What’s the cut off point?
he past two weeks I’ve had two potential clients ask me to expand my services to more of a marketing roll. Marketing in the sense of, finding ad placement, booking promotional opportunities and new/different ways to promote their services.
Up until now my services as a freelance designer have been focused primarily in print and UI design. At first I thought of these new opportunities as a fun way to expand my horizon and open myself up to a new world, within our world. And then I snapped back into reality. I thought of the time and effort it would take to purse such a case, and then I realized that its not so bad to be good at what I do… and leave it as that.
I’ve been known to take on a lot of things (my closest friends know what I’m talking about). But when it comes to my profession, I think we should stick to what we are good at. Not saying we shouldn’t try new things, but when it comes to offering a professional service, I think there needs to be some type of personal evaluation in that process. I believe that you should have a good understanding of what you are doing before you offer “it” as a service. It just seems fair to your clients and to yourself to do so.
Is there a service you offer that is a bit out of your comfort zone? Know someone that does. Let’s hear about it. Is it right to offer something your new at in order to gain the experience?
Author Info: Joseph Gonzalez
I'm also a full-time graphic & web designer for the Community Foundation of Northwest Indiana, Inc. A Freelance designer under the alias Miracletwentyone.org, An adjunct professor at Valparaiso University and founder of the INsight Design Conference.
I am passionate about our craft, industry and community. I enjoy the challenges of life and the process of design.
I agree with your thoughts here Joe. We as designers work really hard to create great work and along with that a reputation for that work. If you were to start offering services that are outside of your expertise, you run the risk of damaging a reputation that you have worked so hard to build. If you talk with your client and make it clear that this is not your area of expertise and you could recommend a few people that could possibly do a better job, then you are helping your client without hurting your reputation.
I believe there are tons of people out there offering SEO services and when you really dig into it, they don’t know much. Or what they think they know is outdated. Look at today’s news that 301 redirects actually hurts your pagerank.
As far as offering these items as services… I think as long as your honest about your abilities, you can offer a wide range of services, provided you at least have a little experience in that service. Personally I would never offer a service that I have to personally worked in. I have worked in a very wide range of jobs in my career, but I am very well aware of what I am really good at, so I try and stick to those areas. If you want to expand your services, then study your options and attack those services just like you did with the services you consider your bread and butter.
SEO! ha, they’re are tons of people who specialize in that.
Yah I know. Once you talk with them, you know who knows what they are doing and who doesn’t. I am not a expert, but I have a pretty good BS meter.
@Joseph, lmao… Awesome.
Someone awhile ago told me to work on my sniper rifle!
This person viewed me as a service man with a shotgun. He said I use to run around shooting things hoping something worked. This of course caused me to seriously reevaluate my gamer ideals.
If you go in shooting in every direction your probably going to eventually hit something. However its these people that I noticed now, usually end up with more wounds then metals.
So I focus more on being a sharp shooter, waiting for the opportunity that best suits me and the give away my position if it’s not a sure shot.
This can also be counter productive as well, you have to take risks and have a little flexibility but never leave yourself to exposed until you know your in friendly sights.
I’ve been down this road and offered things that were a little to uncomfortable, and seems no matter how good of an actor you are its better to know your role or quit the play.
Be who you are and sell your character as well as your services.
Love the shooting/gaming analogies! Rock on!
I love this comment. I think it is spot on. The trick is, becoming an expert at shooting with multiple weapons!