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Design matters. There’s no question about it. Whether you’re a graphic designer, copywriter, photographer or blogger, any and all sorts of design will shape the outcome of your business from the moment you present yourself.

Think about it. We all know someone that has been gracefully blessed with the divine skills of something. That something can be anything. Maybe your friend is a spectacular photographer, but he or she has no sense of how to present their portfolio. In my own experience, I can see a direct correlation between the re-design of my website and the amount of new clients coming in the door.

But here’s the catch, nothing changed. My photography portfolio, built up of the images I use as my prime work examples, did not change. The portfolio section of my site was exactly the same!

What did change was the design. A complete rejuvenation of what I wanted my photography business to be. It was a reawakening of how to present my business, my services and myself – a new attitude taken to a new level. [Click here to read more →]

Tags: Ideas, Tips And Tricks, Freelancing, Design // 1 Comment »

I frequent a lot of forums and blogs where freelancers post. As I read through the forum and blog posts, I often find that other freelancers have posted complaints about the actions of clients or former clients.

Usually the posting is done in such a way that the client cannot be identified, but sometimes a client’s name is actually mentioned in the post.

By complaining publicly about their clients, these freelancers are engaging in a practice that most career consultants advise against: they are burning their bridges behind them.

A traveller who crosses a burning bridge cannot return the way that he or she came. Likewise, a freelancer who publicly criticizes a client probably will not get future work from that source.

Personally, I follow the policy of trying to work out any difficulties that I have with my clients directly with them, rather than complaining about them publicly. Once in a while, there are good reasons why a client may not be cooperating with a freelancer. Here are just a few: [Click here to read more →]

Tags: Legalese, Career, Clients // 10 Comments »

Meeting deadlines and targets is a major area of concern for many freelancers and web workers, especially if you get loads of work and find it difficult to do justice to all of them.

The topic of this post is not new and you are sure to find a lot of suggestions on the web on meeting deadlines and managing expectations and goals. However I decided to pick this topic and approach it in a slightly different manner.

If you keep the following 5 points in mind I am sure it will help a great deal in meeting your deadlines. And don’t forget to share your own tips and tricks in the comment section! :) [Click here to read more →]

Tags: Deadlines, Time Management, Productivity // 9 Comments »

In part 1, I gave you four of the eight violent truths about freelancing. They weren’t easy truths, either. They went like this:

1. Freelancing isn’t for the lazy.

2. Freelancing is damn hard work.

3. Freelancers work for more jerks than anyone else.

4. Freelancing is a thankless profession.

If you’ve made it here, it means you’re serious about freelancing. It also means you probably already know the other four violent truths about freelancing, but please humor me while I go over them anyways: [Click here to read more →]

Tags: Writing, Clients, Work-At-Home, Freelancing // 20 Comments »

Being a freelance writer is a lot like being a stay-at-home mom. People on the outside have this image of a leisured existence, while the reality of the situation is that freelance writers (and stay-at-home moms) are often busier than many “working” folks. God forbid you choose to be a stay-at-home mom who is also a freelance writer.

It’s this misconception of the freelance life that spurs my best friend to call me twice a week at 2 in the afternoon and ask, “whatcha doin?” He never once called me at 2 in the afternoon when I was a Network Administrator and asked, “whatcha doin?”

It’s this misconception of the freelance life that causes people to say, “What, couldn’t you get a real job?” when you tell them you’re a freelance writer. If they’re a bit nicer, they might say “freelance what?” or “Really? What books have you written?”

It might also be this misconception that has some of you considering the freelance life for the first time. Before you get any further, though, there are some things you should know. [Click here to read more →]

Tags: Writing, Clients, Work-At-Home, Freelancing // 22 Comments »

My recent post on work-life balance (complete with music video) has been hitting a nerve with many freelancers and entrepreneurs.

While being self-employed obviously has its perks, many people are getting the sense that building their business has been costing them too much in terms of family, relationships, and personal life goals.

What about you?

• What’s your biggest secret to work-life balance success?
• What’s your biggest struggle to achieving that balance?

[Click here to read more →]

Tags: Lifestyle, Healthy Freelancing, Freelancing // 9 Comments »

For many freelance professionals, the ebb and flow of projects is one of the most frustrating and nail-biting aspects of this line of work.

You just need to practice these 4 simple habits. ↓ [Click here to read more →]

Tags: General Business, Blog Action Day, Advertising, Freelancing // 11 Comments »

A lot of people start out by thinking that everything can be accomplished as a one man show, yet end up realizing that, at a certain point, things do tend to become overwhelming and, since we are only human and since the day only has 24 hours, acting accordingly is definitely a must.

Analyzing Your Situation

The first thing you need to do is analyze how things stand at this point as far as you are concerned. Are you able to handle everything or is it time to start taking action? You have to try your best in order to identify the tasks which are simply not worth your time.

Even if it seems that being a one man show works at this point, you have to analyze your situation and think about the future. The tasks which are not really worth your time do tend to add up and, if you don’t take action, you may end up working all day, only to realize that you haven’t actually accomplished anything worthwhile. Does that sound tempting? I didn’t think so! [Click here to read more →]

Tags: Take Action, General Business, Entrepreneurship // 5 Comments »

You know what a RSS feed is, right? Well, not a lot of people do! It seems many folks have no idea what RSS means, how to use it and why.

If you’re already reading your favorite websites via a feed reader, great, you rock! If, on the other hand, you have no idea what I’m talking about (you still rock though!), Daniel Scocco of DailyBlogTips started RSSday.org.

What Is RSS?

RSS stands for ‘Really Simple Syndication”. In plain english that means you can ’subscribe’ to your favorite websites and blogs and let these sites come to you and read them all in one place instead of having to visit every day or so. [Click here to read more →]

Tags: RSS, News // 4 Comments »

When you were a kid, did your parents constantly tell you to sit up straight and stop slouching or fidgeting? Some of my earliest memories involve just that scenario. I was always a fidgety kid; I never could sit still very long and the more I moved around the further down in the chair I’d go. Sound familiar? Now add in a few uhhhh’s and huh’s and it is a disaster waiting to happen.

What Does Your Body Language Tell Potential Clients?

Most of us realize slouching, fidgeting and stumbling over our words can be from habit. Some habits are good, however these are not and they may be sabotaging your best efforts to make a living. Even as I’m writing this, I catch myself stopping to pore over my words, or rubbing my face when a phrase doesn’t come together just right. [Click here to read more →]

Tags: General Business, Career, Clients, Freelancing // 6 Comments »