Make yourself unavoidable - Ben the Illustrator
Ben O'Brien, started out as an illustator and animator, even forming a successful studio. But he started to get drawn away from the creative side of things in order to manage projects and people. So he went solo and 'Ben the Illustrator' was born. Ben tells us about being there for his family, making connections to peers around the world through an awesome survey and knocking on doors and using side projects and social media to make himself unavoidable.
Being Freelance · Being Freelance - The freelancing podcast with Steve Folland and a stack of inspiring freelancer stories
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Show Notes
Ben’s always been self-employed. Right after graduating college, he hustled as a freelance illustrator and animator for two years, and grouped together with a team to run an animation studio for a few years after that.
Although the studio work was successful, he had enough of “wearing multiple hats” there. He'd been doing illustration work on the side and really enjoyed it. He decided to “break up the band” in 2005 and became…
Ben the Illustrator!
He still has the daily concerns that you get with running any business, but he can now wear his favourite hat most of the time: that of a creative freelancer.
He’s got the work-life balance down pat. He wakes up early to get a couple hours in, with a few more during the day and sometimes a bit more in the evening. The rest of the time he can be there for his family; he drops off and picks up his son from school every day, and has quality time with him every afternoon.
It was brilliant hearing stories from him about working remotely for clients around the world, side projects as leads for potential clients, and the renegade nature of freelancing.
Key takeaways:
- Showcasing your originality and ideas can be really helpful in generating leads
- Promote what you do where the right people will find it, and
- Consider working for other people in your field before charting your own path
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