Save Money, Enhance Your Freelance Business with Stock

Credit: chrisdlugosz on Flickr

Yep, I’m going there. I’m going in front of a crowd of freelance professionals and suggesting the use of stock, and I’m not just talking about photos. I’ve been a freelancer, and have been among freelancers long enough to know exactly what follows the mere mention of the word stock.

First someone comes out and says that anyone who uses stock is lazy and untalented. Then someone adds unethical to the mix. Then, inevitably, someone who calls themselves a web designer comes along and rubs your nose in the fact that he’s bringing in big bucks doing nothing more than customizing pre-made themes. Now before you join the cyber lynch mob, hear me out while I explain the appropriate way to use stock as a freelance professional, and demonstrate how using stock can improve your profit margin.

Types of Stock Users

Just about everyone who uses stock can be bunched into one of two categories – those who use it to enhance their design and development skills, and those who use it instead of having design and development skills.

The old adage, ‘time is money,’ applies to a freelancer more than anyone.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s definitely a time and a place for complete out-of-box templates that require nothing more than minor customization. Website and business card templates can be a godsend to small start-ups with little or no money budgeted for promoting their new business ventrue. They’re also great for any business that doesn’t need special features and doesn’t care if their design is custom. There are plenty of freelancers who make a living off this type of client. As long as the freelancer is up front with the client about what they’re getting, there’s really nothing wrong with this. Let’s be honest, that’s not the type of client you want anyway.

Now let’s talk about you. You’re a top-notch designer or developer who doesn’t need help from anyone else, let alone from some stock site. You’re also an independent contractor. That means that if you’re not producing, you’re not making money. Long gone are the days of sitting in a cubicle receiving the same paycheck regardless of whether your time was spent working or playing solitaire. The old adage, “time is money,” applies to a freelancer more than anyone. That means that every moment saved is another dollar in your pocket, and that’s why I use stock.

Seamless Stock Usage

The key to using stock is to include it in your project in a way that no one will ever notice.

The key to using stock is to include it in your project in a way that no one will ever notice. Let me give you a real-world example:

Awhile ago I was contracted by an agency to do all the ActionScript work for a major deodorant company. One part of the project involved a basketball that came bouncing in from the side of the screen. When the user clicked on it, it came close to the screen and a few quiz questions appeared. You answered the questions and it told you which deodorant was right for you. If you gave just the right combo of particularly “sissy” responses, instead of telling you which deodorant you should use, it would mock you as kittens and flowers rained down the screen.

The code to make the kitten storm work was nothing more than a simple as3 particle creator. It was certainly something I could have done myself. That said, the more quickly I could get the job done, the more money I would make, and the happier the client would be. I ended up buying an $8 pre-made component, spent about 5 minutes customizing it to my needs, and it was good to go. I ended up using 4 pieces of stock in the project, saving me several hundred dollars worth of work.

Could you tell that I used stock? No. Did I bother telling the client? No. Would the client care? Absolutely not. What they want is a quick, custom product that fits within their budget. They don’t want to hear every detail of how you made it. Would you tell the client if you used TweenMax or jQuery in your freelance work? Of course not. Why? Because those are just tools that help you create a better final product. When used properly, stock is no different.

Envato Stock Sites

Here are some Envato sites that will help get you on your way to using stock to speed up your workflow, and improve your bottom line as a freelancer.

• ActiveDen – Stock Flash and Flex
• CodeCanyon – PHP, jQuery, and CSS
• GraphicRiver – PSD’s, vectors, and addons
• AudioJungle – Stock music and sound effects
• VideoHive – After Effects project files, motion graphics, and stock footage
• 3dOcean – Stock 3d models, HDRI images, and materials
• Unity 3d – Stock Unity 3d prefabs and game starter kits
• ThemeForest – WordPress themes, landing pages, and site templates

Photo credit: Some rights reserved by chrisdlugosz.