ZekeArtZ

Today marks the 3rd week since I’ve started this new venture. Things have been going really well. My initial 2 Flash e-card projects are done. The first is for the Michael Jackson’s Thriller 25th Anniversary album and the second is for the IG & Lil DP’s “Tip Witcha Boy” album. These projects have been such a success that my client has requested to do a third e-card!

So what’s next? I received a new contact via my good friend, Mark Hayden, whom I worked with previously. The new potential client wants to do a revamp for 2 existing websites and have it redone entirely in Flash. Things are getting really exciting as I did not expect projects to come in so soon. Ideas are pouring in that I’m really excited about and I’m really looking forward to see where all these opportunities will lead.

On a side note, I recently received 2 new job offers. One of which I have already turned as the role would not be a good fit for me. My official title was to be Senior Project Manager. While that sounds really great, the scope of work involve doesn’t excite me… in fact, it terrifies me. I would basically be in charge of company operations dealing with development teams and liaising with account servicing staff. Very big role… very big salary… very big headache.

While the 40% increment in monthly salary sounds very tempting, this is not something I want to do. Their client base is in Dubai and while not required, it would be recommended that I go there every now and then to better understand the client. Being a newly wed, I do not want to leave my wife at home while I’m off somewhere in the world for several weeks.

The other offer I received sounds more like something I would do simply because it would be so much fun. I would be involved in making Flash games. How cool is that?! I’ve seen some of the company’s work and I know it is something I would very much love to do. I have gone through two interviews already and I’m currently waiting for a response from them. More details as things unfold.

My first project has gone live! Check it out here. I’m very happy with the results and the client loves it. Now on to my second project! Also, I will need to start looking for another 10 potential contacts to keep the ball rolling and the projects coming in. Thanks for dropping by.

Day 10 is here and I have good news. The reason for my lack of updates was due to getting my first freelance job. Besides my full time job, I have been busy communicating with a client over the past weekend and I have finally completed my first job on day 9. Things have been great so far and the client is happy is my work. So much so I now have a second job that I am about to begin. Both jobs involve creating Flash e-cards. I will share the results of my work after the official launch.

The potential lead I had yesterday went cold. The company I was in contact with suddenly stopped replying my emails without any explanations. However, I also identified 8 other companies and 3 individuals yesterday to send emails to. So far I have received replies from 3 companies… 2 had just got someone to do the job, and 1 looks like a very positive lead. So far so good. If things work out well, the income earned will be reinvested to set up a more professional website. It would be a good idea to separate my personal site from a professional site. I have also figured out some ways to add value to the services that I will be experimenting with. Things are getting really interesting now. More to come!

I have yet to receive any reply from the company I was negotiating with for over 24 hours. Worst case scenario, I won’t get the job but thats ok. A very strange thing happened as a result of pulling the trigger. My mind seems to have gone on overdrive as I find myself coming up with more ideas on how I could generate income and starting businesses. Weird how God made the human mind to work. I have identified a few other companies yesterday and I was thinking of offering my services to revamp their existing site to create a new Flash site. However after thinking things through, I realised what I really need is a long term strategy that will result in recurring business. So here are my next actionable steps:

1. Identify 5 companies that have ideas and need my skills to make it a reality.
2. Identify 5 designers who needs a Flash developer to bring their ideas to life.
3. Send emails to those people describing my skills and services offered.
4. While waiting for a response, identify 5 more individuals and companies.
5. Create a 20 questions form for companies to fill in to better identify what they need.
6. Figure out how I can provide other value added services.

Time to take some action!

To get started, here are the deliverables that I have come up with so far.

1. Clearly identify goals and project requirements.
2. Information architecture planning based on project scope and requirement.
3. Develop UML diagrams and documentation.
4. Develop architecture for all Flash assets with specific naming conventions.
5. Compile all assets within Flash.
6. Programming navigation skeleton to visualise project flow.
7. Programming transition effects between different pages.
8. Programming form features such as text fields, check boxes, radio buttons, etc.
9. Programming customised features such as mini-games, drag&drop, clock, visual effects, music controls, etc.
10. Add tracking / analytics feature.
11. Local platform testing and debugging.
12. Optimize content for different browsers and user bandwidth.
13. Upload project to staging site for testing and debugging.
14. Make final amendments based on feedback.
15. Upload project to live site.

I drafted out an email to send to potential companies briefly explaining what I do. I separated my portfolio into 4 categories: Personal work, games, banner ads and websites. Initially I included a tonne of links but decided to reduce it to my top 3 projects in each category. Depending on the nature of the business, I added up to a maximum of 5 links for that particular category.

Next, I started off by identifying 2 companies and I just sent out a plain text email as suggested in Christine’s book. Less than 12 hours later, I received an email reply from 1 company. I did not expect to receive a response so soon. I’m not sure if my first contact will lead to closing a deal but it is very exciting to see things moving forward. I’m currently in the midst of negotiating my rates. Even if this doesn’t go through, thats perfectly fine, because suddenly my mind has been blown wide open to new ideas and possibilities. I’m feeling energised, excited and I can’t wait to close my first deal. Onward, to find a few more potential companies! Thank you Christine for your wonderful book!

After reading Christine O’Kelly’s ebook titled “How I Built a Profitable Freelance Business for Under $50 … And How You Can Too!” and reading Dave Navarro’s post ”
Christine O’Kelly, I’m Talking To You!” I was inspired to give it a shot too. I am currently working full time as a professional Flash developer / Actionscripter fore more than 5 years and I have been looking for means to earn a little extra on the side. My reason is simply this… I would like to have a little extra savings for my future and also to have extra cash to help clear my debts a little quicker. So over the next 30 days, I will attempt to follow Christine’s advice to see how well it goes.