The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
Back to feedPost
I drew faces constantly as a kid and never studied design. I worked at a few agencies, then left one I actually liked to go out on my own.
Today that's BrightStudios, and I've designed for 100+ companies and startups. Self-taught turned out fine.
The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
Related posts
First money I ever made online was $35
2013. Design was a hobby, t-shirts and paintings mostly. Then I found Freelancer.com, companies ran logo contests there and picked one winner
I entered one and won
$35.. but someone I'd never met paid for something I made, that stayed with me
After that I sold logos and business cards on Envato. Then I made a die-cut business card, nobody else was selling one like it, and that became my hit
Been selling design one way or another since then
Hey everyone! 👋 I'm Archie Jain, a Freelance Designer helping businesses turn their ideas into impactful digital experiences. ✨
Day 12/30 — Learning That Design Alone Isn't Enough 🚀
When I started learning landing-page design, I thought improving my design skills would be the hardest part of becoming a freelancer.
I was wrong.
Over the past few weeks, I've been building my portfolio, reaching out to marketing agencies, sending cold emails, and looking for opportunities on X and Reddit.
And I've realized something important:
Being able to design a good website doesn't automatically mean you know how to get clients.
Freelancing requires a completely different set of skills:
Communication: Explaining what you offer clearly.
Sales: Understanding what a potential client actually needs.
Outreach: Finding the right people instead of messaging everyone.
Trust: Giving someone a reason to work with you, especially when you're just starting.
Consistency: Continuing to improve even when responses are limited.
I've sent over 100 cold emails, and the response rate has been low.
It's frustrating sometimes, but it's also teaching me that simply sending more messages isn't necessarily the solution.
I need to get better at identifying the right prospects, understanding their businesses, and communicating how my landing-page work could help them.
My focus now:
Keep improving my Framer and WordPress skills while learning how to find, approach, and communicate with potential clients.
I haven't landed my first paid client yet, but I'm learning something new from the process every day.
Day 12 lesson: A good designer knows how to create. A good freelancer also knows how to communicate the value of that work.
#BuildInPublic #Freelancing #WebDesign #Framer