Freelancefolder

5 Must-Have Qualities to Become a Top Freelancer

Posted July 22, 2009 in Business, Lifestyle 26 Rockin' Comments »

A few months ago I was sorting through my email when I stumbled across some old conversations with potential clients. I found pitches that looked great, but eventually went stale, and other times when I didn’t think I would get the client but they came back to me enthused and excited.

At first glance, it wasn’t clear to me why some pitches went perfectly and others (even though the prospect had contacted me) didn’t even come close to closing the deal. Then I started to think about the periods of time where I had lots of clients and the times when I was suffering a drought — and I realized that my own behavior at the time was affecting the outcome.

There are certain qualities that we all exhibit from time to time that greatly alter the way we are viewed by clients — and I believe that these qualities are what set the top freelancers apart from the rest. This was clear to see after interviewing and receiving responses from the 6 top freelancers we talked to in last week’s blog post.

Based on my experience, and the information I’ve gathered from working with many top freelancers, I have put together a list of 5 qualities which I think all top freelancers need to have. Hopefully this list will help you in your own endeavors.

In no particular order, the five qualities that all freelancers should aim to have are:

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Working With Friends and Family — Can It Ever Work?

Posted July 17, 2009 in How-To, Lifestyle 27 Rockin' Comments »

Sooner, or later, it’s bound to happen. If you’ve been freelancing for any length of time, then you know that eventually your friends and family are likely to request to work with you.

The request can come in several different forms. Your friend or family member might actually want to work with you as a partner or an employee (this is becoming increasingly common in today’s troubled economic times). Or, they could want you to do work for them — typically for less money than the market rate for your services.

Whichever form the request takes, most freelancers that I know dread working with close friends or family since they know that involving relatives or close friends in their business could have serious negative repercussions in their personal lives. However, there are some freelancers who successfully work with friends and family.

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What Does Professionalism Look Like?

Posted July 15, 2009 in Business, Lifestyle, Marketing 24 Rockin' Comments »

Do you know what it means to be a professional? Would you recognize professional behavior if you encountered it?

For many, the image of being a professional is tied up in appearances. They see someone in a suit (and tie for men) and assume that this person is a professional.

For others, credentials are the essence of professionalism. They see a degree or professional certification and think, “there goes a professional.”

For still others, professionalism is an impersonal, almost clinical, “business-only” approach to both conversation and life.

I would submit that each of these images of what a professional is are lacking the true essence of professionalism. Quite simply, they miss the point of what a professional really is.

In this post, I’d like to discuss what professionalism REALLY is (and is not) and suggest a few ways that you can be more professional in your interactions with customers and clients.

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8 Tips for Success When Freelancing On the Road

Posted June 30, 2009 in Lifestyle, Productivity 27 Rockin' Comments »

Let’s face it, most of us freelancers do what we do in order to have the potential to work and play on our own terms. I love setting my own hours so I can enjoy life, and I also love slogging away on projects that I’m really passionate about. One aspect of play that many of us want to take up is to be able to freelance and travel at the same time.

In fact, that’s exactly what I’m going to be doing in a few months when I start my 1 year (hopefully) journey around the world. I don’t start this adventure for a while, but it’s good to have everything organized before I back my bags and take off.

In order to help me prepare for my upcoming trip, and to provide a resource for any of you who might be traveling and working in the future, I decided to put together this checklist of what you’re going to need when traveling.

Some of the following items are more important than others, and some may not apply to you. I wanted to put together a list that covered as many situations as possible without being too bloated. If there’s something I missed or you have your own suggestions, please share them in the comments!

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Five Mini-Vacations That Won’t Cost Much or Disrupt Your Schedule

Posted June 25, 2009 in Lifestyle, Productivity 16 Rockin' Comments »

Relaxation is important. There’s a certain level of stress inherent to freelancing, and the freelancer who refuses to take a break risks developing burnout and stress-related health problems.

Despite relaxation and breaks being so important, going on a vacation is a difficult thing to do for many freelancers.

For one thing, we freelancers don’t get paid vacation time like most salaried workers do. A beginning or struggling freelancer might not even have enough money to go on a vacation in the first place.

Also, as business owners we have to worry about being out of touch with our clients for an extended period of time. What if a client or a potential client contacts us with that “big job” while we’re gone? What if something urgent comes up that must be dealt with?

Fortunately, it’s not always necessary to go away on a long or expensive vacation to get the relaxation that every freelancer needs.

Here are five low cost or free vacation options that will help you relax and de-stress.

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Are You Trapped In The Wrong Freelancing Profession?

Posted June 19, 2009 in Business, Lifestyle 21 Rockin' Comments »

People often feel trapped in their nine-to-five corporate jobs, but I’ve known that “trapped” feeling to happen to freelancers too.

Feeling trapped can happen to a freelancer when he or she takes on a freelancing career for the wrong reasons. Some of those wrong reasons might include:

• Starting a freelancing career just because someone you know or have heard was successful in that field.
• Starting a freelancing career solely for the money
• Starting a freelancing career based on a single experience that you liked

Whatever the reason, feeling trapped by your freelancing profession is no fun at all.

Fortunately, freelancing is very fluid. If you do feel “trapped,” don’t despair. You have more options than you may realize.

In this post we’ll provide some information to help you decide whether you are really in the wrong profession, or just suffering from burnout. We’ll also discuss what your options are if you truly find that you have chosen the wrong freelancing profession.

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The Ten Types of Freelancers: Which One Are You?

Posted June 2, 2009 in Inspiration, Lifestyle 51 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…)

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Open Thread: Where Are You Located?

Posted May 29, 2009 in Lifestyle, Open Thread 93 Rockin' Comments »

One of the greatest things about FreelanceFolder is the diverse group of participants and freelancers that come to the site. We’ve received comments from all over the world — some from freelancers working at home in other countries, others from freelancers who are traveling and working on the go.

In fact, one of the most wonderful things about freelancing is that it can be very liberating. Many freelancers work from one location, but many take advantage of their situation and travel the world.

So, in the interest of generating some conversation, I have a few quick questions for everyone:

1. Where do you work? (What country or state)
2. Do you typically work from your home, an office, or while traveling?
3. How do you like it? Any tips for others in your situation?

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Can Anybody Be A Freelancer?

Posted May 22, 2009 in Business, Lifestyle 48 Rockin' Comments »

Someone I know once said to me:

“Absolutely anyone can freelance if they want to.”

The words were flung out there innocently enough, and I know that the person speaking them truly believed it, but in a way they were hurtful to me.

I have worked very hard to set up my freelancing business and I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished with it. While it may not cost a lot to start a freelancing business, I’m not so sure that just anyone can do it.

Let’s take a look at what it really takes to start a freelancing business.

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