Freelancefolder

Open Thread: Is The Economy Hurting Your Business?

Posted October 13, 2008 in Business, Open Thread 21 Rockin' Comments »

This Monday I want to discuss something a little more serious. No matter what country you’ve been hiding in, chances are you’ve heard about the economic turmoil that’s plagued most of the world. Things have become very tough for a lot of people.

But what about us, as freelancers?

Freelancers are definitely better off in some ways — we can’t be fired, after all — but depending on the industry, we could be just as vulnerable as anyone else. It’s not easy to run a freelance business if clients aren’t buying…

How are you handling the economic changes? What effects have you seen in your business? Are you doing anything different as a result, or to prepare?

8 Strategies For Successful Relations With Clients

Posted October 10, 2008 in freelancenews Add Comment »

8 Strategies For Successful Relations With Clients
Let’s face it. Some days, you want to just fire your clients. You go through one too many comps, iterations or edits and you’ve had enough. It has happened to everyone at least once and I’d be lying if I said it won’t happen again.

Save Money on Taxes by Deducting Your Office Expenses

Posted October 9, 2008 in Business, Tools/Resources 7 Rockin' Comments »

As a freelancer, you can write off an amazing amount of your spending on your taxes. If you work from home, you can write off a percentage of your mortgage or rent and utilities. If you don’t have a commute, you can write off the cost of transportation for any business errands you run. You can even write off membership dues for organizations related to your business.

There are thousands of different deductions you can take, but keeping track of them can easily drive you out of your mind. Receipts, usage logs and more are enough to eat up all of a freelancer’s time. There are a few steps you can take, though, to make deducting your business expenses easier.
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How To Give a Public Speech and Still Appear Confident

Posted October 8, 2008 in Marketing 23 Rockin' Comments »

Public speaking . . . it’s the number one fear of most adults. That fear is even greater if you happen to be shy.

Yet, most small business owners will be required to make a public presentation at some point in their career.

Whether it’s a proposal presented to clients, or a talk before a professional organization, the ability to speak well in public can bolster your freelancer business in ways that nothing else can.

Quickly, some of the benefits you can get from making a public presentation include:

• Broadening your potential client base
• Establishing yourself as an expert
• Be seen as more human and more “approachable”
• Giving customers the chance to ask questions
• Getting additional publicity for your freelance business

But, this blog post isn’t about the benefits of making a public presentation. Rather, this blog post is written to help you get comfortable doing something that, in all likelihood, you’d rather not do.

Although most of us would rather not give a public speech, there are some techniques to help you feel more comfortable about it. Here are a few of them:

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Top 8 Friendly Designers Worth Following On Twitter!

Posted October 8, 2008 in freelancenews Add Comment »

Top 8 Friendly Designers Worth Following On Twitter!
There has been many posts about designers to follow on twitter, which I did, most don’t follow back most don’t answer @’s or dm’s so i thought I would make a post about the friendliest designer’s on Twitter!

How Usable Is Your Copy?

Posted October 8, 2008 in freelancenews Add Comment »

How Usable Is Your Copy?
When we talk about usability, we generally refer to the user interface (UI) — the layout of buttons, labels, tabs and so on. But there is one other element that should not be ignored as it alone can waste all the hard work you’ve put into crafting a beautiful UI. Copy.

3 Reasons Your Rates Are Still Low (And How To Start Raising Them)

Posted October 7, 2008 in Business, How-To, Marketing 22 Rockin' Comments »

If your rates are lower than you want them to be, don’t blame the economy.  Don’t blame the state of your particular industry.  And for the love of the business, don’t blame the competition.

If your paychecks aren’t all you’ve been hoping for, you’ve got to take a good look in the mirror and think about how you’re running your business.

Here are 3 common rate-killing mistakes that could be keeping you scrounging rather than thriving.

Let’s dive in.
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Open Thread: What’s Most Important to Your Freelance Success?

Posted October 6, 2008 in Open Thread 11 Rockin' Comments »

Most people who read this blog will agree that freelancing isn’t easy. Success doesn’t just come naturally, and there is a lot that ends up contributing to it.

But what is the most important factor? What really determines how successful you will be?

A lot of people say that sheer effort and hard work will contribute to a successful freelance business. On the other hand, some people say that you need knowledge and lots of intelligence. Some would say you need creativity.

Are any of those the answer? Is it motivation, will power, being interested in what you do? Some magical combination of these things?

What do you think is most important to your success?

25 Ways to be More Productive as a Designer

Posted October 5, 2008 in freelancenews Add Comment »

25 Ways to be More Productive as a Designer
Work often consume our lives, but if we can become more productive at work and adopt good habits, our personal lives, in theory should improve as well.