Alright – I guess this is pretty vain, but I thought I’d start this website off by featuring me. If anything I guess it’ll serve as an introduction into who I am and my motivations behind this little project you’re currently on. Here we go..

Introduction?

I am Matthew Vernon – a designer from Sydney, Australia. I’m currently freelancing out of my bedroom, working for clients on a wide range of projects. I design websites, create strategies, develop brands and also write a bit of code. In between projects I like to make and build my own projects, with an aim of one day eliminating client work all together.

How this all got started

I have been working on freelance projects for almost as long as I have been a designer. One of my first real projects was working on the design of a printed flyer for a local cleaning company back when I was in my first year of design school. I charged $50. I continued to take on projects all throughout design school – and also during my first full time positions, but I officially left to freelance on a full time basis in February of 2016.

Before freelancing I had two full time positions – one at a tech startup and one at a digital agency. I always had ambitions to work for myself, freelance or start a company of sorts. But after graduation I still felt like there was a lot more for me to learn, and room for me to grow as a designer. So I figured getting some experience in some full time roles would be a great way for me to learn the ins and outs of the industry, and possibly receive some mentorship before jumping in to freelance.

Funnily enough – this wasn’t the case, as I was thrown right into the deep end in both positions, with very little help or mentorship. I had to learn things out for myself through experience. This was actually great, because I felt like I progressed as a designer much quicker than other people. I went from fresh out of design school, into a somewhat ‘mid-weight’ role almost immediately. These positions did teach me a lot about business though. They were both pretty small operations so I saw the ins and outs behind both businesses. The most important thing I learn from this is that absolutely no one has it together, everyone is learning, and everyone is making it up as they go.

Why freelance?

From a very young age I have always wanted to have a sense of independence. I have always admired people who have been able to make a living from something they love and enjoy, and aimed to some day reach that point. It’s a bit left of field – but when I was a teenager I was very interested in punk, hardcore, skateboarding and the DIY aspect behind these communities. I looked up to people that went against the grain of society and I believe these subcultures have instilled a sense of ideals that is still present within in me today. I may not be a pro skateboarder, or touring the world in a hardcore band – but I believe being my own boss and pitching for new work in a dirty Black Flag t–shirt is a good enough compromise.

Preparation

I don’t think I put much preparation making the leap at all. I didn’t have a lot of money saved up, I didn’t have clients or projects lined up and I didn’t know a lot about running a real business.

I was getting itchy feet in my full time job and was looking to make a move – another agency reached out and said they’d be happy facilitating my move into freelance by hooking me up with a 3 day / week contract position – so I took the offer and made the jump.

Now that I look back on it I kind of fell into freelance and had it pretty good, but it was definitely something that was years in the making. All the work I had been putting in prior to leaving – like my side projects, my website/portfolio, and my previous freelance experience really provided a nice foundation for me to launch into full-time freelance from.

Getting clients and projects

A lot of my first projects weren’t actually independent projects with my own clients – they were contract roles at design studios and startups. For the first 6 or so months of freelancing, I would be bouncing around between studios and startups (and the agency I worked at full time) doing 2 days here, 3 days there.. charging each studio a day rate.

It actually took a while for me to secure my first few real, independent clients. There were a few projects I got from random emails from people who had heard about me from friends, but another way I secured a lot of work was from Facebook Groups. I’m a member of a Facebook group that contains people from the Sydney startup community. It’s full of developers, engineers, growth hackers and people running their own startups – which means, there’s a lot of people that need to hire designers. Every couple of months I put up a post with portfolio and I’ll usually receive a few clients from it.

Cashin’ cheques

For agencies, startups and ongoing projects – I’ll charge a day rate. To calculate this, I doubled what I was earning full-time (to account for expenses, tax and super) and then whacked some more on top to account for periods where I am without work. I’ll charge clients less if they can guarantee work for an extended period of time, and I’ll also add on a “dickhead fee” for clients who I do not enjoy working with.

For independent projects with a scope – I’ll provide a flat rate quote. I usually work this out by estimating how many days I’ll need to spend on it, and then multiplying that by my day rate to calculate how much I should charge.

Side projects

I have a few side-hustles that bring in a bit of cash.

I run a clothing label for design nerds called Neue Goods. It makes money – but not a lot. I’m constantly funnelling it back into the business. So right now I haven’t made a profit. Clothing labels are hard work and require a tonne of brand building. It’s definitely a slowburn.

Last year I wrote an ebook called Sketch + Semplice, its a how-to guide for designers who want to learn how to build completely custom website with Sketch, and Semplice. It took me ages to write – and when I launched it I got about 30 orders in the first week. That was a nice little nugget of extra cash, but was kind of nothing when I thought about how much work I put into it. Since then it’s kind of become a “passive income” thing, as I’ll still get a few random orders coming in. Maybe 2 or 3 a month. Nothing to rave about though.

I’m also really into investing in Cryptocurrency at the moment. I bought up a fair amount of Ethereum before it boomed, so that’s left me with a nice little nest egg to sit on. I really believe in the future of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology – so I haven’t sold any yet. Because of that – I don’t really count it as money as it’s all hypothetical until your investment is realised. I continue buying up small amounts of both Bitcoin and Ethereum each week.

What’s next?

I don’t see myself going back to full time work any time soon. My main aim is to really solidify my freelance business – it’s still a bit shakey at the moment. There are periods of time where I’m without work and I start running out of money, which is definitely something I want to address moving forward. I feel like I still haven’t hit the sweet spot yet.

I’m also really focussing on learning how to code more. I’m really happy that I’ve been able to learn how to code up websites (like the one you’re reading now) – but I’m even more interested in learning how to develop web apps that can do things. I have a tonne of ideas and need to put them into action. I’m really inspired by makers like Marc Köhlbrugge, Hayden Bleasel and Jeremy Blaze who make their own digital products that look insanely good, work well and also make them money.

I hang out with my mate Michael Brunt a fair bit. We’ve collaborated on some projects and are always talking about creating a studio. So hey – that could also be a thing that happens.

I’m interested in opening up a lot more about how I work, and the projects I manage. I would like to explore different ways to showcase my work – like live streaming my process on Twitch, and documenting projects through little vlogs on YouTube. Even if no one watches, at least it’s a new avenue to work in.