Freelancer Spotlight with Samantha Glassman

I’ve always known I wanted to freelance full-time, but I wanted to get a design job before this for the experience. I began freelancing in the summer of 2020 on the side of my full-time job, and this lasted for a few years until September 2023 when I decided to pursue freelancing full-time.

In the beginning, I was helping out friends with design projects that would come to me, as well as doing some digital art and merchandise for people who reached out to me on social media. I had a couple of full-time jobs, which really did not creatively fulfill me, so I was always open to doing freelance work.

Over the summer last year, I began applying to freelance roles and started to work with clients on a consistent basis. I felt empowered, and honestly really enjoyed the business aspect of things.

I ended up collaborating with my sister on a lot of client projects, so we decided to combine our skills together and start an agency called Aperitif Collective dedicated to food brands and restaurants.

Now, I see myself as more of a business owner than a freelancer, and this mindset has helped me set better boundaries for myself and raise my prices.

I love how there are endless opportunities and that every day is different. In my past full-time roles, I worked on a lot of the same types of design work, but with freelancing, I can truly work on any type of project I want. The variety in the work is super important for me and I love how when a project or client doesn’t work out or isn’t working, I can easily pivot since I’m not stuck or tied to a role.

I started in April 2020, posting digital art on Instagram to help boost my portfolio. I also used it as a way to find my design style and challenge myself to learn more skills. From there, I started posting graphic design tutorials with just screen recordings. I love teaching others, so it was natural that I transitioned to creating content that isn’t just teaching others how to design, but sharing my experiences as a graphic designer and how I navigated industry challenges.

It really depends on the client. I’ve worked with agencies or businesses that I’ve contracted for on an hourly basis with a set amount of hours per week. But, for projects that are not recurring like brand identity or social media templates for example, I would initially track how long it took the first time I did it, factored in my expenses, and come up with a fixed rate for the project. A designer, who has been successfully running her business, shared a calculator to come up with pricing for profit, and now I use that for my business Aperitif Collective.

I would say my top tip is to fill your portfolio with recent projects that best show your skills. Making sure you share the solution you provided to your clients, rather than just the outcome, is super important, because potential clients are hiring you to solve a problem.