As a freelancer: half of your time is spent working on creative projects, while the other half is spent finding creative projects to work on. It’s a frustrating situation for creatives who are much better at creating their work rather than selling themselves. Unfortunately, it is a necessary part of the industry but there are solutions. One popular alternative is to hire a talent agency to represent you and your work. However, while there are many advantages to going through an agency, there are a few reasons to consider before signing with one.
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First and foremost, a talent agency eliminates the need for you to pitch yourself to potential clients or submitting numerous online applications. Typically, an agency has a team of recruiters that match the needs of their clients with freelancers that can meet them. With an agency you then have access to those clients, some which may be major corporation that are not approachable through other means. A talent agency also provides the opportunity of receiving frequent work as they actively seeks clients.
While there are numerous pros to working with a agency, there are also cons that may raise a little apprehension. When you sign with an agency, you are technically working for them, and not the actual client. That means the agency is taking a cut of your income for the work you are doing. In addition, based on the agreement you are required to sign for the agency, you are likely unable to work for a client without the agency involved, causing problems if that client wants to hire you on a full-time basis.
