Bhumika: Turning Dreams into Reality

Bhumika is a freelance graphic designer, for whom, Art is an expression of thoughts, ideas, and feelings. Post realizing work opportunities in the art industry, she took the best step towards her dream profession and started working as a sketch artist.

As an artist, she embraces working independently, as it allows her to inculcate more creativity in her work. She generates leads by networking and building connections through online mediums such as social media platforms and her personal website. Along with personal branding, she highlights the importance of negotiation in the business world too. 

She is elated that life gave her the opportunity to convert her hobby into a profession. She cherishes the independence, flexibility, and exposure that comes along with freelancing. We wish her success in the future. 

Read her exciting journey:

1. Introduce yourself to us?

Hey, I’m Bhumika Malhotra. I’m a freelance Graphic Designer working with many people and helping them in promoting their content and brands through graphics for digital and print media.

I hail from Delhi; I started my career as a sketch artist in the animation industry which was the first best step, I took towards my dream profession.

Life made me believe,

“If the road doesn’t go where you planned.

Then it goes where it’s written to be.”

2. Why did you choose the field of design? How did you get introduced to this field? What fascinates you the most about your career choice?

Since childhood, the one thing I was fascinated about was drawing and painting. I never knew that there is a career scope in this field because everyone in school college or outside guides us to become a Doctor, Engineer, CA, etc.

No one told us about a career in Arts as it has long been taken for granted that Art is present in all aspects of human activity and culture. Know that Art has roles in society.

One role of Art is that Art expresses the emotions and struggles of the society it exists within, and inspires the society to cope and even overcome. It symbolizes the expression of thoughts, ideas, and feelings.

I finally got to know about the wide scope of my career in art and then pursued Fine Arts to get proper knowledge of it. That day, I converted my hobby into a profession.

3. Why did you choose to freelance? When did you begin to freelance? Were you planning it, or how did it happen?

One of the biggest advantages of working independently as a freelancer is gaining the freedom of choice and steering forward without any restrictions. Without restrictions, it allows us to become more creative in our work.

I started doing freelance from 2017. It has been 4 years since I am working on freelance projects. I started getting a lot of projects by sharing my work on online platforms and then I got connected with businesses through online portals.

4. What are the most prominent techniques that you use to market yourself as a freelancer?

I always make sure to update my portfolio on regular basis and to follow and learn new trends in graphics to stay updated in this field. I market myself as a freelance Graphic Designer by creating and sharing my graphics and artworks on my social media platforms so that they can be seen by many.

5. How to negotiate your deal with clients? What are the important points and techniques to keep in mind?

Negotiating is a part of business life for many people. My negotiation is based on the perception of the value of work as per the client. 

Tips to deal with clients who negotiate:

• Always establish the value of your work
• Make them understand the time and thought process that you would be giving to that project.
• Don’t work for too less price what you have actually expected because if you are not satisfied with the payment then you may not work at the same capacity of creativity and that reduces your quality of work. So, don’t negotiate too much.

6. Throw some light on the importance of choosing niches and working on personal branding for freelancers.

Personal branding is a must to grow in your profession. I always try to work for myself too. I upload my work on personal websites or blogs or designer’s platforms. This helps in the personal growth of skills and also leads to getting more freelance work. Remember, to always groom yourself with ongoing tools and techniques which are trending with the time.

7. What is the one major pro and/or con of freelancing, according to you?

The major pro of doing Freelance is that Freelancers have the unique ability to choose the clients they work with. Freelance jobs offer Independence, Flexibility, and Exposure.

Freelance can lead to inconsistent work and cash flow problems sometimes. This happens due to the delay in payments or sometimes for a couple of days, we don’t get any projects. Uncertainty is always there in freelancing.

8. What do you do to polish your skills as a freelance Graphic Designer?

I do practice new tools and techniques which help brush up my skills. Improving design skills by the time could get expensive, however, nowadays, there are a plethora of free tutorials available online, I always try to learn more.

9. What mission and vision do you have? How do you want history to look at you?

One who successfully converted her hobby into her profession.

10. What would do you differently if you had to begin your career again? What would you focus on once you restart?

If I would get a chance to start my career all over again, I most probably seek thorough knowledge in the same field by doing a degree course. Where, I would be able to know each and every bit of it, from basics to advance.

Bhumika can be reached out on Refrens, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

If you, as a freelancer are looking towards financial growth, read our article on How to raise your price as a freelancer? to figure out some key strategies for the same.