Freelancefolder

Your Business Backup Plan — Why You Need One

Posted September 23, 2009 in Business, Productivity 22 Rockin' Comments »

Many of you have been in this situation before: you have your workweek all planned out, you know exactly what you’re going to do and exactly when you’re going to do it. Everything is going right according to plan.

Or, so you thought.

Suddenly and without warning, a single event can change everything. Before you know it your entire week is turned upside down. What you thought you could do when you planned your week is no longer be possible.

It really doesn’t even matter what the event is. Many things can go wrong when you freelance. Here are just a few:

• You could receive an urgent phone call from a sick friend or relative
• The power and/or internet connect go out
• You could wake up in the morning as sick as a dog
• An accident could damage your car, your home, or (heaven forbid) you
• Your computer could suddenly quit working

You name it, and it’s possible (and even likely) that something will eventually go wrong and mess up your plans. I’m sure that you can think of disruptive events that aren’t even on my list.

This is where a backup plan comes in.

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10 Ways To Make Your Freelance Business Fail

Posted September 21, 2009 in Business, How-To 39 Rockin' Comments »

As I wade through the many blog posts and articles written about freelancing, I notice a very definite trend. While there are ample materials written for the freelancer who wants to succeed, there seems to be virtually nothing written for the freelancer who wants his or her freelance business to fail.

It seems a bit unfair, really. I can picture some poor freelancer miserably trapped in his or her success and desperately wanting to get out. Where can they turn to for advice?

Before today, resources for freelancers wanting to fail were scarce. Today, however, we’re going to fix that problem right here at FreelanceFolder.

If you’ve ever thought to yourself this business would be perfect if it weren’t for all of my clients, then this post is for you. We’ll give you a list of tactics that will drive those pesky clients away and quickly lead to your ultimate goal: freelancing failure.

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Open Thread: Do You Use Contracts?

Posted September 15, 2009 in Business, Open Thread 43 Rockin' Comments »

There’s a well known saying in the freelance and business world. You’ve heard it before, I’ve heard it before, and we’ve all probably ignored it on many occasions. The saying is this: you should always use a contract.

Despite seeming like such simple advice, it is often very difficult to put into practice. Heck, there are even times when it seems like it shouldn’t be put into practice. You shouldn’t have to make your favorite uncle sign a contract, right? Or should you?

If you have decided to use contracts on a regular basis with clients, there are even more obstacles to deal with. Creating a contract for your company, using it with your clients, changing or defending various paragraphs, etc… But despite the effort, the consequences of not using a contract could be far, far worse.

With all of these questions, and with only one person to handle everything, it’s clear that contracts are a difficult subject for freelancers. In this open thread I want to help turn that around, and get some of these things cleared up. If you’re new to freelancing, ask any of your contract related questions in the comments. If you’ve been freelancing for a while, try to answer the following three questions:

1. Do you use contracts in your business? Why, or why not?
2. In what situations do you use contracts, and what types do you use?
3. How did you create or acquire your contracts?

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20 Not-So-Obvious Blogs For Freelancers

Posted September 7, 2009 in Business, Tools/Resources 20 Rockin' Comments »

Blogs are a great source of information for freelancers and entrepreneurs. They help us become better at what we do, they help us increase our productivity, and they help us leverage different marketing platforms.

We’ve previously published lists of blogs for writers, designers, developers, and entrepreneurs. This time, I want to think outside the box, and take a look at some blogs you might not consider when you think about freelancing.

Here is a list of not-so-obvious blogs that will help you with those less-talked about areas of freelancing. You’ll find some resources that will help you think outside the box, and hopefully take your freelancing business to the next level.

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10 Tips for Becoming a Freelancing PowerHouse

Posted August 26, 2009 in Business, How-To 45 Rockin' Comments »

When it comes to freelancing, most people assume it’s all fun and games. The thing that many forget to realize is that when you are setting your own hours and being your own boss, responsibilities double. If you work from home, I am sure you know what I am talking about.

Working from home is great, and setting my own hours couldn’t be better. However, there was a point when it almost felt like it wasn’t worth it. Not anymore. I made some changes to the way I do things and since then it has been all fun and games (besides occasional work stress).

I have been working from home for a couple years and I really do enjoy being there for my family when they need me. In this post I’ve listed a few tips that will help you conquer the pitfalls of freelancing and turn you into a freelancing powerhouse.

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Letting The Cat Out Of The Bag: Is Freelancing Really For You?

Posted August 20, 2009 in Business, Lifestyle 26 Rockin' Comments »

Freelancing and working from home is a dream to many. Designers, bloggers, social media experts and many other careers that didn’t exist a couple years ago have now become a comfortable means to earn a living for some.

Freelancing sure does sound great, but ask anyone who has been doing this for a while and they will tell you that the cons are usually higher than most anticipate. Sure, you get to take a break anytime you want. Working in your pajamas sounds great, but the stakes are much higher than most imagine.

In this article I want to look at some of the downsides of freelancing, and take a sobering look at some realities that every freelancer needs to confront.

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Are These 5 Mistakes Holding You Back from Freelance Success?

Posted August 18, 2009 in Business, Productivity 23 Rockin' Comments »

There is a lot of great freelancing advice out there, both on this site and on many others. Anyone who wants to make it as a freelancer has many resources available to help them with what they need to know — everything from dealing with problem clients, to finding them in the first place, to organizing taxes and so on.

In fact, there is so much good advice about what you should be doing that I think it’s helpful to look in the opposite direction — at things that might be holding you back.

In this post, I’ve created a list of 5 big mistakes that could be holding you back from freelance success. Make a little progress with these, and your freelancing will see some definite improvement.

Let’s get started…

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Should You Spy on Your Competition?

Posted August 13, 2009 in Business, Marketing 27 Rockin' Comments »

Spy movies are great for entertainment.

I love how the excitement and suspense builds up as the main characters investigate the case. Typically, the main characters monitor, or observe, the suspects in the case in order to learn everything that they can about what the suspects are doing. They often endanger their lives in numerous ways just to learn a little bit more than they did before.

Does the same strategy work for a freelancers? Should we be monitoring our competitors to learn what they are doing?

In today’s wired world, nearly everyone is connected in some way. It’s fairly easy to read a competitor’s blog or even to discover how well said blog is doing in terms of popularity using free Internet tools. Social media provides another venue through which a freelancer can learn about his or her competitors. Most freelancers are active in one or more forms of social media.

However, just because we can monitor our freelancing competitors, does that mean that we should? Is it healthy for us to spy on the competition?

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Are You a Daredevil Freelancer?

Posted August 10, 2009 in Business, Freelance Stories 26 Rockin' Comments »

Business is a game of risks.

If you’re a freelancer, then you’ve probably already engaged in some level of risk. (Especially if you’ve quit your “day job” and are now relying on your freelancing business to support yourself.)

Even though most freelancers engage in some degree of business risk, there are certain freelancers who have a higher tolerance for risk than others. In fact, a few freelancers even seem to be attracted to risk. You might call them “daredevil” freelancers.

You know the type — whenever there’s a new program, tool, or business opportunity this freelancer is sure to be found in the thick of it. Whenever there is a new idea, they jump quickly, often without looking carefully first.

So, how does business risk-taking affect the typical freelance business? Is risk-taking a key to business success, or a surefire means to crash and burn?

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