Freelancefolder

The 8 Most Common Freelance Questions (With Answers)

Posted February 16, 2009 in Business, Lifestyle 54 Rockin' Comments »

This post is a direct follow-up to the open thread we ran last week where we asked for your freelance questions. We said to pretend that there was a panel of freelance-gurus who could answer anything about freelancing, and then asked you to post your top question in the comments.

While we don’t really have a panel of freelance gurus over at FreelanceFolder headquarters, we’re at least going to take a shot at answering some these questions. As forewarning, we’re probably also going to rely heavily on the community and other articles to help out with the answers :-)

Here are the 8 most common questions from our open thread, along with their answers:

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Part-Time Freelancing: How To Nurture Your Inner Freelancer

Posted February 12, 2009 in Lifestyle 43 Rockin' Comments »

These days, I’ve been hearing a lot about people starting a part-time freelance business while they still have day job. Given the economic times, that move makes perfect sense. Freelancing can be a great way to get control of your financial future.

Too often, however, freelancing becomes drudgery for the part-timer. Since they already have another job the part-time freelancer runs a high risk of burning out early in their freelancing career. In fact, many part-time freelancers never make the transition to full-time.

If you are a part-time freelancer (and even if you aren’t) here are some steps that you can take to ensure burnout doesn’t happen to you:

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10 Things You’ve Heard About Freelancing That Are Actually True

Posted February 5, 2009 in Lifestyle 48 Rockin' Comments »

A few weeks ago, we published an article about Myths, Half-Truths, and Other Freelance Lies. That post covered common beliefs about freelancing that are mostly false. One reader, Jamie, commented that I should also post about some common freelancing truths.

Well, this post is for Jamie and for anyone else who wants to learn the truth about what it is really like to be a freelancer.

Here are some common beliefs about freelancing that are absolutely true:

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Why Freelancing is Awesome

Posted February 4, 2009 in Business, Lifestyle 30 Rockin' Comments »

If you know a lot about freelancing, then you know that there are a lot of things that can make freelancing really hard. But that isn’t the whole story — freelancing is one of the best things on earth, despite any of the difficulties there may be.

Why is freelancing so awesome?

• Control over your own destiny
• Freedom to choose when and how to work
• You can’t be fired or laid off by anyone
• Work on the things you love to do
• Nearly unlimited opportunity

As a freelancer, it’s so easy to get caught up in the daily worries that you can forget why you wanted to freelance to start with. When you’re in the midst of this daily stress, it can be a great help to remember the good side of freelancing. This list will help.

For those of you who are considering freelancing, or are freelancing part-time, this article will show you the massive benefits you can have as a freelancer. Read on for more.

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Going Full-Time: Four Things You’ll Miss From the Day Job

Posted January 26, 2009 in Business, Lifestyle 36 Rockin' Comments »

For many of us, it’s that moment we’ve been longing for. It’s what we’ve worked towards for months or years. It’s the reason we’ve been coming home from a busy day and freelancing in the evenings, or at the weekends.

Quitting the day job. Going full-time. Striking out on our own. You’re not going to miss the office for a moment … right?

Chances are, you’ll find yourself looking back wistfully on certain occasions. Here are a few things you might be missing, and how you could replace them as a freelancer:

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Open Thread: Do You Work On Vacation?

Posted January 19, 2009 in Lifestyle, Open Thread 36 Rockin' Comments »

The idea for this open thread comes from the fact that, well, I’m off at a ski resort right now. It’s early, and not everyone is awake yet, but here I am sitting on my laptop working :-)

Working while on vacation is something most freelancers do, especially if it’s a vacation that’s not taken during the holidays. There are usually a lot of things we can leave behind, but leaving behind everything is pretty difficult.

But is it healthy to work on vacation? Should you do it, or is it just taking away from your resting time? Do you enjoy working on vacation or do you dislike the fact that it’s sometimes necessary?

Answering and dealing with these questions is important to your long-term happiness as a freelancer. There will be times when you’re on vacation and may or may not want to work. You might also enjoy it, depending on the type of work you have. Let’s take a look at some different questions:

• Do you work when you go on vacation?
• Which things do you leave behind, and which do you take with you?
• How do you handle needy clients or urgent projects?

Let’s discuss in the comments…

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Myths, Half-Truths, and Other Freelance Lies

Posted January 15, 2009 in Lifestyle 27 Rockin' Comments »

With the economy on a downward spiral, more people than ever before are examining freelancing as a viable source of income. The Internet is a tremendous resource for people who may be starting their freelancing career. Unfortunately, there is also a tremendous amount of bad information and misperceptions floating around the Internet about freelancing — lies and myths are everywhere!

That’s where this post comes in handy. We’ll look at ten common, and very popular, ideas about freelancing. After examining each idea, I will identify it as one of the following: truth, half-truth, or lie (myth).

Finally, I’ll ask each of you for your feedback on these, and other, freelancing misconceptions.

Ten Popular Perceptions About Freelancing:

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Two Freelancing Myths and The Need For Self-Discipline

Posted January 6, 2009 in Lifestyle, Productivity 35 Rockin' Comments »

Envy filled my friend’s voice as she spoke, “I wish had it like you. Since you’re self-employed, if you wake up and don’t feel like working you don’t really have to. I have to go to work every single day, whether I want to or not.”

The volunteer coordinator at the children’s school huffed impatiently, “You work for yourself. You must have a lot of free time every day. Surely, you can make time to chair this major committee for us since you can control your own schedule.”

Both statements indicate a common misconception about freelancing. Both statements also totally ignore a key factor that every freelancer must master if they are to succeed. That factor is self-discipline.

First, Let’s look at these two misconceptions:

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One Question All Freelancers MUST Answer

Posted December 23, 2008 in Lifestyle 32 Rockin' Comments »

Whether you’re a seasoned freelancer or you’ve just started your freelancing career, there is one question that you must know the answer to in order to meet your true goals. That question is deceptively simple. It is this:

Why? Why is it that you do what you do?

The question is deceptively simple because not everyone answers the question the same way. Also, it may have more than one answer.

Yet, you must know the answer to the Why question because that answer will help find your true goals. Knowing your true goals will help you make the day-to-day business decisions that are right for you.

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