12 Reasons You Shouldn’t Freelance
Posted January 27, 2010 in Business, Getting Started 124 Rockin' Comments »
What are some of these perks of freelancing?
- You can choose your own hours
- You can choose your own clients
- You can choose the type of work you do
- You can choose your rates
We’ve discussed great reasons to start freelancing, but we haven’t really talked about why you shouldn’t start freelancing. Let’s take a look at some of the worst reasons to go into business for yourself.
The Smashing Book Review…Win a Copy!
Posted January 25, 2010 in Getting Started, Tools/Resources 240 Rockin' Comments »
Pretty much everyone in our field has heard of The Smashing Book from Smashing Magazine. Published in 2009 with 313 pages, The Smashing Book offers a collection of modern design, usability, coding and best practices in the web world.
The book had plenty of information to offer that I didn’t know about and, although I didn’t agree with all of it, it was well worth the price. I’d like to share my review of the contents and book itself and give you, loyal readers, a chance to win one of five copies for yourself!
What Every Freelancer Ought To Know About Blogging
Posted January 24, 2010 in Getting Started, Marketing 34 Rockin' Comments »
Have you ever heard this claim?
If you’ve been working online for any length of time, then this claim is probably not new to you. Nearly every small business advisor will tell you that blogging is a great way to build up your online presence.
However, many freelancers begin blogging with unrealistic expectations. They view blogging as a sort of magic bullet that can somehow instantly propel them to freelancer rockstardom.
This post takes a realist look at some of those expectations. It also discusses what a freelancer can realistically expect from blogging.
Five Ways to Start a Freelance Business Right Now
Posted January 12, 2010 in Getting Started 42 Rockin' Comments »
Have you been meaning to start freelancing on a part-time or full-time, but keep putting it off because you think that starting a freelance business is too much work?
While it’s true that freelancing can be a lot of work, the good news is that you don’t have to do everything all at once. If you have a full-time job or do not need full-time freelancing income right away, you can ease into freelancing a little bit at a time–we’ll show you how to get started.
(Even if you do need a full-time freelancing income, you need to start somewhere. This post can help you find that starting place.)
This post describes five easy steps that you can take right away that will put you closer to your freelancing dream. You can choose to start your freelancing business with just one, or all, of these steps.
How to Use Elance and Guru to Land That Client Every Time
Posted January 7, 2010 in Getting Started, How-To 37 Rockin' Comments »
I know that a lot of seasoned old professionals prefer not to use sites like Guru and Elance. Often the clients who post jobs there are bargain hunters. They’re looking for the lowest price rather than the highest quality.
If you’re going to transition from the budget work into the higher quality jobs, you’re eventually going to have to stop relying on job boards to get your work, but that doesn’t mean they’re completely without value. I was introduced to many of my best clients via bidding sites.
How to Save Money While You Get Your Freelancing Business Going
Posted December 29, 2009 in Getting Started, Lifestyle 26 Rockin' Comments »
Are you struggling to make ends meet as a freelancer?
You’re not alone.
Let’s be honest. Getting a freelancing business off the ground can be really difficult. The feast or famine cycle catches many who’ve been accustomed to a regular paycheck by surprise. It’s also pretty hard to budget when your income is irregular.
You can get through those first difficult months as a freelancer, if you know what to expect and how to manage your money properly. In this post, we discuss those first difficult months and share some tips for getting through them.
We’ll begin by discussing what you should do before you start freelancing.
From Budget to Quality: Transitioning to High-Dollar Jobs
Posted December 11, 2009 in Business, Getting Started 31 Rockin' Comments »
Almost every freelancer starts out by taking “budget” projects to build their portfolio. Without a proven track record of happy customers and excellent pieces in your portfolio, it’s difficult to track down the big, high-dollar jobs.
Many freelancers get into a cycle of doing low-budget work, and then get stuck with a portfolio of low-budget work that only yields more low-budget clients. It can be difficult to break the cycle.
In this post, we’ll discuss the importance of moving from low-budget clients to higher paying clients, and we’ll show you a few ways to break the cycle and start finding higher-dollar jobs.
Do You Need to Specialize to Succeed?
Posted December 2, 2009 in Getting Started 34 Rockin' Comments »
Do you have a freelancing specialty? Sure, you’re a writer, a graphic designer, a programmer, or you have another type of skill that lends itself to freelancing — but have you chosen a narrower specialty within your field?
Many freelancing gurus recommend that you carve out a specialized niche for yourself within your field. While this can be a valid business strategy, it may not be the right answer for everyone. But, can a freelancer survive without a specialty in today’s competitive market?
In order to answer this question we’ll take a realistic look at what it really means to be a specialist or a generalist. Some of what we uncover may surprise you.
How to Become a Freelance Web Developer: A Six Month Plan
Posted November 17, 2009 in Getting Started, How-To 54 Rockin' Comments »
Nearly every day somebody asks me about how I got started as a freelance developer. Many people recognize that they would like to branch off into freelancing, but most don’t know where to begin. It’s this fear and uncertainty that keeps them from taking the plunge.
Challenges like how to find clients, what to do about money, and how to set up your own site can be overwhelming at first — but the end result of having a successful freelance business is easily worthwhile. In order to help make your life easier, I’ve set up a simple month-by-month plan that you can follow to eventually achieve your dream of becoming a freelance developer.
This calendar starts six months ahead of time, but you can modify it however you need to fit your situation. Your first step towards freelancing is to choose the specific date you’ll start freelancing.
Try searching "Getting Clients" or "Productivity"
FreelanceCommunity
Free Resource: Massive Web UI and Button Set
This is a free photoshop set provided by MediaLoot with hundreds of free buttons, boxes, and other useful web elements.5 Fresh and Useful jQuery Plugins Were Born in November 2009
In November 2009, 5 jQuery plugins were born that are new and useful for web designers. Read this post to learn more.How Well Do You Understand CSS Positioning?
The css position property seems easy to grasp, but it works a little differently than it appears on the surface.
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