graphic designer needs help/advice

[pantonia 39]

I am soon to be allowed to work legally in the country and so I wanted to start preparing for it. in this area there are no graphic design jobs, so I'll find something else for now, but I want to start doing some freelance if I can. For that though, I need to get more a hang on things here. Are there good online forums I could go to? I don't know how to do a contract, where to print, how to pay taxes for such income, none of it... I don't know anyone I could meet for coffee and talk about it, so my only choice is to learn this online.. thx!

[3rd 84]

Hello fellow designer!

You'll want to look into starting your own business if you're going the freelance route and have never worked for yourself before. Ideally you'll want to work on your website and promotional materials before putting yourself out there. Luckily I've worked for myself on and off for years (and even through full-time employment) back in England so I'm no stranger to the months that are busier and the months that are quieter. You have to really have the patience for dealing with the admin stuff, as that eats up more time than you'd think.

A main suggestion would be to see if you can get a design job working from home? I know a lot more companies are doing this these days and it'll give you time to set up your own business and learn the way to file your taxes in the meantime.