Freelancefolder

How to Tell When It’s Time to Take a Break

Posted March 8, 2010 in Freelance Stories, Lifestyle 34 Rockin' Comments »

I threw my neck out something fierce not long ago. I don’t know how it happened. I must have been fighting this big monster in my sleep, rolled over so I could grab a rock to clonk him over the head with, and was suddenly awake, clutching my neck in pain. Either the monster got me or I twisted my head so fast in my sleep that I pulled a muscle.

Either way, I was in serious pain. And I had work to do the next morning.

I had clients to call and clients to email. I had to delegate some work to my assistants. I had to manage my team. I had to be there, damn it. Without me, my business grinds to a halt. It’s the siren song of the freelancer: if I go away, even for a minute, my business goes up in smoke.

Guess what? It’s not true.

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Why I Failed at Freelancing

Posted February 25, 2010 in Freelance Stories, Inspiration 74 Rockin' Comments »

This time around, I have been a pretty successful freelancer if I do say so myself. My bills stay paid, my clients are happy and I’ve never been happier in a career.

Unfortunately, my first attempt at freelancing left me unhappy, in debt and desperate. I took several full-time jobs between my last attempt at freelancing and this one to teach me some valuable lessons and make my way out of debt.

I made many mistakes the first time around and, like any good freelancer, I learned from them and now I am a better, stronger worker. In this post, I’ll share some of the mistakes that caused me to fail as a freelancer the first time around.

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Staying Sane While Freelancing With a Loved One

Posted February 5, 2010 in Business, Freelance Stories 17 Rockin' Comments »

Two years ago, I was the full-time web guy at a conservative insurance company. My wife could see my frustrations there and encouraged me to quit and pursue a freelance career. She suggested that we could use her income as our base if things got really tight, financially. I’ve never been happier.

However, during the last two years, I’ve seen her deal with the same frustrations in her current work situation that I experienced two years ago. I realized our situations were reversed, and since she rescued me from my previous work situation and offered me a better career and better life, it was time for me to do the same for her. I encouraged her to quit and help me in my business. It’s only been about a month, but it’s been a month filled with lots of lessons on how to deal as a freelancing couple. So how did we get through our first month without divorce?

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Should You “Fake It” If a Client Asks for Something You Can’t Do?

Posted January 4, 2010 in Freelance Stories, Managing Clients 46 Rockin' Comments »

In this economy, many freelancers who are approached by a client about a project that they don’t understand may hesitate to turn the work down. After all, who knows if that client will ever approach them again?

Their fear is understandable — the ability to earn a living as a freelancer depends on a steady flow of customers. (There are marketing steps that a freelancer can take to build his or her business.)

A hungry freelancer who is asked to do something unfamiliar is faced with a really tough decision: should they turn potentially profitable work away and risk not having enough income, or should they “fake it” and muddle through the project anyway?

In this post we’ll explain how to clarify a project request so that you can determine whether you are really competent to do the job. We’ll also look at some of the ramifications of accepting a job that you really aren’t qualified to do.

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10 Tax Tips You Can Use Now To Avoid Pitfalls Later

Posted October 8, 2009 in Business, Freelance Stories 34 Rockin' Comments »

One of the first encounters I had with freelancing involved a very talented co-worker who, sadly, was not very knowledgeable about income tax law. His lack of knowledge ultimately cost him his freelance business.

“Brian” was an extremely gifted graphic designer who worked in the marketing department of the company where I was employed. I’ve always admired those with obvious artistic skill and “Brian” fit the bill perfectly. He was quite open about the fact that he really didn’t like working for our company and that he wished that he still owned his freelance design business.

After several months of working with “Brian,” I worked up the nerve to ask him why he didn’t still own a freelance business. He looked at me in surprise (I guess he thought that everyone already knew his story.)

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Four Freelancing Mistakes You Don’t Need To Make

Posted September 30, 2009 in Business, Freelance Stories 36 Rockin' Comments »

We rarely like to admit our mistakes, but if we fail to admit them and learn from them then they’re likely to be repeated. In this article I want to admit some of my mistakes to you, and share my experience so that you can avoid making them.

My journey has taken me from the highs of doing what I love every day to the lows of chasing monthly payments and then back again. To say that my journey has followed the typical freelance rollercoaster would be an understatement.

Making mistakes along the way is a big part of freelancing, though, and I’m sure many of you can relate when I say that these failures and mistakes help to make your business successful and teach you a lot along the way.

Today I want to share four that I’ve personally had to learn to avoid, and it is my hope that in sharing these you can avoid them yourself without having to go through them first.

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Do You Have a Can-Do or a Can’t-Do Attitude?

Posted September 9, 2009 in Freelance Stories, Inspiration 30 Rockin' Comments »

I had a teacher back in Middle School who would write the names of famous people on the chalkboard every single day. They were famous for very different reasons, but it didn’t take much to notice that they all had one thing in common: they had all faced tremendous failure before managing to succeed.

I can barely remember that teacher’s name, and I don’t even remember the subject that he taught, but I do remember that list and a few of the people on it.

The list included Abraham Lincoln, who lost many elections for various public positions before he was elected President of the United States. The list also included Thomas Edison, who created thousands of prototypes that didn’t work before he invented the light bulb. There were many others who went on to become a success after failing.

Despite this story being about something entirely unrelated to freelancing, my teacher had a very good point: You often have to fail at something before you can succeed. That truth is just as true today as it was when I attended Middle School.

This message is especially true for freelancers. Your business can’t succeed if you don’t stick with it. It’s up to each of us to decide that we can succeed.

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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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Freelancing Stories: When A Neighbor’s Tree Kills Your Power

Posted July 1, 2009 in Freelance Stories, Inspiration 25 Rockin' Comments »

We freelancers have to be resourceful. Just how resourceful, however, our clients may never realize.

The fact is that Murphy’s Law is alive and kicking in the freelance world — anything that can go wrong generally will go wrong.

You’ve experienced it. I’ve experienced it. In most cases, we persevere. We get the project turned in on time and meet or exceed our client’s expectations. Things usually work out well.

It’s how we’ve dealt with Murphy’s Law, however, that makes for some really funny freelancing stories.

Just for fun, I thought it would be interesting if we all shared our brushes with Murphy’s Law. Here are two funny stories of things that have gone wrong for me during freelance projects.

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