Freelancefolder

How to Set Freelancing Goals that Really Make Sense

Posted July 5, 2011 in How-To

The setting and achieving of goals is one of the key elements in any self-development and business growth program.

When I was still working in the UN, we spent days and quite a lot of money for planning. The end result of all our planning was to have goals.

Freelancers benefit from having goals as well. Goals motivate us. They can keep us going even when freelancing gets challenging. Goal helps us make decisions about projects and clients. They also help us see if we’re on the right track, or if we should redouble our efforts or even change course completely.

In this post, let’s talk about how to set freelancing goals so that they make sense. Goals that will push you towards achievement and success, but without making you a slave. And goals that will leave you feeling fulfilled when you meet them, not empty wondering what all the hard work was for.

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Ten Things Every Beginning Developer Should Know

Posted June 29, 2011 in Getting Started, How-To

In the world of web development, there’s so much to look at and do, it can be confusing to decide where to start as a beginner. If you’re wanting to be a back-end developer, what languages do you learn? Do you learn HTML and CSS if you just want to work in PHP and Ruby? Should you learn basic design principles as well? Or, should you learn a little about everything?

A lot of people are afraid to jump into web development because of this choice paralysis. Depending on what they want to do, they hear endless opinions about how and where one should start.

I’ve been a front-end developer myself for over ten years, since I was in the sixth grade. So I’ve definitely been there at each language’s beginning. I was there when there were no standards or CSS, and I’m here now to tell you what’s really important to know if you want to be a developer.

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7 Steps to Instant Motivation

Posted June 26, 2011 in How-To, Productivity

Do you know the story of Pavlov’s dog? If not, very briefly it went like this. Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov would ring a bell and when his dog came bounding up to check it out, Pavlov would give him some meat to eat.

He did this for some time before noticing that weirdly, the pooch started salivating as soon as he heard the bell ring and before he’d even seen the meat.

Pavlov realized he had stumbled on to something we now know as a conditioned response or reflex. Or as it is also known in NLP (neurolinguistic programming) parlance, an anchor.

In this post, I’ll explain why the principle that made Pavlov’s dog salivate works and how you can use the same principle to find your motivation.

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5 Advanced Google Search Tips for Freelance Gig Hunting and Niche Research

Posted June 21, 2011 in Getting Clients, How-To

Established and experienced freelancers are unlikely to use Google to find paid gigs. They already have a collection of their favorite job boards that have proven to be effective for them and which they frequent. However, what has worked for some people might not work for you.

If you are just starting or if you want to broaden the job sources you are currently using, Google is a great place to browse.

No matter how great Google search is and how accurate results are, more often than not the key is in digging deeper. The freelancer who succeeds is the one who knows how to find what others can’t.

This post offers a collection of tips and advanced search operators that freelancers can use for market research and tracking gigs.

Use the search tips listed in the post to:

• Get the full understanding of rates being offered. Google will find both new and old (closed) offers, but the variety of search results will give you an idea of the average project budgets and the approximate number of freelancers generally available to do the job.
• Find most recent offers. There’s a tiny option in the left-hand of Google’s sidebar with search options. It lets you see results from the past 24 hours. This means you can play around with the search option to discover recent gigs and also (which is also important) find new places where these offers get published.
• Create a Google Alert (or several Google Alerts) to get notified of new gigs in your niche.

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Create Your Dream Job

Posted June 20, 2011 in Freelance Stories, How-To

Being a freelancer has always been a dream of mine. I was raised with the value of hard work, but was always told that to really succeed and get ahead in life, I needed to start my own company and be my own boss.

Now that I’ve started my own company and am essentially my own boss though, what’s next? Do I continue freelancing forever? Do I continue narrowing my niche and raising my fees?

Before trying to figure out how to make it to your dream job, you need to first figure out what it is. Not only what it is, but how long you’re going to do your dream job and what’s next after you achieve your next dream.

For this post, I’d like to get a little bit personal and talk about how I’m starting to shift my business, and what you can do about yours.

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Write Effective Blog Posts Using Hollywood Screenwriting Principles

Posted June 16, 2011 in How-To, Writing

Three decades ago a Hollywood screenwriter named Syd Field published a book explaining his “paradigm”–a firm and effective classic three part story structure that riffs on the framework first formalized in Aristotle’s Poetics and forms the basis for virtually every modern movie from Silence Of The Lambs to Avatar.

The storytelling geometry of the Syd Field Paradigm not only applies to motion pictures, but also can form the basis for powerful and compelling blog posts that will captivate and motivate your readers.

Whatever the subject of your blog post, applying the Syd Field Paradigm means that your reader is taken on an alluring journey consisting of a crescendo of anticipation leading to a satisfying conclusion.

In this post, I explain how to create effective freelance blog posts using this principle.

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Designing a Dream Home Office

Posted June 14, 2011 in How-To, Lifestyle

One of the best investments I’ve made into my business wasn’t a fancy gadget or a shiny new toy. It was my office.

It’s interesting to see how many freelancers just work wherever they can, be it the local Starbucks, a spare bedroom or even the kitchen table. From my experience though, it’s extremely important to have a nice dedicated space, preferably filled with your favorite things.

While I don’t do any sort of graphic design, interior design is one of my favorite hobbies so I thought I’d share some tips and inspiration with you.

(That’s my office in the picture to the left).

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10 Tips to Supercharge Your Social Media Style

Posted June 13, 2011 in How-To, Social Media

As a freelancer, what’s your social media style?

Are you fun and carefree? Or are you all-business, with each and every tweet and update carefully crafted to hook prospects and clients? Are you funny? Random? Self-centered?

Whatever your current style, you can probably make a few tweaks to get even more results from your social media presence. Don’t worry. You don’t have to spend any more time on social media than you’re already doing. Neither do you have to don an ill-fitting persona (more on that below).

A “style” is your way of doing things. In this post, we’re looking at our style of using social media.

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What Freelancers Really Do About Vacation

Posted May 31, 2011 in How-To, Lifestyle

Whether you’re new to freelancing or have been freelancing for a while, you may struggle with what to do about vacation.

In a traditional job, an employee typically receives paid vacation. For a freelancer, however, vacation is different.

Vacation is an unpaid time and a freelancer must plan ahead and save before they are able to take one. Many freelancers are afraid to take a vacation because they fear that they will lose clients. Other freelancers don’t take a vacation because they can’t afford to lose income.

Did you ever wonder what most freelancers really do about vacation? With planning, it is possible for a freelancer to enjoy a vacation.

In this post, I’ll share how some actual freelancers handle vacation. I’ll also describe three types of vacations that freelancers can plan for and how to handle each of them.

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