Over at freelance.tv, my pal and collaborator Dan Mall shares the goods on what it takes to be a world-class indie designer. Dan is not only one of the most talented designers I know, he’s also one of the most generous, openly sharing his hard-earned wisdom of making it work in this industry.
Here’s Dan on the early days of starting his design collaborative SuperFriendly:
I figured out what I was really good at, I figured out what I was good at that I didn’t want to do. I figured out what I was bad at. I figured out what I was bad at that actaully clients were asking for, so I should get better at that stuff.…
The ability to be a generalist is really important for a freelancer. When you’re working by yourself, you’re the CEO but you’re also the janitor. You’ve gotta take care of the plants, too.…
There’s an interesting time in the life of a freelancer when you decide, “I want to team up with somebody, or collaborate with somebody, or hire somebody to do the jobs that I’m not particularly good at.”
I’m very honored to be one of those collaborators—and very happy that Dan is so freakin’ good at so many of the jobs that I’m not good at.
