Freelancefolder

Open Thread: What’s Your Elevator Speech?

Posted January 28, 2008 in Open Thread 64 Rockin' Comments »

Last week’s Open Thread was a solid success, with dozens of people chiming in to give their hard earned success secrets. Let’s keep the train moving with another all-about-you question: What’s your elevator pitch? You know, that 15 to 30 second description of what you do and why it’s so damned valuable that people shouldn’t think twice before investing their cold hard cash in the Brand Called You?

Um … Can I Get Back To You?

If you’re like a lot of people, you may not have ever even come up with an elevator pitch. But you need to, if for no other reason than to help keep you focused on on what your business is all about (instead of the tempting allure of being the jack (or jane) of all trades).

So … what are you all about? Take the time to come up with your elevator pitch (or refine the one you have) and lay it down for all to see. And if you have no idea what to say, ask a specific question and one of Freelance Folder’s 2500+ readers will likely shoot a few words of wisdom your way. Don’t forget to include your web link in the “Website” field of your comment so people can see what you’re all about. (Please no links to anything spammy, though!) [Click Here to Read More...]

2008-01-27 – Sunday Links Folder

Posted January 27, 2008 in Uncategorized 4 Rockin' Comments »

I hope you had a great week, met all your deadlines and got time for some more reading :)
As usual on week-end I like to share blog posts and articles I read during the week that caught my attention, I hope you’ll enjoy them.

Before we move on to the list I just want to let you know that Freelance Folder will soon have a CSS gallery section. It’s on its way, you can drop me a line using the contact form if you would like your site to be included (of course once it’s up you’ll be able to just go in there and submit your site), just put ‘CSS Gallery‘ in the title of your message. Only requirements: CSS Valid and table-less. Voila!

Also, one of our top commentators, Alan Johnson, is having a contest on his blog with over $1000 in prizes, check it out!

Now the list:

• Pros and Cons of a Freelance Career
• Top 10 Business Plan Mistakes (online document)
• Tips to Rock Out Your Band or Musician Blog
• The Facebook Marketing Toolbox: 100 Tools and Tips to Tap the Facebook Customer Base
• 21 Factors to Consider Before a Redesign
• Rookie Mistakes: 15 Blunders New Freelancers Make and How to Avoid Them
• Expert Advice On Picking The Right Projects
• Consulting: a Getting Started Guide

[Click Here to Read More...]

10 Personal Finance Blogs Every Penny Pincher Should Read

Posted January 25, 2008 in Uncategorized 17 Rockin' Comments »

Personal finance bloggers are growing in influence and audience. No matter what their goals or financial situation is tens of thousands of people over the past few years have turned to bloggers to help guide and inspire them to change their lives. In this article we highlight 10 must-read personal finance bloggers to inform and inspire your life.

1. PF Blog: PF Blog chronicles one person’s journey towards a net worth of $1 million by age 36. Take cues from this blogger so that you will be able to do the same.
2. My First Million at 33: The writer behind My First Million at 33 isn’t trying to reach $1 million. He’s already done that. Through some wise choices, diligent saving, and a fortunate turn of events, this blogger became a millionaire at 33. Read this blog to soak up advice from a young millionaire.

[Click Here to Read More...]

3 Killer Ebooks For Your Reading Pleasure

Posted January 24, 2008 in Uncategorized 7 Rockin' Comments »

I’m pretty sure I’ve read more ebooks than ‘real‘ paperback books in my life (not that ebooks are not ‘real‘ books, I find it’s just more convenient and it helps save trees!) This week I read 3 great ebooks and I’d like to share them with you. Here we go:

#1- A Profitable Freelancing Business for Under $50?

My good friend Christine O’Kelly, who runs Self Made Chick wrote her very first ebook (in 4 days!) titled: How I Built A Profitable Freelance Business for Under $50 (And How You Can Too!).

In her last blog post Christine says she went from being ‘freakin’ broke‘ to making as much as $8,000 per month, not bad! Not bad at all!

After only 2-3 pages I was hooked and had to finish reading it. It’s only 24 pages so it was an easy read, but seriously, these pages are filled with kick-ass tips & tricks and advices, definitely worth the $12 Christine is asking.

Here’s a quick excerpt from the ebook. If you’re a blogger (or a designer, photographer, etc… who blogs) I’m sure you’ll relate to this: [Click Here to Read More...]

Welcome To Our New Advertiser – XHTMLiT.com

Posted January 22, 2008 in News 10 Rockin' Comments »

Hey folks, I’d like to welcome XHTMLit to our growing family of advertisers and partners on Freelance Folder. You’ll see the new banner in the sidebar on the right. Big thanks to Artur from XHTMLiT/InterDevil.

Basically what they do is take your design file(s), PSD, PNG, AI, etc… and they convert them into valid XHTML and CSS markup, usually in 8 business hours.

That could definitely help me and free up some time. It’s always nice to let someone else make sure everything works fine in IE6 :)

What Do They Do Exactly?

Here’s the list

• Web Standards compiant (W3C Valid XHMTL and W3C Valid CSS) coding conversion
• Markup that works with all well known browsers and search engine friendly
• 50% Discount provided on additional pages, must be similar to first page
• 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed and Friendly Staff
• Free delivery and 30 days support from day of xhtml delivery
• Proper organized and structured XHTML and CSS
• Images are sliced with details and optimized for quality
• Fast and Reliable turn-around just under 8 business hours
• Everything is Hand Coded.

[Click Here to Read More...]

Open Thread: What Do You Wish You Knew When You Started?

Posted January 20, 2008 in Open Thread 71 Rockin' Comments »

“Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.”
- Vernon Law

The admissions office for the School of Hard Knocks is always open, and we’ve all taken our share of courses there. And while you wear your battle scars with pride, it’s always nicer to avoid the pain when possible.

If you could send a message back to yourself when you just started out on the freelancing / entrepreneurial path, what would it be?

Leave Your “Message In A Bottle”

Share your life lesson via the comments below and see what you can learn from the experience of others! [Click Here to Read More...]

2008-01-19 Saturday Links Folder

Posted January 19, 2008 in Uncategorized 8 Rockin' Comments »

Now is time for another ‘links folder‘ post, I’ve read a lot of great articles this week, in fact I’ve read so many it makes it difficult to decide which ones to link to, but I’ll manage :)

Take a minute to visit these blogs and read the posts, you might learn a thing or two.

Before we go on with the list, Joshua Clanton asked many bloggers to send him productivity tips written in Haiku form, inspired by Leo Babauta’s concept of Haiku productivity. Check it out.

Also, Ryan Caldwell interviewed me, you can read the interview on Performancing, it was real fun, thanks Ryan! (a little self-promotion never hurt anyone right? :) )

Now the list:

• How To Finish a Project In 10 Minutes
• Your Visitors Have A.D.D. – Six Steps To Keep Them Focused
• How I Stopped Listening To Experts And Started Making Money
• Make Money Online and Escape Your Day Job
• Small Business Blogging Map
• Advertising: Think Before You Speak
• How to get featured in magazines and newspapers with no connections…and turn it into mega-bucks
• How to Start Charging Your Dream Rates (and Get Away With It)

[Click Here to Read More...]

7 Ways To Give Your Freelancing Career A Boost

Posted January 17, 2008 in Business, How-To 14 Rockin' Comments »

No matter how small, your business should receive the same attention and treatment a large business would. The main objective of starting any business is usually to grow effectively and eventually step into a wider (and often more demanding) market. Whether you run a small business and have employees or you do it on the side in your basement, a plan is a must if you want to grow and get more business.

Being a business student myself, I have learned a few things through textbooks and some while I ran my own business. Here are some things that I think will help create an effective plan that will guide you through the success of your freelancing business: [Click Here to Read More...]

Welcome To Nick Cernis and ‘Put Things Off’

Posted January 16, 2008 in News 2 Rockin' Comments »

Hello everyone, I’d like to welcome our new advertiser/partner, Nick Cernis of Put Things Off (welcome Nick!).

Put Things Off (PTO) is a fairly new blog that looks very promising and I’m sure many of you folks will love it. Even though there is not a lot of content (hey it’s new!), what’s on there already is definitely worth reading, and I’m really looking forward to more.

My personal favorites so far:

• Productivity For Beginners Series – part 2, part 3
• 28 Ways to Beat the Procrastination Demon

Oh and I love the cartoons, it really adds a little ‘something‘ :)

Say hello to Nick, check out Put Things Off, and subscribe to the RSS feed here. Hope you enjoy PTO!