Freelancefolder

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

Posted April 15, 2009 in Freelance Stories, Inspiration 26 Rockin' Comments »

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.

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Is Fear Stopping You From Being Successful?

Posted April 3, 2009 in Inspiration, Lifestyle 21 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.

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Getting Creative: Should You Start From The Big Picture Or The Details?

Posted March 3, 2009 in Inspiration, Productivity 21 Rockin' Comments »

Creativity is a central part in almost every freelancer’s career. Whether you’re a writer, a designer, or even a programmer — mastering your creative side is just part of the job.

Every freelancer is different, though, and getting creative often requires a different approach for each person. In this post we take a look at one of the most fundamental choices when it comes to creativity: working from the big picture, or diving in and starting with the details.

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Gardening Tips That Can Grow Your Freelance Business

Posted February 23, 2009 in Business, Inspiration 22 Rockin' Comments »

Have you ever wondered how to grow your freelancing business?

If you have, you’re not alone. Getting a freelance business to grow is something that every freelancer struggles with from time to time.

As I was driving through the country the other day, I noticed that many of the trees and plants are already starting to bud. As the daughter of an avid gardener, I immediately thought of my father’s vegetable garden and the care that he took each year to insure that we had fresh fruits and vegetables in our home. Then it struck me.

Growing a freelance business is an awful lot like growing a garden. Many of the same principles that my father used to grow his vegetable garden also apply to my freelancing business and can probably help you grow your business as well.

Here are 5 gardening principles that can help grow your freelance business:

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Are Your Excuses Holding You Back?

Posted January 9, 2009 in Inspiration, Productivity 24 Rockin' Comments »

It is important to take some time and think about your priorities.On a daily basis, we make excuses or reasons for every action we take, from the food we eat to the work that gets done.

What are your reasons for not doing X,Y, and Z? Are you not doing something you should be doing? Are your reasons legitimate or getting in the way of your success?

• Maybe you want to make more money; why aren’t you?
• You want to learn a new skill; why aren’t you?
• You think losing weight is difficult, why?

You have reasons (yes, many, many reasons) for not doing the things you would like to be doing (and the things you do not want to do as well). Now that the new year has begun, it’s time to look at those reasons and decide whether or not they are getting in the way of your dreams.
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12 Awesome Businesses That Were Started By Freelancers

Posted January 7, 2009 in Business, Inspiration 33 Rockin' Comments »

With the upcoming launch of The Unlimited Freelancer, we’ve been doing a lot of talking about building businesses with enormous potential. Specifically, I’ve been saying that with the right information you can take your freelance business just about anywhere you want.

Just how much potential do you have, starting as a solo freelancer?

Quite a lot, actually — and that’s what I want to show you with this list. These 12 businesses were all started in the mind of a single freelancer, and have since grown to be incredibly successful.

Take a look at these impressive businesses, and you’ll be amazed at the potential that freelancers have.

Envato Network

Started by Cyan and Collis Ta’eed
From humble beginnings as freelance designers, Collis and Cyan started a company that is now the envy of freelancers everywhere. Starting with FlashDen, they built an online network one website at a time until they were doing incredibly well. At last count they had 11 websites, and that number is going up quickly.

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7 Pieces of Timeless Business Wisdom

Posted December 31, 2008 in Business, Inspiration 29 Rockin' Comments »

Some business advice changes all the time, but there’s also some advice that’s relevant and useful no matter what year it is, or what business you’re in.
 
In honor of the new year, we’ve compiled a quick list of 10 bits of wisdom that are as timeless and useful now as they were years ago.

1 — Push through your limitations

“The successful person makes a habit of doing what the failing person doesn’t like to do.”
— Thomas Edison

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The Art of Self-Motivation

Posted December 2, 2008 in Inspiration, Productivity 26 Rockin' Comments »

Motivation is one of the most important traits a business owner can have. We are constantly called upon to set our own work schedules, create our own goals, and stick to deadlines. Without motivation none of this would work.
 
But to be very successful you need more than just casual motivation — you need to be able to motivate yourself on your schedule. A self-motivated person can focus better, be more creative, accomplish bigger goals, and many other things. People who are really self-motivated produce the quality of work that only a passionate individual can, and they do it whenever they need.
 
So how do you motivate yourself? How can you be the type of person who is excited about work, goals, and other projects?
 
Here is a simple process that will help you master the art of self-motivation:

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5 Creativity Killers And How To Get Your Creative Juices Flowing Again

Posted October 15, 2008 in How-To, Inspiration, Productivity 89 Rockin' Comments »

How do you get your creative juices flowing?

I get that question a lot from fellow freelancers, and unfortunately there’s no perfect answer because we’re all different and we all have a different working style.

But for those of you who have asked, here are my top 5 creativity killers and how I manage to stay focused, productive and creative.

#1 — Multi-Tasking And Distractions

I know some people have mastered the art of multi-tasking and working on tons of things at once. I tried and it’s not for me. There is no way I can focus on a project while trying to reply to emails, talk on the phone and chat on Skype. In order to get my creative juices flowing I absolutely need to focus all my attention and energy on one thing: work on that project. [Click Here to Read More...]