Freelancefolder

The Freelancing Success Code

Posted May 2, 2010 in Business, Getting Started

Freelancing is hard work, but it’s not impossible.

While most successful freelancers work extremely hard (which usually means putting a significant effort into their business), those who are serious about freelancing usually find that the effort is well worth it.

Yet, a surprising number of would-be freelancers are stuck. They don’t know how to start freelancing and once started they don’t know how to proceed. It’s almost as though there’s a secret success code that separates the successful freelancers from the rest. It seems like those who know the code succeed and those who don’t know it don’t make it.

Well, there isn’t really a secret freelancing success code (although some “gurus” may try to convince you otherwise). There are, however, some principles that all freelancers must follow if they are to succeed. In this post, I’ll share those principles.

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Five Easy Ways to Improve Yourself and Your Business

Posted April 21, 2010 in Business, Inspiration

As an established freelancer it might be easy to stay where and how you are. You’ve got plenty of work and clients, so why do you need to change right? Unfortunately, it’s this mindset that leads to slow downtimes and possibly failure.

The internet and the way we use it changes every day and if you don’t stay on top of this you can quickly become forgotten in this fast pace field. While this may seem like a downside, it isn’t. It forces you to continue to grow, learn and improve. No other industry can really match that!

So what are some things you can do to make sure you stay on top of things?
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The Lost Element of Quality

Posted April 8, 2010 in Business, Inspiration

Quality…

No matter what the field you’ll hear a lot of complaints about a decline in quality. From Super Bowl Ads to bacon, from television shows to toys, many would argue that today’s products and services are inferior in quality to products and services from the past.

If you’ve ever bought something, only to have it break as soon as you get it home, you can relate to the disappointment that poor quality causes. I used to buy children’s clothing from a particular store, but I stopped shopping there because the hems came out of the clothes the first time that I washed them. While the clothes were cute, ultimately they were a disappointment to me because they didn’t last.

Our clients feel the same about quality as I did about the cheaply made children’s clothes. If a freelancer delivers a poor quality service, then the client is disappointed. (If you want to stay in business, it’s not a good idea to keep disappointing your customers).

This post will explore what quality is and how it will help your freelancing business.

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The Strangest Secret for Succeeding in a Tough Economy

Posted April 5, 2010 in Business, Marketing

Talk to enough people at the local coffee shop or watch enough late-night news and you’ll think the sky is falling. Fast!

Unemployment doesn’t seem to be improving. Families are losing their homes. Businesses are going under.

I’d say the pessimism among many freelancers I talk with is at a five-year high. In fact, until last year, I’ve never heard the words “starving” and “freelancer” used so frequently in a sentence. Many are even using their struggle as a badge of honor! (Sorry…but when did being broke become “cool”?)

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How What You Don’t Know Can Help Your Freelancing Business

Posted April 4, 2010 in Business, Inspiration

So, you’re pretty good at what you do. You’ve been doing it for a while and most projects seem to flow pretty smoothly. Then BAM! It happens.

You’re faced with a task or a subject or an app that you’ve never heard of before. Panic-time, right?

Everyone knows that it’s important to be knowledgeable in your field. Generally speaking, the more knowledge that you have mastered the more that you have to offer to your client.

But, did you know that what you don’t know can also benefit your freelancing business? It seems counter-intuitive, but it’s true. If you approach what you don’t know with the right attitude, it can provide new opportunities for you and for your freelancing business.

In this post, we’ll discuss five surprising ways to leverage what you don’t know to the advantage of your business.

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Working With Other Freelancers to Expand Your Business

Posted April 1, 2010 in Business, Marketing

There comes a time in every freelancer’s career where you might decide that you need to expand your clientele or services, while still staying a one-person business.  While I believing that niching yourself into a certain type of client, industry or service can greatly improve your clientele and revenue; it’s also important to make use of those “confused clients”.

Who are these confused clients? If you’re a freelance designer or developer, you probably come across these every day. These are the clients who don’t understand much about the web or the services you offer, so they send you requests for services you don’t offer.

For example, I’m a web developer who specifically states on my website that I offer CSS, XHTML and WordPress development. I don’t offer any design services and there’s nowhere on my entire site, except for a couple of blog articles, that mentions design. However, I get at least two requests a day from potential clients that ask me for design services.

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Can the Bad Attitude of a Few Bad Apples Hurt Your Business?

Posted March 31, 2010 in Business, Freelance Stories

It’s time to get serious about freelancing!

A few freelancers don’t take their business seriously enough, and quite frankly their unprofessionalism is hurting the rest of us who want to make a career out of freelancing.

So, if you’ve been merely dabbling in freelancing, if you’ve been inconsistent with the quality you provide, or if your attitude towards clients needs a little bit of adjustment, I have just two words for you:

QUIT IT!

To all the bad apples out there–Quit having a bad attitude towards clients. Quit producing low quality work. Quit playing at freelancing and get serious. The rest of us would really appreciate it.

If you’ve ever had to clean up after an unprofessional freelancer, you’ll probably relate to this post (you might even want to add your own thoughts about unprofessionalism in the comments).

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Seven Benefits of Hiring Your Children

Posted March 30, 2010 in Business, Lifestyle

Do you remember the day your child was born? Took her first step? Went to school for the first time?

Of course, you remember these milestones and cherish them as a parent. It’s amazing to watch a child grow from a completely helpless infant to a teen or young adult with his own opinions and ways of doing things.

Maybe your child is even old enough and capable enough to help you in your freelancing work. That’s right, how about contracting your child to work for you?

If you’re self-employed or run your own business, at some point you’re likely to receive the advice to hire your own children as a means of getting a tax break.

However, hiring your children has benefits beyond taxes. It’s excellent training for your child, and gives you practical help. Most of all, it can be good for your relationship.

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Are You a Trendy Freelancer?

Posted March 21, 2010 in Business

Freelancing trends come and go. If you’re online at all, you’ve probably already been exposed to a quite a number of trends.

From blogs to eBooks to social media, there is a lot of freelancing advice out there. Some of that advice touches upon a common desire or hits a nerve among freelancers and becomes a popular trend. At one time or another, nearly every freelancer has been tempted to follow the herd and take the advice of the latest hip guru.

There can be some benefits to following trends, but carelessly flitting from trend to trend can actually harm your freelancing business. In this post, we’ll explore some of the benefits of following freelancing trends, and we’ll discuss some of the disadvantages of chasing after the latest fads.

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