freelance jobs, writing, design

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

Posted July 1, 2009 in Freelance Stories, Inspiration 19 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.

[Click here to read more →]

The Ten Types of Freelancers: Which One Are You?

Posted June 2, 2009 in Inspiration, Lifestyle 46 Rockin' Comments »

During my years of working online and interacting with other freelancers, I’ve noticed that most freelancers seem to fit into several personality types. Each type of freelancer seems to have a number of common character traits.

It can be fun and helpful to examine these freelancing personality types. Often times your freelancing personality type can show what makes you act the way you do as a freelancer.

So, what type of freelancer are you?

(This article is intended to take a lighthearted look at the various freelancing personality traits. It is based purely on my own impressions and not any kind of scientific study…)

[Click here to read more →]

12 Practical Ways To Become More Creative

Posted May 20, 2009 in How-To, Inspiration 17 Rockin' Comments »

Creativity is quickly becoming the next currency in the business and design world. There are millions of places to outsource non-creative work, and it’s only the truly creative people who are not afraid of being replaced or outdated.

Despite what many think, creativity is not decided at birth — and there are a few very simple and logical ways that you can become more creative simply by practicing and using certain methods.

Here are a few of those methods, along with some tools that can help boost your natural abilities. Put these to use and watch your work become more creative.

[Click here to read more →]

If You Could Have A Freelancing Super Power, What Would You Choose?

Posted May 13, 2009 in Inspiration 59 Rockin' Comments »

Have you had a tough week? For a change, let’s have some fun today!

You may have noticed all of the new movies coming out for the spring and summer featuring superheroes with extraordinary powers.

Let’s pretend, just for the sake of this post, that you could choose a single super power to use in your freelancing business. If you could make that choice, what imaginary super power would you choose?

[Click here to read more →]

My Freelance Journey: 12 Things I’ve Learned Along the Way

Posted April 15, 2009 in Freelance Stories, Inspiration 25 Rockin' Comments »

[Editor's Note: This is a story written by Glen Allsopp about how he ended up as a successful freelancer, and what he learned along the way. If you're interested in getting some perspective on the life of another freelancer, this is a great read.]

From starting my own company at 17, moving to South Africa at 18 where I didn’t know one single person and the moving home at 19 to build my online business, I feel like I’ve gone through it all. The last 2 years have been full of highs and lows as is often the case, but thankfully I’ve learned a lot in the process.

Today I want to look through the 12 things I’ve learned about the likes of managing time and staying motivated, to getting more clients and building relationships. I’ve split up the post into the 3 parts of my journey over the last quarter of a decade and shared my experiences from each.

[Click here to read more →]

Is Fear Stopping You From Being Successful?

Posted April 3, 2009 in Inspiration, Lifestyle 20 Rockin' Comments »

Fear is a powerful obstacle to freelancing success.

Fear can keep you from starting your freelancing business. Fear can keep you from expanding your freelancing business. Fear can also keep you from adequately promoting your freelancing business.

As an example of fear, here is a story from my childhood:

I grew up in a house with a basement. (Here in the south where I live now, most houses don’t have basements.) Despite the fact that the basement was finished with a fireplace and my parents had even put a ping pong table down there for us kids, for several years I refused to go into the basement.
 
I didn’t go into the basement because I was afraid. The furnace made loud noises when it turned off and on. The stairs creaked when you walked on them. To my seven-year old mind, this was enough to convince me that the basement was haunted.

The truth is that when I was a kid I missed out on some really good times because of my fear.

As an adult, fear also delayed the start of my freelancing career. Despite the fact that I had highly marketable skills and peers even commented that I had the self-discipline and business savvy that made me well suited to self-employment, I was afraid to get started.

My fears very nearly caused me to miss a great freelancing career.

Fear is a very real obstacle for freelancers. For most of us, fear has a mental and a physical component. With some extra effort and the right strategy, most of us can also overcome fear of success.

[Click here to read more →]