Freelancefolder

Freelance Overload: How To Deal With Too Much Work

Posted November 30, 2009 in Business, Managing Clients 33 Rockin' Comments »

As freelancers we often face the dilemma of “feast and famine,” alternating between having too little work and too much. Here at Freelance Folder we’ve even written articles on how to avoid the cycle as well as help with avoiding the famine completely, but there will also be times when you are overwhelmed with work and more projects just keep falling into your lap.

Having too much work is a better problem to have than too little, but it is still a problem many freelancers face. With too much work, you risk getting burned out while working very long hours and not sleeping enough. You may start missing deadlines or be less accessible than some of your clients would like or need you to be.

So what do you do when your schedule is full to the brim, but clients keep calling and requesting new projects, updates or proposals? There are some simple steps you can take when you inevitably find yourself in this position.

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5 Fresh and Useful jQuery Plugins Were Born in November 2009

Posted November 29, 2009 in freelancenews Add Comment »

5 Fresh and Useful jQuery Plugins Were Born in November 2009
In November 2009, 5 jQuery plugins were born that are new and useful for web designers. Read this post to learn more.

Why Your Worst Clients Should Still Get Your Best Service

Posted November 27, 2009 in Business, Managing Clients 46 Rockin' Comments »

Recently I have been involved in a few different discussions with other freelance designers in which I have noticed an unsettling trend: at some point in the conversation the topic turns to client horror stories. It usually starts out with some type of question about how the others would handle a particular situation that one is facing, but then it digresses to complaints about clients and the awful things they put us freelancers through.

Yes, we’ve probably all had at least one “nightmare client” experience. In fact, we may have been that experience for someone else (when was the last time you yelled at someone on the phone or chewed out a salesperson?) But witnessing the common direction of these discussions caused me to pause and think about the change of attitude and resulting practice that must occur if a freelancer with previous client malfunctions is going to move forward successfully.

Rather than doing your best to get that nightmare client’s project completed as quickly as possible and off your desk in hopes of never having to deal with them again, allow me to suggest that those clients you consider your “worst” or most difficult should be the recipients of your very best service. Here’s why:

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Five Freelance Branding Tips You Can Use Right Now

Posted November 25, 2009 in How-To, Marketing 30 Rockin' Comments »

Can you control what others think of your freelancing business? Do you know how to motivate potential buyers? Have you built customer loyalty?

While these tasks may seem daunting or even impossible, by properly branding your freelance business you can accomplish all of the objectives listed above and more. Good branding effectively communicates what your business is about, motivates buyers, and builds customer loyalty.

In this post, we will introduce you to the concept of branding. We will also identify five quick methods that you can apply right away to improve your brand. Finally, we’ll share some thoughts about branding that you might not have realized before.

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25 Blogs To Help You Stay Current With Social Media

Posted November 24, 2009 in How-To, Tools/Resources 107 Rockin' Comments »

Most of us agree that social media is valuable — but keeping up with the latest trends can be difficult given the speed at which social media is growing and changing.

The big sites like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn are easy to folllow, but there are many others that often get ignored such as Docstoc, Scribd, Slideshare. With all the different platforms, it’s hard to be able to keep up with everything that is new.

In this post we’ve listed 25 of the best social media blogs out there. Read through some of these blogs and you’ll quickly find yourself getting an edge in the social media world.

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How Well Do You Understand CSS Positioning?

Posted November 24, 2009 in freelancenews Add Comment »

How Well Do You Understand CSS Positioning?
The css position property seems easy to grasp, but it works a little differently than it appears on the surface.

Ten Free Wordpress Plugins That You Should Install

Posted November 24, 2009 in freelancenews Add Comment »

Ten Free Wordpress Plugins That You Should Install
The final part of beginner’s series on using Wordpress that highlights ten of the most popular plugins currently available.

Logo Design RoundUp Part 12 – How Designers Brand Themselves

Posted November 24, 2009 in freelancenews Add Comment »

Logo Design RoundUp Part 12 – How Designers Brand Themselves
Part 12 of the Logo Design Round-Up series. This ongoing series showcases a collection of logos, self submitted by freelance designers and creative folk.

Freelancing For Agencies: Pros and Cons

Posted November 23, 2009 in Business, Managing Clients 40 Rockin' Comments »

One of the reasons I started freelancing was because I hated the work I did for my job. I was forced to do work outside of my specialty of web development. I was also forced to work for clients I hated who demanded impossible deadlines and coding feats. When I started freelancing, I decided two things:

1. I would not have any clients.
2. I would only do the work I wanted to do.

In this post, I’ll explain how I met both of these goals.

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