Follow & Subscribe to Resourceful Designer
Why You Should Work for Someone Else Before Becoming a Freelancer.
Freelancing feels like freedom—but for most designers, the fastest, safest route to a successful solo business runs through a paycheck first. Working for an agency or in-house team can dramatically increase your odds of freelance success.
Studies show 70% to 90% of freelance graphic designers fail within five years. Working for someone else first helps you land on the right side of that statistic.
Why this matters
Employment gives you a paid education in the business of design. When working for someone else, you learn about proposals, scope, pricing, client management, production, and presenting work. Things most design schools don’t teach. You’ll also build relationships that become future clients, collaborators, and referrals.
Working for someone else allows you to build a financial safety net while you build systems, a portfolio, and confidence. Additionally, mentorship and diverse projects sharpen your skills and judgment far more quickly than working alone.
The hidden curriculum you can’t learn in school.
Being employed first allows you to observe how others in the field handle demanding clients. Learn how to manage clients’ shifting scopes, approvals, and instances of ghosting, and effectively set their expectations.
You’ll also learn how to communicate with clients strategically and transform their wants into their needs.
Things will inevitably go wrong at some point in your career. Mistakes cost less when you’re employed because teammates can catch issues before they become disasters—and you bank those lessons for your future business. You get to learn without wrecking your reputation or cash flow.
Your network is your future pipeline.
A designer friend of mine landed a major rebrand thanks to a former agency colleague’s referral. That’s not luck—that’s proximity and professionalism paying dividends.
My first wave of clients when I started my design business came from relationships I made while working at the print shop. They knew my work, trusted me, and paid my professional rates. Two decades later, I still receive referrals that trace back to that time.
Learning client psychology in a team environment can help you identify red flags, establish boundaries, and transform scope creep into profitable change orders when eventually dealing with your freelancing clients.
Money: how employment stacks the odds
Desperate designers take desperate projects. A steady paycheck from an employer while starting your freelance business allows you to be selective and build the portfolio you want to showcase.
Two designers I know graduated from the same program as me, a couple of years apart. One jumped straight into freelancing after graduation and ended up begging for $50 logo projects to pay rent. The other worked at an agency for a couple of years before launching her business with confidence, consistently selling $2,000 branding packages. Both were talented designers, but only one had the experience that can only come from working for someone else.
I launched my studio while still working at the print shop. I used that time as “training wheels” until my freelance bike was steady. That overlap made all the difference for me.
There are also the hidden costs you don’t feel as an employee—things like health insurance, software costs, education, gear, retirement savings, and more. As a freelancer, you need to ensure that you are pricing your projects accordingly to cover these expenses while also earning an income. Working for someone else allows you to learn what expenses to expect.
Skill development and growth.
Mentorship matters. When I started working at the print shop, my supervisor would ask me, “Why?” about every decision I made regarding a project. Why did I choose that layout, that colour, that font? Although annoying at first, it trained me to think strategically and defend my choices to clients.
You also learn valuable lessons from the non-design teams you work with, including Account Managers (relationships), Project Managers (workflow), developers (constraints), and sales teams (pitching). That’s a 360° education you won’t get on your own.
Common objections, answered.
Here are some common objections I hear from designers who want to start freelancing immediately after graduating from school.
- “I want creative freedom.” New freelancers often have less freedom because they can’t risk pushing back. In a good team, bigger budgets, collaboration, and a steady paycheck actually give you more room to advocate for better work.
- “I learn by doing.” Employment is doing—with mentorship and a safety net.
- “I’m ready now.” Enthusiasm is great; judgment, pricing, and process are what pay the bills. Employment helps you build them.
When to make the leap (and how)
When the time eventually comes for you to go out on your own, I suggest the Bridge Strategy: start freelancing while still employed. Test your systems with one or two clients, build your reputation, and transition when you’re ready.
Before you make the leap to freelancing, ensure you have these things in place.
- Solid grasp of business operations
- Confidence in pricing and delivery
- Basic systems in place (client management, accounting, contracts, project management, professional email and website)
- 6+ months of living expenses saved
- A warm network of potential clients
Jeremy, a Resourceful Designer Community member, leveraged his experience working at a university to secure a $10k website project as his first freelance project—while staying employed and building his business the right way.
Pro tip: email can be a contract
In many places, electronic communications can form binding agreements if there’s a clear intent to accept terms (for example, statutes like the UETA in the United States). The intent behind the message matters. This isn’t legal advice—consult a lawyer in your jurisdiction—but do treat written approvals as commitments and use clear scopes and terms.
Action steps
- If you’re employed: document processes, observe pricing and scope conversations, and note what works.
- Build your emergency fund: it smooths the leap and the slow months.
- Network intentionally: colleagues, clients, vendors—today’s peers are tomorrow’s pipeline.
- Create your transition timeline with milestones for savings, systems, and client targets.
- Start small freelance projects on the side to test your systems and gradually raise your rates.
- Join the Resourceful Designer Community for mentorship, accountability, and real-world advice.
Questions to consider
- What if I’m already freelancing without employment experience? You can still seek part-time roles, mentorship, or structured collaboration to fill gaps.
- How long should I work for someone else before starting my own business? It’s not about the years—it’s about the skills, network, and confidence you build.
- What if there are no local jobs? Explore remote roles or in-house positions; you still gain team experience and professional exposure.
Final thought
Employment isn’t settling—it’s a strategy. Learn on someone else’s dime, build a reputation that precedes you, and make the leap to freelancing when you’re truly ready to succeed.
Did you (or will you) work for someone else before going solo? Leave a comment for this episode, letting us know your story.
CLICK HERE to download a PDF transcription of this episode. This transcript was created with the help of AI and transcription tools. It has not been edited for errors or accuracy.
Let me help you.
Running a graphic design or web design business alone isn't easy. If you're facing any struggles running your design business, please don't hesitate to reach out. I'll do my best to help you by addressing your issues in a future article or podcast episode here at Resourceful Designer. You can reach me via my feedback form
You can also follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
My Voice-Over Guy.
The amazing Wayne Henderson of MediaVoiceOvers.com performs Resourceful Designer podcast intros. Wayne is available to help you with any voice-over work you require.
