How Nick Became a Freelance Product Designer Making Six Figures

Lots of product designers dream about going freelance. No boss. No performance reviews. And you decide where and when you work.

And then reality shows up.

No guaranteed paycheck. No HR department. No sales team. No legal department. No one magically handing you clients because you updated your LinkedIn headline to “freelance product designer.”

So… how do you actually become a fully booked freelance product designer making six figures without setting your career on fire?

In this episode of The Design Table Podcast, Tyler interviews Nick about his full journey into product design. From discovering UX by accident during an internship, to losing early jobs, to slowly building enough confidence, visibility, and client demand to go freelance full time.

Nick shares that he is now a full-time freelance product designer in the Netherlands and has been fully booked with design projects for as long as he can remember.

We talk about design education, internships, getting your first job, startup chaos, consultancy life, salary negotiation, writing online, building a network, and the uncomfortable moment when you realize your employer is charging a lot more for your work than you are actually taking home.

Nick also shares why freelancing is not just “doing design without a boss.” It is sales, visibility, taxes, client relationships, risk management, delivery, and learning how to stay useful in rooms where your future clients already hang out.

This episode is about the messy, non-linear path into product design and what it actually takes to build a freelance design career with more control, more ownership, and slightly fewer surprise layoffs.