One of the greatest things that ever happened to me as a designer was meeting my good friend Brad Ciszewski.
Brad is probably the best coder and most business savvy person I have ever met. We met each other when I was hired for my very first freelance design gig.
How I got my First Freelance Gig
I came back from one of my Photoshop classes during my college years and was so inspired by what I learned about creating web graphics I decided to see if I could land a freelance gig while I was still a beginner. To my luck the first person I emailed actually responded back and hired me!
My job was to create a new website layout for an online business and when I was done the website owners programmer Brad, would take my layout and bring it to life. The job went smooth and Brad and I became fast friends.
Since then we have been exchanging services and helping each other out as much as possible. I design for him and he codes for me; it’s as simple as that. We also share our knowledge with each other and refer clients back and forth whenever possible.
It has become a priceless partnership and I am not sure where I would be today if I had not met Brad on my first freelance project.
Start Networking Now!
My point is that you should start networking now and building relationships with people that compliment your skills. I was a designer and he was a coder and we were both able to help each other. Not only will you learn an immense amount from your friends, but you can money exchanging services!
Sometimes you run into people by chance, but most of the times you will need to seek out business relationships. Fire up those instant messaging services and start adding people you know from forums and other places.
The more people you know the better off you will be!