Freelancefolder

Clients Are Not Demons From Hell

Posted April 30, 2010 in Freelance Stories, Managing Clients

Thanks to the collection of anonymously contributed client horror stories that make up the now famous Clients From Hell website, freelancers everywhere have a place to vent their own frustrations, laugh at other unbelievable, but true tales, and breathe a momentary sigh of relief at the reassurance that we are not alone. Sooner or later, if you haven’t already had at least one nightmarish client experience, the odds are that you most likely will. When that time comes, it is a catalyst of extreme emotions, ranging from anger to disbelief to frustration to anxiety and more.

In freelance circles it is a common topic of discussion, often infused with a certain level of disdain for the clients and their lack of respect for those who they hire. While this can be therapeutic, it can also lead to developing an incorrect and misguided attitude toward clients in general, which can in turn negatively impact a freelancer’s approach to customer service and put them on the defensive rather than encouraging an expectation of the best.

This post seeks to remind us all that, although there are definitely clients that can drive even the most flexible and patient freelancer insane, clients themselves are not demons from hell but people, just like you and me, and therefore should be treated as such if a positive outcome is to be achieved. [Click Here to Read More...]

Get Excited About The Work You Do Again

Posted April 29, 2010 in Inspiration

Last week, I wrote a post on five ways you can improve yourself and your business. This week, I want to discuss the dreaded work blues.

I’ll tell you a dirty secret no freelancer likes to mention: we get bored with our work. Even though we’re able to pick and choose our clients and projects we still do the same thing every day. For example, here’s a look at my daily schedule:

• Wake up, eat breakfast, shower
• Check emails and RSS feeds
• Work
• Check email
• Lunch
• Work
• Check email and RSS feeds
• Dinner
• Work

What a snooze. Where’s all the glory and glamour I was promised when I first started freelancing? Don’t get me wrong, I love my business much much more than I loved any regular nine to five job I ever held. But, sometimes I’m just bored.

[Click Here to Read More...]

Seven Ways to Find Your Writing Niche

Posted April 28, 2010 in Marketing, Writing

Having a well-defined niche is one of the best ways to become a profitable freelance writer. Instead of trying to cater to every possible client, you’ll have a laser-focused package of services for an equally specific target market. As a result, you can command higher fees than the writer who writes anything for everyone.

Need convincing that niching is best for you? Consider the medical field. Generalist doctors don’t command as high a fee as specialists, even though the specialists may have fewer patients.

We accept this discrepancy because, after all, the specialist has more training and experience in a particular field. As a result, the specialist can help particular types of patients whom the generalist cannot.

It works similarly in writing and other services. The particular type and style of writing you provide won’t be the best fit for every client who needs writing–and that’s a good thing. You want to find the perfect fit so you and your client can have a win-win relationship.
[Click Here to Read More...]

7 Reasons to Consider Small Clients

Posted April 27, 2010 in Managing Clients, Marketing

Of course you want some large clients for your freelancing business. Large clients are often more stable, tend to pay more, and their projects may even add some name recognition value to your portfolio.

In general, having big clients is a good thing. Freelancers often ask how they can attract more large clients. That’s why we devoted a post to approaching big clients.

Smaller clients, on the other hand, tend to be overlooked. Rarely have we heard freelancers ask the question: “how can I find some more very small clients to work with.” Some freelancers even refuse to do business with small clients–choosing to focus exclusively on larger companies instead.

However, there are some benefits to including smaller businesses in your client mix. In this post, we’ll share and discuss those benefits.
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Freelancer Road Trip: Essential Supplies

Posted April 26, 2010 in Lifestyle

One of my freelancing resolutions is the separation of work time and vacation time.

I know this is one of my problem areas, but I do feel the need to work on a pretty constant basis in order to hit client deadlines. When the opportunity came up to head on a 15-hour road trip to the beach, I took it… with the caveat that I’d be working on the trip down and sporadically while at the beach. I loaded up my bag with the essentials to get some work done on the road.

I thought my list of goodies would help other freelancers gearing up for a road-trip-mobile-office.

[Click Here to Read More...]

Open Thread: How Much Time Do You Spend on Marketing?

Posted April 25, 2010 in Marketing, Open Thread

Something that most non-freelancers don’t realize is that it take an awful lot of marketing effort to build a successful freelancing business. The time that you spend marketing your freelance business is not time that you are getting paid for.

In fact, I’ve read where some freelancing gurus recommend spending at least half of your working time on marketing. While there’s no doubt that marketing is terribly important to freelancing success, I wasn’t sure whether most freelancers actually spend half their time on this task.

Thinking about this topic got me curious–I wonder how much time our readers spend on marketing each week?

In fact, that’s this week’s open thread topic:
[Click Here to Read More...]

Thank-You to Our April Advertisers

Posted April 24, 2010 in News

Do you have trouble finding the right resources to help you in freelance business? It can be difficult weeding through all the various products targeted to freelancers.

At Freelance Folder we have the good fortune to have some extraordinary companies supporting the blog. Our advertisers provide services and products that are vital to freelancing success. Trust us, these companies know and understand freelancing. We would definitely recommend checking them out.

Here’s the complete list of our wonderful advertisers:

[Click Here to Read More...]

How to Never Miss a Deadline

Posted April 23, 2010 in Productivity

I’m going to let you in on the secret to keeping clients for years and getting more referral business than ever. Stellar portfolio? Sure, that helps, but no. That’s not it. It’s simpler than that. Here it is:

Never miss a deadline. Ever.

One of the most common complaints that clients have about freelancers is that they’re not reliable. What is this complaint based on? You can bet that missed deadlines had something to do with it. The project took twice as long to complete. Or you met the deadline, but it wasn’t tested for bugs. Perhaps this complaint was due something simple like failing to reply to an email in a timely fashion. These are all variations on the same key element of reliability. That is the ability to deliver a finished product, on time, every time.

I certainly have first-hand experience with this. Over the course of my freelance web design career, I often need to sub-contract other freelancers to help out with time-sensitive pieces of my client projects. The sad truth is that more times than not, the job isn’t done on time. I end up picking up the slack myself, or doing damage control with my client who expected their website to launch a week ago. Will I re-hire a freelancer who missed a sensitive deadline? Chances are, the answer is no.

[Click Here to Read More...]

3 Tips to Help Your Family Benefit from Your Freelancing at Home

Posted April 22, 2010 in How-To, Lifestyle

One of the prime benefits of working at home as a freelancer is the ability to engage with your family in ways you never can working elsewhere. Ironically, this can also become detrimental to your family relationships if you have workaholic tendencies or take on projects that require extremely long hours and make you even more unavailable than if you were working a 9 to 5 job.

Balancing your work at home life with your other responsibilities can raise unique challenges and requires a constant attention to the elements that you can dictate to make your family the priority you desire them to be. This post will share some tips to help you not only find that balance, but to reap maximum benefits for the ones you love while giving your work the time and attention it requires.

[Click Here to Read More...]