Doing data visualization freelance work for the first time? Five pitfalls to avoid.
For more than ten years, my work has involved data analysis to some degree or other, and I’ve been a full-time data analyst for six years. Data visualization didn’t become a passion of mine until I started using Tableau about three years ago. Occasionally I use other tools — primarily R (ggplot2, Plotly) or Python (Seaborn, Bokeh, Plotly).
Before the pandemic, I’d take on a side hustle or two occasionally, but after Covid-19 hit the U.S. and I was spending less time commuting, socializing, and traveling, I really honed my dataviz skills — I took the Tableau Desktop Specialist certification exam, learned Alteryx, and even put more effort into exploring the capabilities of the horrid, awful, terrible AWS QuickSight before my former company agreed to get Tableau. Looking for ways to apply my more refined skills, I started doing more freelance and consulting work, and I’ve done about 10–20 hours a week since September 2020 until I decided to give myself a short break recently. (One of my dogs had eight puppies, so caring for them and finding them homes has been consuming a lot of time!) I’ve made a few mistakes along the way (and watched others make the same or similar ones), so I hope to help you avoid the following pitfalls, aspiring freelancer.
#1 Thinking you need an elaborate website, lengthy portfolio, or anything else that keeps you from just getting started.
Don’t use excuses like “I need a better website” to procrastinate about putting yourself out there. It can be challenging to land that first client and yes, you do need examples of your work, but there are easy ways to create a portfolio and basic website without breaking the bank. My advice is tool-agnostic, but my main tool is Tableau, so I’ll use this as an example: instead of building a portfolio site from scratch, create a Tableau Public page and feature some vizzes of data that you feel drawn to or that you created as part of one of the #datafam’s virtual challenges. (Want to use Tableau, but can’t afford a license? You can now create vizzes on the web for free!) Take the time to peruse the profiles of some featured authors and make a note about what you like about their profiles for inspiration.
Create a simple, professional-looking, FREE website. Until recently, I paid $33 a month for a Wordpress plan that hosted a site I built myself a few years ago. It was functional enough, but I realized I needed the important information — contact info, CV/resume, links to my Tableau Public and other social profiles — all on one landing page. I canceled my Wordpress subscription and moved over to carrd.co where I have an easily navigable page that I created in about thirty minutes, no joke. Check it out. A yearly subscription is less than twenty bucks. No brainer. If you’re familiar with Github, Github Pages is another option I explored and I have seen others have great results with (this is an especially good option if you’re vizzing primarily in R or Python and sharing your code), but carrd.co was easier for me to build and I like the final look better.
#2 Undervaluing your work when setting your rates, even if you don’t have a lot of experience.
When I did my first freelance gig, the client proposed a rate to me and it seemed fair, comparable to my salary at the time if I calculated my hourly rate. It worked out fine, because it was a fairly straightforward project with pretty clean data, but if it had been more complex or I had to do many hours more data prep, that rate would have been too low. I recently asked the #datafam for advice regarding rate-setting on Twitter 🧵 and got some really helpful responses. I’ve since come up with an hourly rate, but I adjust it for factors that I set — complexity of the project, how difficult (or easy) the client is to work with, how busy I am, I just feel like it. Remember, it’s your business. You set the terms.
#3 Giving it away. Unless you really want to.
If you’re drawn to an organization’s mission and want to help, volunteer! A great way to get experience, material for your portfolio, and make a real difference at the same time, volunteering makes sense when you really want to do it. Carefully consider the time commitment, your personal feelings about the organization’s work, and their level of need, then volunteer if you want to. But you don’t have to volunteer, and in my opinion, for-profit companies don’t need you to work for free. (Some exceptions exist — a local business you really love that is struggling financially, for example.)
My company, Olive (we’re hiring!!), offers VTO (volunteer time off) for this purpose. We get paid our usual salary while supporting causes we believe in. It’s a wonderful benefit.
Want to volunteer but don’t know where to start? Check out VolunteerMatch for opportunities in your community and beyond.
#4 Working with friends, romantic partners, or family.
Trust me on this one. I made this mistake twice. All kinds of things can come up. Two real-life scenarios to consider, based on my experience, but generalized to protect the innocent 😆:
A friend’s company didn’t pay you correctly, so you ask the friend about it and she feels like she’s now in the middle of a dispute and becomes resentful.
Your brother’s boss is a dickhead and you can’t believe he allowed you to get involved with such a person!
#5 Under-estimating how long something will take and when you can deliver it.
My initial rule of thumb was “set realistic delivery dates”. If you’re new to freelance or contract work (or think you know how long something takes you, but you haven’t actually measured it), it’s easy to think you’re setting reasonable expectations for yourself only to find that your client hasn’t provided some necessary database credentials days after they agreed to. Or the data provided is much dirtier than anything you’ve ever seen. Or it’s hard to work with the file format (nested JSON, anyone?). There are so many unknowns going in to your first project with a client. Be very conservative in your estimates.
I hope this was a helpful post. I welcome feedback in the comments, especially if you do freelance data visualization work — what are your tips for newer folks?
