Freelancefolder

Open Thread: Is Your Freelance Business Incorporated?

Posted November 10, 2008 in Business, Open Thread 12 Rockin' Comments »

A few of us have been having a discussion in the forums about the value of freelancers being official and creating a corporate entity like an LLC or S-Corp.

On the positive side, having a corporation limits your liability for anything the business does, and gives you some (but not complete) protection from lawsuits.

Incorporating is also thought to make the IRS less likely to audit your business tax deductions, and depending on where you incorporate it might save you some money on taxes too. For international readers, this will of course vary by country :-)

The negative side of incorporation is that you will have additional paperwork every year, and it does cost money up front. Depending on how and where you file your taxes, it may also be more expensive on a yearly basis. The big question is: do these negatives outweigh the benefits?

So, are you incorporated?

If you aren’t, how come?

If you are, what type, and what have you found?

[Click here to read more →]

7 Tips for Making Email More Effective

Posted November 7, 2008 in How-To, Productivity 23 Rockin' Comments »

E-mail. If you’re a web-worker then this is probably your primary means of communication with your clients. Even if you aren’t a web-worker you probably use email very frequently.

Getting e-mail communication right is important — no absolutely vital — to the success of your business.

In fact, for today’s business owner, an e-mail contact can be as an important as a face-to-face contact. That’s why smart entrepreneurs strive to become email ninjas that make the best possible impression on their clients.

In this post we’ll offer a few few pointers on how to improve your e-mail communication skills to make the best possible impression.

Here are seven tips for creating more effective e-mails that you can use right away:
[Click here to read more →]

10 SEO Techniques All Top Web Sites Should Use

Posted November 5, 2008 in Tools/Resources, Web Design 73 Rockin' Comments »

We recently discussed the 15 Key Elements All Top Web Sites Should Have. This post focused on elements relating to design, content and development. This time, we’ll move onto the important issue of Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

SEO is such a hot topic these days. How do you get your web site within the first page or two of the search engines? How do you increase your Google page rank?

There are companies who dedicate themselves full time to doing SEO at a pretty penny. Something a lot of people can’t necessarily afford to pay for or spend the time on.

However, there are some simple things you can do when building your site that will help increase your chances of having good results. In no particular order, below are 10 of these items…

[Click here to read more →]

Interview With Designer Extraordinaire — Liam McKay of Function

Posted November 4, 2008 in Interviews, Web Design 13 Rockin' Comments »

Hey everyone! Today we have an interview with Liam McKay of Function - Web Design and Development. I’ve had the pleasure of connecting with Liam on multiple occasions both via his design blog and also via Twitter and I’m very happy Liam accepted the invitation for this interview! Hope you like it!

Jon: Hi Liam! First I’d like to thank you for taking the time for this interview. Can you tell us a little about yourself, what you do and where you’re from?
[Click here to read more →]

Feeling Overwhelmed? Maybe You Should Think About Outsourcing!

Posted November 3, 2008 in News 9 Rockin' Comments »

If you’ve been freelancing for a while now I’m sure there are tasks you totally dread or even hate, or things you’re simply not good at.

See, I don’t like accounting and invoicing, I find it’s boring as hell and it’s time-consuming, and I know I could use that time to focus on more interesting and more creative activities.

I freelance because I love to create things. And I’m a musician for the exact same reason. So, what do you do when you finally figure out what you really want to do and what you’re good at?

You outsource the rest! You get someone else to take care of that stuff you don’t want to do.

Outsourcing Means You Still Have To Work And Get Things Done

I thought it would be a good idea to get this out of the way first: outsourcing doesn’t mean you will get to sit on your ass all day, not work and let other people take care of everything!

Sure once you start outsourcing it’ll definitely clear your schedule up a bit, which is very nice, but don’t forget you have clients, and they hired you probably because they like your work and your personality! It all depends on how you position yourself, but that a different topic altogether. :) [Click here to read more →]

What’s The Value Of Your Web Business?

Posted October 31, 2008 in Business, Writing 5 Rockin' Comments »

If you own a web-based business, no matter how small, then that business is worth something.

Traditionally, the net worth of a brick and mortar business is the value of the assets owned minus the value of the liabilities owed.

For a traditional business — which is likely to own equipment, inventory, and possibly even a building — the standard methods of valuation make a lot of sense.

For a web business, however, those methods of valuation may make little, or no sense.

[Click here to read more →]