The Freelancer Life: Meet Yeshen Venema
“I found Squarespace the most intuitive and easiest platform to train people on. I realised I could literally build a website in a day. ”
Yeshen works with designers, makers and micro businesses to help make their work stand out. He’s a freelance Squarespace Authorised Designer, Photographer, plant lover and all round nice guy!
Almost a year after we first launched The Doers, and a lot of time spent helping our clients improve their websites, we decided it was time to take a piece of our own advice and invest in our own branding and website.
There was no one else in our minds other than Yeshen to build our new website for us, and boy did he deliver!
We talk to him about working for himself, being ahead of the curve with Squarespace, how to revamp your website on a budget and how social media and instant content has impacted his photography work.
Tell us a little bit about yourself, what you do and how long you have been doing it for.
I work with designers, makers and micro businesses to help them present their work more professionally. My main work is in product photography which could be anything from a simple shot of a ceramic cup on a white background to a highly styled, custom-painted set with a large group of products or a location shoot in a Welsh cottage.
Why did you first become a freelancer?
I wanted to work for myself and be in control of my own destiny! In my photography and website work I was self-employed for a couple years before we set up our own company 4 years ago. I still behave like a freelancer in most ways but establishing a company has given my partner and I a better financial grounding.
It seems like you were ahead of the curve on the move to Squarespace - how did you first discover the platform and how did you go about becoming a Squarespace Authorised Trainer?
I actually trained as a web designer in the early 00’s - when we had to either custom code everything or use apps like ‘Dreamweaver’. Then I used blogging platforms like Tumblr and Blogger until a friend in the USA recommended Squarespace to us in 2011. He had seen creative friends using it and thought it would suit us - he was right! It was great timing because I had just started building a site for the designer Sue Pryke on Big Cartel just as Squarespace launched their Commerce feature, prior to that they had been a blogging and portfolio platform. I found it the most intuitive and easiest platform to train people on. I realised I could literally build a website in a day. That was always part of my offering, to design, build and train my clients on their new site so they can own and edit the content in future. I met so many clients who had no access to their old site or did not know how to edit it - the internet is full of websites that are essential frozen in time!
It was a natural step for me to become an Authorised Trainer as a grew more confident working with the platform and understanding my clients needs. I can now offer one-on-one training or group workshops and get support from the Squarespace team.
How do your clients find you? What's been your most successful marketing channel for new business leads?
“Personal recommendation is the most valuable thing for any business, but especially freelancers. If you can do great work for your clients they take care of your marketing for you”
As soon as I started my business I decided to focus on designers, makers and industry professionals who support them. So I might start working with a textile design because they have seen me write a blog post for the Design Trust, or a furniture maker sees me give a talk at a Crafts Council or New Designers event and then asks me to help with their website.
Personal recommendation is the most valuable thing for any business, but especially freelancers. If you can do great work for your clients they take care of your marketing for you, its worth so much more than any advertising or traditional marketing technique. Referrals can happen in person, through social media or by email and in my experience it often takes 2-3 instances of a personal recommendation (or trusted industry org) before a client will decide to work with me. It’s all about building trust.
“You want to appeal to the specific type of client you want to be working with. You are not Amazon, you are unique”
What top tips can you give to people who want to revamp their website on a budget?
Before you start doing anything on the site spend time thinking about who you are, what you do, why you do it and who you want to work with. Nailing that down will focus your website because the last thing you want is to appeal to everyone - you want to appeal to the specific type of client you want to be working with. You are not Amazon, you are unique.
Without professional photography and/or graphics you site will look very flat and more like a template. Get a good photo of yourself and/or your team and make sure you have a professionally designed logo and well chosen font/colour pallet so the design looks consistent across your website, social and printed materials. If you can’t afford these, save up until you can!
If you really want to DIY - Squarespace has a free logo designer, Canva is a great design app for photo and graphic layouts and there are many excellent colour pallet generators and font pairing resources out there.
How has the rise of instagram and demand for instant content impacted what you do?
I was thinking about this and actually before the days of digital cameras and the internet, photoshoots would often be more high pressure than now… film would be whisked off to the lab and processed in time for a print deadline. I often do shoots now and even though clients get the shots right away they may not start using them for many weeks! I started working as a photographer and web designer right along with the rise of social media so it’s normal for me, but I know many established professionals struggled to adapt as digital came in and still find it hard. I try to give clients a large amount of high quality images for every shoot, I appreciate they want as much variety and value for money as possible. That said, one really great image can do so much for a brand, I have one ceramic client who has used one particular image on all her flyers, website homepage and it’s been featured in the press many times.
Where’s your favourite place to work from aside from your home?
My studio is in our house so I prefer to work there as it’s so lovely and peaceful, I’ve tried many different co-working spaces and did not enjoy any of them! I kept thinking why would I want to commute to a building full of people who basically want to work on their own little box. If I want to collaborate, I invite people to my studio.
I actually like working on written content (such as this piece) on long train journeys.
Share your perks - what do you enjoy most about working for yourself?
Being in control of decision making. Not having to go to pointless meetings. Not having to commute.
What are your top tips for anyone thinking about working for themselves?
It’s not for everyone, but I do think everyone should at least try it for a couple of years to find out. For me, offering a service or digital products (rather than physical products) has made me more adaptable. I am not stressing about suppliers or long term logistical issues. Setting up a product-based business like many of my clients run is very challenging. I can see first hand, especially now with Brexit, how so much can be out of their control. If you are offering a service you can be much more flexible and keep your overheads lower.
What are your top 3 recommendations - podcasts, books, people to follow, sources of inspiration?
BOOK: Company of One by Paul Jarvis.
Reading this reinforced my feeling that less is definitely more when in comes to running your own business.
NEWSLETTER: Future Crunch.
A dose of positive news in your inbox, they find the most inspiring global stories with a focus on health, tech and science.
FOLLOW: @justacard
One of the leading campaigns to champion micro businesses and small shops - buy a Pin to show your support.
What is the best project you’ve worked on since going freelance?
The most satisfying overall has to be Sue Pryke. She was one of my first clients for both photography and Squarespace and was making that difficult transition from being a commercial designer to launching her own product range. I’ve been working with her for close to 7 years and have seen her build a beautiful brand, get stocked in boutiques worldwide, land high end restaurant commissions and recently become a judge of the Great Pottery Throwdown!
What were you doing this time last year? What have you learnt or how have you changed since then?
*looks at calendar… I was running a Squarespace workshop at my studio which actually turned out to be very challenging due to everyone’s different skill levels. I have learnt that my website workshops need to be much more focused on the individual, whereas when giving a photography workshop I can easily accommodate a diverse group of 15-20 .
Get in touch with Yeshen for all of your photography and Squarespace needs yeshen.uk and oneday-web.com and follow him on Instagram @yeshen.uk
“That was always part of my offering, to design, build and train my clients on their new site so they can own and edit the content in future. I met so many clients who had no access to their old site or did not know how to edit it - the internet is full of websites that are essential frozen in time!”