Module 5: Freelance Business
Weeks 9 to 10
Objectives
Module 5 objectives. By the end of this module, you will be able to:
- 5.1 Identify three financial, legal or professional risks of freelance work and one way to reduce each. (Course Competency 6)
- 5.2 Identify the questions, clauses and terms (scope, schedule, payment, revisions, cancellation, ownership) a client agreement must cover. (Course Competency 6)
- 5.3 Evaluate a three-month post-graduation plan against your Personal Goals Statement and revise the items that do not fit. (Course Competency 1)
- 5.4 Explain, in a 60 to 90 second recorded answer, why you want to work for one organization, citing three facts from your research. (Course Competency 7)
- 5.5 Locate one stretch posting in your field, and identify one requirement you meet, one you do not, and a plan to close the gap. (Course Competency 5)
Overview
Many graduates in creative fields freelance by choice, alongside a staff job, or while they look for one. This module covers the business side: the risks, the questions you ask a client, and the written agreement that protects both of you. It also finishes your resume and continues the interview practice series with recorded company research.
About 16.75 hours in all.
Watch
- Freelance Business: Contracts, Scope and Clients (slides, PDF), with the instructor walkthrough video posted in Canvas
- Interview Prep Series, Part I: Conducting Research for the Interview (YouTube)
Read
Practice
- List the three questions you would most want answered before you quoted a price to a client.
Assessment
| Item | Group, points and time | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Resume 4th Draft | Process Work, 10 pts · about 2.5 hrs | Week 9, Thu Mar 25, noon |
| Freelancing Risks and Resources | Exercises, 5 pts · about 1.5 hrs | Week 9, Thu Mar 25, noon |
| Interview Practice 5: Company Research | Exercises, 5 pts · about 1.5 hrs | Week 9, Sun Mar 28, noon |
| Post-Graduation Action Plan | Exercises, 10 pts · about 3 hrs | Week 9, Sun Mar 28, noon |
| Spec Sheet | Process Work, 10 pts · about 2.5 hrs | Week 10, Thu Apr 1, noon, Discord the day before |
| Discussion: Stretch Job Posting | Exercises, 5 pts · about 1 hrs | Week 10, Thu Apr 1, noon |
| Project Brief with a Contract | Process Work, 10 pts · about 3.5 hrs | Week 10, Sun Apr 4, noon |
Critique (Discord)
Post the spec sheet and the stretch job posting to Discord by noon Wednesday of week 10, and leave three comments that each name a specific question, clause or requirement. Discord: course channel invite.
Due
All times are noon, Arizona time. Each item’s page gives its Discord, due and hard-close times. Work submitted after the due time and before the hard close (noon the next day) loses 10%; nothing is accepted after the hard close.