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freelance models, do you ever get overwhelmed?
I get overwhelmed a lot... especially when I see the absolute miles of models who are taller than I am, thinner than I am, tanner than I am, blonder than I am.... more experienced than I am... Heh. I know I'm nuts... I'm not a n00b but I'm not a pro but I really do get overwhelmed. There's a lot of talented people around here. Jun 07 05 08:34 pm Link The call sheet is an awesome idea. I've been doing something similar but it seems most freelancers are foreign to the concept and a little scared of it (a confirmation email - dear god no!)... hm maybe I'll just title it "call sheet" now  I do ask standard questions (Theda has a great example on her portfolio page) when I get a request - and while this usually screens out the "i think your purty. want 2 shoot u" emails - even professional, legit contacts don't always respond  For email, I add the contact to my address book - cell number, website, notes, etc. and it's automatically connected to their email address so it's easy to remember them and if not, click on their link and get a refresh. I only add a contact if a booking looks like it might actually happen though! (There are so many flakes, argh!) I had everything set up through outlook (email, address book, calendar), which I could sync with my PDA, but I've been on travel and unable to do that The PDA is great, esp with wireless internet and bluetooth, because you never say "I'll get back to you I have to check my calendar" or "what is this phone number for" and you can store your portfolio images, video and sound clips too. Just in case you're stuck on a subway and meet someone you want to work with, you can show what you look like after a decent bath Of course, none of this works without email... *There are no missed emails; there are missed calls. *There are no fuzzy, static, poor connection, dropped lines, can't hear you with emails. *If you or I need to refer back - or you swear I agreed to shoot while shooting ping pong balls out my * - we both can refer back to our conversations via email to clear up any confusion. *There are no busy signals or "voice mail full". *Email has the address. I know which "Mike" I'm talking to and how to get in touch with them. There is never a "No ID". *There's much less confusion - link the address to mapquest, link your website - no one gets the wrong information. Sighs... bed time Jun 24 05 01:47 am Link As a freelance model myslef i usually find a day anyday and that time of day devote myself to the process of elimination. during that process go thru all your emails u get and look at their work immediately to know who u want to work with and who not to. delete those that u do not want to. for those that you do reply immediately and go to their site and put it sown as a favorites in your site this will allow you to check back anytime... Jun 24 05 02:03 am Link Fascinating reading, just from a project management standpoint. In the corporate/consulting world, we're typically dealing with a ton of information but it's grouped within a handful of big projects, so it's easy to set up a hierarchical filing system with project and task numbers. But that won't work here... even though the total amount of information is much less, it's horizontally distributed, that is there are lots of individual photographers or models to keep track of, plus the temporal dimension. I know one model who sorts by e-mail address, even if you call her that's what she asks for, then she calls up a very detailed database on her computer where she stores a lot of info on each contact; she actually has a simple questionnaire that she asks people to fill out at first contact. Seems to work for her, she typically only needs 30 seconds or so to access a file and she has a solid reputation for reliability. Jun 24 05 02:34 am Link Sorry - this is completely off topic, however is anyone able to create a new thread at this time? Mine is giving me some kind of error.. Jun 24 05 02:47 am Link Posted by AshleyDanielle: Damn...thats a good idea. I should really get more organized. And I completly are with you on the "no info gets no info" thing. I HATE on line emails like that. Jun 24 05 02:58 pm Link I have the photographers e-mail me all the details. From their name and phone number to addresses to shoot details, etc. I save it in the folder that it belongs to. Then I write it down on a calendar and a daily planner. Then I e-mail several people where I'm going to be and when. I have people in each area that I travel to to fall back on and they will help me. People know what actions to take if I become missing. People know when to take action. It's hard to get into the groove of it, but after a while it becomes second nature.  Jun 25 05 02:26 am Link Afrter 2 years or so of freelancing, I'm on the verge of getting an agent. It's not that it's complicated, or hard to keep up; I just think that at a certain point, you're ready for the next big step up. And if it takes having someone professional to help give you that, then so be it. Jun 25 05 05:41 pm Link I wish I had this problem Hopefully one day I will get to the point you all are at.Jun 25 05 07:38 pm Link We the industry at one point end up in this situation I must say. Here is what I do. I have thirty or about email addresses to keep up with. I spent close to 400 dollars for a filing cabinet like what the attorney's have. I also use a program that you can purchase.Database Professional & then as a seperate purchase mymailing list. I archive all my messages. I do each individual by state on the computer. When I print them out I have green hanging folders that I do by state as well. I then have project folders that you can buy at any staples, office depot, or office max. The project folders give you enough room to write on the front of it tfp, paid and etc. On the top of the folder I list the state, project date and contact information for each individual you can put on the folder and etc. Then I also have a program called job manager that is designed for models and photographers. You are able to put what you need in the boxes such as company name, address, phone, then there is a job description box (tradeshow, tfp, paid and etc) Then below that there is a box for you to type the site that they are on, along with id and description of clothing needed for the shoot and etc then to the right of this there is a list and boxes for each such as job dates and times rehersal dates Times in & out and then payment information. I now have to update everything. But another thing that I am going to do is buy a backup system for my laptop and home pc so that I don't loose any information for anyone. Then if the back up system crashes then I can rely on the files in the cabinet or if I need to fax something. Excel does wonders for like the site url that you are on and putting username and pswd information to help keep up with everything. The site for purchasing modeling site club (the program for models/photographers) and etc that's really handy is www.ModelSiteClub.com it also has a password manager as well. I wish you all the best and hope that the information helps. I have two calendars "monthly" that I use one I keep in the car and the other on the desk and then I have a daily planner as well that really helps as well. In my address books I list them by state. Another program that I use and ask the photographers to update there information is www.plaxo.com you can get information for photographers from your cell phone including there address and etc. They update the information themselves and I think that it would be very helpful to all of us that are in the industry to use it for the simple fact it really is a small price to pay considering it helps to have information on you at all times cause you never know (you could possibly forget that one address book or if the computer system crashes you still have everything) I pay a annually membership but it's worth it. It will also convert all email addresses to it and you are able to delete duplicated email addys. Well hope this helps a lot of you and wish you all the best. Going back to read the rest of the information on the forum to see if I can add any knowledge to anything. Good luck everyone. Best Regards, Tressie Scott Jun 26 05 04:15 pm Link One other thing a great email program if you don't want to purchase one is www.gmail.com I do believe that it has to be by invitation and if so email me your email addy here on MM and I will send an invitation link to everyone. Just let me know. Thank you for your time. Best Regards, Tressie Scott Jun 26 05 04:19 pm Link Posted by Chanti: Get a backup system so that way you are not shit out of luck. Jun 26 05 04:25 pm Link As a freelance model...yes I do get overwhelmed. I am organized however, which really helps out a lot. I keep up with my emails, phone contacts etc. EVERYDAY. That way, it never gets out of hand. I reply to every single contact I get whether it be photographer, model, fan etc. It may be a lot to deal with but I am also a fast typer! And...organized. I am a very busy person. I am a mother, wife, model and help my husband with his business. I guess I am just used to being busy and running around like I am on a caffiene high. LOL. But yes, it does get overwhelming but in this market...people will notice you more if you keep up with everything and your not flakey. So just do your best!! Lots of love. McKenzie Jun 26 05 08:21 pm Link One word: Outlook. I guess becuase I have been in the IT industry soo long, it is my one-stop tool. I organize e-mails into sub-folders. Folder for those who I have contacted, which get moved to nother when I get responses. Another folder for communications regarding scheduling. Other folders for archives, some by model but most by year. Older mail gets archived to an offline archive folder which I actually keep open for reference. All folders get replicated each time I run an archive task. Any important message can be flagged. Messages that are time-sensitive can be flagged for follow-up with date/time set for pop-up reminders. Calendar function is used for any scheduled event, and I set pop-up reminders to trigger in advance. Often with reminders to do final follow-ups/confirmations. The idea of a paper-based filing system is too foreign to me. Way too much space. I have all my e-mail archived and instantly searchable going back to 2001, and I do use those archives... Jun 26 05 10:50 pm Link Posted by Michael Feinberg: Exactly! ORGANIZE...folders.. Jun 26 05 10:52 pm Link |
