

As an employee, if you earn $150,000 in wages you would pay $11,475 in FICA tax and the employer would pay $11,475.

As a Sole Proprietor, earning $150,000, you would pay self-employment tax of $22,950.

With the same income as an LLC, you could pay yourself $75,000 in wages, and pay $11,475 in self-employment tax. The remaining $75,000 could be income to the LLC, which does not incur self-employment tax, saving you $11,475. The same strategy can be followed with a corporation.

If you have a full-time job and are freelancing on the side making less than $25,000 a year, it may not be worth going to all this trouble to save less than $2,000 in taxes. So, your choice of entity and tax strategy depends on the size of your freelance business. 

Which Entity is Best for Freelancers?

To answer this question, you first need to determine your freelancing status.

• If you are freelancing part-time: a sole proprietorship may be your best option until you have enough income to warrant tax savings and need liability protection.
• If you are freelancing full-time, consider creating an LLC when your income level reaches $50,000 per year. You may also need an LLC to prove that you are an independent contractor, not an employee, in which case you may need to set it up earlier.
• If you are freelancing in Canada, you will need a Federal Business Number from the Canadian Revenue Agency at $30,000 in freelancing income to pay GST/HST, but a sole proprietorship can obtain one. LLCs do not exist in Canada, so the only option beyond a sole proprietorship is a corporation.

Do Freelancers Need Insurance?

Because the risks are relatively low as a freelancer, you may not need it. However, be advised that larger clients may require you to have it. They limit their liability by requiring you to carry insurance for data protection, for example. Liability insurance sometimes referred to as general liability, or professional liability which includes errors and omissions, are the most common policies. The premiums are relatively inexpensive since research is low risk.

Do Freelancers Need a Contract?

A signed contract or agreement is an important part of any freelance engagement. Big companies can be slow to approve contracts and the process can take weeks. With startups or smaller companies, the process can be much quicker. It is generally not advisable to begin working without a contract in place. 

The two most a Fee for Services Agreement (hourly) or a Master Services Agreement (fixed-bid or hourly). 

In a Fee for Services Agreement, you will summarize your hours and bill on a regular basis. The most common frequency is once a month, but billing more often, either weekly or every two weeks is advisable. This agreement may include the following:

• Type of work contemplated
• Roles of the parties
• Terms for billing and payment (such as hourly rate, billing and payment frequencies).
• Hours not disputed within 30 days are approved
• Attorney fee provision, venue, limitation of liability.

With a Master Services Agreement (MSA), you negotiate the master or overriding agreement and write a statement of work (SOW) that covers each project. Typically these are fixed-bid projects.

• The MSA covers all work you will do together
• Each SOW enumerates the scope, tasks, and deliverables in detail
• The total fee for the project, or an hourly rate 
• Payment schedule: typically a percentage of the total fee is paid upon signature of the agreement, such as 25%. The remaining payments are usually tied to certain deliverables, such as acceptance of the research plan, completion of interviews, and delivery of the final report.
• Be aware of the possibility of scope creep, which is increasing the work to be done for the flat fee that was agreed upon. 
• If additional work is required outside of the original scope, specify an hourly rate so that you will be compensated for that work.

With either type of agreement, you can hire an attorney to draft it, or create a custom version of a template. The following website, www.wonder.legal/us, has easy-to-use templates for a nominal fee. 

How to Collect as a Freelancer

While you can’t prepare for every contingency, there are a few things you can do to improve the likelihood of being paid what you are due. The first suggestion is to bill often, preferably weekly or bi-weekly, but at least monthly, and call to collect if the invoice is not paid when due. This is especially important if you are working with a startup or a smaller company with unknown creditworthiness. It takes a bit of time and organization to stay on top of this, (and let’s admit, it’s nobody’s favorite thing to do) but you are more likely to be compensated if you follow up promptly. 

Another option is to require a retainer. A retainer can be a monthly amount that you have the client pay you towards your hours. It doesn’t have to be a fixed bid – you still might be billing hourly. You state your hourly rate and estimate how many hours you plan on working during the following month. Then ask for all or a portion of that upfront. At the end of the month, determine what else they might owe you and bill accordingly. 

When you are not paid as contracted, whether on a retainer or regular invoicing, don’t let too much time go by before checking on what is going on. That’s one way you might discover a problem.

Why would a client not pay? 

• Disagreement about the work
• The client does not have the money (but may insist they will pay when they get it).
• Never intended to pay. 

If it’s a local client, it is more likely that you know them, they know you, and they will pay. But if it is someone you met online, it is possible that they are not ethical. Be prepared and protect yourself.

Is Your Freelance Client Running Out of Money?

• Always be aware that it can happen, especially to start-ups
• If you’re worried, ask for 50% pay in advance or ask for a retainer. 
• Bill weekly and make invoices due in 10 days.
• Stop working if they stop paying. 

If they are not paying for your services, the best recourse is to stop working until you have been paid. This will probably have a greater impact than anything else you can do. This doesn’t happen often, but if you are owed a large amount of money, you may need the services of an attorney. A warning letter from a lawyer is an inexpensive way to get a company’s attention and may get results.

 

Raymond Lee is the Founder of the UX Researchers Guild. You can find him on LinkedIn. This presentation included guest speaker John Thompson, a New York-based freelance lawyer, who deals with freelance contracts and legal issues on a regular basis. You can view John’s full video appearance here.

Moderated by John J.Thompson, Esq, Guest Speaker on How to Freelance
This is an abridgment; view the full video presentation here.

John Thompson, a New-York based attorney who works with freelancers, gave the following presentation to the UX Researchers’ Guild.

Can Your Employer Stop You From Freelancing?

In some cases, yes! As an employee, you owe a “duty of loyalty” to your employer to protect their interests and you’re bound to keep the agreements you’ve made with them. You need to review the employment agreement that you likely signed when you were hired and have since completely forgotten about. Here are four clauses to look for that allow your current employer to limit your freelancing:

• No conflicts
• Non-solicitation
• Non-compete
• Non-disclosure

The first is a no-conflicts clause. This says that while you’re working for the company you can’t do anything on the side that would conflict with that company. For example, while you’re working for Coke you can’t get a side gig with Pepsi. The nice thing about this provision is that when you leave your job, the no-conflict provision no longer applies.

A second important clause to be aware of is non-solicitation. This is an agreement to not take away or encourage clients or employees to leave their relationship with your employer. If you’ve signed a non-solicitation agreement, you may be prohibited from freelancing with your employer’s clients, even after you leave. And you may also be restricted from inviting your co-workers to join you in a freelance endeavor.

The next clause is the non-compete. This is different than non-solicitation in that it specifies that you will not work for a competitor. This provision applies even after you leave the company, but most courts require the provisions to be very narrow. For example, you may only be restricted from working for direct competitors, in the same geographic area, for 12 months after your departure from the job. It’s common that non-competes go beyond what the law allows, so before you assume you can’t take a particular opportunity, you should consult with an attorney. The federal government and various state governments are even considering banning these completely.

The fourth common restriction inemployment agreements is a non-disclosure or confidentiality agreement. This states that you will not share confidential information from your employer with other parties outside of the business. For obvious reasons, they do not want their confidential business information to fall into the hands of competitors. This has important implications for showing case studies in your portfolio. You should obtain your employer’s permission to show the work you’ve done for them. You may have to scrub the company name and proprietary findings in order to gain their permission, and in some cases, that may not be enough. In those cases, it may be possible to obtain permission to show the work in person, but not display it on your website or leave it in a form that could be transmitted to others.

Many employment agreements also require you to obtain approval from management before taking on outside work while still employed. If your side work is not seen as a threat, maybe it can be framed as professional enrichment that will allow you to gain experience that will benefit your employer.

Do Freelancers Need a Contract?

You should have your own well-written freelancing agreement or contract which helps align everyone’s expectations. If you’re a freelancer and you’re starting out, plan on looking at a lot of contracts from your customers or having them ask you for a contract. Either way, it’s something you want to get comfortable with and be familiar with. John believes the best analogy for the importance of contracts is “Good fences make good neighbors.” It’s not just about the worst-case scenario. It really is about getting on the same page with your new client and is a great way to keep everybody happy. 

What are the Terms in a Freelancing Agreement?

Crafting your own freelancing agreement or contract is an important skill that cannot be overlooked. Whether you consult a lawyer to draft such a document (which generally is unnecessary), or access an online template, there are significant clauses that should be included. John recommends that every contract contain the following four provisions:

• Defined venue or choice of law
• Limitation on liability
• Attorneys’ fees provision
• Placing a deadline for your client to raise disputes about your invoices (e.g., 30 days after receipt).

The venue or choice of law is crucial if you are working with clients who live in different states. This is the idea that the contract should indicate the state or location where any disputes will be settled and therefore which laws would apply in such a conflict.

The second one is a limitation on liability. This can be very helpful if something occurs that you never expected to happen, but that you’re being held responsible for. Perhaps you are accused of losing data which then resulted in another failure. The limitation on liability states that you’re not financially responsible for anything beyond what you’ve been paid.

Going along with this, lawyers sometimes refer to what is called, the “concept of consequential damages.” An example might be if you hire someone to park your car but then they have an accident. The person would, of course, be expected to pay for damages to the car. But what if you then tell them you had an multi-million dollar Faberge egg in the trunk that was damaged? It is not fair to ask them to pay for those losses.

The last two provisions relate to the collection side and getting paid for work done. First is an attorneys’ fees provision. In the United States, the default rule is everybody pays their own attorney’s fees. Those expenses are not cheap and can totally overshadow whatever the dispute is. Having that attorney’s fee provision can change the game and they’re enforceable in all 50 states. You can put it in your contract which in essence says, “If you don’t pay me and I have to sue you, you will need to pay my attorney fees.”

The last provision, which is less commonly talked about, involves placing a deadline on disputes to invoices. Consider the following scenario: a business may be having a cash flow crisis, you haven’t been paid in months and they haven’t complained about your invoices. But when you pressure them or hire a lawyer, suddenly they start scrutinizing the invoice in their defense, with the ulterior motive of trying to get you to write off justly earned debt, or just to buy time. This provision can deter that kind of behavior because they agree in advance that if they don’t bring up issues within 14 days, for example, then the issues cannot be litigated.

In addition to adding these provisions, there are other steps you can take to avoid or negotiate collection issues.

What if Your Freelance Clients Don’t pay?

Being compensated when working for yourself is quite different than being fully employed and having a paycheck show up every week. As a freelancer, you have to put time into invoicing and bookkeeping matters. It is incredibly common, no matter who your clients are, to see a lot of people either not getting paid, or more often, having to wait to get paid. 

As you start your freelance business, you may begin to recognize warning signs of a particular client or company. John prefers calling them yellow flags, rather than red flags, because you don’t want to necessarily say no to business just because you might have some doubts. But you do need to be on the lookout for signs that you might have trouble getting your invoices paid by a potential client.

What might be some of those yellow flags? One thing concerns startups. This could a large, well-funded company that would be a great client, but many of even the best of early-stage startups are eventually going to run out of money.  And when they do, they’re going to leave a lot of unpaid bills. 

Also, if you are considering working with overseas companies, be aware that if they don’t pay, you don’t really have any practical recourse. The cost of hiring a lawyer in another country is rarely worth it.

So, what can you do to get ahead of the ball on this and cover yourself? Being professional and organized is more than just a fancy-looking invoice. Many freelancers make the mistake of being laid back about bookkeeping and focus exclusively on the work they are doing. This is understandable, but it comes at a real cost if they’re not sending out invoices at clear intervals. If you send a client an invoice once every three months, they might really get sticker-shock when the bill arrives. So, pick a more frequent interval such as twice monthly or maybe monthly, and then stick to it. The more organized you are, the more your clients will appreciate and respect your system which will increase the probability that you will be paid on time.

If you have not been paid on an invoice, you may want to consider hiring an attorney. But John recommends taking this action only if the unpaid invoice is more than $5,000 to $10,000. Even then, he says, call around to consult with an affordable lawyer. An unpaid bill of a lesser amount might result in attorney fees being greater than the invoice you’re trying to collect on. But if you do need legal advice, find someone in your area who understands local laws and statutes. 

Is a Sole Proprietorship or LLC Better for Freelancers?

If you’re thinking of setting up your own freelance business, or if you’ve left employment and want to make it work on your own, there is a lot to consider. The first issue that many freelancers run into is whether or not to create any kind of entity. For most freelancers, this is going to be a choice between an LLC or what’s called a sole prop, or sole proprietor,  which is basically the default status under the law. Take, for instance, a simple example of a lemonade stand. If you go down to the corner and start selling lemonade technically in the eyes of the law, you are a sole proprietor.

While there are other corporate entities to look at, for the vast majority of freelancers, the decision will be between an LLC and a sole prop, with an LLC being frequently the entity of choice.

Pros and Cons of an LLC

The number one reason to get an LLC is to create a layer of protection between your business and your personal finances. An LLC gives you what is sometimes called the ‘corporate shield’ or the ‘corporate veil’. This can be very beneficial if something goes wrong with the business or you take on a lot of business-related debt. But it is also there if you find yourself involved in a lawsuit and potentially stand to lose a large sum of money. With this shield in place, unless specific exceptions apply (e.g., for deliberate fraud), you can generally walk away from your LLC with your personal finances intact.

Other benefits of an LLC include giving yourself a more established and professional look, which shows your clients that you’re devoted to your business. There can also be some tax savings beyond a certain earnings threshold. Those are the big three reasons but, the liability shield is really head and shoulders above the other factors.

With any entity option, there are potential drawbacks. With an LLC, these are mainly administrative issues, and paperwork that needs to be filed to ensure you are compliant with state and federal laws. On this note, be aware that tax filings for LLCs can have different deadlines than regular taxes.

Another factor is the registration fee which varies from state to state. In California, for example, it’s upwards of $800 a year, whereas in most other states it’s significantly less. With more and more work being done remotely, this can be somewhat confusing. If you live in one state and are doing work for clients who live in another state, where should you register? John offers this: “Generally, if you’re doing a service-based business, like UX researching, and you’re in one state, the likelihood is that you don’t really go to the other state physically to work with clients. Because of this, I think you’re just fine just registering in the state where you live.”

Other Things to Consider

Do Freelancers Need Business Insurance?

If you’re a freelancer and you’re not doing anything crazy or earning millions and millions of dollars, it’s probably not necessary. Insurance can provide peace of mind but can be expensive with high deductibles. Even with insurance, it’s not always as clear-cut to make a claim on. It’s a rare freelancer that will need this kind of insurance.

Can I Include Work Samples in my Portfolio?

Another question that may arise concerns the risks of including samples of previous work done in a portfolio  to show to potential clients. This can be done with a few reasonable cautions put in place. De-identify, cross out, or cover up private or potentially sensitive information. If doing this would dilute the reason for adding this case or study in the first place, you might have to exclude it from your portfolio. 

Data Security Tips for Freelancers

Data security is definitely on a lot of people’s minds these days. And unfortunately, there are actually not many strict laws about data security or data privacy for most industries, with healthcare being one of the obvious exceptions. As long as you’re exercising reasonable precautions such as using passwords and maybe antivirus protection, you’re probably going to be all right from a liability perspective. 

But as a freelancer and professional in the UX space, you are working with different data and have to be cognizant of it. Be sure and talk to the client to understand if this is something that is a particularly sensitive issue. If it is, then you might want to take extraordinary precautions, and perhaps, even charge your client more for those efforts. It’s always fair as a contractor to factor in that risk. If they’re doing something that is going to require you to to be more careful, then then you should see some benefit from that as well.

 

John Thompson‘s practice includes employment law, commercial litigation, startups, and freelancers. He received his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he interned with the Department of Justice. John is a partner with Thompson & Skrabanek, a law firm based in Manhattan. Visit their website at https://www.ts-firm.com/.

DISCLAIMER: This content provides general advice, which is provided as-is. The advice may not be applicable to your specific scenario or your jurisdiction. This article is not regularly updated and may not be current. If you need legal advice, consult with an attorney in your area.

Moderated by Danielle Cooley, Guest Speaker on How to Freelance
This is an abridgment; view the full video presentation here.

How Do You Start Freelancing?

I thought about moving to freelance while at a consulting company. I realized that they had a lot of non-billable people for which the end client was paying. I knew that the work they were getting would be the same as if they just hired me directly. I could make a lot more money, they could save some money, and we could get the same results. That was my thought process at the time. 

I had my first son and decided to take it easy for a while and see how things went. Then two hours after I got back from maternity leave, I was laid off.  So I said:  “I guess I’m an independent consultant now,” and I have been ever since. I have enjoyed it for 13 years and have yet to find an in-house position compelling enough to pull me away.

How Do You Prepare to Freelance?

Knowing what I know now, I would have maybe tried to shadow or learn a little more from the sales and marketing people. Many of us who go out on our own are good at what we do as it pertains to our subject matter expertise. But there is a lot to consider before you freelance, such as learning how to run a business, how to generate sales leads, and how to structure your proposals. Expert business development people are as proficient at what they do, as we are at what we do. So, I think I could have learned more from them. I’m not sure how I would have done that without saying, “I’m about to start my own business. Can you teach me some things?” But just seeing the templates they used would have helped me a lot.

What are the Risks of Freelancing?

When contemplating freelancing most people ask: “Can I do this and how risky is it?” I had a spouse with group health insurance and a magical paycheck that dropped from the sky every two weeks. We lived in a low-cost-of-living area and were not going to lose our house if I didn’t find work right away. If I didn’t have that security, I probably would not have become an independent consultant at that point. I would have needed more stability and predictability until I could build up more of a safety net of my own. 

The reality is that freelancing does cost more than you think. At least it did to me. People warn you about self-employment tax and it is high. And you do have to spend a lot of non-billable time finding the work, writing the proposals and contracts, as well as handling administrative duties. So, it’s not easy, but I think it’s worth it. And it gets easier over time.

Should I Bill Hourly or by Project?

I prefer to work on a fixed-fee basis where there is a project with a start and a finish and a well-defined scope and outcome. However, what you don’t get when you bill hourly is capturing the value of the knowledge that you provide. So, as a researcher, I provide these clients with amazing insights that affect their product design that ultimately go on to affect their bottom line in big ways. Because of my experience, I can do that fairly quickly. If I bill hourly for projects like that, I would need to have a pretty exorbitant hourly rate to make that happen. But framing it around the value of the information, knowledge, and insights helps to maximize their impression of the overall effort and understand that the work we’re doing is important and valuable.

That said, there are certain situations where billing hourly makes more sense, particularly if the scope is not very well defined. In a case like this, I would offer the client some sort of hourly or  retainer agreement. When I subcontract for other consulting practices, that tends to work out better hourly – they bill hourly so that helps them determine whether they can afford having me participate in the project. But generally, I advocate for fixed fee value-based pricing.

How Do You Determine Freelance Rates?

My general guideline and this is just a point with a wide range on either end of it, is to take the salary that you would be worth, then divide that by 1000. So, let’s just say for easy math you make $100,000 a year. Your hourly rate would be $100. If you made $200,000 a year,  then your hourly would be $200 an hour. And a lot of people come back and say, “But I worked 2000 hours for an employer, so my rate is half of that.” It’s important to remember that they were paying your employment tax, part of your health benefits, covering your tech support, and handling administrative tasks that you now have to take care of yourself. This is probably the high end of your hourly rate.

You may need to be willing to negotiate and take less per hour if you have a large project. You also need to include some guarantees. I’ve talked to consultants who lowered their rate and then the project got canceled three weeks in. So the reason they lowered the rate was that it was going to be 20 weeks of guaranteed work but it didn’t turn out to be that way. 

And then, sometimes it just comes down to how deep are the clients’ pockets. Startups aren’t going to have any money and corporations are generally going to have more but not necessarily. And often when you’re in the beginning stages,  you can just ask them for their budget and then you can scope that way.

What Are Typical Freelance UX Research Projects?

In terms of the types of projects that come up, it does vary a lot. In 2020, I did a large fixed-fee project. The client was redesigning their whole website and wanted my help with the navigation structure and information architecture. What I proposed for an ideal situation was way outside of their budget which they didn’t disclose upfront. Then they asked, “How much can you do for this much?” So, we agreed on one to two card sorting studies, then one to two tree test studies to validate what came out of those card studies, and one to two usability studies of the prototypes that came out of those navigation studies. 

I am also engaged with a large Healthcare client who I have done fixed-fee work for in the past. But right now, I’m working with them on an hourly basis to help with a variety of projects they have going on at the same time: their public-facing site, transactional material, and some information architecture.

Is an LLC or Corporation better for Freelancers?

I am an LLC and chose that option because my accountant suggested that it would be the easiest route for me. However, I now think that it’s not the right structure for me, and would like to change it. But it seems difficult to do so because I have a lot of momentum going at this point. I am a certified woman-owned business and changing the paperwork would cause a cascade of other things that I would need to change. But being an LLC is costing me a lot of money, so I should probably figure that out.

I am not a money person, an accountant, or a small business financial advisor. But my understanding is that organizing myself as S Corp would give me tax benefits that I am not currently realizing. There is also an option where you can have an LLC taxed as an S Corp, but you have to take regular owner drawings and pay yourself a salary. I would suggest talking to an accountant or financial advisor about which option would be best for you.

Bookkeeping and Tax Software for Freelancers

Hire a bookkeeper! That’s the best advice. That’s hard to do though. I do pay my estimated taxes on time, set reminders for myself as much as possible, and automate that at the beginning of the year, which I can do here in the state of Maryland. What I don’t do is calculate what my estimated taxes should be this quarter. I just send some money and if I made a lot of money that quarter,  I’ll send some more, and if I didn’t, then maybe I’ll send a little less. And it all works out in April when I do my returns.

As far as keeping the books I do use QuickBooks Online for about $25 a month which I think is kind of high for a one-person organization. There’s also a QuickBooks self-employed which is less, but I think it’s a lot harder to use, navigate and sync up. I used it for a year and then went to QuickBooks Online. There’s also a free tool called Wave which I liked a lot but they’re in Canada so they use an invoice-based (accrual) accounting system versus a cash-based accounting system such as we use here in the States. It is supposed to be easy to reconcile, but if you invoice a client on December 20th and they don’t pay you until January 10th then it will show up on your previous year even though you didn’t get paid until the next year. I tell people, it’s very Canadian; they just trust that you’re going to get paid if you get sent an invoice which in America is not a guarantee at all. So that is another option especially if you’re just getting started and you want to keep track of income and expenses and you want a handy way to create your invoices. 

What is the Pay Differential between the Bay Area or New York City and Smaller Cities?

Using a tool such as salary.com can help you identify pay scales, and look at comparable companies. You could see, for example, that Facebook, being in the Bay Area, pays well because they have to compete for that top talent, while other locations outside of the large metro areas would pay less. Understanding geography definitely is important in determining your rate.

If you’re in the Bay Area, New York, or Boston the salary that you would be commanding would be significantly higher than if you were somewhere smaller like Lincoln, Nebraska.

How Do You Access UX Research Tools as a Freelancer?

On a personal business level, I haven’t had trouble finding solutions. In terms of running the business, as I mentioned, I use QuickBooks online and have an annual  Zoom subscription license at the lowest-paid tier. A lot of times you can get away with the free versions for a while. But Zoom cuts you off at 40 minutes so that’s not super great. Trello is a great and free tool for organizing your thoughts and “to-do’s.”  and there’s probably a paid tier there. I pay for Dropbox for extra storage which handles all of my backups. Web hosting is relatively inexpensive as well.

Last fall I had a project that was going to require some heavier processing. Around this time, my then five or six-year-old Mac was not going to be able to handle it. A new Macbook would cost $1,500 or $1,600. But I realized that if I invested that money in this new laptop, I would be able to do this $25,000 project. So the math was pretty easy.

There are some non-negotiables. I do carry business insurance as many of my clients require that. It runs me at about $1,000 a year. But again, if I don’t spend that $1,000 then the many tens of thousands that I would get from these clients won’t come in.

I do sometimes run into trouble when somebody wants me to use something that’s only Enterprise-wide: mainly research tools. So a lot of clients are now targeting the Enterprise. But there are alternatives. I frequently use Optimal Workshop. You can buy study credits for $99 a piece, but you can also do a monthly and shut it off at the end of the month. So again, that math becomes easy at the end of the month. I’m going to spend $200 for one month of Optimal Workshop so that I can have this $15,000 project. And I do factor that into the bid, or I will straight up tell the client that there is a software license expense that we’re going to have to itemize here and just pass that cost right onto them. If I do enough of this kind of work, I get an annual subscription and consider that to be a part of my operating overhead. And sometimes clients have licenses you can access. On a recent project, for example, I was able to use one of the two seats of a client’s User Testing which only targets the Enterprise.

Can Former Employers become Freelance Clients?

Usually, it’s companies that I have worked with or people that I’ve worked with that have moved to another company. In my consulting work, I work with a lot of people and have been doing this for over 20 years. During that time, those people have been moving around and meeting other people. That’s mostly where I get my work from. I try to speak at conferences and publish here and there. Every once in a while, someone will say, “I heard you give this talk two years ago, and now I’m at this company that has this problem and I think you can help us.”

I will also hear about opportunities through the grapevine. I’m working with a medical device start-up right now and found this work when someone on my graduate program alumni page was looking for help and reached out to me. I also rely on lots of word of mouth. I definitely want to learn more about marketing and creating a lead sales pipeline – something that a lot of people understand very well.

How Do You Succeed in Freelancing?

I think the diversity of experiences that I’ve had have been a huge factor in my success. It is important to differentiate yourself, to pick a vertical line, such as Healthcare. But, for me to be able to say that I’ve worked with a variety of Fortune 500 clients shows that I’ve been successful in various industries the past. Also, my Master’s Degree adds to this “street cred.” I’m also going to add speaking assignments to this list because you can’t come in like a mouse as an independent consultant. You have to be confident that you know what you’re talking about. Your client needs to be convinced that they can count on you to do the work and that they don’t have to handhold. I think practicing having an opinion and point of view, and being willing to share and articulate it clearly, is very important.

 

About the author: Danielle Cooley has been working in design research and strategy for more than 20 years. She founded her bespoke consulting practice in 2009. She has a BE in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering from Vanderbilt University and an MS in Human Factors in Information Design from Bentley University. Learn more about Danielle at www.dgcooley.com.

Moderated by Raymond Lee, Founder, UXr Guild
This is an abridgment; view the full video presentation here.

How to Identify Your Ideal Clients

If you have not done so previously, take time to clearly define your offering and identify your specialty areas. Once that step is complete, it’s time to search out your ideal clients. Your ideal clients are those who are closely tied to projects you’ve done before; they are the clients who would like you to come and do the very same project for them.

To zero in on who your ideal clients are, consider the following:

• Take a look at which companies fall within your domain or specialty. Each specialty can have its own group of clients. Where have you spent most of your time as a researcher?
• As part of your basic marketing plan, build an ICP (Ideal Client Profile) based on your specialties to find clients that need what you are offering. 
• Always remember that your product is not you; it is the services you offer and can deliver. 

What is the Difference Between Marketing and Sales?

Marketing is to a group, where you try to build interest, hoping that they will reach out to you. The goal of marketing is to build awareness and demand and try to generate inbound interest from that group; the intent is to reach out to a broad audience with a focus on mass distribution. Marketing is high leverage, but there’s always the chance that your efforts won’t reach any of those ideal clients you have identified. 

Sales, on the other hand, is to individuals; you have to reach out to them. This makes most of us uncomfortable, but it does give you the best chance to tap into your ideal clients. It’s low leverage but you know you’re going right to the person and if you’ve identified them correctly, then when they hear from you they will be interested in what you have to offer.

The two approaches are very different: marketing goes out to the masses, while sales targets individuals. But both have their place in your marketing plan.

Marketing Channels – In-Person versus Online

Within your marketing plan, you have essentially two options: reach out to others in person, or make contacts and connections online. Let’s examine the in-person option first.

How to Market Your Freelance Services In-person

Most people would agree that face-to-face interaction is powerful. There is nothing quite like sitting down with someone to introduce yourself. The past two years have shown us the value of such interactions. So, where can you have these conversations and build relationships in person?

These interactions can take place at meetups, events, conferences, and even volunteering opportunities. These are some of the best places to get to know people, build trust and make connections.

But in-person also refers to anyone who knows you: hopefully, past employers, those who think favorably of you, are some of your best prospects. And don’t forget former colleagues. You may not be at the same employer anymore, but they know you and what you have to offer and can be some of your greatest allies.

The following list contains the most important people in your professional network. Be good to these people and seek to never burn bridges with any of them. You never know when they might be just the contact you will need in the future. 

1-Research hiring managers
2-Research colleagues
3-Product colleagues (design, engineering, marketing, product, etc.)
4-Other work colleagues, personal friends, and school friends.

Employers tend to hire people they know, like, and trust to get the work done – thus maintaining a good working relationship with everyone you work with now or may have worked with in the past.

How to Market Your Freelance Services Online 

Building your online network is a gradual process with many avenues to market yourself. The key is finding and then nurturing those online networks that work best for you. Don’t be discouraged if nothing happens right away. It will take time to see the results of your efforts. But it is still worth doing.

Here are some tips for marketing yourself online.

• Build your online network using LinkedIn, Slack, Twitter, Facebook, etc. 
• Set networking goals; it can be as simple as adding a connection each day. 
• After a meetup or conference, add more connections. An event can expand your connections and network.
• If you decide to search out people you don’t personally know, look for things you have in common with them, such as research, employers, city, school, major, language, interests, etc.

Now that you have that online presence, post content regularly. Consistency beats quality. Build a 30, 60, or 90-day calendar. This content could include ideas and articles about conferences or events you attended, or projects and tools you have had success with. It could even be a repost of something meaningful to you.

If you’re not careful, you could spend a whole lot of time doing this without a guaranteed return on any of your efforts. Consider maybe 30 minutes per day, and then move on to other more productive methods.  

What are those more productive options? Your LinkedIn profile and resume, and a polished portfolio including your case studies need your greatest attention. Your case studies should support your specialties. If you are having difficulty identifying your specialties, take a look at your case studies. They will point toward where your focus has been. 

Marketing Ideas for Freelancers

This is a lot of content creation that can occupy your time. So how do you know where to focus your time and energy? Only do things you’re passionate about. You will then do them well.

Do you enjoy writing? Consider a blog. How about public speaking? Create a podcast or webinar to share your ideas with an online community. Do you enjoy helping others? Be a mentor. While  you won’t be paid for this, it could be a way to connect with others as you help them on their paths. Or create an ADP list session and invite others to join in. This won’t connect you with hiring managers, but it can still be a way to expand your network.

Lastly, consider putting together a website – a one-stop place for all this content and more, including your case studies. A professional website is a focal point for freelancers. It is searchable and managers very often just go to Google and type what they are looking for. If you can carefully craft your offerings, set up your keywords, and present them in a searchable way, it will make it that much easier for a UXr manager to find you.

The following is a great exercise to create those keywords. Write out three Google search strings that you’d like to find you. Share with a colleague or business partner and refine them together. Check your LinkedIn, resume, and website for those keywords. This is the time to be specific, not just generalize. Focus on the bull’s eye. Then you can work on the rings. While you may have some interests but are not yet qualified in those areas, don’t be tempted to list those on your website. Managers are looking for expertise. But on the other hand, don’t be shy about what you have done. Include any or all experiences you have had that will point to those specialties that are supported by your case studies. 

How do UXr Managers Hire Freelancers?

Their first priority is to find researchers they’ve worked with previously. People who have performed well for them and whose work they can count on. How can you get on that known list? That is one of the reasons to reach out to those that you have worked with before. And then, once you are on that list with a manager or company, be sure to never let them down. Make sure they know that you’re freelancing and looking for work. Maybe they’ll remember when work comes up.

Secondly, managers will look for referrals from staff and researchers they contact. The staff  knows what is needed and has their own networks to draw from. You may not be in the network of the managers themselves (which is a third way that managers look for researchers), but if you are in the network of those who work with or for these researchers, that puts you one step closer.

Other routes that managers might take to look for researchers include the following: 

• Turning it over to HR to do the searching
• Calling an agency
• Searching online by posting on Slack, job boards, Craigslist, Upwork, etc.
• Searching on Linkedin or Google

This is the hierarchy that managers will use to find researchers. The key is to put yourself as high on that hierarchy as you can so they can find you. 

How to Identify Individual Sales Prospects

Sales, while perhaps more intimidating, is underrated yet very powerful. Once you know your ideal customer, those that fit in your Bull’s eye, it’s quite efficient to target companies that you know, particularly those in your local area. Why start there? Because more than likely, they will favor a local researcher. Once you’ve identified these companies, discover who the UXr managers are and start a relationship with them, through cold connecting with them on LinkedIn, through a mutual acquaintance, or by meeting them at conferences, meetups, or UX groups. You don’t know when they will be ready to hire a contractor, but when they do, you will be in a much better position to be considered for the work if you have previously connected with them.

Another route is to look at job postings in Indeed, Linkedin, or Slack. You can apply for those jobs if you qualify, but exploring these openings is also a great way to find out who the managers are and to see what their needs are. Even if you are not interested in the full-time job they are offering, the posting will give you a lot of information as a freelancer. If you have the necessary skills, you can offer your services to fill in as a freelancer until the position is filled. There is nothing lost in making these connections, and your efforts will once again put your name in front of these managers.

What are A Freelancer’s Marketing Priorities?

With so much to consider, let’s dial this down a bit to focus on what your priorities should be:

• Refine your offering, specialty, and differentiation.
• Strengthen and use your in-person network.
• Participate in UXr slack groups and on LinkedIn
• Refine or create your own website (SEO first, then creative)
• Be active in meetups, webinars, conferences, etc.

There are many ways to succeed as a freelancer. Choose the ones that fit you best. You only need one great channel to be successful: whether in-person or online; marketing or selling. Be patient and give yourself time. But if you are diligent, consistent, and focused, the work you desire will eventually come.

You may also want to take a look at this list of UX Research Specialties according to NN/g, Nielsen Norman Group – https://www.nngroup.com/ux-certification/ux-research-specialty/

Moderated by Raymond Lee, Founder, UXr Guild
This is an abridgment; view the full video presentation here.

What Should You Offer as a Freelance UX Researcher?

To identify what you have to offer, do an inventory of each of your jobs: What industries did you work in? What products and tools did you use? What studies did you conduct and what methods did you employ? Where do you feel your strengths lie as a researcher? And beyond this, what do you feel you have to offer through your talents, abilities, passion, and character? This inventory will constitute your offering in the freelancing plan. You are not just like any other researcher. Once you start to fill in some of these areas, you will see that there are many different kinds of researchers. What do you have to offer? 

The first place to look is at your research experience. What do you have to offer in the following areas:

• Employers: Which companies have you worked for? Who do you know? 
• Industries: Which are you familiar with?
• Products: Websites, apps, Devices, BtoB, BtoC
• Studies: What types of studies using which methods? What are the most significant studies you’ve conducted? Where does your expertise lie? What are your strengths?
• Tools: With which tools are you most familiar? 

Beyond the experience or research you have conducted, what are your research strengths and what are you passionate about? You’re creating an exhaustive laundry list of your experience. What are your #1, 2, and 3 specialties? What makes you unique? You won’t present it to your clients this way, but it is good to perform an audit of all your skills. 

What Other Experience Do You Have?

Apart from your experiences what you have to offer is you, yourself. That’s more significant than you may think at first glance and is a big part of what you have to offer. Consider the following questions to explore these areas of your life:

Education: 

• Where did you attend school?
• What were your areas of study?
• Do you have academic research experience?

Other Work

• Do you have work experience in other areas: Design, marketing, writing, and product management? 
• Have you done other freelancing or volunteer work?

You

• What are you passionate about? 
• What personality or character traits do you have? 
• What are some of your unique strengths, interests, and talents?

Where Do UXRs Come From?

Most researchers come from some other domain that has not been a path directly into research. Looking at where you might have come from, helps give you a clue of what other skills you have. Design is the most common place to have come from, with marketing close behind. The third most prominent background of researchers is academia, followed by a variety of other areas. Where you have been, and where you are now, is one way to get a clue of what other expertise you can offer a company as a freelance researcher.

To the right client, where you come from, makes a huge difference and can indicate what other skills you have besides research experience. Don’t underestimate your work experience, even if it wasn’t in research. Your background could make you the ideal researcher for a client because of the knowledge and experience you have. 

How Do You Differentiate Yourself as a Freelancer?

When we speak of differentiation, we’re talking about what makes you stand out. What is unique about you and how does that translate into value for your clients? The bar is higher if clients don’t know you. How do you then differentiate yourself?

• What will make your freelance services stand out? What unique value can you bring to your clients? How can you provide more value than your competitors?
• What is your specialty?
• What is your favorite type of work?
• What additional value do you bring?  

It is also helpful to explore different areas of expertise and consider what unique skills are needed in each and how those would be useful and meaningful to a client. For example, if you have worked in academia, you have done rigorous research which might be exactly what a company is looking for. If your background is in marketing, you have practical experience showing empathy to challenges that people might have. 

Successful freelancing is not just finding clients, but more importantly, getting their attention and then winning them over. Let them see all you have to offer. This just might make the difference.

Should a Freelancer Generalize or Specialize?

Do you get more clients by offering a variety of services or by having a niche? This is highly dependent on your experience and potential clients. As a general rule, it’s best to begin as a generalist. Plan on starting with everything you have to offer. But always be on the lookout for a domain where you’re especially strong because moving into that specialty can be a great strategy as a freelancer.

How do you then get more clients? Typically, you have to broaden your reach to take on more projects and contracts. If you choose to specialize and have a niche, then you’ve just narrowed the world down to the few clients who care about that specific area. So, it is a higher-risk strategy to be a specialist. 

Take a look at a comparison between the two to see which is best for you at this time in your career.

• Generalists: Offer a variety of services; you have many potential clients but generally  have a weaker pull with each.
• Specialists: single focus (easier, but repetitive); potential to charge higher rates; fewer possible clients but you will have a stronger appeal for those in the niche. If multiple researchers apply, a specialist (in that area) has the best chance of getting the job.

Offering Options: Full-time or Part-time Freelancing

Once you have identified your strengths and abilities, including how you can differentiate yourself, and have determined if being a generalist or specialist is best for you, it’s time to take a look at whether you are ready to transition to freelancing full-time or part-time. Each option has its benefits and drawbacks; it all depends on your priorities and comfort level in taking risks.

With part-time freelancing, you keep your job (along with its guaranteed benefits and salary) and freelance on the side (or have time for family or lifestyle). Most clients want FT, so PT is less common.

Plunging into full-time freelancing is a higher risk as you quit your FT job. Take time to prepare for this move by lining up clients before you leave. Leaving on good terms can result in returning to your company as a freelancer. Always remember that your last manager is your best reference.

There are big choices either way. Typically, making a big step to be a full-time researcher is going to be more valuable. This is because when most clients have a project to be done, they want full-time researchers to do it as quickly as possible, dedicating their full talents to it. But part-time freelancing is a viable option, and a great way to start. That, then is part of your choice on your offering – how do you want to do it?

Should You Take On One Client at a Time or Fractional Projects?

Once you have determined whether to do freelancing on a part-time or full-time basis, the next step is to assess how to structure your projects. Typical freelancing involves having one client and staying with that project as long as it takes. However long the project goes you just work for that single client.

But there’s another way to do it which is called fractional projects. For example, you give each client, maybe a fourth of your time, and you’re concurrently running several projects. Now, this is an unusual way and is more complex. The beauty of this is the security that it offers. If you were to lose a contract or one ends, you still have several more. That’s the huge advantage of it. 

In summary, fractional projects work in this way:

• Book 25% of your time for each project (40 hrs/month). No one client dominates your time. You have other work.
• Enjoy the variety and security of multiple projects.
• More complex – you have to be able to move from project to project and excel at multitasking.

By taking on fractional projects, a freelancer may have a full-time job on Mondays and book out Tuesdays through Thursdays for freelance work, leaving Friday as an open day. It sounds ideal and is rarely that simple. You might be able to build that dream schedule, but maybe not right away. Think about what would be an ideal schedule and work towards it. But be flexible, knowing that you might have to readjust what your plan looks like depending on the expectations of clients as well as your own needs. 

How Do I Know How Much to Charge?

Everybody always wonders about how much you should charge as a freelancer. It will require a bit of math, but let’s take a look at how to calculate an hourly rate. Adjust these numbers to fit your current situation. Begin with your current salary. We’ll use an example of $120,000/year or $60/hr (divided by 2,000 hours per year). Next, we’ll add the benefits that you would lose by freelancing full-time.

$18,000 for medical, dental, vision, and life insurance – 15%
$9,600 for four weeks vacation and PTO – 8%
$9,180 self-employment tax (employer portion) –  7.65%
$36,780 total benefits

Adding this to the base annual salary of $120,000 comes to $156,780 or $80/hour (an increase of 33% over the initial $60/hr.)

Are you worth that much? Of course, you are. Charging this increased amount makes sense because you will be responsible for these benefits as a freelancer. In addition, instead of having  your employer provide you with a steady stream of work, as a freelancer, you don’t have that guarantee. You have to find your work and do the work. And you should be compensated for both.

Should Freelancers Charge by the Hour or Fixed-Bid?

In the same way, it is advisable to begin your work as a freelancer as a generalist, most researchers start out charging by the hour because it’s easier and more familiar. But then you’ll want to eventually work your way to an idea of a fixed bid.

Charging by the hour tends to be less effort and lower risk. It’s the most common way to charge for your work and is easier – especially if there is no clear guide as to how many hours a project will take.

A fixed bid is more complex but can ultimately be more profitable. Once you set the cost, you take on a huge responsibility. You need to know what the project will entail. If you don’t know that, go with hourly. If a fixed bid job turns out to be harder than you initially thought, then it’s on you. A fixed bid requires everything to be laid out. If a client can’t do that, then you shouldn’t give a fixed bid, it is better to charge hourly. With fixed bids, there is the potential for “scope creep”. Be sure and have detailed specifications to do any fixed bid. 

In Closing: A Few Things to Consider

Whether you decide to charge by the hour or go with a fixed bid, here are a few things to keep in mind.

• Don’t make the rate your top consideration. Your top consideration is expanding your client base, getting more experience, and developing your freelance career. 
• Be flexible; some clients are constrained by their budgets. What do you do if you’re looking for $100/hour and they can only manage $80/hour? If this happens, take an objective look at the opportunity. Do you like the client? Do you have the time? Do you like the project? If you can answer “Yes” to all these questions, then it might be worth it to take the job at a lower rate.
• Be careful not to get in the mindset that your rate determines your value. You can change your rates, and you should. You should probably start on what you think is the low end of your range and find clients and build your business and then raise your rates as demand increases.
• Try to get repeat engagements. Give every client your best effort. As they see how valuable your work is to their company, they will be more likely to bring you on for additional work.

Guest Presenter Martha Malloy

During this presentation, we were able to watch three clips from a pre-recorded interview with guest UX researcher Martha Malloy. Martha is a fractional product leader, strategist, and discovery coach with over 15 years of experience in technology and digital marketing spanning diverse industries (automotive, healthcare, education, travel, hospitality, retail, CPG, and financial services). She is a highly respected researcher, with enthusiasm and a commitment to helping companies unlock new growth opportunities using modern product discovery and lean research practices.

 In the first clip, Martha shares some decisions she made as she transitioned to freelancing.

• Believe you can grow and evolve your entire career. 
• Prioritize your well-being and mental health.
• Design a four-day workweek. Martha did the research and made it work. You have the freedom to design your work as a freelancer.  She could not convince an employer to do it – she had to create it herself. On Fridays she focuses on networking and business events; but also has time for personal and family activities.
• Fractional product management. One day a week, Martha does fractional projects for an employer.

In the second clip, Martha discusses increasing her impact and scaling her rate. Her current goal is to work less – to do meaningful work with people that she enjoys working with because a CPO gets paid more and has more responsibilities than a senior UX researcher. 

• Working with an embedded team – where she comes in and joins them.
• Contracting with small startups that can’t afford a full-time UX researcher.
• Discovering leveling up opportunities such as training a group of people to do sound research work which allows you to charge more.
• Considering working as a Fractional Chief Officer. Martha came into that role from a design and research background and was able to repackage and reframe herself. 

In the third and final clip, Martha opened the door to discuss what fears people have when it comes to considering freelancing. One participant shared her fear of finding enough clients and having enough income. To this, Martha suggested looking at “the long game,” perhaps a year’s time frame, and considering what is the minimum amount of income you can make in a year and still be okay. That “okay threshold” is going to be very personal. But instead of thinking “I need back-to-back work,” think about how many projects you would need to bring in so much money, and how much you would need to bill to achieve this. It’s very hard to have work that perfectly lines up. This would help alleviate some of the pressure of needing a back-to-back alignment of projects.

Some freelancers might not have consistent business, but when they do have contracts come in, they’re big. This way, they live a lifestyle where they work a fraction of the year on projects and have idle time to do other things.

There are also ways you can earn passive income, like creating a course that people would pay for. Use your time wisely when you’re not being paid by a company to find other ways of making an income. Be creative, adaptable, and flexible. If you want to lower that stress level, I would encourage that sort of creative thinking.

Moderated by Raymond Lee, Founder, UXr Guild
This is an abridgment; view the full video presentation here.

Why Work Freelance With the UX Researchers’ Guild?

Being a freelancer, however liberating, can be isolating at times. You’ve severed ties with an employer and now you’re on your own. Aligning yourself with a partner or group will give you that sense of community you may be missing, and help increase your chances of success in this new endeavor. 

The UX Researchers’ Guild is designed to empower independent consultants through education, networking, and support. We can’t guarantee your success, but having a community will help you progress more quickly as an independent researcher, increase your stability, and help you to not give up.

What are the Pros and Cons of Freelancing?

When considering freelancing, perhaps you have asked yourself some of the following questions:

How much do I value having control over what work I do for whom?
How will pursuing my own mission and values change my work life?
How much do I value working solo? How difficult will it be to find work?
Will my income support my lifestyle and benefits?
How much do I value the freedom to work when, where, and how I choose?

The pros and cons of freelancing vs employment might be best understood by delving into the various facets of each work environment. What might be a negative to one person, could be a positive to another depending on individual work style and preferences. The key is to examine where you feel you can do your best work, as well as how you can address your personal goals and objectives. Review the various work aspects below to determine which route would be best for you.

Control of Work<

• Employment: Employer controls when, where, and how you work
• Freelancing: You have control over clients, industries, projects

Hours spent

• Employment: On the clock; scheduled by the company       
• Freelancing: Freedom to choose when to work

 Projects

• Employment: Guaranteed work; clients determined by the employer
• Freelancing: Find your own clients; prepare bids and contracts

 Work Environment

• Employment: Access to research/design/product teams
• Freelancing: Flying solo; developing your own process

 Compensation

• Employment: Defined salary and benefits, including possible retirement packages; employer manages the payment of employment taxes (W-2)
• Freelancing: No guaranteed income or benefits; you set your own pay scale; personally responsible for payment of taxes (1099 forms)

Mission and Values

• Employment: Whatever the company has determined, which you need to follow
• Freelancing: Define your own personal and professional purpose and objectives

Freelancing may be right for you if having control over clients, industries, products, and projects; pursuing your own mission and values; working independently; having the freedom to work as you choose; and setting your own rates has a greater value than the difficulty of finding work; preparing bids and contracts; and a loss of salary and benefits. The decision is up to you.

How Do I Know If I Am Ready to Freelance?

Even after looking over the above information, you may still wonder if freelancing is the best route for you, as well as if now is the best time. Here are some self-evaluation suggestions that can help you determine your readiness.

Are My UX Research Skills Strong Enough to Freelance?

To begin this process, consider your responses to these questions in the following areas: 

• Experience: How many years of UX research do you have, and at what level?
• Industries: What is the breadth and depth of your experience, and with which industries are you most familiar?
  • Business to Business; High Tech Services & Software
  • Finance & Financial Services
  • Retail and eCommerce
  • Consulting
  • Consumer High Tech Services and Software
  • Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals
  • Education
  • Travel, Leisure, Hospitality
  • Advertising and Marketing
• Products:  How familiar are you with the following products?
  • Websites
  • Apps
  • BtoB and BtoC
  • Services
  • Devices
• Methods: Which methods have you employed on past projects?
  • Interviews
  • Usability Tests
  • Surveys
  • Card Sorts
  • Tree Testing 
• Tools: Are you familiar with a wide variety of popular tools?

Ideal: You have experience in a wide range of products, methods, and tools. Your experience is focused on specific industries, rather than spread thinly across many. 

Do Freelancers Work Alone?

If you are working alongside team members as an employee, as you consider freelancing, it’s important to take a deeper look at your level of independence, and how comfortable you are working alone. The following questions will guide you in this search for understanding.

• Are you confident in your skills and able to work alone?
• Can you apply what you know to other industries and products?
• Can you choose the best methods for each situation?
• Can you design a study and run it from start to finish?

Being independent doesn’t mean you will never interface with others. You will have contacts in the companies you work with, as well as different stakeholders in the various departments that will be impacted by your research. But it does mean that you are confident enough to work on your own more often than not and can go from start to finish alone. 

Ideal: You are comfortable with your experience and abilities to search for projects, present yourself confidently, and assess the best methods and tools needed for specific tasks.

Do Freelancers Need to Network In-person to Find Work?

Freelancing is never done in isolation, even though it might feel so at times. Having a variety of connections will give you resources to draw upon in your freelancing journey. These networking relationships work both ways; you receive help as you reach out, and are then able to assist others. It is a win-win situation. With regards to your in-person network, take time to evaluate how solid this network is throughout previous jobs and volunteer opportunities. To help make this assessment, take a look at the following questions to determine what connections you currently have:

• Are you well-known and liked at your current and past jobs?
• How many UX colleagues know and respect you?
• Do you attend local UXr meetups and events?
• Do you volunteer in any UX organizations?
• How many UXr managers know you and could hire you?

Ideal: You have connections in a variety of settings; you know people that know your work ethic and experience and might be willing to hire you for freelance work or serve as professional referrals.

Do You Need to Network Online to Freelance?

In today’s world, and particularly in the past few years, connections go far beyond your in-person network. How active are you in pursuing the following avenues and what can you do to improve your online networking?

• How many online UXr groups, speakers, and events do you attend?
• What is your level of activity on LinkedIn, Slack, and other social media?
• How many LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter/Instagram/YouTube followers do you have?

Ideal: You’re somewhat active in UXr groups in-person and online, post regularly, and are known as a UX researcher. 

Achieve Your Goals by Freelancing

Finally, think about your current professional goals as well as where you see yourself in the future. In some ways, freelancing could limit your professional growth. It all depends on your priorities in your life and work.

Before leaping into freelancing, take an honest look at your responses to the following questions:

• Why do you want to freelance? And why now? 
• What provides satisfaction and meaning in your work? 
• Do you want to be a UX research manager?
• How important is it to you to be part of a team? 
• Do your goals require a team or a large budget?
• Will becoming a freelancer limit your professional growth?

Ideal: Transitioning to freelancing should move you in the direction of your goals, not away from them. Having a better understanding of what your goals are will help you make this decision.

Evaluate Your Personal Readiness to Freelance

As important as professional readiness is, it must never take the place of your personal readiness. The two areas must be in sync with each other. Let’s take a look at a few key areas of personal readiness: finances, health concerns, and familial obligations.

Do You Need Money to Freelance?

It takes more discipline to manage finances as a freelancer rather than as an employee. Without a guaranteed income and benefits, it is even more crucial to plan ahead to be prepared for future financial needs. These questions address many of these issues:

• How will you support yourself when you don’t have income?
• Do you have savings or are you paying off debt?
• Do you have the financial discipline to spend less than you make?
• Are you prepared to manage the payment of taxes, a task that an employer would handle?
• Will future plans such as buying or refinancing a home be adversely affected if you begin freelancing?

Ideal: High financial discipline; low expenses/debt; and some savings; a solid understanding of current and future financial needs.

How do Freelancers Get Health Coverage?

One of the major challenges that come with freelancing is the loss of healthcare benefits for yourself and family members for whom you have responsibilities. As much as you would like to think that you will never experience a health crisis, the reality is quite different. While some people may decide not to have health insurance, or at the very least, sufficient savings in the event of such a crisis, is it really worth the risk? This area of readiness must not be overlooked. 

Consider the following areas:

General Wellness Security: What will you do for medical and dental insurance?
Obligations: Are you caring for children, parents, a partner, or others?
Physical: Do you, or others in your care have health issues or concerns?
Mental and Emotional: Do you have the energy to start something new?

Ideal:  You have the time, resources, and energy to start a business. You have access to medical and dental benefits for yourself and those in your care. 

The Benefits and Risks of Freelancing

Any decision is not without inherent risks. What would you do in the event of a future recession or a shutdown such as we experienced with COVID? How will you keep up with rising inflation? Having a plan B, including the possibility of agency jobs (also known as W-2 contracts) might be beneficial.

Whether you choose to stay with an employer or make the jump to freelancing, there will always be risks and benefits. Ultimately, you will choose whether the benefits of freelancing outweigh the risks for you.

Moderated by Martha Malloy, Guest Speaker on How to Freelance
This is an abridgment; view the full video presentation here.

Martha’s offering as a freelancer or independent consultant is unique as it includes UX research, UX strategy, and working as a fractional chief product officer.

What Have You Learned about Freelancing?

I have had a very meandering, or what I call a passionate, curiosity throughout my career. 2016 was a pivotal year where I transitioned from advertising and marketing into tech and found my love in UX design and research and even fractional product leadership as a Fractional CPO. Over time, I have realized that I have accumulated a unique skillset with my background in design, research, and product management. I can continually repackage myself in this quest to work less and have continued to evolve my career, a journey that has been really exciting. 

The first lesson I’ll share about this freelance journey is the impact of prioritizing my overall well-being and mental health. This was the main motivation as to why I left a “really good on paper” full-time role at Loopio where I was Director of Design and Research. I had been intrigued by the idea of a four-day workweek for many years. I interviewed for a number of companies and even tried to convince management at Loopio to change their policy. But that did not work out. In the end, I decided to design my own work life and stepped away from Loopio in November 2021 to go full-time at consulting.

Since then, I have discovered how to be compensated well working just four days a week. Monday through Thursday I work with clients and then use Fridays for networking and business events. With this schedule, I am able to prioritize my well-being and mental health and have the freedom to design my life in a way that I wouldn’t be able to in a full-time role.

In the beginning, I wasn’t sure if I could really commit to being an independent practitioner. I was exploring full-time role opportunities, and in some cases, interviewing on the side, and then also doing consulting work while looking for new business. From my perspective, however, going this route can be self-sabotaging. If you’re going to commit to freelancing, it’s important to stay as focused as possible, because if your focus is split in different directions, you’re not giving it the fair chance that it deserves. 

Another lesson I learned is how much I personally hate self-promotion on social media; it has always felt contrived and uncomfortable. Where I thrive the best is in networking situations: virtual or in-person events, networking breakfasts, or even one-on-ones where I can really chase after referral opportunities. This is in contrast to a woman I know who puts a lot of time into her social presence and being seen and respected in that way. That suits her really well.

So, the message here is there are different ways to market yourself. Find what feels right to you. Having that continuous “heads up” mentality is crucial to not falling into the trap of working constantly on your consulting, hoping that if you send out a few messages you will magically drum up new business. It’s something you have to invest time into continually.

What is a Freelance UXR/UX Strategist?

There are a couple of ways to look at this. Often, it seems that strategists work more on the agency side in higher-paying strategist roles. An interesting place to look up is The Moment which is an innovation and service design company. They have innovation strategists or, another term which is used, innovation designers. A company I worked for called Normative has a lot of different roles for strategists and hires contractors that are strategists.

But if you are thinking about finding a contract that a company is looking for, they generally have pretty traditional delineations. Are you a product designer, a UX researcher, or a service designer? If you’re trying to sell your services, I think referring to yourself as a strategist is a wonderful way to communicate that you have business acumen, as well as go beyond classic UX research and design into the planning, designing, executing, and sharing of insights.

If you say you’re a strategist that usually means that you can handle more ambiguous and complex problems and synthesize them into something that a UX researcher could use to conduct a study.

How Do You Balance Multiple Freelance Clients and Projects?

You need to know how comfortable you are with context-switching in order to decide how many projects you can realistically balance. I’ve definitely seen the advantage of working Monday to Thursday with a single agency client where I’m an embedded team member. In this way, I turn things on Monday and turn them off Thursday. Be careful not to overload yourself, especially at the beginning as you’re strengthening your freelance muscle. I admit I sometimes go over hours because my personality is to put in the time and work until the deliverables are up to my personal standards of quality.  

It’s important when thinking about how to value and price your services to make sure that you consider how you work and about the hours that you’re going to put in. Don’t forget to include the initial upfront discussion to get the actual contract to the final line and try to make that into a more fixed project fee pricing rather than just counting the hours.

In terms of Fridays for me, I have a sticky note reminder to constantly grow my pipeline or remember who I need to follow up with. It’s important to keep myself organized with the tasks that I need to stay on top of – not only the immediate needs of the projects that I’m on but also thinking through business development. This leads me to follow up more than I’d like to in order to push something over the line. It takes hustle and work to confirm or finalize contracts and figure out how to balance it all, but it’s worth it.

What is the Best Way to Find Freelance Work?

I usually only approach people when I know I can provide value to them. It’s not an “ask, ask, ask” situation because they’re people with whom I’ve built a good enough relationship, where I have the gut feeling that they want to help me if they can. It doesn’t feel like I’m promoting myself in this way – I’m just talking with a friend.

I’ve always had that practice my entire career with job searching. I think often people are too quiet when they’re looking for a job and they’re not telling enough people around them what they’re passionate about, what they’re interested in, or what kind of work or client they want to work with. 

I have found that even some of the most random conversations I’ve had have actually turned into business opportunities. That’s literally how I have my product discovery training engagement. A childhood friend and I were chatting and he thought of a CTO at an investor relations software platform company and said, “You two need to meet,” And that was it. Those organic connections are really important.

What is a Fractional Chief Product Officer?

I noticed a lot of startup companies invest in engineering at first because a founder has an idea and can’t turn that idea into reality unless you have engineers. That’s kind of a basic need from a software company’s perspective. They tend to over-index on engineers early on, and then focus on design and product management and other positions that fall behind that. They typically don’t have the budget to hire a full-time Chief Product Officer. What you’ll see at first is that they hire junior design product management people onto their teams, and then there’s this gap in terms of experience and knowledge and best practices when it comes to product management, design, and research.

I do everything from establishing a discovery practice to helping clients with product vision, strategic initiatives, and product pillars to having the research they’re doing bridge into building a road map for the team. Right now, this is anchored in research, but my responsibilities have broadened into product and strategy as well as optimizing the dynamics between engineering, design, and product management.

I’m kind of making it up as I go along because this is the first time I’ve been a fractional CPO.  It’s another stretch opportunity where I’m going to just figure this out. I’ve found a couple of other fractional CPOs who are willing to share their experience including what they charge for their services. I did my homework first before I came back to the founder and negotiated what this role could look like and what kind of budget they had for me to join the team. 

As a Fractional CPO, Do You Spend More Time on People or Process?

This situation is a little bit unique. I was fortunate because I’d worked with Quill initially for six weeks doing product team training. It wasn’t specific to discovery and we had actually received a grant here in Ontario. The founder applied for it and was able to cover a large part of my fees. So, I got to know the team on a coach level which was helpful to assess their skill sets and tool gaps. They were able to make a lot of progress in the time that I worked with them. This then allowed me to have this follow-up conversation with the founder which led to this opportunity of becoming a Fractional CPO. 

In my work now, sometimes I’m there more from a mentorship standpoint making sure that I work closely with the head of project management and design manager. The design manager is fairly early in her career and at times, I need to provide hands-on design guidance. On the other hand, with the product manager, who is in a more intermediate stage, I tend to back off depending on where she has the least amount of expertise which is generally around research. So that’s where I focus most of my time with her, whether that means directing her towards resources, articles, videos, or books, or working together through a challenge she is facing.

How Can I Find Clients that Need Fractional CPOs?

One of the things I have been trying to practice is that every time someone gets in touch with me, whether in business or volunteer interactions, I will ask if they know of any founders or companies that might be looking to hire someone with my variety of skill sets. I will also ask if they would be comfortable providing an intro or sending me their LinkedIn profile. Think about the people around you, those you already know, those who care about you, and ask them to be your “ears to the ground.” An interesting technique I learned from another freelancer recently, was to ask the founder that I worked with at Quill as a fractional CPO if she would post a LinkedIn testimonial about her experience working with me. That was very effective in getting a number of people to reach out to me to learn more about my services. Do not be afraid to ask for help from those people who want you to succeed and are willing to advocate for you.

What is Your Biggest Fear About Freelancing?

I’m married to someone who’s very sales-oriented and one thing that he’s encouraged me to think about is to look at the long game, and the long game could be like a year’s time frame. So if you’re doing a business plan development, think about what is the minimum amount of income that you can make in a year and still be okay; whatever that “okay” threshold is personally for you. Then instead of thinking about needing back-to-back work, think about how many projects you need to bring in this much money, and how much you would need to bill to achieve that.  

This kind of thinking helps because it’s hard to have work that perfectly lines up and I don’t know if that’s the right problem to solve or the best problem to solve versus if what you’re trying to accomplish is to reach a certain annual income. You might be able to make twice as much at a certain contract versus another. You might have more flexibility there that would alleviate some of the pressure of the back-to-back alignment of projects.

People that I have spoken to that are innovation strategists, for example, don’t have consistent business. But when they do have contracts come in, they’re big. So they actually live a lifestyle where they work a fraction of the year on projects and they have idle time to do other things. There are other things you can do like create passive income, like creating a course or some kind of content that people would actually pay for. Use your time wisely when you’re not being paid by a company to find other ways of making an income. Be creative, adaptable, and flexible. If you want to lower that stress level, I would encourage that sort of creative thinking.

How Can I Protect Myself Financially?

Payment terms are very important for a freelancer. The way I approach this is 50% of my project fees are due upon the start date and 50% is due at the end. That payment term depends on the company and I try to negotiate that to be as short as possible: usually 15 or 30 days. In this way, I cut the risk in half.

If you think somebody has the ability to pay the 50% upfront and you don’t get into any conflict or disputes, and everything goes well, that person will also honor that commitment for the last 50%. It’s always a risk. But if you are seeing signs and feeling concerned about the dependability of the client you’re working with, you might want to up that percentage and get more than 50% or even consider asking for all of it upfront. Use your instincts. If you’re feeling some distrust, don’t ignore those feelings and protect yourself in your contract and payment terms. 

Martha Malloy is a fractional product leader, strategist, UX research and product discovery coach with over 15 years of experience in technology and digital marketing spanning diverse industries (automotive, healthcare, education, travel, hospitality, retail, CPG, and financial services).  She has built brand, product, and service experiences for global enterprise companies (BMW, Spotify, Red Bull, Diageo, RBC) and tech startups (Loopio, Q4, Willful, Quill). She currently helps startups and scale-ups unlock new growth opportunities using modern product discovery and lean research practices. Martha empowers product teams to continuously capture powerful customer insights, proactively evaluate risks and test their assumptions through rapid experimentation. Find Martha at www.marthamalloy.com.

Moderated by Jillian Hudson, UXC; UXr Guild Board of Directors
This is an abridgment; view the full video presentation here.
Session 2 – October 11, 2022

Identify and Creating UX Champions

On any project, the best scenario is to have an ally in your corner at a client site – someone who trusts you and will help advance your UX Strategy. These champions may exist without any effort on your part, but more than likely you will need to win over business stakeholders. While not without effort, identifying and creating UX champions can happen – and here’s how it’s done.

What makes High-quality UX Research?

The main component to finding those UX champions is to present high-quality research. When you do this, you will set yourself up as the authority. But it’s more than making you look good. It’s ultimately about creating relationships.

• When you validate something your stakeholders already know, that makes you legitimate in their eyes.
• When you validate something they suspect is true, that makes them feel smart and makes you an authority in their eyes. 
• When you inform them of something they didn’t know, they can trust it because of the previous two components. That makes you a valuable resource in their eyes.

While these components may appear obvious, this process doesn’t happen overnight. You have to consistently produce high-quality work while still keeping your eyes and ears open for the response from your stakeholders. That is your power, and it will be an essential element in creating good working relationships.

Steps to Identify a UX Champion

Now that you know the importance of presenting high-quality research, what are the next steps to identifying a UX champion? It all revolves around taking charge of your goals and making stakeholders a part of the process. 

• You must be the organizer of all research-related meetings, whether in-person or virtual. Don’t try to tag onto someone else’s meeting – your presentation will be lost in the mix. Being in charge will help establish your authority.
• Always present your findings in a meeting. Don’t be tempted to send this information in an email (although emailing the details and perhaps a recording of the session later is always a good idea.) This environment gives you a chance to interact with your stakeholders. And during these presentations, you’ll have an opportunity to identify the most engaged stakeholder. This is your champion candidate!
• Invite all stakeholders to be a part of all research meetings and send them any recordings of these sessions. This includes business, product, tech, etc. Not everyone will accept all invitations, or even watch the recordings. But the invitations will keep them in the loop. By doing this, they will always be thinking about research because of all the touch points you have with them.
• In addition to inviting stakeholders to meetings, extend invitations to observe your research sessions. If they can’t attend, offer them links to any available recordings.
• And lastly, include stakeholders in your research notes distribution for each session.

Don’t be discouraged if you feel your stakeholders aren’t coming around as quickly as you would like. Remember that you are building relationships, and that takes time. Build those relationships and they will make time for you. You may not have access to the business stakeholders right away, but you can work with those who are super engaged; they are the ones that are willing to talk to you about how to steer the business. 

Creating a UX Champion with Research Bait

Jillian hears a lot about the need of finding a UX champion high in your company’s organization, but no one ever talks about how to get one. She has found that her process works and is repeatable at every company. It involves using research as bait! Good research is the best way to entice your potential champion to come out in the open and engage with you! 

• Over-communicate – you want to be on their radar as much as possible.
• Do your best research and create awesome presentations. High-quality research is the key if you’re doing it with those three components mentioned above.
• Ask your champion candidate to further engage in research.
• Ask for regular meetings to discuss future research opportunities—even 30 minutes once or twice a month is good. Talk about what’s happening and what is coming up – keep them in the loop.
• Look for signs that they’re evangelizing UX work – and especially research. When you hear other people in the company talking about what is going on, you know they’re thinking about the research, even when you’re not standing right there. 
• If they come to engage you in an early discovery opportunity on a major project, you’ve got yourself a true UX Champion. Congratulations! 
• Repeat with other champion candidates.

For years Jillian came right up to step #3, but never engaged the stakeholders directly. Being passive just wasn’t getting her anywhere. Being proactive opened many doors. Give it a try! 

Three Years Later – How’s It Going?

Jillian started on this path to identifying and creating UX champions three years ago. So, where are things going for her now?

• She hears about new initiatives when it’s still just something the business stakeholder is thinking about. She is aware of shifting priorities before they happen which allows her to be flexible in my research planning.
• She is a sounding board and brainstorming partner when they’re thinking through a business problem.
• Based on conversations in 1:1 meetings, she can create research and project initiatives that meet business concerns and the users’ needs. (This will be discussed further in Session #3. See details below.)

This process works! It’s about knowing what’s in stakeholders’ heads: their ultimate goals and what they’re worried about. To have stakeholders willing to talk to you and take your advice is priceless. That’s a powerful place to be.

It will take your best effort. And it may take time. But it will be worth it in the end.

Questions from participants:

How can I help startups see the value of UX Research?

For smaller companies and startups that may have budget constraints, you may need to explain that there is a difference between market research and user research. The market may be ready for what they want to sell, but that depends on building it correctly for the user base. Remind your stakeholders that with research, you’re mitigating risk. You will make sure you are building the right thing at the right time for the right users. Spending more on research upfront is cheaper than re-designing and re-developing the product in the long run and it’s the best path to set them up for success. 

What if a designer is asked to do research?

Many designers conduct their own design research, which can be very valuable to them and the organization. It’s important to explain the separation between researchers and designers. A designer who conducts research on their own work could be biased and perhaps ignore critical feedback. It’s important to communicate that researchers don’t create solutions – that’s the designer’s job. A designer has the tools necessary to reach those solutions. While this is obvious to UX researchers, it may not be that clear to smaller companies or startups. Take time to explain this difference before trying to sell yourself to them. 

What if people see no value in UX research?

To address this situation, Jillian shared an experience of working with a doctor who was not only difficult to work with, but would give her handwritten notes that were impossible to read. She suggested that if he could type them up for her, it would make the process go more smoothly. He eventually did just that but took credit for the idea. Jillian refrained from correcting him and thanked him for coming up with such a great solution. Over time, the doctor and Jillian developed mutual respect in their respective fields. Reciprocity can be a huge benefit to UX advancement but it takes time.

Leveling Up with UX Strategy Session 3 – December 8, 2022 – “How to Initiate UX Research-led Projects that Get Prioritized and Funded.”

Jillian Hudson is NN/g UX certified in Research and Management. She worked as a UX Product Designer/Usability Expert for American Airlines and as a UX Strategist and Researcher for Bank of America, and Wells Fargo Bank. She is currently the Principal UX Research Strategist at XPO Logistics. Contact Jillian through the UXr Guild Slack channel.

Moderated by Susan Shaw, UXr Guild Board of Directors
This is an abridgment; view the full video presentation here.
Session 1 – October 3, 2022

Susan Shaw designed this session to talk about freelance strategies and challenges for those who are interested in doing freelance UX research or are just beginning to do so. The discussion centered around four main questions:

• Is freelancing right for you?
• What experience do you need to start freelancing?
• How hard is freelancing?
• Is freelancing worth it?

Is Freelancing Right For You?

It’s difficult to know if something is right for you if you’ve never tried it. How then can you discover if freelancing is a viable career option? Other questions might arise as you consider this avenue.

Where do I begin?
How does freelancing work?

Before jumping into the deep end of the freelancing pool, perhaps it’s best to focus on gaining experience and creating a network within UX research. Then, when an opportunity comes, whether by choice or necessity, you will be ready.

One participant, who had worked for years in a corporate setting, shared how his journey into freelancing came about because of a need to care for an aging parent. He shared that this leap of necessity hasn’t resulted in steady paychecks, but it has allowed him to focus on his priorities. And, he added, “I haven’t starved.” He enjoys being his own boss, and not having to deal with the bureaucracy that so often accompanies working for an employer. His decades of experience before this move gave him the confidence to turn to freelance when the need arose.

When working for a company, if you work hard to accomplish the goals of each research project, people will remember you as someone more concerned about the project than your career or politics. Then when the need for a freelancer comes about, your name will be at the top of their list.

Connect with everyone you can – whether in groups on LinkedIn, or groups such as the UX Researchers’ Guild or at virtual or in-person events or conferences. Those connections are crucial to building your network, as well as your confidence as you consider the move to freelancing.

What Experience Do You Need To Start Freelancing?

This is the time to take an honest and unapologetic look at what you have to bring to the freelancing UX table. While it might make sense to have the same skill set that you are hoping to be hired for, your life experiences, in a variety of environments, just might be the key.

One participant shared that she had been a bartender and couldn’t see how that job could be beneficial when looking toward UX research. But looked at through a different lens, this work gave her excellent listening skills that encouraged people to open up to her—this ability to create environments where people feel comfortable and at ease is huge. As a UX researcher, having people share their needs and concerns is half the battle.

Another previous job experience that can be a huge asset as a researcher is being a teacher. In this profession, it is essential to know the abilities of all students in a class, and how to put them together in teams to learn from each other. Sounds a lot like a UX researcher! Just because you are now working with adults rather than children or youth, doesn’t mean that the same principles don’t apply. A business community, an office, or a department is not that different from a classroom.

When you include any previous work experience on a resume, bid, or quote, emphasize the communication, organization, and personal skills you acquired and how these can easily translate into a better understanding of a client’s goals and objectives. You really do have more experience than you think.

How Hard is Freelancing?

The first thing that often comes to mind is job security. You know what your income is when you work for an employer. But sometimes you need flexibility. Getting into freelancing allows you that flexibility. The decision to freelance may hinge on what you value more: the security of a regular paycheck or flexibility in your work. Making the move to freelancing allows that flexibility. You need to do what is best for you in your situation. That’s where the work/life balance comes in.

Another thing that can be difficult is the idea of having to sell oneself to find clients. This may be the time to create and frequently update your portfolio and then keep your eyes open for potential possibilities.

An example was shared of a man who was working for a company as the only researcher. He thought the grass was greener on the other side, and jumped to another client, only to discover that it wasn’t as good as he thought it would be. That’s when he was contacted by his initial employer who asked him if he would be interested in freelancing for them. The answer was obvious. He didn’t have to market himself – the opportunity just came to him. He had done very good work for his first employer and when he left, they wanted him back. He cut down his work week, had more time with his family, and increased his income. The key was being so valuable to his past employer that they wanted him back.

Making the shift to freelancing doesn’t always have the same fairy tale ending. But then again, you never know until you give it a try.

Is Freelancing Worth It?

This final question is closely tied to the previous one. If you give up the security of full-time employment for the flexibility of freelancing, is it worth it? This is a particular question that has a different answer for each person. It all depends on your priorities, and what you are willing to do to pursue them. How important are the following:

• Being your own boss
• Being able to work where and when you want to
• The ability to work with a variety of clients and projects
• Avoiding much of the office politics and bureaucracy associated with an employer
• Working with clients you enjoy, and on projects you love
• Having greater control of your life and your schedule

If these aspects of freelancing have a stronger appeal to you than the uncertainty of letting go of a full-time job with an employer, then freelancing just might be the right path for you. And if you don’t feel quite ready now, take time to assess your current situation and how you can better position yourself for future opportunities. You have nothing to lose in being prepared, and who knows? There might be a whole new career waiting for you.