Freelancing is a perfect way to garner extra cash flow. Freelancers start with or without experience, have no commitment to any employer, and choose which projects he/she wants to focus on. A website called Freelancer.com is a good information database that helps put a designers’ name out there in the freelancing world.

99designs.com hosts contests ranging from clothing & merchandise to logos for cash prizes. Designers read the “Design Brief” and start working on their designs. The contest holder judges and picks his/her favorite designs. Then, the contest holder will pick the winner. “99designs pioneered the design contest, where designers submit competing designs in response to a customer’s design brief—and the winner receives a cash payment for their work”.(99 Designs)

Another route one could take is setting a rate to charge a client. Judge the work and decide what it is worth. In general, freelancers charge either by the hour or by the job. Freelanceswitch.com has blogs on questions about rates.

Some designers build a portfolio for new clients to view. Clients will want to know the level of experience their designer possesses. This helps them choose a designer for the project they want the designer to accomplish. Some designers will pick out their best pieces of past work to put in a portfolio.

Some freelancing beginners will create a professional website using a domain name; e.g. GoDaddy.com. This will let clients know the professionalism of a designer and give a more credible look to that designer. A designer will want a web host that’s reliable, affordable and provides a C Panel; which is a way for a designer to manage his/her site.

If a designer needs help with his/her career, Lynda.com is a great place for a designer to search training videos on anything he/she wants to learn. The website has a massive selection of software tutorial walkthroughs with instructors that teach you in step-by-step videos.

It is a good idea for designers to create communication templates. Communication templates are bundles of information that has a designers name, address, email etc. This is a good thing to possess when a designer has a massive list of clients to keep up with.

Even if freelancer is only freelancing part-time or as a sideline, they will see many benefits from tracking their income and expenses, such as: Being able to see at a glance if they are really making money. They can easily tell how much money they are making, how much they are spending, and how much is left over. Being able to track the growth of their freelancing business. They can see which clients or types of services are bringing in most of their earnings. And a designer’s accountant will have a much easier time when they file your income tax.

After a designer has been in the freelance world for a while, he/she will eventually make a marketing plan. A marketing plan is how a designer intends to get in front of his/her target clients. A designers marketing plan will usually consist of these things; a designers freelancing goals and objectives, an analysis of a designers target clients, marketing activities, a schedule of implementation, and monitoring and evaluation.

Social networking is exploding and it can be profitable for everybody involved, including freelancers. Twitter has an endless supply of clients a designer can follow. There are many social networking websites out there for a designer to choose from.

Another good way for a designer to find clients is by searching for them in blogs on the Internet. A designer should focus on his career topics when searching for blogs. Google Reader helps designers organize their blogs into a list that comes from a feed of updated information. Some designers post and comment in forums that are focused on their career subject.

Some designers have partnerships with another designer who share their clients. This is a quick and easy way to make a profit rather than being a solo freelancer. A designer and his/her clients can benefit when working alongside those with different skills or ideas.