Freelancefolder

How to Deal with Freelancing Change

Posted January 11, 2012 in Inspiration, Lifestyle

Change is inevitable.

This is true whether you’re a freelancer, or not. But, because of the nature of freelancing, we freelancers tend to face change and its consequences a bit more frequently than other folks do. That’s why it’s really important to have a Plan B and to keep that plan up to date. Having an emergency fund does not hurt either.

There’s much more to dealing with freelancing change that just having a Plan B, though. You also need to deal with the emotional toll that freelancing change can take on you. Handling the emotional toll of freelancing change is what this post is all about. In it, I’ll share some practical tips to help you keep the inevitable freelancing changes in perspective so you can stay at your best as a freelancer.

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12 Must-Read Freelancing Predictions for 2012

Posted January 3, 2012 in Inspiration

Don’t you wish you could see into the future of freelancing? If you could, you’d know what freelancing trends are coming up and what niches to concentrate on. You’d be ahead of the game on social media too.

But seeing into the future, like mind reading, is an imprecise art (at best). However, it is possible to make some educated guesses about the future of freelancing based on current trends.

So, that’s what I’m going to do for 2012. In this post I’ll share twelve predictions about areas that will impact freelancers in the coming year. At the end of the post, I’d like you to share your predictions too.

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5 Tips to Kick the Perfectionist Habit

Posted December 12, 2011 in Inspiration

Hello. My name is Mike. And I’m a recovering perfectionist.

For a long time, I believed that being a perfectionist was a good thing. I was proud of my compulsion to work and rework even the smallest assignment until it was faultless. What did it matter that it took me hours more than it probably should have? I was a perfectionist. All that mattered was that I nailed it.

When I became a freelancer, however, I realized that my perfectionism wasn’t the big pat-on-the-back that I thought it was. In fact, it was just the opposite. With my eye now always on the clock, I saw that my relentless quest for perfection was making me inefficient. More often than I care to confess, I undercharged clients because I didn’t want to admit the true amount of time it had taken me to complete the assignment. (Note: this is not a good way to run a business.)

Frustrated and anxious, I knew I had to beat the problem or kiss my career goodbye. But how? I was afraid that if I devoted any less time to my projects, I’d make some hideous mistake and ruin my career. I also afraid that being even a smidgen less meticulous might result a failure to meet–no, exceed–my client’s expectations. How could I alter my work habits without sacrificing my high standards?

Well, it didn’t happen overnight, but I did eventually come up with a workable strategy. If you suspect you might be a perfectionist too, consider these five tips to bring your obsessive tendencies under control.

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Stuck in Your Tracks? How to Get Unstuck Today

Posted November 30, 2011 in Inspiration

Freelancing can be a great lifestyle that offers many benefits. However, sometimes even the best freelancers get stuck.

There are many ways a freelancer can get stuck. They can get stuck in the rut of working for low pay. They can get stuck creatively where they find themselves doing the same unchallenging work over and over. Or, they can get stuck when they fall behind technology and current trends.

If this is you–if you’re a stuck freelancer right now, don’t worry. There are ways to become unstuck. In this post, I’ll provide some of those ways to help you get unstuck.

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Capturing Your Creativity

Posted November 1, 2011 in How-To, Inspiration

We freelancers are a creative bunch. If you’re a freelance writer, you need to frequently come up with fresh ideas for copy. If you’re a designer, you must continually come up with fresh design ideas. Even freelancing fields that are supposedly “less” creative require freelancers to come up with new and innovative approaches to solving problems.

Freelancers are constantly on the hunt for new ideas. Is it any wonder that creative folks sometimes complain that they can’t think of any new ideas?

Where, exactly, do ideas come from? In this post, I’ll look at some common sources of creative inspiration that can help you capture your own creativity.

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The Holistic Freelancer

Posted October 17, 2011 in Getting Started, Inspiration

What makes you the freelancer you are? (Hint: it’s NOT what you think it is.)

While it may be tempting to look for a simple, single factor that always leads to freelancing success, the real truth is that all freelance success is due to the sum of many parts.

There’s no single path to freelancing success (and this can be frustrating). As I’ve said before, what works well for one freelancer may totally bomb when another freelancer tries it. That’s because every single freelancer brings something different to the job. Who you are, as a whole, contributes to the freelancer you become.

Holistic means looking at the parts that make up the whole and that’s just what I’ll do in this post. I’ll take a look at the whole freelancer and examine how who you are impacts your freelancing business overall. Here are some of the factors that we freelancers bring with us into our freelancing businesses:

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Why You Sometimes Must Fail Before You Can Succeed (and How to Recover)

Posted October 7, 2011 in Inspiration

I hate pain! When the doctor has to draw blood, I wince and look the other way. If I know something is going to hurt, I generally go out of my way to avoid it.

However, sometimes you must fail before you can succeed as a freelancer–and failure hurts.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not advocating failure for failure’s sake. I definitely believe in working smart. That’s one reason I share my experiences and knowledge here on Freelance Folder–to help other freelancers

But sometimes, failure is the best teacher. Did you know that failing can sometimes make you a better freelancer in the long run? When failure happens to you, here’s how to make sure you learn from it.

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Is a Balanced Lifestyle Really Even Possible for a Freelancer?

Posted September 26, 2011 in Inspiration, Lifestyle

The three motivators that cause most freelancers to start freelancing are a search for balance in their life, a desire to build and expand a business, or a desire to earn more money.

All of these motivations can be achieved through freelancing, but it is often the first one–a desire for balance–that seems to be the most elusive for many freelancers. And often, balance seems incompatible with the other motivators. It may even seem impossible.

With the many hats that most freelancers must wear and the huge amount of online advice available to the typical freelancer, the goal of lifestyle balance can seem discouragingly out of reach. When you’re a freelancer, there’s no way around it. There’s simply a lot to do.

In this post, I’m going to focus on achieving balance as a freelancer. I’ll share a few questions that will help you determine if you’re really doing all that you can to balance your freelancing with your life. The answers may surprise you and ultimately, help you to find more balance.

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Attitude Counts

Posted September 21, 2011 in Inspiration, Productivity

What is the difference between a successful freelancer and one who fails? Do you know that answer?

Of course, there are many variables behind a successful freelancing career.

Talent and skill definitely do count for something as does providing good customer service. However, I’m convinced that a key characteristic of many successful freelancers is their positive attitude.

A good attitude can help to carry you through a lot of tricky freelancing situations. The right attitude can help you effectively deal with difficult people. Simply put, the right attitude can keep you from giving up when freelancing gets tough.

In this post, I’ll share some examples of situations where attitude makes a difference. I’ll also discuss how you can cultivate a good attitude. Finally, I’ll invite you to share your own thoughts on the difference attitude makes in your own freelancing business.

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