Freelancefolder

Talent Versus Skill — Which Leads to Freelancing Success?

Posted November 11, 2009 in Inspiration 39 Rockin' Comments »

Which do you think is more important for freelancing success — talent or skill?

This topic is rarely discussed in freelancing circles, but most freelancers do have an opinion about which factor contributed the most to their success.

The question of whether talent or skill contributes more to success is a controversial debate for many in the freelancing world (and elsewhere). In this post, we’ll examine both sides of the debate and give you an opportunity to weigh in with your own opinion.

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Four Guaranteed Ways To Keep Freelance Work Coming

Posted November 9, 2009 in Inspiration, Marketing 51 Rockin' Comments »

If you want to succeed as a freelancer, you must get your name out there.

You can be the best in what you do but if no one knows about you, your freelancing career is as good as dead (sorry to be so harsh, but it’s true). While many freelancers are obsessed with being web celebrities, there are ways to stay under the radar and still have a successful freelance business.

In this post, we share four methods that I can guarantee will yield results if you follow them and put them into action. I have also shared my personal story in order to give you an idea of why these four ways are key to becoming a successful freelancer or to creating any successful business.

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How To Find, Save, and Create Your Own Good Ideas

Posted October 30, 2009 in Business, Inspiration 30 Rockin' Comments »

“Where do you get your ideas?”

It’s a common question. If you’ve ever struggled with writer’s block or been stuck on what to design next, then you know exactly what I mean. The right idea can make the difference between a successful freelancing project and a failure.

In this post we’ll show you a few places where you can find good ideas for your freelancing business, and we’ll also give you some tips on how to generate your own winning ideas.

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Six Foundations of Freelance Success

Posted October 23, 2009 in Business, Inspiration 41 Rockin' Comments »

Are you sick of reading about other people’s success? Are you tired of seeing headlines like these?

• How I Made a Thousand Dollars In a Single Day
• I Earn a Full-time Income While I Sleep Without Even Lifting a Finger
• Retire Rich This Year
• Become a Millionaire Tomorrow

You could probably list similar headlines. The Internet is littered with these types of promises. You’re probably just about as tired of seeing these headlines as I am.

Real success doesn’t happen overnight, and it isn’t easy either. Most of these success headlines aren’t useful to freelancers — they may have worked for someone in a very specific situation, but most of them are just scams or useless information.

That being said, there is real success advice you can use that works practically 100% of the time. Best of all, following this freelancing advice won’t cost you a dime.

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Open Thread: Where Were You 5 Years Ago?

Posted October 3, 2009 in Inspiration, Open Thread 43 Rockin' Comments »

If there’s one truth that applies to all freelancers, it’s this — the road is winding and unpredictable. Freelance life is often a roller coaster on a day-to-day basis, and over the course of a few short months everything can change.

Looking back a little ways can be a great way to gain some perspective. But if you really want to get some perspective on your freelance career, think about this:

What were you doing five years ago?

Five years is an eternity in terms of business and technology. Five years ago the idea of ‘web 2.0′ was absurd. Blogs were barely even in existence, and they certainly weren’t being taken seriously by the business world. In the last five years freelancing has entirely transformed for most of us.

What were you doing five years ago? Were you one of the few FreelanceFolder readers who was actually freelancing back then? Were you in college? Working a regular 9-5? Were you doing something entirely different from that?

Tell us your story in the comments and, if you feel like typing, let us know how you went from your five-years-ago self to becoming a freelancer.

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20 Inspiring Personal Portfolio Sites You Should Explore

Posted September 28, 2009 in Inspiration, Web Design 42 Rockin' Comments »

When it comes to working online there is one thing that’s more important than just about anything else — a beautiful portfolio site. Showing off the best examples of your work is a must when you’re trying to win clients online, and whether you are a designer, photographer, or writer, it is critical to have a central portfolio that can do just that.

It’s often tempting to throw up a free theme and get started quickly, but when it comes to creating a first impression, a solid portfolio is the key. Even if you’re new to the world of freelancing, you should consider how to create a portfolio site that not only shows your work but also appeals to your prospective clients.

Here is a list of 20 personal portfolios that will hopefully inspire you and give you ideas for your own portfolio site:

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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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30+ Examples of Big, Bold, and Beautiful Website Navigation Menus

Posted August 27, 2009 in Inspiration, Web Design 45 Rockin' Comments »

One of the most recognizable elements in any website is the design of the main navigation menu. Some sites have large menus, others have small ones. Some sites have bold, attention-grabbing menus, others have something more subdued.

As a freelance web designer, you need to be able to draw upon many different styles depending on the current project you are working on. Since the current trend in design is bigger and more graphical menus, we thought it would be a good idea to offer some inspiration.

In this list we’ve compiled 30 of the most gorgeous navigation menu designs — all of which are big, bold, and beautiful. Take a look and see what you think:

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The Life Cycle of an Idea: From Concept to Reality

Posted August 12, 2009 in Inspiration, Productivity 9 Rockin' Comments »

Ideas are an important part of every freelancer’s world. Some ideas become reality, and impress clients or and make it big time, and other ideas just get buried deep into the pile of bad ideas.

How exactly do we make an idea into reality? How do we decide which idea we should act upon and which one’s we should let go? What is it that we need to do to make an idea take the leap from our brain into the world?

As freelancers we have to be creative. To be creative, we need ideas. This post will highlight some things that might help do just that. Call it the life cycle of an idea, which starts from the generation phase and ends with its completion in reality. The following steps are simple, but we often fail to recognize and use all of them to the full potential.

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