Recent Designer layoffs have started a new trend — Senior UX/UI & Product Designers seeking alternatives to full-time roles in a competitive market. Some jumped into side hustles, launched their startups or simply decided to start freelancing.

This year I started freelancing too, and I realized that coming back was really easy for me. The reason is an established client & project management process. It’s a skill or more like a set of rules that stay with you.

So I wanted to share with you the client process I’ve been using for the last 5 years for most of my freelance projects.

In this article, I will focus on the first contact with a potential client: what are some necessary steps to have a good beginning of your relationship, stay confident and align expectations.

Initial Contact

Most likely the first message from your potential client will be generic and won’t give you enough information. So you have no idea how big the project is or if it’s something you can even do.

Example 1: Hello! I am reaching out to redesign our mobile app. I really loved your work on [product].

Example 2: Hi there, Looking to make a design sprint and build a responsive website. Would love to setup a time to chat. Thanks!

Asking clients for more details

Personally, I don’t like jumping into calls unprepared or wasting both my & the client’s time on discussing a project I can’t help with.

So before suggesting a chat, I ask for some more details about the project to understand the approx. scope & client’s freelance maturity (it’s always nicer to work with clients who know how freelance works and you’re not their first hire).

Example reply for website redesign project:

Hey! 👋 Thanks for your interest in my work! To better assess your project needs, could you share: