Category: Fashion Designers Get Paid Podcast
SFF151: Fashion Freelancer Q&A: Why Are Brands Ghosting Me?
You’ve landed a new client, and the trial project they requested went great! You’re ready to start the full project with them. But then, they suddenly stop replying to your emails. You try following up, but it’s like they’ve vanished. You’ve been ghosted. And it sucks. Were your rates too high? Did you do something […]
SFF150: Fashion Freelancer Q&A: I’m at Capacity! How Can I Grow My Business if I Can’t Take On More Clients? (Part 2)
Successful Fashion Freelancer Alison Hoenes has grown her freelance business to 75% more than her old full-time income in just 4 years. She has plenty of clients and more projects than she can take on, and she needs help! In part two of the interview, we dive into what Alison can do to keep growing […]
SFF149: How This Freelance Patternmaker Beat Her Full Time Income by 75% (Part 1)
How do you grow from your first few clients to a thriving, fully booked freelance biz? After four years as a Successful Fashion Freelancer, Alison Hoenes is earning 75% more than her old full-time salary, booked out months in advance, and still growing. And she’s doing it all without working insane 60-hour weeks (like most […]
SFF148 How She Built an International Freelance Fashion Design Agency from India
A common myth about freelancing is that it’s unstable, and you have to hustle 24/7 to get enough projects to survive. That was how this episode’s guest, PK, felt. When she had her son and started freelancing, she got burned by a client who refused to pay, and felt like she was constantly searching for […]
SFF147 “I turned my side hustle into my full time hustle”
You’ve put in the time and the work. Now there’s only one thing standing between your side hustle becoming your full time source of income: getting more freelance clients. In this episode our guest Connie reveals the simple change that allowed her to transform her side hustle into a design agency within 18 months. In the interview […]
SFF146 Fashion Freelancer Q&A: Managing Your First $4k Project on Upwork
You’ve landed your first big freelance project on Upwork. Now comes the tricky part: How do you manage all the moving parts, your client’s expectations and budget, and yourself? You’re not in over your head… you just need a game plan! In this week’s episode of the Successful Fashion Freelancer Podacast, I strategize with our […]
SFF145: How This Textile Designer Is Charging $60/hr on Upwork
Pitching on Upwork can be tough. Despite knowing you’re THE perfect fit for a project, it can be a struggle to get the right clients. Today’s guest, Lucia, found herself in the same situation. After 6 months of failed pitches, she was left thinking, “Is this really it for me? Why can’t I be a […]
SFF 144: Fashion Freelancer Q&A: Why Your Emails Aren’t Getting Replies (+ more on pricing, starting without experience, and finding clients)
Starting a new career is scary, and it can be easy to underestimate what you bring to the table when you do. In this interview, Heidi helps new freelance patternmaker Vanessa dissect Vanessa’s current outreach approach and strategize how to receive more email responses, starting without experience, what her pay rate should be, how Upwork […]
SFF143 FROM $100 TO $3K/MONTH… AND THEN I REALIZED I WAS PERMALANCING…
“Just realized I’m permalancing and I hate it! How do I ‘quit’?” Finding yourself in the world of permalancing can be unexpected. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned professional, it can still come as a shock to find that your part-time gig has become a full-time drain. What are the telltale signs that […]
SFF142: How to figure out your services as a fashion freelancer
One place new fashion freelancers get stuck all the time is figuring out what services to offer. If you’ve been spinning your wheels thinking you need to learn flats, and repeats, and tech packs, and patternmaking, and sourcing, and… maybe graphic design? before you can start freelancing, there’s good news: You don’t have to offer […]
SFF141: Why I Hired This Freelancer (and then hired her again, and again, and again!)
Ever wondered what your clients & potential clients are thinking? What makes them decide to hire a freelancer from a cold pitch? What are they thinking while you’re working together? And how do they decide whether to lose your info, or hire you again (and again, and again)? In this interview with freelance graphic designer […]
SFF140: Fashion Freelancer Puberty
Ah, puberty. That fun phase we all have to go through. When surprises pop up that NO ONE prepared you for… Everything is awkward AF… And you’re just trying to figure yourself out. Puberty may suck, but it’s a mandatory phase–there’s no getting around it. But I’m not talking about middle school, body hair, and […]
SFF139 Fashion Freelancer Q&A: CLO 3D as a service? Project pricing? And what about portfolios?
Even if you’ve been in the fashion industry for years (or decades!), transitioning to a freelance career presents a unique set of questions and challenges. Today’s guest has a decade of experience, but she still has tons of questions about how to turn that knowledge into a thriving freelance business. And we cover it all, […]
SFF138 How She Did It: A Fashion Freelancer with No Industry Experience
“It’s practically impossible to break into fashion.” If you’ve ever believed this myth, you’re not alone. And that’s how today’s guest, Brittany, felt after she graduated from fashion school. For 15 years, Brittany couldn’t get her break. But within two months of launching her freelance career, Brittany has already landed her first client and completed […]
SFF137 Fashion Freelancer Q&A: I feel like I’m losing my skills and confidence…
If you’ve ever felt rusty or worried that you’re losing your edge in your fashion career, this episode is for you. Tina is a freelancer in Germany. Coming from the activewear category, she now exclusively designs workwear, and loves it! But will her workwear clients notice that she’s “lost” her activewear skills? And how can […]
SFF136 Creating Stability and Fulfillment as a Fashion Freelancer
You shouldn’t have to choose between your fashion career and your family. That “9 to 5” (more like 7 AM to 10 PM!) corporate job might feel stable and safe, but sometimes sticking with what you know isn’t worth the trade off. As a freelancer, you CAN build a stable, fulfilling career in fashion–and still […]
SFF135 Fashion Freelancer Q&A: What should my services be? (The skills I have or what I LOVE?)
As a freelancer in fashion, should you offer the skills you already know how to do well, or learn new skills so you can do what you really love? Some aspiring freelancers get so stuck on this question that they end up doing neither (and putting off their freelance goals yet another year… or two… […]
SFF134 How to Be a Remote Freelance Patternmaker
Freelance patternmaker Alexandra doesn’t have a fashion degree, and she doesn’t live in a fashion hub. Yet with only a couple years of experience, she is now making more in one day as a freelancer than she made in two weeks at her old full-time job. Better yet, she loves the freedom to make her […]
SFF133 The Fashion Freelancer Who Never Wanted to Be a Freelancer
If you’ve never considered freelancing as an option for your fashion career, you’re not alone. Today’s guest, Amy, liked working in-house and was never interested in becoming a freelancer. But when she became a mom and needed just a little more work-life balance, she came face to face with how inflexible this industry can be. […]
SFF132 Fashion Freelancer Q&A: Pricing and retainers, WTF to do!?
In this Fashion Freelancer Q&A you’ll hear from Mari, a freelance knitwear designer who’s working on perfecting her pricing strategy. She’s built a successful freelance business, and she loves her work and the “limitless opportunities” that freelancing provides. But like most newer freelancers, she still has questions about charging for her services. From undercharging to […]
