Freelancefolder

How To Get Your Clients To Respect Your Time

Posted September 30, 2008 in Productivity

Last week you discovered the cure for “scope creep” as you learned how to set boundaries with your clients up front (and said goodbye to awkward client conversations forever). 

Now you’re ready to dive into an equally thorny area — how to get your clients to respect your time and honor the boundaries you set on email, phone and in-person communication. 

If you don’t nail this up front, you’re asking for a world of hurt down the road as needy clients suck away more and more of your precious, billable time.  Make sure that never happens again by mastering the basic communication policies that every freelancer should have.  We’ll start with email today.
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Open Thread: How Do You Deal With the Paperwork? (Administrative Stuff)

Posted September 29, 2008 in Business, Lifestyle, Open Thread

A few weeks ago on FreelanceFolder we asked you to tell us about your least favorite part of freelancing. We had a lot of different comments, but the most disliked by far was anything having to do with administration or paperwork.

“invoicing would have to be my least favorite part” — Adelle

“The administrative stuff. Invoicing, taxes, paying contractors, etc. All the awful, horrid, non-billable stuff.” — Tim Grahl

“The admin, the admin – invoicing, chasing clients for payments, renegotiating because the client has changed the specs, and all forms of paperwork.” — Sharon Hurley Hall

Freelancers seem to universally dislike the administrative stuff — but given that it is a necessary evil, how do you make it work? Do you have any tricks or tools that make it easier? Do you just bite the bullet and take care of it manually?

Tell us your paperwork secrets in the comments below, and feel free to pose a specific task or problem and ask for some ideas.

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The Dark Side of Freelance Writing

Posted September 25, 2008 in Business, Writing

Last week we talked about changing your world, and about how it’s so important to freelance with integrity.

Today, I want to explore that idea a little further and talk about one of the most challenging situations freelance writers can face.

Let me say, from the start, that I believe in what I do. I am a freelance writer by choice. There are plenty of other careers I could be pursuing, but this is the one I love.

Let me also say that I believe in profit. There’s nothing wrong with getting paid, and getting paid well, for a job well done. In fact, if you aren’t getting paid what you’re worth, then it may be time to consider a career change.

Still, there are some freelance gigs that can be very alluring, but that can ultimately cause some problems with integrity.
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What To Do When It Seems Like You Can’t Do Anything At All

Posted September 24, 2008 in Inspiration, Lifestyle, Productivity

“I’m stuck!”

If you’ve ever been a kid (or if you’re currently a parent) then you’re probably already familiar with those words. Those words seem to come out of a child’s mouth automatically whenever a problem seems too difficult to tackle.

Freelancers don’t usually say anything aloud, but we can get stuck just as easily.

You may have reached a point in your business where you can’t figure out what to do next. Maybe you’re stuck because you’re facing an exceptionally challenging task. Or, maybe you’re stuck because you’re dealing with something unfamiliar.

Whatever the cause, the result is the same. You’re… well, you’re “stuck” and you need a little push to get your business back on track.

Here are a few things that can help you get unstuck:
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Freelance Inspiration: 10 Examples of Truly Exceptional Writing

Posted September 23, 2008 in Writing

Writing is one of those freelance careers that manifests itself in many places online — which makes sense, given that most of what we find online is written.

There’s one place, though, that writing is conspicuously absent. Showcase, Gallery, and Inspiration posts typically ignore writing and focus on design and art (probably because of all the pretty pictures). Despite not having much representation in this area, I’d bet that most writers need and benefit from brilliant examples just as much as the next guy.

So, this post is for all of you writers out there. Here are 10 examples of some incredibly good writing:

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Open Thread: What’s Your Slogan?

Posted September 22, 2008 in Business, Marketing, Open Thread

Earlier this year we ran an open thread entitled “What’s Your Elevator Speech” that started an excellent conversation with a ton of insightful comments. Lots of people in that thread were coming up with elevator speeches, helping other people, debating best practices, etc… It was a solid success all around.

Today, we’re going to continue with that general topic and take a look at another important part of marketing: your slogan.

We’ve all read advice about creating a slogan — there is certainly a lot of it floating around — but chances are many of you haven’t yet settled on something you love. Why don’t you give FreelanceFolder’s readers a chance to give you some tips or ideas?

Write down your slogan ideas in the comments below, and we’ll all try to help find something that works for you. If you’ve already found the perfect slogan then feel free share your accomplishment with the rest of us, or help others work on theirs :-)

Freelancers: 3 Principles That Can Change Your World

Posted September 18, 2008 in Inspiration, Lifestyle

Most freelancers I know didn’t start out freelancing. They worked in a corporate office somewhere, stifled by the buzz of fluorescent lights and surrounded by paper-thin cubicle walls. They calculated profit and loss statements, they managed networks, they sold condominiums.

At the end of the day, they went home and forgot about their job until the next morning, when they dutifully rolled out of bed and went to work.

Work was good, of course. It paid the bills. It put food on the table. They found joy in other places, outside of work. They worked hard, and they played hard. But the only joy they got from work was the joy of a paycheck.

Sensing a need to make a difference in the world around them, they volunteered at rescue missions, they worked with Habitat for Humanity, or they read books to kids at the local library. Their job, of course, was totally disconnected from these efforts. What they did at work they did for “The Man,” not for humanity.

Freelancing is different, though. When you freelance, there is plenty of joy to be found in your work, as long as you know where to look for it.

There’s also plenty of purpose, too. As a freelancer, you have the power to change the world. The things you write or create have an impact on peoples’ lives, sometimes a significant impact.

Yes, there are gigs that seem banal. There are times when you’re little more than a gun-for-hire, hawking someone else’s wares. We take these gigs because they pay the bills, and we don’t need to feel bad about that.

However, with a little effort, you can turn your freelance career into a positive force for change.

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6 Simple Ways to Promote Your Online Business Offline

Posted September 17, 2008 in Business, How-To, Marketing

Over the years that I’ve been freelancing the number one complaint that I’ve heard from other freelancers has to be about the dread that they have for promoting their own business.

If anyone had told me twenty years ago that I’d be responsible for marketing and selling for a service-oriented business, I’d never have believed them. Yet, as a freelancer, that’s exactly what I do. I market and sell my writing services to my clients.

Back then, if someone had asked me to list twenty potential careers in order of how interested I was in each of them, sales would have come in dead last every single time.

“I just can’t do it.” One freelancer told me. “I hate to sell things.”

Another freelancer added this: “Promoting my business seems so boastful. How can I market my products and services without boasting?”

I absolutely understand those concerns. In many ways, they echo my own fears and worries. However, if you are going to be successful in your freelancing business, then you will eventually need to learn to promote that business.

There’s been a lot written about promoting your business online. If you’re like me, then you’ve already read a wealth of materials about online promotion. You may already even excel at promoting your business online. Good for you!

Now, it’s time to explore offline promotion. When added to your online promotion, these easy offline promotion tips are sure to increase business.

Here are 6 simple ideas for promoting your online business offline:
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5 Ways to Earn More Than the Average Freelancer

Posted September 16, 2008 in Business, How-To, Marketing

Most freelancers earn a pretty good income, nothing enormous, but still pretty good.

And when you think about the freedom and independence of freelancing, the money is easily worth it.

But what if it were possible to increase that income, and make a lot more than pretty good?

Well, it isn’t easy to do, but it definitely is possible. For those of you who are willing to try, here are 5 ideas to get you started earning more:
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