freelance jobs, writing, design

20 Must-Read Blogs for Freelance Developers

Posted July 2, 2009 in Programming, Tools/Resources 8 Rockin' Comments »

With all of the other must-read lists here on freelance folder, I don’t think it would be fair to leave out the amazing developers who are regular readers. This post contains 20 must-read blogs for freelance developers, from php to jquery, ruby on rails, css and general web development.

With all of the regular articles and tutorials being posted on these blogs, it’s easy for a beginner developer (or even a designer who’s dabbling with the idea of becoming a developer) to learn a ton of useful information. I personally subscribe to all of these sites and have learned more in the past few months that I think I ever have in my life. They’re definitely worth the RSS subscriptions — trust me, you won’t regret it.

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Freelancing Stories: When A Neighbor’s Tree Kills Your Power

Posted July 1, 2009 in Freelance Stories, Inspiration 18 Rockin' Comments »

We freelancers have to be resourceful. Just how resourceful, however, our clients may never realize.

The fact is that Murphy’s Law is alive and kicking in the freelance world — anything that can go wrong generally will go wrong.

You’ve experienced it. I’ve experienced it. In most cases, we persevere. We get the project turned in on time and meet or exceed our client’s expectations. Things usually work out well.

It’s how we’ve dealt with Murphy’s Law, however, that makes for some really funny freelancing stories.

Just for fun, I thought it would be interesting if we all shared our brushes with Murphy’s Law. Here are two funny stories of things that have gone wrong for me during freelance projects.

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8 Tips for Success When Freelancing On the Road

Posted June 30, 2009 in Lifestyle, Productivity 13 Rockin' Comments »

Let’s face it, most of us freelancers do what we do in order to have the potential to work and play on our own terms. I love setting my own hours so I can enjoy life, and I also love slogging away on projects that I’m really passionate about. One aspect of play that many of us want to take up is to be able to freelance and travel at the same time.

In fact, that’s exactly what I’m going to be doing in a few months when I start my 1 year (hopefully) journey around the world. I don’t start this adventure for a while, but it’s good to have everything organized before I back my bags and take off.

In order to help me prepare for my upcoming trip, and to provide a resource for any of you who might be traveling and working in the future, I decided to put together this checklist of what you’re going to need when traveling.

Some of the following items are more important than others, and some may not apply to you. I wanted to put together a list that covered as many situations as possible without being too bloated. If there’s something I missed or you have your own suggestions, please share them in the comments!

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How To Be Genuine and Nice in a Web 2.0 World (and Why It’s Important)

Posted June 29, 2009 in How-To, Marketing 17 Rockin' Comments »

In the past, we’ve posted here about the importance of monitoring your online reputation. That post was mainly about knowing and responding to what others are saying about you, or about your business, online.

There’s a whole other dimension, however, of online reputation management that doesn’t often get discussed.

It’s the dimension of how you, as both a professional and individual, behave online.

It may surprise you to know that some of the worst hits to your freelancing reputation occur, not as a result of what others say or do online, but actually as a result of what you say or do online.

Sadly, the reputation damage that you do to yourself can often be more severe than the reputation damage that others do to you.

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Open Thread: Do You Have a PDF or Web Portfolio?

Posted June 26, 2009 in Business, Open Thread 25 Rockin' Comments »

A good portfolio is a freelancer’s gateway to the world. It’s the primary factor that clients evaluate when hiring for a new project, and it’s the first thing peers and friends look at to determine a freelancer’s skill.

With the obvious importance of a portfolio, it’s no wonder most freelancers spend hours, days, or weeks creating something that looks awesome. Having a good portfolio is just that important.

But there are a number of different ways to create a portfolio — and not everyone agrees on the best choice. You could create a PDF with your top designs, so you can easily attach it to email sent to prospective clients. Or you could build a custom portfolio into your website (popular with designers) so you can simply link to that and be finished. Many freelancers do both.

Alternatively, there are some websites built specifically to showcase the work of freelancers, be it design, photography, or writing. Two popular sites of this type are CarbonMade and Coroflot.

How do you handle your portfolio? Do you use a PDF with all of your work, or a custom built website with your designs? Maybe both? Or, do you use something entirely different?

Share your thoughts and expertise in the comments.

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Five Mini-Vacations That Won’t Cost Much or Disrupt Your Schedule

Posted June 25, 2009 in Lifestyle, Productivity 14 Rockin' Comments »

Relaxation is important. There’s a certain level of stress inherent to freelancing, and the freelancer who refuses to take a break risks developing burnout and stress-related health problems.

Despite relaxation and breaks being so important, going on a vacation is a difficult thing to do for many freelancers.

For one thing, we freelancers don’t get paid vacation time like most salaried workers do. A beginning or struggling freelancer might not even have enough money to go on a vacation in the first place.

Also, as business owners we have to worry about being out of touch with our clients for an extended period of time. What if a client or a potential client contacts us with that “big job” while we’re gone? What if something urgent comes up that must be dealt with?

Fortunately, it’s not always necessary to go away on a long or expensive vacation to get the relaxation that every freelancer needs.

Here are five low cost or free vacation options that will help you relax and de-stress.

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