Freelancefolder

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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Why Every Freelancer Should Slow Down and Brainstorm

Posted August 7, 2009 in Business, Productivity 27 Rockin' Comments »

As freelancers, we tend to get in a rush. We get busy. We’ve got deadlines facing us. We don’t have time to waste… but we end up getting stuck in an efficiency rut.

I love to save time as much as the next person. One of the ways that I save time (and you’ve probably read about it here on FreelanceFolder) is by using templates and other automated time-saving methods.

Automated techniques can really help a freelancer become more efficient with his or her time. If you’re repeating a similar task very frequently, it really pays off to create templates or systems to help speed things up.

I have one client that likes to see their work formatted in a very specific way. To save time, I’ve created a blank template especially for this client’s projects. Using the template reduces the time that I spend on this client’s work by over 30%.

There are drawbacks, however, to relying too much on templates and other time-saving tools. While you may be saving time, your work could be losing out in innovation and creativity — and that’s where scheduled brainstorming comes into play.

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Standing Out: How to Give Your Clients Extra

Posted August 5, 2009 in Business, Marketing 14 Rockin' Comments »

You might think that you just need to land more clients in order to grow your freelancing income, but often it’s about keeping those clients as well. I’ve had clients that only wanted odd jobs and never returned, but also companies who hired me for contracts that were six months in length.

When there is so much competition out there, getting a signature or verbal agreement rarely means that your new client will be sticking around. Instead, at times, you need to do things differently to set yourself from the rest so that they naturally come back to you.

Below I’ve listed some of the best ways to stand out from the crowd and keep your clients pleasantly surprised.

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Continuing Education – It’s Not Just For Employees

Posted August 3, 2009 in Business, Lifestyle 17 Rockin' Comments »

If you’ve ever worked in the corporate world, then you probably already know that corporate employees sometimes get perks that freelancers don’t.

One of those perks is continuing education.

While many corporate employees receive continuing education as a matter of course, many freelancers choose to “economize” by not getting additional training. I believe that continuing education is something freelancers should include in their annual budget.

Don’t be fooled! Corporations provide for continuing education for their employees because it makes good business sense. In return for paying for classes or other training, the company gets more efficient, more knowledgeable workers.

Continuing education makes good business sense for freelancers too. What you learn through continuing education may even allow your business to market additional services or products.

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Open Thread: What Type of Computer Do You Use?

Posted July 31, 2009 in Business, Open Thread, Productivity 89 Rockin' Comments »

For most freelancers, particularly FreelanceFolder readers, work involves sitting in front of a computer.

Writers, designers, developers, and even many photographers use these magical boxes for just about everything they do. I personally average at least 8 hours per day on mine.

Like most other major choices, though, it seems there is no real consensus among freelancers on the best type of setup. Laptops are portable, but desktops are more powerful. PCs are cheaper, but Macs are much prettier (gross generalization). The point is this — everyone has their own personal needs and preferences, and choosing between the variety of options can be very difficult.

In this open thread, let’s try to help out anyone who is new to freelancing or in the market for a new computer. With all of our collective knowledge we might be able to provide some consensus on the best types of computers for various situations. Or, in the least, we can compare notes and provide some food for thought.

So, try to answer the following questions in the comments (or feel free to ask some of your own):

1. Desktop or Laptop?
2. What Operating System? (XP, Vista, OS X, etc…)
3. Why do you like or dislike your current setup?
4. For what situations would you recommend this setup?
5. Any other advice?

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Seven Lies Freelancers Tell Themselves

Posted July 30, 2009 in Business, Lifestyle 53 Rockin' Comments »

There’s no doubt that freelancing can be tough — freelancers face many obstacles. From finding clients, to meeting deadlines, to keeping skills and equipment current, all the way to being paid: freelancing just isn’t easy.

One of the biggest challenges that we freelancers face, however, is one of our own making. It’s the challenge of being totally honest with ourselves and accepting the reality of certain situations. Without overcoming this challenge, without learning to be totally honest with one’s self, it’s pretty tough to succeed.

You see, we freelancers have many excuses. Usually, we believe these excuses wholeheartedly — which is a bad thing. If we can’t recognize a problem, then we can’t take the steps necessary to solve it.

This posts lists the seven most common lies that freelancers use to fool themselves. Overcome these lies, and you’ll increase your chances for success dramatically.

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5 Must-Have Qualities to Become a Top Freelancer

Posted July 22, 2009 in Business, Lifestyle 26 Rockin' Comments »

A few months ago I was sorting through my email when I stumbled across some old conversations with potential clients. I found pitches that looked great, but eventually went stale, and other times when I didn’t think I would get the client but they came back to me enthused and excited.

At first glance, it wasn’t clear to me why some pitches went perfectly and others (even though the prospect had contacted me) didn’t even come close to closing the deal. Then I started to think about the periods of time where I had lots of clients and the times when I was suffering a drought — and I realized that my own behavior at the time was affecting the outcome.

There are certain qualities that we all exhibit from time to time that greatly alter the way we are viewed by clients — and I believe that these qualities are what set the top freelancers apart from the rest. This was clear to see after interviewing and receiving responses from the 6 top freelancers we talked to in last week’s blog post.

Based on my experience, and the information I’ve gathered from working with many top freelancers, I have put together a list of 5 qualities which I think all top freelancers need to have. Hopefully this list will help you in your own endeavors.

In no particular order, the five qualities that all freelancers should aim to have are:

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Are You Undervaluing Your Freelancing Business?

Posted July 21, 2009 in Business, Inspiration, Productivity 25 Rockin' Comments »

Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?

Imagine that you were given the position of president of a big company. With your new responsibilities as the leader of a large company, would you change how you act?

Consider the following questions:

• As company president, would you change the way that you interact with others?
• As company president, would you be more careful with your time?
• As company president, would you be more mindful of how money was being spent?

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Essential Advice from 6 Successful Freelancers

Posted July 16, 2009 in Business, Interviews 10 Rockin' Comments »

I was reading Freelance Folder for well over a year before I had the pleasure of becoming a regular contributor for the site. In that time I was able to learn from a wealth of information that the team of writers here have had to offer.

Thankfully, this variety and quality hasn’t changed, but today I want to mix things up a bit and get advice from other sources. I have taken the time to contact some of the most successful freelancers I know and ask them for any valuable advice that they would like to pass on to other freelancers. In this post, I’ve compiled and arranged all of their advice for you.

I had originally planned to ask more people, but the advice shared here is absolutely packed with detail and value that I think more would have been entirely unnecessary. The following tips are in no specific order; everyone involved has shared some great words of wisdom.

Enjoy…

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