The post Got Bad Clients? Here’s Why You Should Fire Them Now appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> No freelancer is immune from bad clients. Sometimes the patron saint of small business owners is caught napping, and a bad client slips through the net. You know the type. They suck every moment of pleasure from your work and make you think flipping burgers at some greasy joint might not be so bad.But what do you do when you find yourself saddled with a client who needs to be turned loose?
As scary as it may sound, parting ways with a bad client gives you back the most valuable asset in your business: time. (Click here to tweet this thought.) And with more time and a clearer picture of your ideal client, you can become laser targeted with your marketing and attract better-suited, higher paying clients.
Here are five simple steps to help you get better at (politely) firing bad clients — and finding better ones:
Whether a repeat or first time offender, it’s safe to assume your client has slipped under your business standards if you’re seriously considering firing them. If that’s the case, this isn’t the time for long, wordy emails.
Many conflicts can be avoided or resolved with a quick five-minute chat. Rather than write a scathing email detailing your client’s every fault, make a list of concerns you want to raise, then send a short email requesting a call to discuss the status of their project.
Be mindful; it could be your client doesn’t understand where they’ve fallen foul and only needs steering in the right direction. Whatever you do, reserve firing off one of those killer emails for only the most serious of violators.
Now’s the time for a short email with your standard termination letter attached. Your email should cover the concerns discussed on your “warning” call and briefly detail what’s taken place since. A standard termination letter doesn’t need to be complicated. Address the client by name, state you’re no longer able to do business with them and give your reason why.
It’s tempting to start dishing out blame and sarcasm at this point — don’t. Take extra care to keep the tone professional and respectful. Having a template already prepared will make sure you keep the standard of communication professional, yet firm.
Parting ways with a bad client isn’t always as simple as a standard termination letter and a stiff drink. Sometimes money’s involved — either money they owe you, or money or services they believe you owe them. That’s why when it comes to email, it’s best to keep everything concise, professional and courteous at all times.
If you decide to opt out of a project, but have already supplied work you haven’t been paid for, behaving courteously throughout offers you the best chance of being paid what you’re owed.
Despite the validity of your reasons, being cut loose can be humiliating and confusing to a client. Holding back the money you’re owed can be their way of regaining some control. Don’t give bad clients silly reasons not to pay you.
I have a policy that if I decide to fire a client, unless it’s for the most serious breach of contract, I’ll return their deposit. But it’s up to you to assess what level of work has been done by your company and whether or not returning the deposit is both feasible and fair.
Some clients won’t take being fired lying down, especially if they think they’re still owed services from your company. The key here is tact and diplomacy. Where possible, frame your rationale for ending the working relationship in their favor. The feel, felt, found method works well for this. But make sure that, should the need arise, you can make clear references to the conditions of your contract. You do have one of those, right?
Think carefully about the content of your contracts. Don’t just download some free template and hope it scares clients into behaving. Your contracts should be written to cover the best interests of your business and give you clear leave to exit from a particular project should you need to.
Remember, if a client is demanding you finish a project, hand over files or do maintenance work, it’ll be the clauses you set out within your (signed) contract and terms and conditions that allow you to side swipe their demands gracefully.
The sign that you’re at a stage in your business when you’re ready to fire ill-fitting clients rather than “put up and shut up” is a major business milestone. But learning to improve your pre-qualifying process is what will save you time and earn you more money in the long run.
Have a standard checklist of criteria that helps you quickly decipher whether a prospect is a good fit for your business or not. The criteria doesn’t have to be complex, but as a business owner marketing your services, it’s essential you have a clear idea of what your most desirable client looks like.
Having a rarely negotiable client criteria helps to filter out unsuitable prospects quickly, meaning you’re not just turning projects away; you’re actively creating time and space to work with the right clients. It’s this focus and unwillingness to compromise that’ll bring the biggest financial benefit to your business.
There you have it: a simple process for quickly (and politely) firing bad clients and the steps to help you get better at pre-qualifying prospects so you have fewer bad clients to fire in the first place.
Have you ever had to fire a client? What was the hardest part? Come and share your experiences in the comments.
Stacey Herbert is a digital strategist and copywriter over at Brazen Profit Lab. She helps eCommerce business owners find the right words to sell their products with authority, clarity and style.
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The post Got Bad Clients? Here’s Why You Should Fire Them Now appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2014/04/30/got-bad-clients-heres-fire-now/feed/ 2The post 5 Ways to Build Your Credibility as a Freelancer (and Make More Money!) appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> Ah, the wonderful world of freelancing. Unlike a 9-to-5 job, you can work from home, set your own schedule and give yourself a raise whenever you darn well please.But there’s just one problem. First you have to land clients — and a lot of them — to live the freelance dream.
Whether you’re just dipping your toe into the freelance waters or have been in the freelance game for awhile, convincing a new client to hire you is not always easy. You need to prove you’re the right person for the job and worth the investment.
To grow your network of clients and build a profitable business, follow these tips to develop your credibility. The more closely you follow these guidelines, the more likely you’ll land more freelance work.
Try to put yourself in your potential client’s position. How should he figure out how outstanding you are in what you do? Show references from previous work and let the words of others speak for you. You may have to reference unrelated work experience, but that will still help your credibility.
Ask your previous clients to recommend you or provide testimonials you can use on your website (we’ll get to that next). Most of them understand it’s difficult to win new business. If they’re satisfied with your services, they should be more than happy to help you out.
We live in an Internet era, and almost everything happens online. Everyone — including clients — shops around and does some Internet research before buying a new product or committing to a new freelancer.
Help make the vetting process easier for potential clients. You need a quality website where you can present yourself, your services and previous completed projects to interested readers.
What constitutes a quality website? It should prominently feature your portfolio and link to any work that will help clients decide if they want to use your services. Your website will also help you promote your business to others in the industry.
Your website doesn’t have to be flashy, but it should look professional. Double-check the content to eliminate typos or odd formatting. People will judge you not only on the quality of your portfolio of work, but also on the general impression they have when they visit your site.
One sure way to boost your credibility is to show how serious you are about your profession. Show clients how dedicated you are to improving acquired skills and expertise.
With free websites like Coursera, Khan Academy and even online Ivy League university courses, it’s never been easier to expand your skills.
While a signed contract is not mandatory, having one helps both you and your client agree upon the expectations and deadlines for your work.
Aside from the protection element, a signed agreement will give you confidence and demonstrate to clients that you’re trustworthy and professional.
When working via freelance marketplaces like oDesk or Freelancer, you automatically get guarantees on the contract from both the system and your client. But keep in mind you have to pay a fee (which can be rather high) for long-term projects.
Establishing a price for your freelance services can be tricky, particularly when you first start out. Create a pricing structure that’s fair in terms of effort and compensation. Keep your rate consistent in all conversions with your client. And make sure it’s in line with the requirements of the project you’re doing.
Be clear about your prices with clients and stick to your guns – it will prove to clients you know how much you’re worth. No one wants to hire a wishy-washy freelancer. (Click here to tweet this thought.)
Once you’ve developed a slick website with testimonials, showcased your work and proved you know your stuff about contracts and rates, you’ll be well on your way to landing more clients.
Do you have any other tips for new freelancers to help improve credibility?
Rye Baehr decided to pass on 9-to-5 employment after college and started his academic career that combines his passion for writing and science. He’s the senior writer and editor at Global Writings and is a passionate traveler and bookworm.
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]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2014/04/15/5-ways-build-credibility-freelancer-make-money/feed/ 5The post Snag Quality Freelance Gigs By Presenting a Professional Face appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> As a freelancer, you’re responsible for selling yourself to potential clients. That means applying for projects, pitching clients and always presenting yourself as a trustworthy, reliable professional.As part of a recruiting team, I see my fair share of applications for freelance positions. I review resumes, portfolios and test samples from many freelancers — writers, designers, editors and Web developers.
While the industries these freelancers come from vary, one thing remains the same: it’s easy to identify whether someone is a professional or not.
Sometimes, you can tell even before you open the email.
Some of the following tips may seem obvious, but many freelancers try to get professional jobs while acting like amateurs. Here are a few ways you can avoid their mistakes:
Being professional doesn’t mean you have to be overly formal. There’s a big difference between the two:
One of the best parts about being a freelancer is that you don’t have a company mold to fit in. You can show your personality through your personal brand. Go for it.
Sophie Lizard, freelance writer and founder of Be a Freelance Blogger, has a unique personality and you can feel it on her About page:
But the rest of her site is fresh, clean and organized, making her appear the right part of professional — trustworthy and reliable.
Ditch the barbiegurl99@mail.com email that was funny when you were in college. Instead, go for something more professional like yourfullname@mail.com. Or better yet, get an email synced up with your own domain name (yourname@yoursite.com).
Dedicate one email address to your professional freelance life, and never reach out to the same person from multiple email addresses. Many people use email as a way to track information, so when you use multiple email addresses, it can cause confusion and lead to missed messages.
If a potential client asks for information, don’t give them the bare bones of the requested info. When trying to impress a client, more is better — when organized and tasteful.
Provide the requested information (e.g., a resume, cover letter and three samples) up front. Then add anything else you feel might help you get a job below the requested information (like additional samples, recommendations, etc.). This gives the potential client more info if they want it, while keeping the requested information easily visible.
Take time constructing your pitches to potential clients. Don’t do this:
I am an experienced writer of blogs articles and even contract writing of chapters in books. Some of my work has broken site records for views. My specific areas of interest and expertise include strategy, technology, innovation and cyber security. My blogs typically go about 300 words and my articles are in the 1000 word range.
I am a professional that is consistent and does not miss my deadlines. Please let me know how we can proceed with this mutually beneficial opportunity.
Always add personalization when approaching clients (“I saw this on your site…”, “I love [blank] about your company…”, “I admire your company’s opinion about [blank]…”). And never quickly throw together an email without taking the time to correct sloppy mistakes.
The difference is simple. You accept freelance jobs because they align with your passions and goals. You accept work-from-home jobs because they pay money. (Click here to tweet this thought.)
Work-from-home jobs are for people looking for a quick and easy way to do odd jobs and make money on the Internet (and sometimes they’re a scam). Freelance jobs are for people who want to build a career doing one specific task or service. It just happens you can do it from home.
Remember that you want to work for the client. Don’t make them work for you.
We frequently get applicants who claim our site isn’t working or our application isn’t correct, when really, they’ve failed to follow the directions given to them.
Always triple-check before asking the client to clarify directions. When you need a client to hold your hand at the beginning, it makes them think they’ll need to continue to do that for the rest of the working relationship.
If you work with clients you don’t engage with in person, use any opportunity you have to get in front of them on their computer screens. Don’t use graphics, icons or a distant photo for your profile photos on any site they use to connect with you.
Select an appropriate user photo or invest in a professional, quality headshot. It makes you look more reliable and trustworthy than an avatar.
Clients come to you because they have a need, so ask what other needs they have. Come out and ask them what problems they’re having and ask if there’s a way for you to help fix it. Or offer up your other skills so they know you’re available if the need arises.
As a freelancer, you need to create opportunities for yourself. Don’t sit around waiting for clients to find you or load you up with work. Be proactive, show initiative and exceed expectations.
These are a few tips that can help you get started on the right foot for your freelancing career. While there are other challenges and obstacles to overcome as you wade deeper in the waters of working for yourself, being mindful of these simple fixes will help you get to the good stuff faster.
Raubi Marie Perilli is the Community Manager for CopyPress Community — a networking site, training portal and job board for freelancer writers, bloggers and designers. Find her on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2014/03/18/snag-quality-freelance-gigs-learning-present-professional-face/feed/ 0The post Full-Time Freelancing Could Cost You: What to Know Before Leaping appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> Ready to jump from your 9-to-5 to full-time freelancing? Great!From making your own hours to setting your own fees, freelancing has tons of benefits.
But what many startup ‘lancers don’t know is that freelancing can also be costly. You are, after all, essentially starting a business. Plus, you’re moving from steady paychecks to the unknown territory of a variable (and, sometimes in the beginning, nonexistent) income.
So before you jump in head-first, take this financial checkup to be sure you’re ready for the freelancing life:
Starting a freelance business is pretty cheap, as far as startups go. You don’t have to rent a huge office building, buy your own high-tech software system or even hire employees. But that doesn’t mean starting a freelance business won’t cost you.
If you want to land great clients and make decent money, you’ll have to invest in your startup. Before you go full-time, find the money for common startup costs. In fact, it may be best to go ahead and pay for these things out of your paycheck now, before you even jump ship!
Common freelancing startup costs include:
If you can cover these expenses, great! Move on to the next step in your checkup. If not, hold up. Take time to save enough money for your startup costs before you freelance full-time.
Money management skills are important no matter what your job. But for freelancers, they’re even more essential.
Right now, you’re used to a steady paycheck. Sure, if you’re an hourly worker, there might be some variance. But you probably get a check on a set schedule and know ahead of time about how much you’ll make.
When you’re a full-time freelancer, you can kiss that consistency goodbye!
While many of us eventually nab steady, long-term clients that give us an even-keel base pay, this isn’t often the case for newbies. You may deal with a roller-coaster income for quite some time.
So be sure you can prioritize your spending. See where you can cut back on your budget for months when you may not make as much money.
We all would like to think we’ll be six-figure freelancers within months of launching our businesses. But that very rarely happens.
Many freelancers have to work hard for months (or maybe years) before they steadily earn a decent income. This is normal, and you should expect it — even as you hope for a better, easier outcome for yourself.
Before you start freelancing, form some sort of backup plan. (Click here to tweet this thought.) This could include a part-time job or side hustle to pay the bills while your business gets going, a well-funded emergency savings account or even the option to move back in with the ‘rents while you get on your feet.
While you don’t necessarily need a fully funded six-month emergency fund to safely transition to the freelance life, you do need some sort of financial backup plan just in case!
Often, you’ll hear new freelancers exclaiming in excitement that they’re earning $20-$30 an hour on a job. That’s much more than they made at their old $12/hour gig. Or so they think.
Freelancers have many more expenses than typical full-time workers. You’ll have to pay for everything from printer paper to health insurance, and those costs add up.
And then you’ll have to pay your own taxes. In fact, you’ll pay at least 15 percent of your income in self-employment FICA taxes, and that’s not to mention income taxes.
Don’t forget you’ll no longer get paid vacation or sick days, either. If you don’t work, you don’t get paid. So you need to be sure you’re getting paid enough so you have the luxury of a vacation or a day out with the flu.
All these costs quickly add up and turn your $30/hour gig into a minimum wage slog. While your hourly rate goal will certainly depend on your industry, experience and cost of living, Carol Tice says most freelancers should aim to make at least $100 per hour.
Did you make it through the checkup? Do you understand your startup costs and ongoing costs? Do you have a backup plan for your finances, and are you prepared to live on a variable budget?
Excellent! You may be ready to start freelancing full-time.
If you’re not quite there yet, don’t worry. Take some time to prepare financially, and your freelance career launch will go much more smoothly in the long term.
Abby Hayes is a full-time freelance blogger, copywriter and journalist. She’s also the founder of FinanceforFreelance, a blog dedicated to helping freelancers make the most of their money. Check out her freelance tax guide, 42 Money Saving Tax Deductions for Freelancers, if you’re ready to make the most of your freelancing income at tax time!
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]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2014/03/05/full-time-freelancing-could-cost-you-what-to-know-before-leaping/feed/ 1The post Don’t Be Deceived By These 6 Freelance Job Post Scams appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> Freelancing is a great way to fine-tune your professional skills and work on your own terms. As a young professional, working for yourself can offer freedom and help you earn a little (or a lot) of extra money so you can finally ditch your Ramen diet for good.It’s easy to find work through sites like Freelancer.com, oDesk and Elance, but you’ll quickly discover that job listings on these sites are not always as they seem.
Over the past couple of months freelancing, I’ve developed a sense for what people actually mean when they post jobs online. Once you better understand the hidden meaning behind these job postings, you can move beyond freelance rookie status, better navigate the competition and sail right up to the best jobs.
Translation: We pay $0.50 per 500 words. We’re aware that in countries where native English-speakers actually live, $0.50 will not cover the cost of the electricity required to write those 500 words.
For this reason, we’re looking to hire a financially secure trust-fund baby who has an insatiable desire to write keyword-rich articles about the new iPhone. Or possibly someone who has moved to Mali. And has no desire to afford to a plane flight back. Ever.
Translation: I want a hot blonde (with sizable breasts) who I can say inappropriate things to over Skype.
This is usually accompanied by, “should be open-minded and easygoing,” which roughly translates to… well, you can figure it out.
Translation: We have a warehouse full of expensive cameras that “fell off the back of a truck.” All you have to do is sell our stolen goods through your own eBay and PayPal accounts. We offer generous commissions for this indictable offence.
Or, alternatively: We don’t actually have those cameras. But we can supply you with photo-realistic images of cameras. All you have to do is list our “cameras” using your eBay account. When some sucker buys ‘em, just transfer the money to our PayPal account (minus your commission) and you’ll never hear from us again.
Translation: You know captchas? Those annoying, messed-up letters that prevent our bots from creating Hotmail accounts? Yeah? Well, we need some cheap, real human eyes to transcribe those for us. Then we can get back to creating mass email accounts to send our important “news bulletins” about Viagra. Kthxbai.
Translation: We’re a large company that bid way too low on a massive project (like, ah, the Urban Design Proposal for Kabul, Afghanistan*). Surprise, surprise, we won the job since they couldn’t resist our rock-bottom price. Now we’re trying to outsource it to reduce our losses. This is the perfect project for anyone who is desperate and/or doesn’t know any better.
*This was an actual project. I didn’t just invent it for the sake of drama. Unfortunately, the job was deleted before I had a chance to snatch it up.
Translation: I have no idea what this project requires. My computer program responds to every job on my behalf.
Now that you know which jobs to avoid, use these tips to win bids on the real jobs so you can earn more money:
If you’re good at what you do, tell people you’re excellent at what you do. Learn how to sell yourself and talk yourself up. Obviously, you need to back up your claims with good work, but do what you say you’ll do, and your employer will be happy.
Show some personality, people! Sure, it’s important to act professionally, but have a bit of fun with it. Show your potential employers why you’re funnier, more charming and more reliable (and more human) than the guy whose computer responds for him.
Don’t offer low-ball bids just to beat other freelancers. Often, even if you’re more expensive than your competition, you’ll still win the job — especially if you followed the two previous pieces of advice.
Bid what you’re worth and stand out from the crowd because of your skills and personality, not because you’re the cheapest. Good employers recognize that they get what they pay for. (Click here to Tweet this thought.) If they want the job done well, cheaper isn’t better.
Once you learn to filter through the rubbish, it is possible to make decent money freelancing on these sites. Don’t fall for the dumb scams, don’t undercut your rates and be yourself. Then you’ll find reasonable people willing to pay reasonable rates for your work.
And if all that fails, I hear Mali is lovely this time of year…
Brodie Norris is currently avoiding destitution by blogging at Architecting Life and freelancing on Freelancer.com.
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The post Don’t Be Deceived By These 6 Freelance Job Post Scams appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2013/12/11/dont-be-deceived-by-these-6-freelance-job-post-scams/feed/ 11The post Want to Quit Your Job and Work for Yourself? Follow These Steps First appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> How do you confidently make the leap from corporate employee to entrepreneur or consultant?If you want to make it on your own, there are three important steps many successful entrepreneurs take before they head out.
While some folks get lucky or find a way to make it work without much planning, others end up returning to the corporate world they so desperately wanted to escape.
To ensure a smooth and successful transition to your new solopreneur life, take these three steps:
Live minimally. Gain freedom from your job by not needing the paycheck.
The more expensive your lifestyle, the riskier it is to jump to something new and uncertain that could have a potentially low income at start. The more you can reduce your overhead, the less risky it is to make that jump.
If you want to start something new or break out of a dead-end job, follow the path of the Ramen-eating hackers who live cheaply. If you live an elaborate lifestyle, you may burn through your paychecks. See how much you can cut.
Make it a game. Buy a $75 sewing machine and give up buying clothes for a year. Learn from the family in San Francisco that lives with no trash. Eat on the cheap. Give up restaurants and alcohol for a year, or even a few months. Track all your purchases and decide whether that night out with friends or new pair of shoes is more valuable to you than your freedom.
The nomadic entrepreneurs who live around the world and work from anywhere are often working in places where the cost of living is low. They’re not rich; they’ve often worked the airline systems to get thousands of frequent flyer miles and travel on the cheap. The life they’ve built is incredibly inexpensive, making the need for a giant business (and lots of possessions) unnecessary.
Sound like too much to give up? Consider how much you want to leave your job. What’s it worth to you? How much do you want to start this business? When you want it, you’ll make it happen.
Tuck away a little bit of money each paycheck to save for your future expenses. A great rule of thumb is to save enough to cover six months of expenses. But if you’re eager and motivated to make money once you take the leap, one or two months of savings might be enough to hold you over.
The lower your expenses, the longer you can stretch your savings. If every paycheck goes straight to paying your expenses, consider taking on a small side job to boost your income.
When I started my first job, I made less than the cost of my rent and loans. I picked up two side jobs: teaching swim lessons on the weekends and tutoring high school students in the evenings after work. That extra $200 a week was my savings and food budget, and I was able to save a little bit each month.
After a year, I had saved $4,000 and was ready to jump. It was just the cushion I needed for several months to concentrate on tweaking my side business endeavors. Soon I started making thousands of dollars on the side.
Allie Siarto of Lansing, Mich., built a side business as a photographer, which was entirely different from her day job managing Loudpixel (her first company). Another woman in New York spends her days at an advertising agency and works at J.Crew on the weekend shift to get a massive discount on her favorite clothes and add extra cash to her savings.
It’s called moonlighting, and it’s a great way to test whether something you want to do is feasible. The best time to try out your new project or company is when you have the structure of your current job to help support you.
Test the market viability by seeing if there’s any traction for your ideas, and tweak each iteration a bit to improve the offering. Perhaps you want to start a side culinary and health business. Set up evening showcases on the weekends for friends and family and let people know you’re doing a cooking class at a discount to raise awareness. Pitch your services to local vendors. Offer to teach at a high school. Spread the word about private lessons.
After a couple of months, reevaluate and see if you’ve made a profit. Tweak your project to build something people want that you also enjoy doing. If you need to, stay home and do things no one else is doing to make it work.
Leave your job when you need more space in your business or venture and when you have a few leads. You’ll be excited about what’s ahead because you’ll have already mitigated against risk.
There are times when you need to make the leap without a nest egg, without changing your costs, without a plan. This happens, and people make it work. Sometimes the intensity of the jump forces laser-like clarity and an immediate reduction in expenses. But if your goal is to set out on your own by next summer, start building your business and reducing your overhead right now. (Click here to Tweet this thought.)
Most folks running their own businesses and building the life of their dreams are always in the process of doing that — running and building. These are active verbs, which take time, energy and innovation. It’s not about pulling all-nighters or creating an endless stream of energy; it’s about being smart about building something a little bit at a time.
People who are working on new projects or problems aren’t immune to risk. But they’ve mitigated potential risks by using strategic tools, building up their savings, creating clever cost-saving lifestyles and forming plans to tweak their systems to get what they want.
Sarah Kathleen Peck is a writer, designer/entrepreneur and teacher who runs workshops and online courses on creating powerful communications for yourself, your brand or your company. Based in Brooklyn and San Francisco, you’re likely to find her running, swimming and practicing handstands or on Facebook and Twitter.
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]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2013/11/19/want-to-quit-your-job-and-work-for-yourself-follow-these-steps-first/feed/ 6The post 5 Tips for Freelancers on Dealing with Difficult Clients appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> As a freelancer, it’s unavoidable that you’ll encounter a client every now and then who’s difficult to work for. Whether you’re running into communication problems, aren’t being paid on time or other obstacles get in the way of completing the project, a variety of situations could challenge the client-freelancer relationship.Freelancing can be a risk because you can’t always anticipate how the other party will react to a particular situation. Of course, checking references and doing some research before taking a job can help you to handpick good clients, but these processes are hardly foolproof.
Yet many of the common problems can be anticipated. Follow these five steps to help you survive, get paid and perhaps even continue the working relationship despite hardships that may arise over the course of a project.
Some freelancers focus on one piece of the big picture, while others dabble in a variety of aspects of a project. This is especially the case for Web designers and developers, but it also rings true for freelancers who write content, edit copy or input content onto a site.
If you’re signing on to specialize in one aspect of a project, make sure this is clear right from the start. Some clients simply assume you’ll participate in other phases of the project as well. Trying to explain to them halfway into the project that you won’t help with other aspects can cause unnecessary tension.
Manage expectations before you start working. Make sure the client knows exactly where you stand and what the limitations of your role are before the project takes off.
After exchanging a couple of emails and a few words on Skype, you should get a feel for what type of communication a client prefers. You should also be able to tell immediately if there are any language barriers that need to be addressed. Early on, adapt your communication style based on how the client communicates to make the project as successful as it can be.
If you notice the client tends to write long-winded, stream-of-consciousness emails that confuse you, then make some changes to your approach right off the bat. For example, if you feel like your questions aren’t getting answered, send them in a very organized structure—perhaps as a numbered or bulleted list—and ask the client if they can address all of these questions one at a time in their reply.
Trying to go with the flow when the communication style isn’t working can potentially erupt in the end. If you tell the client halfway through a project that you don’t understand the instructions and communication is too scattered, the client will probably wonder why you didn’t say anything earlier and will react negatively or defensively.
When you begin working on a project, you never know if you’ll encounter problems down the road. A large majority of problems arise over issues of what you’ve done versus what you’re “supposed” to do. That’s why you should archive all your discussions and keep all your tasks in order so that no one can accuse you of not doing something you were allegedly supposed to do.
Clients who outsource pieces of projects usually have a lot on their plates, and you’re probably not the only person working for them at the moment. So they might forget things you discussed or simply make errors.
Be prepared and keep excellent notes of everything that was said and promised. Keep records of what you agreed to do, how much money you agreed to do it for and in what period of time you agreed to have it done.
Also, make sure you have records of the client signing off on everything so no conflicts can manifest from a case of your word against theirs.
A lot of clients won’t know anything about the type of work you do for them (which is why they hired you in the first place). But you’ll find some clients to be very opinionated about your work. They’ll ask you questions about the reasoning behind decisions you’ve made.
This can get on the nerves of many freelancers, and your first reaction might be to tell the client they don’t know anything about the matter. They should just let you do what you already know you do well, right?
But a defensive reaction will only lead to further problems. Insisting you know your craft better than your client is won’t accomplish anything. Instead, organize information that you can show them to explain your rationale. Give examples of similar work that functions well and try to explain the rhyme and reason behind why you used a particular word or color.
If you can give enough information supporting your work and the reasons behind it, it will be harder for the client to dismiss your work with a simple “I don’t like it.”
This is probably the most important aspect of dealing with difficult clients, and it cannot be stressed enough. Avoid reacting immediately and take the time to think things out.
If you get an email from a client that’s aggressive or pushy, or if the client phrases something in a way that rubs you wrong, don’t reply immediately. It’s always important to take a step back from the situation to avoid acting on impulse. Try to diffuse the situation instead of intensifying it.
If you’ve followed all of the other tips, then you have all the facts on your side, and you’ll be able to present your case clearly and assertively without confrontation.
David-Lazar Galic is a regular blogger at PDF Converter Blog. With a background in journalism, he specializes in writing blogs on a variety of topics, including freelancing, careers, finances, technology and new media.
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]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2013/08/01/5-tips-for-freelancers-on-dealing-with-difficult-clients/feed/ 4The post 5 Big, Brave Choices to Lead You to Successful Self-Employment appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> Self-employment. It’s the dream of many, but the hard-fought-for reality of far fewer.If you find yourself in the latter group and wondering how you can plan for and switch to self-employment, make these five big and brave choices. You’ll put yourself on the path to a successful work-for-yourself career.
There’s no denying that long hours, low pay and seemingly unreachable expectations can be overwhelming in the workplace, but you may just find yourself thankful for the experience later on. Here’s why: thankless jobs often result in exponential skill growth and knowledge expansion. In the right situation, you can learn more in one or two years than you ever possibly could in several years working in a more laid-back office atmosphere.
What’s more, the practical time and project management lessons you learn will serve you well in your self-employed future. When you have your own business, you need to know how to spend your time wisely in order to get the highest return on investment. That isn’t an easy lesson to learn, and it’s one that’s best absorbed with a steady paycheck hitting the bank account each week.
So, how do you find the right job to learn from? Be picky. Very, very picky. In these high-stress environments, it’s rarely possible to ask for professional development or responsibilities in new areas. Instead, there will be an expectation of perfection in regard to your actual job description. As such, it’s important to read descriptions and duties carefully, confirm them during the interview process and be very forthright about what you want and expect out of the position.
Here’s the thing: very few employers expect the people that take these types of positions to stay longer than two to three years. This means that there’s no shame in being clear about what you want to learn, see and do during your time in this job.
My inside scoop: I regularly worked 60-70 hour weeks in my first job out of college. Tons of travel. A ton of responsibility. I regularly cried on my sofa, burying myself in ice cream. But, guess what? I nailed it, and nearly 10 years later, I use the skills I learned in that job every day working for myself.
Ahhh, the treasured weekend. Particularly when you’re working a high-stress job (see above), your weekends are your respite. Your vacation. Your time to relax.
But, news flash: If you’re serious about working for yourself, you need to start dedicating a few weekends each month to develop, grow and sustain your freelance business. This is the truth no one wants to hear when they dream of being self-employed: sacrifice is essential.
In the beginning, you’ll be working on the basics: choosing a name, creating a business plan, developing a website, working on select projects for free or very little pay and generating buzz about your services. Even these basic tasks take time and dedication. In fact, you’ll very quickly realize that a few nights a week are necessary in addition to a few weekends.
Plan these growth weekends out: set goals, make lists and always make honest checks on your progress. Most likely, you’ll be amazed at how far two weekends a month can get you on your path to success.
My inside scoop: There were plenty of instances where I didn’t take a real day off for a month or more because I quickly learned how high-impact my weekends could be. Was it ideal? Of course not. But I rapidly grew my business and exceeded even my own (very high) expectations.
As mentioned earlier in this article, you can’t depend on an employer to provide all of the professional development that you need. What’s more, when you create your own development plan, you are in the driver’s seat to decide what’s most important for you and your career. It’s imperative for your success that you create a professional development plan for yourself—and make sure that it happens.
From small lessons gained from reading a few industry articles a week to big time commitments like certifications and classes, a professional development plan can help you gain an edge on your competition and secure the business you need to grow your client base. When you’re just getting started, stick to free resources and tutorials. As you become more focused and interested in certain topics, you can hone in on select and smart paid opportunities.
My inside scoop: In the online world, things are always changing. As such, my professional development plan is a cornerstone of my business. There’s always something I can learn or get better at. Anyone who isn’t learning isn’t competing in today’s market.
One of the biggest concerns when going to work for yourself is how you’ll pay the bills. And, what’s the biggest bill we all have? Housing. One of the quickest ways to ease the housing bill burden and grow that rainy day fund fast is to figure out a living situation that eases the financial burden.
Look, no one wants to move back home with mom and dad or join five other roommates in a one-bedroom apartment, but sometimes downsizing your living space is the best thing you can do for your self-employment prospects. You may—nay, you will—be shocked at the emotional and psychological burden that lifts from your shoulders when you aren’t so concerned with paying a big rent bill every month. You will have a level of strategic and creative clarity the likes of which you’ve never seen.
My inside scoop: Want to hear something funny? Selling my house and living in my childhood bedroom was a turning point in my business. For six months, money wasn’t a factor. I just worked, grew and planned. I would repeat it in a heartbeat if I ever needed to.
If you wait for the “right moment” or until you’re “really ready,” then you should expect to never find your way to self-employment or location independence. That’s because you’re never really quite ready to take a total leap of faith.
The key is to make sure you’re prepared to take the big step to self-employment. Now, you can read lots of articles with lists about what it means to be prepared or ready to be fully self-employed (check below for a handy list), but at the end of the day, you need to make a checklist that addresses your needs and concerns.
Some signs that you’re prepared:
My inside scoop: Would I have loved to have had a few more years of total self-employment before I moved abroad to Italy? Of course. But at the end of the day, I just had to put faith in myself and take the plunge. I’m so glad I did.
Kate Hash is a digital strategist based in beautiful Florence, Italy. She spends her days helping small business owners discover and develop their online brands.
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]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2013/07/16/5-big-brave-choices-to-lead-you-to-successful-self-employment/feed/ 7The post 5 Steps for Breaking Up with Your Worst Freelance Client appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> Terrible clients: as freelancers, we all deal with them eventually.Unfortunately, many freelancers are reluctant to break up with clients—no matter how low their pay or ridiculous their demands. After all, they’re helping you pay your bills, right?
But an awful client is like a terrible boyfriend or girlfriend. Sure, you might feel more secure clinging to someone you know, but they’re blocking you from finding the true love of your life!
If you’re ready to pursue your ideal clients, it’s time to break up with your worst ones. It’s not hard; just follow these five steps:
A client who pays you rock-bottom rates. One who demands multiple revisions on every project. An emotional vampire who drains you of energy and creativity. The “worst” client for you may be completely different than the “worst” client for someone else; it depends on your client list and your goals.
Freelancers who settle for any work they can get may find themselves saddled with several terrible clients. If your freelance budget is uncomfortably tight, dropping all your bad clients at once may not be the best idea. So just start with the worst one.
After identifying your worst client, decide whether anything short of a $1 million retainer would keep you working for that person or company. Some clients will never be worth your time, so negotiating new terms is futile.
However, some client relationships can be improved if you ask for more pay or better communications, or cut back on free revisions and lengthy Skype conferences. If you think a client relationship can be salvaged, go for it.
But remember: keep your bare minimum terms in mind, and don’t let the client talk you out of them.
In a romantic relationship, a “Dear John” letter is a copout. In business, it’s the norm. So long as your email is polite and professional, you’re good to go. Here are a couple of sample emails to get you started:
When you’re just calling it quits:
Dear Terrible Client,
Due to a change of direction in my freelancing business, I am no longer able to continue working for Terrible Client, Inc.
I can continue to work on current projects through (date two weeks or more in the future) or until you find a replacement.
This wasn’t an easy decision, but it’s one I need to make for my business right now. I’ve enjoyed working with you, and wish you the best of luck in the future.
Thank you,
Awesome Freelancer
When you’re open to negotiation:
Dear Sorta Bad Client,
As of (date two weeks or more in the future), I’ll be raising my minimum rate from $X/hour to $X/hour. [Or: I’ll be altering my contracts to include only two unpaid revisions per project, etc.]
I’d love to continue working with you, so please let me know if this new rate is [or: these new terms are] acceptable for Sorta Bad, LTD.
Thanks,
Awesome Freelancer
If you offer the client new terms, you may need to negotiate a little. It’s perfectly acceptable to go back and forth about payment, revisions and other changes.
What you don’t want to do is let the client talk you out of those bare minimum requirements you set earlier. If you only want to do two revisions, don’t leave the possibility of a third revision on the table. When your rock-bottom hourly rate is $35, don’t agree to work for $30—or even $34.50!
When you break up with a client, whether it’s at the first email or after an unsuccessful round of negotiations, just move on. Be polite but firm about no longer working for that client. You don’t want to burn bridges, but you also shouldn’t feel obligated to justify, defend or explain your decision.
Once the breakup is over, it’s time to move on. No crying jags and ice cream binges for you! Get out there and start marketing your services so you can find a great new client to replace the one you just offloaded.
Abby Hayes is a freelance blogger and copywriter who writes about personal finances for Dough Roller. She loves detailed budgets, dark chocolate and fat Victorian novels.
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]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2013/07/03/5-steps-for-breaking-up-with-your-worst-freelance-client/feed/ 7The post 3 Smart Ways to Prepare for Your Leap to Full-Time Freelancer appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> You’ve been freelancing on the side to supplement your income. And recently, you’ve really been giving some thought to making freelancing your full-time gig. You’ve got a nice collection of clients and a fairly solid idea of how the whole thing works. You’re ready to get out of the rat race and be your own boss.You have a lot to think about before taking the leap. If you haven’t considered all the factors that go into breaking out on your own, take a look at what you can expect. Use this as a guide to see if you have what it takes to become your own full-time small business owner.
One of the most obvious factors to consider is your budget. Do you have enough money to actually pull this off, or will you be starving after your first few months? If it’s the latter, you may want to wait a little bit longer. Save up before severing ties with your solid income source.
If you do have some money saved up, consider if it’s enough to really float you if you get stiffed. You may have encountered this unpleasant reality of freelancing before, but if a client decides they don’t want to pay for whatever reason, the consequences will be more serious. Before you had your steady W-2 income to fall back on; now every second you’re not paid means you don’t get to eat.
Even if everything goes right and everyone pays, you still need to consider taxes. Since you don’t have an employer, you have to pay your own taxes—including extra to cover the self-employment tax. Quarterly estimated taxes will become your life. Every few months, you will have to pay up to the government. These payments are higher than taxes you paid as a salaried or hourly worker when your employer threw in to help you.
Take the following budgetary actions before taking the leap:
Why do you really want to get into full-time freelancing? There are a thousand reasons why you might be interested in making this leap, and everyone has a different motivation. It’s just important that your reasons are true to your vision. If you don’t have a solid reason and strong goals for your business, you may be in trouble.
Everybody needs an end point and something to aim for as they perform day-to-day tasks. It could be to retire early, to spend more time with family or just to stay out of the rat race. The important thing is to keep your ultimate goal in mind. If you forget, you may end up betraying your business.
For example, if the vision you have for your business is to stay independent, selling it off to a larger company probably won’t make you happy. Once that money gets waved underneath your nose, though, it’s a difficult thing to keep in mind.
Take the following business goal actions before taking the leap:
Now for the real true test of the freelancer and independent business owner: loneliness and motivation. With a few exceptions, this isn’t a role for someone who craves constant attention and human interaction. Sure, you may talk to people online or on the phone occasionally, but those events are few and far between. Most of the time you’re at your desk, kitchen table or comfy chair staring at your computer.
All this alone time means you have to keep yourself motivated. There’s no “Bob in Accounts” to compete with and nobody to bump into at the water cooler. If you’re not constantly checking where you’re at on your assignments, you can easily get behind. If you get behind, you risk going over your time limit and making a client mad. When this happens, you risk losing money, which means…that’s right, you don’t pay your bills this month.
Other questions to ask yourself: Who do you turn to when you have a problem? What happens if a client suddenly says they don’t feel like paying you as much as you quoted them? (Free tip: make sure to get a contract!) Unfortunately, there’s nobody to turn to in these scenarios. You can seek advice from other business owners, but you’re the only one to make executive decisions. It’s your company, and you have to defend it!
Take the following actions to prepare yourself psychologically before taking the leap:
Think you can handle all this? If this all seems like a piece of cake and you’re not worried about a few hunger pangs when you start out, then you may have what it takes to be a successful small business owner. If you’re even a little unsure, do some more client-building and wealth-amassing before taking the plunge.
Jennifer Dunn is the blog editor for WePay, the easiest way to accept credit cards online.
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]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2013/07/02/3-smart-ways-to-prepare-for-your-leap-to-full-time-freelancer/feed/ 2The post What Freelancers Can Learn from Facebook About How to Earn More Money appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> Getting paid as a freelancer is hard to figure out… at least at first.Once you get going, though, it provides a flexibility and freedom that’s hard to beat. Oh yeah, and if you play your cards right, it can pay you a pretty penny as well.
I know this to be true because I’ve done high-end freelancing for some of Silicon Valley’s hottest tech startups—companies that share investors with Facebook, Google, Twitter, Dropbox and many more. Before that, I was a startup COO. I co-founded a company called Serious Business that was acquired by Zynga, ran personnel and operations for Powerset (which was acquired by Microsoft) and was an executive at CrowdFlower.
The combination of these experiences has taught me that there is a lot that freelancers and solopreneurs can learn from Silicon Valley startups. It’s also taught me that there are a lot of ways that startups operate that make absolutely no sense for a freelancer or solopreneur to mimic.
Unfortunately, too often freelancers and solopreneurs apply all of the wrong startup lessons to their own businesses. I’m here to help you sort out which startup tips and tricks are valuable for you and which are not. That way, you can get on with getting paid to do work you love and enjoy the freedom that working for yourself affords.
Two things Facebook has done since its startup days that have made it the wildly successful business it has become:
Both of these approaches worked for Facebook. But what do they mean for you as a freelancer or solopreneur?
One of these practices is the key to your success. The other will likely lead to your demise.
Read on to find out which is which…
Do any of these sound familiar?
“Before I try and sell something, I should have a long and proven track record for providing value for free.”
“Once I get thousands of Twitter followers, it will be so much easier to make money.”
“I need at least a few hundred regular blog readers to create a paid service or offering.”
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
Yes, Facebook focused exclusively on building its audience knowing that “the money would come,” but here’s one thing Facebook quickly had that your freelancing or solopreneur practice likely will not: millions of dollars of venture capital financing.
Silicon Valley startups are not just out to build a “healthy audience.” They are out to reach massive scale (think many millions of users) because, at the end of the day, their investors are only happy if they can reach a value of $100 million—or preferably $1 billion. Their businesses model is “Billion or Bust.”
My hunch is that as a freelancer or solopreneur, the “Billion or Bust” business model won’t work for you, unless you have a trust fund you’re inheriting from Bill Gates.
If you don’t want to live on Ramen noodles or stay forever stuck at a job you want to quit, you are going to need fund this business yourself. So finding your offer—not becoming a Superblogger or Social Media Maven—is priority number one.
What’s your offer? It’s simple: whatever it is that you intend to sell as a freelancer or solopreneur.
If you’ve never watched this clip of Bill O’Reilly screaming “F$%! it, we’ll do it live!” take a moment to fall on the floor laughing:
Sometimes the best way to get something right is to do it with a live audience.
Sure, it’s a little scary, but what you gain is invaluable: real-world feedback. Instead of guessing, you find out immediately what’s working and what’s not. And you have pressure to quickly adjust.
That’s the genius of the “iterative development” approach that Facebook (and many other top Silicon Valley companies) use to build their products. As a freelancer or solopreneur, you can use that very same approach to identify and build out the offer you’re going to use to fund your business.
Here are three benefits of this approach:
So as a freelancer, though it’s tempting, leave the “build an audience first and worry about the offer later” approach to Facebook and other viral growth businesses. When it comes to building your offer, though, take a page out of the startup playbook and use the “iterative development approach”—do it live and do it now!
Ryan Ferrier is the creator of the 60 Day MBA business building program. To join him for a free webinar on how to make your first $1,000 as a freelancer, register here.
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]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2013/06/21/what-freelancers-can-learn-from-facebook-about-how-to-earn-more-money/feed/ 1The post The Secret to Making More Cash as a Freelancer appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> Are you struggling to make it as a freelancer? Even though you’re always busy, you’re always broke. What gives?The reason you don’t make enough money is because you spend too much time working for too little cash.
I’ve been there, and I know plenty of other freelancers who have been there, too. After all, writing for a penny a word is better than working at McDonald’s, right? Maybe you think that working for rock-bottom rates isn’t actually that bad. If you work quickly, you can bring in a few hundred bucks a week—that’s at least enough to pay the bills.
But you’re not really living the dream. Working your butt off for a few bucks an hour can leave you feeling stressed, frustrated and overworked.
Luckily, there’s a simple solution: Ask for more money!
It’s amazing how many freelancers don’t make enough money simply because they aren’t asking for it. Maybe you think you aren’t worth more because you don’t have a lot of experience. Or maybe you just have no clue what you should be making for the work you do.
Either way, you’d be amazed at what can happen when you work up the courage to ask for more money. Within a few months of implementing the following strategies, I was commanding 10 to 15 times my original penny-per-word, junk writing rates.
You too can find more job satisfaction, land better clients and make more money with these tips:
A plethora of online resources offer information on the going rates for freelancers in various industries. Ed Gandia’s 2012 Freelance Industry Report, for instance, shows what freelancers in major fields make per billable hour.
You should also hit up forums in your niche. Ask experienced freelancers about their rates. Most are more than happy to share guidance and information.
Use this research to set long-term earnings goals, but also to set your lowest rate. Once you know your lowest rate, don’t take another job that would pay less.
Active marketing is the best way to command higher rates. Sites like Elance and Odesk are tempting, but it’s hard to convince clients to cough up decent rates when you’re competing with others who seem happy to work for next to nothing.
(Note: Some freelancers do make a decent living on these sites with the right techniques. But most of us need to look elsewhere.)
Marketing looks different for every freelancer, but the bottom line is that actively promoting your services to potential clients—and asking them for decent pay in the process—makes a difference.
According to the 2012 Freelance Industry Report, only 28 percent of freelancers who spend less than two hours a week on marketing earn $70+ an hour, but 41 percent who spend 20 or more hours per week marketing earn $70+ an hour. Active marketing is what connects you to clients who are actually willing to pay what you’re worth.
Once you’re ready to start marketing, you need to clear space in your schedule to do it. If your schedule is full, it’s time to drop your worst client—either the lowest-paying client or the one who’s the biggest pain in the ass.
Dropping clients is scary, but my personal experience is that new, better-paying clients quickly come fill the void. It’s a bit mysterious, but other freelancers say the same thing.
So go get rid of your worst client. Right now!
Clients who appreciate your work may be open to giving you a raise. It never hurts to ask.
A polite, professional email is a good way to start the process. Simply explain that you’re raising your rates across the board and that you’d love to continue working with the client if she’ll agree to the increase.
One of my longest-standing clients recently agreed to double my per-article rate. He cut back the volume of work, but it’s basically been the same pay in half the time, leaving me more time for marketing. You just never know what will happen unless you ask!
By the time you work through these steps, you’ll be well on your way to higher freelancing rates. As you continue gaining experience, marketing and negotiating with clients, your rates will continue to climb. And you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find that your freelancing career can do more than just pay your bare minimum bills.
Abby Hayes is a freelance blogger and copywriter who writes about personal finances for Dough Roller. She loves detailed budgets, dark chocolate and fat Victorian novels.
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]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2013/06/20/the-secret-to-making-more-cash-as-a-freelancer/feed/ 18The post Freelancers Who Work 9-to-5 Jobs Say Quitting’s on the Horizon appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> More than seven in 10 freelancers who still hold down “regular” jobs plan to break away and work for themselves in the near future, according to a survey conducted by Millennial Branding, a Gen Y consulting firm, and oDesk, a popular online worksite.Of nearly 3,200 freelancers worldwide who were interviewed as part of the new study, “Millennials and the Future of Work,” 72 percent revealed that they’re keen to quit their 9-to-5 and strike out on their own. More than 60 percent said they’ll likely make that move within two years, citing a desire for freedom to pick and choose where and when they work.
It’s not just a question of working from home and shunning the 9-to-5 lifestyle. While flexibility undoubtedly appeals to freelancers, 69 percent of respondents saw freelancing as providing more freedom to work on more interesting projects.
Take note, employers: your employees want to spread their wings sooner than you might think.
The survey also generated some interesting findings when it comes to what people mean by the term “entrepreneur.” Only 10 percent of those who responded defined an entrepreneur as “someone who starts a company,” while the overwhelming majority considered entrepreneurship as a certain attitude or mindset. When asked to define what this mindset might be, the terms “self-starter,” “risk taker,” “visionary” and someone who “spots opportunity” all came to the fore.
“This signals a major shift in our economy and how we manage our careers,” said Dan Schawbel, founder of Millennial Branding and author of Promote Yourself. “Entrepreneurship is now accessible to everyone regardless of age or occupation. You don’t need to own a business to be an entrepreneur, but you do need the entrepreneurial mindset to be successful in business.”
With this in mind, many of the respondents classify themselves as entrepreneurs—nearly 60 percent, in fact. But will they all follow through on their entrepreneurship dream? Or is Gen Y getting too big for its boots?
“Narcissism is markedly higher among college students in the 2000s compared to those in the 1980s,” says Dr. Jean Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University who runs studies on Millennial attitudes. Yes, this generation has seen the likes of Facebook’s and YouTube’s rise to stratospheric heights, witnessed the birth of the smartphone and the unbridled popularity of the app—yet is Gen Y somewhat delusional?
And will the 72 percent who say they intend to quit their jobs and forge their own paths make good on their promise? It’s easy to announce intentions, but far tougher to see them through, especially in challenging economic times.
Are you one of these freelancers who plan to transition to working for yourself? How will you make that dream a reality?
Amy Noble is a freelance writer, copy editor, proofreader and general grammar-obsessive living in London, England.
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]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2013/05/14/freelancers-who-work-9-to-5-jobs-say-quittings-on-the-horizon/feed/ 14The post 11 Fresh Ways to Boost Your Freelancing or Consulting Business appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> Tired of pitching stories and cold-calling businesses? Out of ideas for optimizing your website design? If you’re ready to take your business to the next level but not sure where to begin, try these activities to refresh your brand and connect with potential clients you’ll love:This is not just the realm of authors and probloggers! Even if you don’t keep a blog (but especially if you do), connecting with others in your niche is one of the best ways to get attention.
Get to know top bloggers in your industry, and reach out to them with an idea for a post that will offer value and introduce you as an expert to their audience. Rather than doing this haphazardly, schedule several guest posts within a short period of time to multiply the impact.
If you’re doing business mostly online, clients can have a hard time feeling connected to you. Adding an intro video to your site is a great way to let your personality shine!
Be honest—as perky, goofy or stoic as you are in real life—to help clients know who they’re working with and ensure you’re connecting with people who want to work with you. Keep it short, and point to your website or portfolio at the end for more information.
Email subscribers will be happy to keep up with your business news and take advantage of sales and special offers when you gain their trust by first providing value through a newsletter. Share how-to articles to display your expertise, and they’ll think of you first when they’re ready to hire.
Adding current clients to your email list can help boost your referrals as well. Your newsletter may open their eyes to your services they don’t need—but they know someone who does.
Pitch articles or submit op-eds to local papers and newsletters, sharing tips or news about your industry. These will garner visibility with business owners who prefer to seek talent in familiar places, rather than through job boards or Craigslist.
If you offer novel services you know a lot of business owners in your area aren’t utilizing yet, try a piece that explains how these services can help them. If you sway them, you’ll be their go-to contractor!
Aside from cool prizes and visibility, contests can give you an awesome branding boost, whether you place or not, because they ask you to clarify exactly how your business is the best at what you do.
They can push you outside of your comfort zone if the entry method is a media you haven’t explored or mastered yet. You’ll be forced to learn or hone skills that will help your business down the road.
Focus on one specific person to define your audience. Are you working with someone now, or can you think of someone, who is your ideal client?
Keep that person in mind (tack her picture over your desk if you have to!), and use her characteristics to create a business plan that meets her needs and a marketing strategy that commands her attention.
Digital freebies are great in combination with your email newsletter—as incentives to sign up or as stand-alone free products on your website.
An infoproduct like an ebook, or even a short pamphlet to give away at live events, can help you display your expertise. Give your audience a takeaway to help them remember you when they need your services.
Do you already have a blog or website? Expand your appeal and reach a wider audience by dabbling in other media. Help people who don’t read your blog discover you through channels like iTunes and YouTube.
You don’t need a ton of technical know-how to get started. Make the content valuable and interesting enough, and you don’t need to go hog wild with effects to get attention.
A mastermind group is a few like-minded entrepreneurs or freelancers who refuse to let you fail. Meet periodically with the group to swap ideas and offer support and resources where they’re needed.
They’re also your accountability partners. If you share dreams, goals and plans, those pending check-ins are a great incentive to follow through!
Instead of just another workshop or speaking engagement that provides a paycheck, design a tour to gain more attention. Give it a theme and create some hoopla around it!
Have a kickoff party, produce special schwag to give away, create a Twitter hashtag and write about it on your blog to help potential clients or future gigs find you online.
This is such a simple step that many freelancers neglect! Even if you don’t have a website (agh! get a website!), clients will search and find you online.
You don’t have to spend a lot of money. Just make sure the photo you use on your social media profiles, LinkedIn and accompanying your portfolio is framed well (no cropping out group pics!), free of background clutter and shows your friendly, “work-with-me” face.
Have you tried any of these or other creative ways to grow your freelancing or consulting biz? What would you recommend?
Dana Sitar is a freelance blogger, author and entrepreneur. For even more ways to boost your creative career, grab her free ebook, A Writer’s Bucket List: 99 things to do for inspiration, education, and experience before your writing kicks the bucket.
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The post 11 Fresh Ways to Boost Your Freelancing or Consulting Business appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2013/04/23/11-fresh-ways-to-boost-your-freelancing-or-consulting-business/feed/ 6The post 7 Innovative Ways Freelancers Can Find That Elusive First Client appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> Grabbing that first freelance client is a huge milestone. It fills you with the confidence needed to look your family in the eye and say, “I did it.”Until that point, though, you ask yourself every hour if you’ve done the right thing by striking out on your own. It doesn’t help that you have absolutely no clue exactly how to score that important first client.
If you’ve already hounded your friends and family and are still coming up short, try the following ideas for a fresh approach. Above all else, keep trying, and keep asking!
You can’t gain experience without any work. And you can’t gain any work without any experience. It’s the classic catch-22 that confounds freelancers all over the globe. How are you supposed to combat this?
The answer is to start doing whatever it is you want to do. It may not sound outside-of-the-box, but it is when you consider how many people won’t even take this first step.
You’ll most likely be working for free—but that’s okay, because you love it, right? No matter if it’s for a friend, a local struggling business or your mom, you’re still getting experience. Future clients just want to see some level of experience.
Someone out there loves the same things you do. Finding like-minded people can not only help your business, but also build your confidence. It helps to know you’re not alone.
Head out to local meet-ups or poke around online and find groups of business owners who can help you. For every freelance peanut butter maker, there’s a freelance jelly maker. Just imagine the good things that will happen when you two finally partner up.
You’re not going to break into any business overnight. Luckily for you, there are people who have paid their dues. While they may not have work for you, successful people are often looking for ways to give back to the next generation of up-and-comers.
So figure out who in your area is where you want to be (LinkedIn is great for this), and buy them coffee. Not every professional will have the time or inclination to meet with you, but it only takes a couple of yeses.
You’ll learn valuable tricks of the trade from talking with people who have years of experience, and who knows—maybe they’ll remember that eager young up-and-comer the next time they want to pass along work for a friend.
Many of your potential clients will want to work with someone local—someone they can meet face-to-face, who knows their area and their demographic, who is invested in the same community that they are and who they might bump into at the hardware store.
So embrace local marketing. List yourself on Yelp, YellowPages.com and any local websites. Take an ad out in the paper. Put one up on Craigslist. Put up flyers where your clients hang out. Go to local networking events.
The Internet features thousands of nameless, faceless people who provide the same service you do, but few of them live in your neighborhood. Capitalize on your home field advantage. And become a recognizable face in your community!
No doubt you’ve seen the auction-a-freelancer websites out there. A client posts “I need help,” and zillions of freelancers come out of the woodwork to bid on the job.
Yes, it’s a terrible way to get solid and long-lasting work. However, it’s great for newbies who want practice and to build their portfolio.
It may take a little while, but eventually you’ll land someone who needs some work for cheap. The more work you do, the better your chances of getting MORE work.
If you need a good recommendation, look no further than someone who teaches exactly what you want to do for the rest of your life! Since you’re still learning and growing, taking a class won’t be a waste of resources. Plus, it gives you the opportunity to network.
Furthermore, if you impress your professor by constantly performing at your peak, they’ll be more than willing to recommend you when the time comes. A professor likely knows tons of potential clients and could steer you in the right direction.
You’ve already asked your friends and family, and you’ve even remembered to ask your annoying former carpool buddy. But those aren’t the only people you know!
Take a second and write down every single place you’ve been in the past month, making sure to identify your regular hangouts. How many people do you know in each of these establishments, even on a casual basis? They may need work or know someone else who does—all you have to do is ask.
Jennifer Dunn is blog editor for WePay, the easiest way to accept credit cards online.
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The post 7 Innovative Ways Freelancers Can Find That Elusive First Client appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2013/04/18/7-innovative-ways-freelancers-can-find-that-elusive-first-client/feed/ 4The post How to Make Your Freelance Experience Shine During a Job Interview appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> At some point during your freelance career, you may come across a fantastic full-time opportunity you think is perfect for you. Lucky for you, your freelance experience is a goldmine of transferable skills.So how should you talk about your this experience during the interview?
The truth is that people freelance for many different reasons. Some freelance as a full-time occupation. Others use freelance work to support themselves during their job search. And still others freelance part-time for income while they’re working on side projects like startups, artistic ventures or public interest opportunities (or vice versa).
Whatever your reasons for freelancing, several valuable skills come with the territory. So examine your experience and take control of the narrative of your career. Identify the skills you’ve developed that are desirable to potential employers and plan how to communicate those main points during your interview.
To help you get started, here’s a list of transferable skills that many people develop through freelancing:
If you’ve freelanced, you’ve probably put yourself out there to find and secure clients. Through your experience in drumming up business, you have learned how to size up a potential client, figure out what they’re looking for and explain to them how you will deliver exactly what they want. You know how to market. You know how to sell.
Furthermore, you know how to handle rejection and have developed resilience to it. One little rejection doesn’t derail you, because you know not to take it personally, and you know from experience that the more people you ask, the more likely you are to hear “yes.” You roll with the punches, get back up and keep selling until you’re booked.
Freelancers learn through firsthand experience that keeping a regular client is much more cost-effective than securing a new one. They know how important it is to keep clients and customers happy. They know that the number one rule is to listen.
To potential employers, the fact that you truly understand that maintaining strong customer relationships is key to keeping good business, and have experience doing so, makes you a real keeper.
Potential employers can count on you to be an independent self-starter because you’re used to motivating yourself without anyone having to keep an eye on you. Freelancers live the motto “You eat what you kill.” Simply put, if freelancers don’t find and satisfy their own clients, they don’t get paid. If they sit on their laurels, they’re toast.
As a freelancer, you’re also likely to generate ideas independently. This is because you have probably executed on some of your own ideas to get your freelance business going. Think about the ideas that were game changers in your freelance career, and be ready to talk about how you put them in motion.
Freelancing often means that you are a one-person business. Distinguish yourself from other candidates by talking about the additional skills you gained by running a business.
Strategy? Check. Marketing? Check. Production? Check. Customer service? Check. R&D? Check. Financials? Check.
Find ways to add these specific skills to your resume and relate how they can be useful to potential employers.
Freelancers have business vision and are able to look at situations and make them profitable. Think about it: when you became a freelancer, you looked at your unique situation, saw what you had to offer and monetized it. You probably worked with a limited budget and had to get creative. When it comes to creating value through use of limited resources, you’re an expert.
What this means for potential employers is that you think, strategize, create and come out with more than you started with. You have the ability to make the most of what is there, whether it’s for yourself or for an employer.
By now, you’ve probably thought of some transferable skills and selling points for your interview that you had sitting in your back pocket all along. Write them down, keep adding to the list and be ready to communicate them during your interview.
Remember, going through an interview is similar to speaking with potential clients. It’s about figuring out what they’re looking for and explaining how you will give it to them. So think about what you really have to offer. Chances are your freelance experience has made it possible for you to give more than you realized.
Christine Arce-Yee is a freelance marketer and writer. Check out her tweets at @christine_ay and her blog posts at www.christinearceyee.com.
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The post How to Make Your Freelance Experience Shine During a Job Interview appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2013/03/15/how-to-make-your-freelance-experience-shine-during-a-job-interview/feed/ 6The post Kick-Start Your Independent Career: 5 Tips for Millennials appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> As unemployment for young people continues to remain high, more and more Gen Yers are looking to blaze their own career paths—and, specifically, many of them are choosing to go solo as consultants or freelancers.The second annual State of Independence in America workforce study by MBO Partners* reveals that the independent workforce in the U.S. will grow to 23 million strong in the next five years alone. And 3.6 million—or 21 percent—of this workforce is driven by Gen Y (ages 21 to 32).
It’s no wonder why. With continuing economic tumult and high unemployment for younger workers, Gen Y faces some formidable challenges to entering today’s corporate workforce. Independent work is quickly becoming a more viable option, with special appeal for this tech-savvy generation of high-energy doers. The lure of being your own boss and taking control of your career makes independent work an undeniably appealing option for the “I can do anything I want!” generation.
But the privilege of independence is not without challenges, and Gen Y is finding out firsthand that self-employment in the new economy isn’t all about fun. The study reveals that Gen Y is torn over the opportunities and challenges independent work presents. They like the flexibility (58 percent) and control it grants them, but close to 60 percent report being concerned about fluctuating income streams and job (in)security.
Below are five tips to help Gen Yers take advantage of the opportunities—and minimize the challenges—of an independent career:
You do not have to write a lengthy formal business plan, but you should have a roadmap that will help you navigate the journey. Have a 12-month and 3-year plan to give you a short- and long-term perspective on goals. Your plan should answer, at a minimum, what you will offer and at what price; your target clients and how you will reach them; and your short- and long-term income goals. You can start with a simple mind map if you want. Try Mind Meister, a free brainstorming tool.
In today’s workforce, knowledge is king. We live in a world of rapid change, and innovation is the lifeblood to survival. Technology has contributed to the rapidity of change and in-demand skills. Today, the variety of skills you possess, especially from a technology standpoint, is much more important than who you know or the politics of an organization. To attract the best clients, focus on developing your strengths and your particular skill set so you rise to the top of your independent career. Moreover, focus on what makes you different from the rest. What do you bring to the table that no one else can? Run your independent career like a business, and the work will follow. Keep your skills sharp by attending industry conferences, reading the latest white papers and putting into practice what you learn.
From LinkedIn groups to in-person meetups, there are more ways than ever to develop and actively nurture a professional network. Join groups and expand your professional network to create a community that provides a flow of both information and opportunity, two critical assets for the independent worker. Networking can keep you up to date with the latest developments in your specialty or skill set—and it can also serve as a forum for testing or questioning new ideas and tools. Finally, remember that word of mouth is a powerful business marketing strategy—most of your best jobs will come from those who trust you or the people they know, so developing and nurturing connections is essential to the independent consultant.
Multitasking is second nature to Gen Y. However, as an independent worker, it’s much more important to channel that high energy into your client- and mission-critical tasks first. Back office tasks like billing, collections, regulatory issues, tax administration, contract negotiations and vendor agreements are crucial to your business, but they can become a distraction from billable work. Develop a strong infrastructure to help manage your back office and free you to focus on billable hours. Hiring an employer of record firm can provide you with all the benefits of a “real” job, like uninterrupted medical benefits, 401(k), professional business insurance and a consistent infrastructure—no matter what state you work in or how many clients you serve.
A steady pipeline of opportunity will ensure a consistent income stream. Having a go-to network of business relationships (that you nurture regularly, even when your books are full) can guard against economic uncertainties with high-quality referrals ready to buy. Making one sale is great, but it’s ongoing business that you need to succeed. Selling yourself is a long-term process, and it starts with great relationships. Consider starting a simple email newsletter which allows you to share valuable content with your own clients and prospects.
Most important: go get ‘em, Gen Y!
*MBO Partners is a client of the author’s company.
Shama Kabani is the award-winning CEO of The Marketing Zen Group, a full-service online marketing and digital PR firm. She is also the author of the bestseller The Zen of Social Media Marketing and an international speaker. You can follow her on Twitter @shama.
The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.
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The post Kick-Start Your Independent Career: 5 Tips for Millennials appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2013/03/12/kick-start-your-independent-career-5-tips-for-millennials/feed/ 10The post 7 Essential Resources for Freelance Writers appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> Although freelance writers have been hit hard in recent years due to cutbacks in book publishing, newspapers and magazines, don’t despair. Plenty of online tools can help you find work and improve your writing skills.Or maybe you’re a freelancer, but in a field other than writing? Great writing is an asset in almost any career search, and you will up your competitiveness by improving your writing skills.
So if you’re looking to improve and expand your work, here are seven pieces of advice, plus where you can find those tools online:
The National Association of Independent Writers and Editors (NAIWE) is a trade group for writers and editors that provides networking tools, a website and services such as accounting and house sitting (the last one being a great perk for writers in need of a writing retreat).
A good online job board for any kind of regional work, including freelance work, is Indeed. Online Writing Jobs is bare bones, but it’s updated regularly and pulls in listings from a variety of freelance writing job directories with magazine- or resume-writing gigs. If you’re looking specifically for blogging jobs, the ProBlogger job board is one of the best sources.
Solid grammar can make or break an article submission. The legendary grammar guide The Elements of Style is now completely free online.
Another fantastic resource for a freelance writer is Grammar Girl, an online resource with all of the grammar tips you need. This site will help you master comma usage and subject/verb agreement.
Your best allies as a freelance writer are other writers who can provide feedback, career tips and support when you’ve hit a tough patch. While an in-person meeting may be the best choice for some writers, test out some online writing groups through The Writer’s Site. This list at Squidoo also notes online writing groups.
If your personal blog is a critical component of your freelance career, you’ll want the expert advice provided by Darren Rowse’s ProBlogger. From monetization tips to blogging best practices, Rowse has experience blogging in several industries and generously shares what he’s learned after years of being a leading blogger.
Look up citations and sharpen your writing skills at The OWL, Purdue University’s online writing workshop. Whether you need to verify word usage or learn how to cite a website for a magazine article, The OWL is extremely comprehensive.
One more thing for freelancers of any kind: make sure you’re charging enough to cover your expenses. Luckily for writers, costs of doing business are usually low, but still try a freelancer cost calculator to make sure you’re on track.
By checking out job boards, refining your craft and seeking work from the best online sources, you’re on your way to expanding your client list and earning more.
Lior Levin works as a consultant for Bill Guard, the company behind the passbook for the iPhone, and for an nfc business cards provider from Israel.
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]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2013/02/11/7-essential-resources-for-freelance-writers/feed/ 5The post 4 Invigorating Ways to Make the Most of Slow Freelance Periods appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> Whether your work is seasonal or you’ve just wrapped a big project, every freelancer experiences slow periods when work is scarce.Rather than sink into the doldrums, try one of these ways to fill your time wisely:
Now’s your chance to go to events, seminars and meetups you might have otherwise missed. It’s not about fishing for clients; it’s about making the most of your professional community. Fellow members of an association or social group can offer support in good times and bad, and you might feel energized just by talking with other self-employed people. Remember to take a few business cards along in case an opportunity for work or collaboration appears.
Don’t worry about restricting yourself to outings tied to your business. Take this chance to catch up with friends over coffee, too. If a museum exhibit or guided nature walk will boost your outlook, take advantage of the time to explore.
Could your portfolio use an update? Can you pick up a skill that will make you more valuable to future clients? Slow periods provide an opportunity to learn something new, like a software program, language or business skill. Take a deep dive into YouTube tutorials, try a Lynda online course or crack the books in person at a local community college.
Now is also the time to update your website and social media profiles or get chatting in LinkedIn groups. Remember that if you learn something new that will be an asset to your freelance work, your online brand should reflect that. Be proud of what you’re adding to your resume!
Write now to avoid those “sorry I’ve been quiet here, I’ve been so busy” posts. No one likes to read them! Offer your favorite reads of the week, show off your latest project (even if it’s pro bono) or post a video to feature what you learned from following the step above.
Your blog posts don’t have to be strictly about business, either. Take a trip recently? Post a few photos from the road and announce that you’re ready to get back to work. Clients may be drawn to you because of your extracurricular interests or personality, so don’t be afraid to give your readers small peeks into your personal life.
From your computer desktop to your digital photos to your receipts and tax info—even your closet. Having these areas squared away will make life a little easier when the work starts rolling in again.
Don’t feel pressured to face every cluttered area at once; remember that small improvements can make a big difference in simplifying your daily life.
Lisa Rowan is a freelance social media consultant who works with nonprofits and small businesses. She also owns her own small business, Quarter Life, an online and pop-up vintage shop.
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]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2013/01/28/4-invigorating-ways-to-make-the-most-of-slow-freelance-periods/feed/ 4The post From Car Insurance to Medications: What Freelancers Can Write Off on Their Taxes appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> Seinfeld and Kramer were clueless when it came to tax write-offs. Go on, take a quick break and see what I’m talking about. Get in your laugh (good one, huh?)—then let’s hit the ground running.Yes, folks, it’s that time again: the brain-numbing tax season. Promise yourself a fun night out with friends once it’s all submitted to the IRS. But until that day arrives, pace yourself, and let the good times—and write-offs—roll.
There really are some great business write-offs you should not miss if you work for yourself:
If you’re carrying any debt on credit cards for purchases made for your business, you can write off that interest. The same is true for any personal loan you may have taken to pay bills for your business. Be sure that all bank records would confirm that these were business expenses, but do know that all of this interest is, in fact, deductible.
Perhaps the easiest method is to keep track of miles and then use the 2012 rate of 55.5 cents per mile driven for business purposes.
The other method is more complex, but it can buy you a bit more in deductions. This method is called the Actual Expense Method. It’s more time-consuming to track, especially if you use one vehicle for both business and personal use, but using this method allows you to write off all business-related expenses, including depreciation. There are lots of vehicle tax credits, so it’s wise to talk to your accountant about this in greater detail.
That’s right. You can write off your accountant and other professional fees, such as legal fees and even stops at Barnes & Noble to pick up the books you need to make sense out of all of the advice you’re receiving.
It’s important to note that these fees must be tied to the present year’s business. If the advice you’re attaining is about business growth and strategy for future years, it gets questionable, and you can file that a little differently. Ask your accountant—then write off that advice.
Additionally, any other books you purchase for professional development and understanding how to run your business better—those are write-offs, too. Just be sure, as always, to keep track of receipts, bills, etc.
Well, be careful here. The rule is that 50 percent of the expenses incurred from entertaining business contacts may be considered a write-off. A quick read of some headlines ought to keep you in check.
Don’t color outside the lines on this one. Keep the entertaining write-offs truly related to business meetings and/or entertaining directly before or after a business event.
Throughout the year, keep track of seminars, consultations, training meetings, memberships to any associations, etc., that will help you to run your business. And then write ‘em off.
Have you purchased anything special to keep you safe on the job? Hard hats, eye or ear protection, protective clothing or gloves? More fodder for the write-off stack.
Lean in for this one! If you’re self-employed, you get to write off 100 percent of your medical insurance and lots of other medical expenses, including medications. This could be a massive savings for some of you. The costs these days associated with health and healing are simply stunning; taking advantage of this tax break could truly help to offset those exorbitant bills.
Not too many people miss this one, but there are a few travel-related write-offs that many fail to consider. The emergency dry cleaning you had to do because you spilled sauce at dinner one night? Add it to the list.
One of my personal favorites is to schedule out-of-town meetings on Fridays and Mondays. If you have to stay the weekend, then it’s a write-off! So go on—sandwich those meetings with some fun. (Maybe it’ll even take the sting out of all of these taxes that you’re paying.)
If all of this is news to you, don’t feel too bad. Seinfeld and Kramer needed a little clarification on these issues, too. Good luck!
Valerie Wilson is a freelance writer who enjoys writing about ways to save money in every way possible. When her piggy banks gets full, she travels as much as she can.
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The post From Car Insurance to Medications: What Freelancers Can Write Off on Their Taxes appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2013/01/22/from-car-insurance-to-medications-what-freelancers-can-write-off-on-their-taxes/feed/ 1The post 10 Posts That Will Have Freelancers Raking in the Dough appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> More and more people are jumping into the freelancing world, whether diving into full-time work straight off or testing the waters first with a side hustle. It’s a big change to make, and a style of working that’s different than the typical 9-to-5 many of us are used to.That’s why we’ve gathered up 10 of our favorite Brazen posts on freelancing to help you decide whether this career path is for you—and learn how to rock it if it is:
1. The Pros and Cons of Becoming an Independent Contractor or Freelancer. Not sure if the freelance lifestyle is right for you? Here’s an idea of what you can expect.
2. The Savings (and Costs) of Working from Home. What about the financial aspects of switching to a work-from-home situation? Here are some factors to weigh when making your decision.
3. Want to Follow Your Dream? Don’t Quit Your Day Job. It may not seem as glamorous or dramatic as handing in your notice to pursue your passion, but there are many reasons why easing your way into a freelance situation is better, both for your financial security and for your dream.
4. 8 Tips for Launching Your Side Hustle Like a Rock Star. You’ve read up on what to expect, and now you’re ready to do this thing! Here’s how to do it right.
5. 7 Things You Should Never Say to Someone Who Works from Home. You’ve made the leap! Can’t wait to tell your family and friends the great news? Just be prepared to start hearing these common misguided comments from those still in the 9-to-5.
6. How to Become a Freelance Hard-Ass and Get Paid What You’re Worth. Don’t be timid about your rates; you know you offer a valuable skill, and you deserve to be paid for that. Here’s how.
7. 3 Freelance Mistakes That Keep You Stuck at Rookie Level. It can be especially easy to make these mistakes when you’re just starting out and eager to bring in work—any work—however you can. But these practices can actually keep your career from ever taking off.
8. 5 Essentials for Boosting Your Freelance Productivity. Getting out of bed and getting dressed may seem like silly goals, but if you’ve been freelancing for any length of time, you know just how powerful simple actions like this can be when it comes to setting the tone for your whole day.
9. Tax Tips for the First-Time Freelancer. You’re actually starting to bring in some real money! Woohoo! But don’t forget that this changes your relationship with Uncle Sam. Read up on how to stay on the IRS’s good side.
10. 5 Tips for Buying Affordable Health Insurance When You Work for Yourself. Also worth thinking about is how you’re going to keep yourself (and your family) covered now that you don’t have a company-sponsored health plan. Here are some tips to consider.
Have you read any worthwhile posts for freelancers lately? Leave a link in the comments!
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The post 10 Posts That Will Have Freelancers Raking in the Dough appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2013/01/18/10-posts-that-will-have-freelancers-raking-in-the-dough/feed/ 3The post 5 Ways to Boost Your Small Business Twitter Account appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> Managing your social media presence is tricky enough when you’re simultaneously keeping up with the challenges of starting your own small business or freelance operation.These user-friendly tips will take the confusion out of Twitter, so you can make your tweets more attractive your followers.
The Twitterverse (which, incidentally, is apparently the fifth most annoying word of 2012) offers lots of opportunities to make great connections. If you admire a fellow entrepreneur, designer or writer, don’t be afraid to give them a shout—and make sure it’s a worthwhile shout.
Ask a question or start a conversation instead of simply saying “Cool pic!” or “Nice post!” If your cyber friend (well, maybe we aren’t to the “friend” stage yet) posts her new graphic design project, tell her you like the use of color or ask where she found her inspiration. These higher-quality threads can draw attention from her followers as well as yours.
In lieu of services like delicious.com and Evernote, I use Twitter as a means of storing links I’m interested in coming back to read later in the day when things slow down. Most of the time, these links relate to my industry, and thus the interests of my followers, so I know that retweeting them will be valuable to my readers.
Don’t worry about having original content 100 percent of the time, but don’t lean too heavily on the RT, either. Make sure you’re also generating plenty of your own unique information to keep your followers following.
No fail, Twitter followers seem to be interested in the personal details of the people they follow—even (or sometimes especially) the minutia. This could mean sharing a picture of your (organized) desk or latest lunch choice every once and awhile.
Yes, it may seem silly, but these little touches make you feel real and relatable and help your readers connect with you as a person.
Too many Twitter accounts (and Facebook accounts, for that matter) are littered with exclamation marks and hashtags. Your user would much rather to see this…
Jolly Jam pairs great with cream cheese and crackers. Try the #recipe! bit.ly/23jf98
…than this:
#JollyJam pairs #great with #creamcheese and #crackers! Try the #recipe!!! bit.ly/23jf98
Remember: you are promoting your product, service or self because you are inherently enthusiastic about it—and readers approach business-based Twitter handles with that in mind. There is no need to go over the top with the hard sale. Use Twitter as a way to simply (and professionally) engage your customers in what you would consider like interests—without all the overzealous punctuation.
Lastly, services like HootSuite and TweetDeck allow you to schedule your updates ahead of time, which can do wonders for the small business owner who doesn’t think he has the time to regularly update his social media accounts.
Also consider creating an editorial calendar. By planning your subject matter ahead of time, you won’t have to enter panic mode every morning when you turn on the computer.
You may even want to consider whether it’s time to add a social media manager to your team. This can be as low- or as high-commitment as you’d like. Some freelancers will manage your entire social media presence for you, preempting the need to hire another full-time staff member.
Regardless of which steps you take on Twitter this year, keep tweeting! If you’re going to have a social media presence, it’s best to actively participate, rather than have accounts simply for the sake of having them. Just like your product, you surely have some superb nuggets of information to share with (yes) the Twitterverse, so start sharing!
Grace Barkley is a freelance writer, social media manager and designer living in Savannah, Georgia. She currently helps small business owners with their social media and branding and is earning her M.F.A. in Professional Writing from the Savannah College of Art and Design.
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The post 5 Ways to Boost Your Small Business Twitter Account appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2013/01/15/5-ways-to-boost-your-small-business-twitter-account/feed/ 6The post 5 Essentials for Boosting Your Freelance Productivity appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> When you work for yourself, the workload pendulum can swing wildly from “laid back and relaxed” to “overwhelmed and stressed.” Steady routines can help boost your long-term productivity—and calm your nerves—but getting started is half the battle.These five essentials will help kickstart your in-control mindset:
It’s easy to hit the snooze button when you have a morning commute of 17 steps. Figure out what time you need to wake each morning to complete a good chunk of work, and stick with it. Night owls may need to employ fancy alarm clocks or roommate support systems. A dog is a huge help. A dog with a small bladder doesn’t let you snooze much.
Working in your pajamas should be reserved for extraordinary circumstances—like snowy days or low-grade fevers. Dress for spontaneity. If a colleague called asking to grab coffee, or a client requested to meet ASAP, could you run out the door in five minutes?
Bottom line: Wear something you won’t be embarrassed to answer the door in.
When you’re wrapping up for the evening, make a quick list of the tasks you plan to complete the next day. Then, once you’re up and dressed in the morning, review the list and strike one or two items that aren’t immediately crucial. Having your list handy will keep you on task, and eliminating a few items from your list (at least temporarily) will make you feel less swamped as you near the end of your workday.
Paper lists work best for people who like to get touchy-feely with their workloads, but you might like an app like TeuxDeaux. If you’re struggling to manage your time spent on individual projects, try timeEdition or Focus Booster.
It’s hard to explain, but probably something you’ve heard before: a little fresh air can do wonders for you. Take a few moments to stretch out of your computer-induced posture, and don’t be surprised if your mood gets a boost, too.
If errands beckon, schedule time to walk to the post office or bank. A “walking meeting” with a friend or colleague can keep you moving as you brainstorm or catch up. And if you’ve got a dog, you know the drill.
Your home office doesn’t need to look picture-perfect, but save time and energy by keeping the info you need most often within arm’s reach. Keeping track of your dozens of user names and passwords (for yourself and your clients) is key to avoiding headaches, repeated resets and the curse of the locked account.
Use an online tool like 1Password or keep a trusty notebook in your desk drawer with all the details. Just remember to keep your chosen method a secret!
Your to-do list is there to guide you, not guilt you. Some days you’ll get stuck on the phone with a client. Some days your wifi will crap out and you’ll have to hustle to the coffee shop to make any headway. Pad your deadlines to avoid last-minute catastrophes. Don’t be afraid to say “no” to a midday meeting if it’s going to throw off your entire day.
You need to be at peace with yourself when you close the laptop, whether you do it at 5:00 p.m. or 9:00 p.m. Some tasks you don’t get to today can be moved to tomorrow’s to-do list (which you should be making tonight!).
Then, leave work at work. Even if your desk is only 17 steps away from the rest of your life.
Lisa Rowan is a freelance social media consultant who works with nonprofits and small businesses. She also owns her own small business, Quarter Life, an online and pop-up vintage shop.
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The post 5 Essentials for Boosting Your Freelance Productivity appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2013/01/14/5-essentials-for-boosting-your-freelance-productivity/feed/ 5The post 3 Freelancing Mistakes That Keep You Stuck at Rookie Level appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> Getting a steady stream of work is hard, especially when you’re just starting out. So you take every client you can and work day and night to keep the lights on.But there’s a problem.
This behavior that pays the bills in the short-term won’t get you to the next level. If you want to grow your client base and make money as a freelancer, then you need to start doing things differently.
To get on the right track, avoid these three mistakes:
Job boards are one of the best ways to get clients in the early days when you’re just scraping by. But you shouldn’t depend on them forever. Here’s why:
Job boards are a great way to find clients when you’re starting out. But you need to move beyond them if you want to grow your business and make more money.
Here’s what you should do instead:
You’re busy dealing with clients, and you spend every waking moment on billable work that will actually get you paid. But that’s also the problem.
To grow, get more clients and charge higher rates, you need to market yourself and build your brand.
How are you supposed to find the time?
Pay yourself first. Spend two hours each morning on brand building and business development activities to create demand for your services and raise your visibility within your niche. Then do client work when you’re done.
For example, you should make a name for yourself by doing what you do best: writing, designing, creating or whatever else. Submit your work to the best, most relevant publications you can think of, both on the Web and in traditional print.
That will build your brand and give you social proof, but you’ll also start discovering new, more effective online marketing channels to reach your target audience.
You’ll also want to start crafting your own unique selling proposition (what you do, how you do it and who you do it for) and what makes you different from everyone else in the marketplace.
These activities will create inbound demand and attention for your services, which means you can charge higher rates, control the scope of each assignment and deliver your services within a realistic time frame.
And then it will give you the freedom to take the final step:
You do not have to take on every client.
And you shouldn’t. So you have to start turning the bad ones away, even if it means less money initially.
In Book Yourself Solid, Michael Port describes having a “Velvet Rope Policy.” You have to screen clients carefully so you’re only letting the best ones in.
The biggest problem with bad clients or projects is that you won’t do your best work, which means both you and the client will end up unhappy. And nobody needs the stress or hassle of dealing with difficult clients, anyway.
Your lost time on bad projects also has an opportunity cost—hours that could have been spent servicing good clients or marketing yourself to create more inbound demand.
As a freelancer, there are only two ways to make more money:
If you limit the number of clients you take and force yourself to only accept great ones, then you can also afford to charge higher rates.
When you transition from being a new freelancer to becoming the best in your industry, the profitability of your work and each new client’s needs move you closer to your professional goals.
You can’t just accept work for work’s sake.
And if you want to reach these goals sooner (rather than later), you need to start generating more inbound demand instead of only relying on job boards.
Brad Smith is the founder of FixCourse, which shows people how to fix their marketing and get more customers. He’s also the co-creator of 500 Business Books, a free newsletter that profiles one business book each week in an easy-to-digest format.
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]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2012/12/23/3-freelancing-mistakes-that-keep-you-stuck-at-rookie-level/feed/ 9The post The Pros and Cons of Becoming an Independent Contractor or Freelancer appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> When looking for a new position (whatever the reason may be), you may find yourself weighing the pros and cons between a contract opportunity and a full-time role. Getting a salaried, full-time position is the traditional route, but the popularity of becoming a contractor (or freelancer) is growing.If you’ve known someone who’s worked a contract job, you’ve likely heard both the boastful ramblings of how salaried jobs are slavery compared to contracting and the incessant complaints of the demanding workload. Every job, contract or not, is dependent upon the industry you work in and the specific company you work for, but there are certain things you can expect if you’re contemplating whether the contractor or freelance route is for you:
Staying late and coming in early isn’t such a big deal when every hour is on their clock. This can lead to a nice paycheck when you’re in the middle of a release for a new product or software and you get paid for all 67 hours you worked.
One of the most personally rewarding aspects of contracting is having more independence than you would in a salaried role. Most jobs involve working from home, especially in IT, but even on-location gigs will expect less from you than your salaried counterparts.
Contractors often come in for the project, do the exciting work, and then leave. You aren’t stuck there afterwards just doing maintenance—a major benefit if you find those types of tasks to be menial.
Everyone knows that in full-time jobs, hard work isn’t always rewarded, and in some places, playing along with office politics is what will get you ahead. In contrast, when freelancing, what you earn is limited only by how much you work or charge.
Exposure to a wider variety of projects and work environments will accelerate how quickly you’ll build your skills. Not to mention that meeting a wider variety of people also holds opportunities to build your network. Both will lead to better job opportunities.
When you don’t work, you don’t get paid. So when you take off for a vacation, be prepared for that $0 paycheck. Also be prepared for the occasional gaps between jobs, which could lead to a few $0 paychecks. The key here is to plan ahead, create a budget and build that rainy day fund.
Most contractors are responsible for finding and paying for their own benefits, which can get pretty costly, especially if you’re paying for your whole family. Add this into your hourly pay before you take a job. In addition, you might incur other added expenses, such as paying for your own parking or a long commute.
Contractors are usually a lower priority to some companies than full-time employees, and your work environment may reflect that. I’ve heard about contractors being given closets to work in or desks made with old chairs and plywood (not exactly an Aeron chair).
They say looking for a job is a full-time job. With a salaried role, this typically ends on your first day. In freelancing, as soon as you secure a job, the first thought in your head should be where to find the next one. This can be one of the most stressful aspects of working independently: constantly searching for your next paycheck.
The real risk to keep in mind is that you can get cut at any time, even if you’ve got a six-month contract. Fortunately, most managers have the foresight to plan ahead so that most contracts pan out to fruition, but this doesn’t change the fact that you might have less job security while contracting.
The bottom line is that making a living off of contracting isn’t suitable for everyone, and jumping straight into a contract job after years in a full-time role isn’t always a good idea.
Before you make the decision to move to contracting, realize that it involves a lot of planning and self-motivation. It will be up to you to find your next job, work enough hours, pay for your own benefits and additional expenses and seek career advancement. However, the independence and the ability to build your skills at a fast rate can be financially and personally rewarding.
Mike Reynolds is a Practice Manager at eHire in Atlanta, specializing in recruiting for IT services. Follow him @mfreynolds for more insights on career development and the general IT industry.
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]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2012/12/10/the-pros-and-cons-of-becoming-an-independent-contractor-or-freelancer/feed/ 8The post 10 Places to Find Blogging Gigs That Pay appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> Finding clients is the biggest challenge faced by freelancers today, and freelance bloggers are no exception. Figuring out how to find your next paying customer is vital to your success.If you’re aiming to make money as a freelance blogger, here are 10 places you can look for blogging gigs that pay. You’ll find a wide variety of options here so you can pick up and run with the particular ones that suit you.
Let’s start with a site that I have a particular affinity for, as it’s where I found my first two blogging clients. Rather unsurprisingly, I heartily recommend it to any freelance blogger.
Although online job boards tend to get a bad rap for being full of time wasters and bargain seekers, the ProBlogger Job board offers up a healthy share of viable opportunities. In fact, I still work with the two clients I found there back in 2011.
I actually made a video of what you should look for (and look out for) on the ProBlogger Job Board, which may help you:
While ProBlogger is mainly made up of freelance blogging jobs, the FreelanceSwitch Job Board has a wider range of offerings, from copywriting to programming. This is all well and good if you are a bit of a multipotentialite, but for most of us, this means that you’ll have to do a bit of filtering to find what you want.
Although browsing through job listings is free, you have to subscribe to a paid membership if you want to apply. This will only set you back $7 per month, so it’s not a huge commitment.
This site is a little more rough around the edges when compared to the two job boards above, but its value is revealed in the name. With a tighter focus on blogging jobs, you can usually turn up some interesting prospects here.
Furthermore, the listings are sorted by category, which means that you can target areas of specific interest (e.g. fashion blogging).
Some freelancers will be shocked by this, as Craigslist has a terrible reputation for featuring freeloaders and time wasters. To be honest, I have no direct experience with sourcing freelance work on Craigslist and used to have much the same opinion.
However, more than one experienced freelancer has told me it’s possible to find a diamond in the Craigslist rough. If you’re keen to find work, this could be an option worth exploring.
Don’t forget about Elance and oDesk. If you browse these sites, you’ll find a lot of people offering writing services for paltry money, which can be an immediate turnoff. Not only that, but you have to hand a slice of your earnings over to the site.
However, there is a market for relatively well-paid bloggers if you can establish a decent reputation. The key is to not waste your time on low-paying jobs.
Although People Per Hour is really a freelance broker site like the two mentioned above, it deserves a dedicated spot on this list because it has a special value.
Sophie Lizard of Be a Freelance Blogger, who has been freelancing since 2009, recommends People Per Hour. She commands an hourly rate in the region of $80 per hour—the kind of rate the vast majority of freelance bloggers would be delighted with.
I’m not suggesting you can simply sign up at People Per Hour and start earning mega bucks, but with persistence, you can certainly establish yourself.
This paid membership site is a huge a resource, not the least for its junk-free job board, which is essentially an aggregated list of the best freelance jobs currently available on the Web.
Unfortunately, the Den tends to sell out pretty quickly and isn’t always open to new members. But it does open periodically. If you’re keen to get in, register on the waiting list.
If you know what search queries to use, Google can turn up a treasure trove of potential blogging work. Try these two search query templates:
The first query should be pretty self-explanatory—it will return a list of blogs in your chosen niche that are looking for writers (paid or otherwise). The second query is an effective way of discovering the most authoritative blogs in your niche, many of which will probably be looking for writers.
There’s plenty more you can do with Google, but those two queries will certainly get you started on the right track.
Most of us don’t like the idea of cold calling, but business blogging can be an extremely lucrative area. And besides, you don’t actually have to pick up the telephone—just fire off emails to local businesses to see if anyone is looking for help with their blog.
My friend Ruth Zive had a “10 before 10″ rule when she was first starting out as a freelance writer. Quite simply, she would contact 10 new prospects before 10:00 a.m. Now that’s one way to kickstart your business.
Okay, that might not make sense initially. How can you find clients by looking at your blog? Well, you can’t exactly, but what you can do is leverage your blog to source clients.
This is something I’ve done to great effect ever since I started freelancing. My blog produces a steady stream of client referrals—in fact, I haven’t gone looking for a job since 2011. While I wouldn’t say it’s easy to produce a blog that can do this for you, it certainly is possible (and well worth the effort).
Have you managed to make money as a freelance blogger? How do you find your gigs?
Tom Ewer is the author of Successful Freelance Writing Online: How to Make a Full Time Income by Writing for Blogs. He quit his job at the end of 2011 and is now a freelance blogger and Internet marketer and has chronicled his journey at his blog, Leaving Work Behind.
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The post 10 Places to Find Blogging Gigs That Pay appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2012/11/12/10-places-to-find-blogging-gigs-that-pay/feed/ 23The post Craving a Freelance Career? Here’s Where the Jobs Are appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> For many young people, building a career as an independent pro working on your own has tons of upsides. You get flexibility with your time, no office drama and often a zero minute commute (though certainly there are downsides and costs as well). Plus, the uncertain economy and dearth of job security is pushing more and more Gen Yers toward the gig economy.So if this sounds like you and you’ve decided the best way to build your career is as a freelancer, what skills and sectors should you target?
Online jobs portal Freelancer.com has some data to guide you. Each quarter, the site releases a report detailing what sorts of jobs are most in demand on its platform, giving young people who are interested in building freelance careers a sense of where the picking are richest.
So what are the hottest sectors in freelance nation at the moment? Here are the trends Freelancer.com says are worth paying attention to:
The takeaway from all this should light a fire under the decidedly non-technical, according to Freelancer.com CEO Matt Barrie. “Every industry we can think of is quite abruptly turning into a software business, and every job function is increasingly being performed using software tools in the cloud,” he says.
Luckily, Gen Y are digital natives, so we should have no problem polishing up our tech skills to grab the most in-demand jobs in the gig economy. And if the online, at home nature of these types of jobs worries you, don’t fret too much on that account either. As Sara Sutton Fell, CEO of remote- and part-time jobs site FlexJobs, explained in an interview with CBS MoneyWatch, Gen Y are telecommuting natives as well.
“The recent graduates from the last few years have really been putting a priority on flexibility and have a much higher comfort level for freelance work than prior generations,” she says, adding that Gen Y is also much more comfortable with work as an activity rather than a place. “They just don’t see a building as a defining structure of where you do things,”
Have you managed to use the demand for these jobs to your advantage? Tell us how in the comments!
Jessica Stillman is a freelance writer based in London. She writes a daily column for Inc.com and has blogged for CBS MoneyWatch and GigaOM, among others.
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The post Craving a Freelance Career? Here’s Where the Jobs Are appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2012/11/01/craving-a-freelance-career-heres-where-the-jobs-are/feed/ 5The post 7 Things You Should Never Say to Someone Who Works from Home appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> If you have any sort of non-traditional work arrangement—remote worker, freelancer, entrepreneur—you know how difficult it can be for people to really get what your working situation is like.Whether it’s a matter of jealousy or simple ignorance of anything outside the traditional 9-5, people have a tendency to view non-traditional workers as the lucky elite—those who spend their days luxuriating around their houses, doing a little work when they feel like it but generally basking in infinite freedom.
If only it were like that!
While working from home or for yourself does have its perks, work is still work. And in some ways, non-traditional work can actually be a lot harder than your standard clock-punching office job. So before you put your foot in your mouth in front of your work-from-home friend or relative, here’s a quick rundown of things I can guarantee they will not appreciate hearing:
I get this one regularly because I work part-time at a standard office job and have two days a week free to pursue my freelancing. I’ve learned to bite my tongue from responding, “You mean, enjoy my second job?” because that makes it sound like freelancing is something I don’t enjoy, and I love it.
But it can be frustrating to realize my coworkers think I’m spending two days a week watching daytime TV while they continue to toil away at the office. I actually work harder when I’m at home, since the office has an ebb and flow of projects but I plug away pretty ceaselessly on my freelancing.
While I certainly enjoy my freelance work more than my day job, that doesn’t always make it fun or easy. And it can sting to think that my office mates imagine I’m just taking it easy when I’m not there.
Just because freelancers and entrepreneurs have more control over their hours, that doesn’t mean they have tons of free time to burn. It’s taken months for my husband to realize that bad things will happen if he tries to play the “But I’ve been working all day!” card when I tell him I don’t have time to do whatever errand he wants on one of my freelance days.
It’s true that it’s easier for me to book doctors’ appointments with my freelance days open, and it’s true that I get to drink my coffee while watching Live! With Kelly and Michael as my office mates are sitting down to their desks for the day. But I still have a long list of projects to get to, and I need to be as disciplined as I can with my time to get them all done, and done well.
While we do have more say over how we prioritize and accomplish our work, the fact is that we still report to other people.
Freelancers have to stick to their clients’ deadlines. Remote workers need to get their company’s projects done as instructed. Even totally self-employed business owners still need to meet quarterly projections, make employee paydays and serve their customers’ needs.
Unless you’ve got a grant to work on your semi-autobiographical play for a year, you still have to meet other people’s expectations and deadlines. You’ve got more freedom as to how you do that, but you’re not reporting to nobody.
If you think non-traditional workers live lives of posh and infinite freedom, you are mistaken. We are not the Real Housewives of Wherever-We-Live. We have visions of sleeping in and being able to go window shopping in the middle of the afternoon, just like you do.
Sometimes, we are able to do that. But those are special treats we allow ourselves. Because most of us got to where we are through a heck of a lot of hustle and discipline, and we need continued hustle and discipline to maintain our footing.
We wake up early and go to bed late. We work on the weekends and evenings. We spend whole days in front of the computer, realizing with a start at 5:00 p.m. that it’s time to make dinner and we haven’t yet showered or eaten lunch (or breakfast).
Yes, working in your pajamas does give you a certain feeling of power and autonomy (and getting away with something kinda cool), but it’s still work.
It can be difficult to take this one as what it ought to be (a compliment to how hard we’ve worked to get this lifestyle) rather than what it normally is (a statement that we’re lucky bastards who are getting away with something totally unfair).
In this day and age, there are so many ways you can go about attaining a non-traditional work situation. The Internet has removed the “gatekeepers,” and anyone can learn to market and establish themselves in whatever field they excel in.
Granted, maybe you have circumstances that make this difficult for you right now—you’re in too much debt, you have other obligations to look after first—or maybe you’re just more comfortable with the structure and security of a traditional job. But if you’d honestly be happy to do physical harm to someone to live a work-from-home lifestyle, you can find a way to do it. You will, in fact, because people with that kind of drive can’t help it.
If only, my friend. If only.
While we’re able to run a load of laundry while we’re working, if all we did was play housekeeper all day long, our income would dry up faster than you can say “Swiffer.”
Work-life balance is an issue for us, too. It’s actually harder, because when you work where you live, there’s nothing to tangibly divide home from the office. Self-starters are ambitious and compulsively driven, so having 24/7 access to their offices only means they’re working that much more.
Sigh.
Well, let’s see. We’re business owners, marketing reps, accounting departments, customer service associates, administrative managers… plus all that work of actually providing our products and services to our clients.
What do you do all day?
Kelly Gurnett is Assistant Editor of Brazen Life and runs the blog Cordelia Calls It Quits, where she documents her attempts to rid her life of the things that don’t matter and focus more on the things that do. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook and hire her services as a blogger extraordinaire here.
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]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2012/10/25/7-things-you-should-never-say-to-someone-who-works-from-home/feed/ 67The post How Health Care Reform Helps the Self-Employed appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> Being self-employed is like being a one-person band. And not your average pop rock trio—we’re talking big-band jazz style.When you’re self-employed, you’re in charge of vocals, guitar, piano, drums, violin, clarinet, double bass, flute, saxophone, trumpet… the list goes on and on. Keeping all these moving parts coordinated is crucial, and acquiring or maintaining health insurance is a huge part of that job.
With all the recent news about health care reform, that part of your job just got even more confusing.
By now you’ve probably heard that the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act (ACA) declaring health care reform constitutional. Chances are you haven’t read the whole thing (since it’s more than 900 pages long). But there are some provisions designed to benefit the self-employed. So how can this reform work for you?
Since we at eHealthInsurance speak to the self-employed on a daily basis and have addressed some of these new changes on our blog, we’ve become well-versed in explaining how benefits have changed (and will continue to change) as a result of the ACA.
If you’re self-employed, here are five ways health care reform can help you:
If you’ve gone without health insurance for the last six months or so because you have a pre-existing condition, Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plans have been established to help bridge the gap between now and 2014.
These are subsidized health insurance plans for people with complicated medical histories that prevent them from qualifying for individually-purchased health insurance. Funding for these plans is scheduled to end in 2014, when the law will require all health insurance plans to accept applicants regardless of pre-existing medical conditions. You can learn more about these plans at www.pcip.gov.
The law requires plans to provide some basic preventive health screenings at no out-of-pocket cost to you. So if your rationale for not getting a routine exam was the price of your copay, your excuse is now gone. Go see your doctor!
The ACA did away with lifetime coverage limits for most medical services on most health insurance plans. This means you no longer have to worry about going over your lifetime coverage cap.
If you anticipate growing your business and eventually providing health insurance to your employees, you’ll be happy to hear that the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit helps small businesses that are incorporated or registered as an LLC.
The credit applies to businesses with 25 or fewer employees by providing a tax credit of up to 35 percent of the cost of employee premiums. These tax incentives are in place now, and they’re scheduled to be expanded in 2014.
This provision of the ACA went into effect in 2011 and requires insurance companies to spend 80-85 percent of member premiums directly on member medical expenses. The insurance company’s costs and profits are limited to the remaining 15-20 percent of premium income.
Insurance plans that do not meet these “medical loss ratio” (MLR) criteria are required to issue rebates to policyholders. Rebates are already being issued, and all rebates from 2011 should have been paid by August 1, 2012. Learn more about these provisions and more on the eHealthInsurance blog.
Keith Mendonsa is one of eHealthInsurance’s top agents licensed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Keith has helped thousands of people find health coverage that fits their needs.
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]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2012/09/26/how-health-care-reform-helps-the-self-employed/feed/ 9The post 3 Clever Ways to Increase Your Worth as a Freelancer appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> Want to know what you’re worth? Payscale will help you figure it out, for free! In five minutes, you’ll get a sense for your value in the marketplace. Start the Payscale Salary Survey here.One of the biggest challenges most freelancers face when starting out is how much to charge. Or more accurately, determining what your knowledge and skills are worth. We’re afraid if we charge too much, we won’t be able to find any work at all. Or if we charge too little, we won’t be able to make ends meet.
With so many options available—from setting an hourly rate, a fixed price, a one-time charge or a combination of all three—it can be difficult and overwhelming. So how do you determine what you’re worth as a freelancer?
The answer is all about value! You have to make yourself, your products and your skills extremely valuable. Because the more valuable you are, the more money clients will be willing to pay you.
But creating value isn’t always easy, and like other things in life, it takes time and dedication to do it properly. Here are three ways to make your time and skills more valuable:
The main ingredients to making yourself more valuable are your skills, experience and reputation. One of the best things I did to add value to my business (and bottom line) was completing a certification program. Now when people look at my resume or portfolio, they see the effort I made to get certified. This not only shows my dedication, but that I believe the work I do is good enough to invest in.
If you’re looking to start a social media business, consider taking the HootSuite University course or buying an instructional ebook from a successful social media expert. The same principle applies for other areas too, like finance, education and technology-related fields.
Professional certifications don’t cost a lot of money, but they’ll help you stand out in a seemingly endless pool of freelancers.
Going the extra mile for your client is simple and only takes a little common sense. Things like doing small work for free, submitting your project on time and doing work without being asked will go a long way towards impressing your client.
Each time you go above and beyond for them, you become more valuable in their eyes. This makes them feel like you’re on their side, like you want them and their business to succeed. They’ll view you as a team player instead of just someone working for a paycheck.
A common mistake many self-employed people make is not acting professionally and failing to think like a business owner. Smart business owners are conscious of displaying solid customer service skills, reliable in terms of staying in contact with their clients and, most importantly, trustworthy.
When you’re a freelancer, you’re the face of your business and your brand. Always be aware of how your brand is represented and the reputation you’re building for your business. Having a satisfied client recommend you to other potential clients is worth more than pitching your own work. That’s the goal of any freelancer: to become a valuable resource clients will continue to use and recommend to their friends, family and coworkers.
The more valuable you become, the more clients will be willing to pay for your services. And as long as you continue to produce valuable, high-quality work, you’ll have no problem justifying the rates you set for your business. After all, your big goal is likely to get paid what you’re worth, which helps you and your business grow.
What’s one way you’ve increased your worth as a freelancer?
Carrie Smith is the writer behind the Careful Cents blog, where she helps people get out of debt, find a career they love and make cents of life. You can connect with her on Twitter.
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]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2012/08/14/3-clever-ways-to-increase-your-worth-as-a-freelancer/feed/ 18The post Your Ticket Out of Intern Land: Freelancing appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> Ready to quit those coffee runs and escape the internship rat race?Popular career advice experts typically tell college students and recent grads about the importance of interning to gain work experience. But some of us seasoned interns need things like benefits, sick days and an opportunity to pay off student debt. Believe it or not, there’s such a thing as working as an intern for too long.
Interning in The Great Recession after college can be a Catch-22. Companies value internships but don’t hire interns. Ten years ago, having just one internship put you ahead of the career curve. Today, holding several internships—and not turning them into jobs—might work against you. Instead of looking uber-driven to prospective employers, you run the risk of being pigeonholed as “just the intern.”
If any of these scenarios apply, you may be a bit too seasoned:
So, what’s a seasoned intern to do? Here’s a ticket out of intern land you might not have considered: freelancing. So here are three steps to help you get on this path:
If you’ve worked a few quality internships without landing that first job, you can always start freelancing. Whether you want to be a journalist, a graphic designer or an app developer, if you have the skills, do it! You don’t need anyone’s approval.
Thanks to technology and social media, you can do almost any career on your own, short of operating on patients on your kitchen table.
Before you get started, do a little research on your field and competitors, and then determine which niche you should occupy. Decide on your services, prices and get started. Don’t forget to create your own business cards to pass out to prospective clients.
The first step to stop being an intern is to stop calling yourself one.
You have to get paid somehow, so go out and find some business.
Finding a client can be a little like the case of which came first, the chicken or the egg. It’s generally easier to get a client when you already have a client, but you have to start somewhere. Try alerting everyone in your network of your services; you never know who will need your help.
Also go to industry networking events and pass out those business cards. Chat about your background and the types of projects you’ve done. Just make sure you never ever say, “ Oh, I was just an intern.”
Another good way to find clients is by offering your services to a not-for-profit organization that needs help. If they can’t pay you, volunteer your services—and then list them as a client. No one knows the organization didn’t pay you, and you can use that client to get another that pays!
Whatever route you take, get any and all deals in writing and keep track of all of your expenses and billings for tax time.
Whether you’re volunteering or getting paid for your services, make sure you get one good case study. Think of a case study as a project that allows you to show the world your awesome work.
Your case study should document everything you did to help your client reach success. Include your objectives, your strategy, how you led your client to success and the results of your work. Collect as much evidence as possible. Whether that means including statistics, testimonials, photos or screenshots of media mentions, your case study needs to show any prospective client that you’re the right person to hire to get the job done.
Take this freelancing time to push the envelope and do everything you ever wanted to do as an intern but couldn’t. This isn’t the time to play it safe. A good case study shows some measure of innovation and creativity.
If you truly think you’re an over-qualified intern, stop grumbling and start your career.
Prove everyone wrong by making your career happen. Who knows? You may have a knack for business and could end up expanding your one-person team to include staff members… and maybe an intern or two of your own.
Adrienne Sheares is a social media strategist and founder of the blog/Tweetup group, I Heart Social Media DC. Say hi to her on Twitter @SocialMediaDC. (Ignore her on Facebook.)
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]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2012/08/08/your-ticket-out-of-intern-land-freelancing/feed/ 7The post Tax Tips to Live By for the First-Time Freelancer appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> Working for yourself isn’t always what you expect. And one thing many newbie freelancers are unclear on is how their freelance income will impact their tax situation.Tax time may be over for 2011, but if you’re a brand new freelancer starting out, your tax time begins now. So here are some basics you should know when it comes to your new relationship with Uncle Sam. Bear in mind these are general tips meant to educate freelancers just starting out; whether you’ve gone full-time with employees or your freelancing is just a side hustle for now, you should consult a CPA for professional advice and guidance in all cases.
Get yourself a good CPA. I never thought I’d be fancy enough to warrant needing an accountant. And I know it seems like a big expense when you’re just starting out. But I’m so grateful a self-employed friend convinced me to visit her CPA. I had no idea what I was in store for, and knowing I now have someone knowledgeable looking out for my interests is a huge relief for me in this new territory.
Oh, and did I mention that any accountant’s fees you incur in connection with your freelancing can be deductible as “professional expenses?” So there’s really no reason not to get a CPA.
If you make $600+ from any one client, you need to report it. Each client this applies to should provide you with a 1099-MISC form at the end of the year listing how much they’ve paid you, which you then include with your tax return.
If you net $400+ for the year, you have to pay self-employment tax in addition to income tax. This was a particularly nasty surprise for me. If you work for yourself or as a 1099 contractor, you are essentially double-taxed as both an employer and an employee. (I know; way to encourage entrepreneurship, USA!) In my case, that means a solid one-third of every dollar you bring in will go right back to the government.
So, in the wise words of my CPA, “Don’t take that big project you just got paid for and go on vacation with it.” Start setting aside your tax percentage now—ideally in a separate savings account you won’t be tempted to touch—or else you may be unpleasantly surprised when tax time comes.
You now have to pay quarterly. The good news is that if this is your first year of freelancing, and last year you had no freelance income to report, you don’t need to worry about quarterly payments just yet. (Remember, you only have to report if you’ve made more than $600 for any client. So if you started freelancing mid-2011 and only managed to earn $300 for the year, that doesn’t count as reportable income. Your first freelancing year technically starts now in 2012.)
If this is your first year, you can wait till the end of the tax year to file, at which point you can also get a better idea of what your estimated quarterly payments will be next year. After year one, if you expect to owe the government $1,000+ (after deductions), you will be required to make estimated quarterly tax payments.
These will be due on January 15th, April 15th, June 15th, and September 15th. You don’t have to worry too much about the precision of your estimate; if you estimate too high or too low for any quarter, you can fill out a form to recalculate what you’ll owe the next quarter.
Track your business expenses. The major rules for writing off “home office” and other business expenses (although you’ll want to clear specifics with your CPA) include:
Solid recordkeeping is so worth your time. Keep a separate insert in your filing cabinet for any potentially deductible expenses so you’re not scrambling at the end of each quarter to track down receipts.
For household expenses like utilities for which you’ll be deducting only a percentage, it’s a good idea to start a running spreadsheet to keep track of what you’re spending over the course of the year. Each month when you pay your heat, electricity and other bills, enter the amounts on the spreadsheet so that come tax time, everything is all there for you to calculate your percentages. It’s a few extra minutes each payday to save you a ton of hassle later on.
Are you just starting out as a freelancer? Tell us about it!
Kelly Gurnett, a.k.a. “Cordelia,” runs the blog Cordelia Calls It Quits, where she documents her attempts to rid her life of the things that don’t matter and focus more on the things that do. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
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]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2012/05/08/tax-tips-to-live-by-for-the-first-time-freelancer/feed/ 30The post 5 Tips for Buying Affordable Health Insurance When You Work for Yourself appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> Want a job in social media? Then you need to know how to create a strategy that’s going to deliver top results. Set yourself up for success with our free 11-page step-by-step social media strategy template. Download it now!Graduating college used to be enough to land you the perfect job with the perfect benefits package. But these days, a lot of us are working part-time jobs with fewer or no benefits, whether out of choice or until we land the job we really want (and in some cases, any job).
But compromising your health insurance also compromises your health and your checkbook. Luckily, individual health insurance is available to bridge employment gaps, provide additional coverage or keep you covered while you build a company or create your own job. Navigating the individual health-insurance market can be challenging at best, especially if this is your first time in this territory.
If you’re newly on the hunt for your own health insurance, here are five tips to keep in mind, straight from our licensed agents at eHealthInsurance:
It sounds obvious, but sometimes shoppers forget they have options when it comes to purchasing from their health insurance plan’s “a la carte” menu.
In most states, benefits like maternity coverage, brand-name prescription drug coverage and chiropractic care are all optional. If it’s important to keep your costs low, make sure you don’t buy a plan that covers benefits you don’t need.
You want your monthly premium to be a cost you can afford, but don’t forget to check out each plan’s annual out-of-pocket limit. This is the yearly limitation on what you’ll be responsible for paying – in addition to your monthly premiums.
Your annual out-of-pocket limit combines deductibles, co-payments and coinsurance. Once you reach it, your insurer picks up the remaining costs for that year. If that annual amount is more than you can afford, look for another plan or consider buying a different plan and adding supplemental coverage for your worst-case scenario.
How much is your favorite doctor worth? If you want to continue to visit a particular physician, make sure he or she is within the physician network specified by the insurance plan you’re considering – otherwise you might have to pay a hefty fee to see that familiar face.
At eHealthInsurance.com, you can use our “Plans with Your Doctor” tool to see only those plans that are accepted by your doctor.
Before buying solely based on your perception of a certain brand, do some homework to see how other people feel about it. Our site actually lists customer reviews of most plans, as well as ratings that reflect the company’s credit rating and ability to pay claims. Using those ratings rather than being closed-minded about sticking to or avoiding a certain brand name could help save you big money.
Don’t make the mistake of assuming vision and dental benefits are included in your health insurance plan. That might be the case for some company-backed policies, but in the individual market, these types of benefits must be purchased separately from your health insurance policy.
Sometimes you can buy them as add-ons to your policy under the same insurer, while other insurers might not offer them at all, which means you’ll have to find a different insurer for those benefits.
Carrie McLean is senior manager of customer service & retention at EHealthInsurance. If you need help choosing an insurer, check out our “for dummies” health insurance guide.
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]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2012/04/02/5-tips-for-buying-affordable-health-insurance-when-you-work-for-yourself/feed/ 14The post 4 Ways to Dive into Entrepreneurship While You’re Still in College appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> Want to learn how to turn your passion into a revenue-generating business and make an impact? Join Brazen Careerist for an innovative online bootcamp for aspiring entrepreneurs called The Big Idea, March 6-31.What do Mark Zuckerberg, Michael Dell and Bill Gates have in common? They all founded their respective companies while still in college.
If you dream of becoming an entrepreneur, you don’t have to wait until you graduate. Even if you don’t end up creating the next Facebook, you can gain valuable experience and make money from your venture. Take a look at the 10 Coolest College Start-Ups of 2011 as selected by Inc.com for some examples of students starting companies you probably haven’t heard of before.
Want to flex your entrepreneurship muscles while still in school? Here are four ways to get started:
Opening a virtual store is appealing because it requires little funding. All you need is an account on eBay or Amazon and something to sell.
When I was in school, I sold DVDs, CDs and video games out of my room. (My closet looked like a miniature Best Buy.) Anticipate which new releases will be popular, and find somewhere that’s selling the title at a reduced rate (like an eBay user selling them in bulk, or a sale at Walmart). Then figure out the minimum price you’d need to charge to make a profit after eBay or Amazon take their fees, and boom! You’re in business.
The same strategy can apply to any product. I ventured out from media products when Livestrong bracelets were trendy; I found a site that made custom wristbands and ordered a huge batch of them with popular phrases, then sold them individually for a higher price. What could you resell for a profit?
If you’re particularly talented at something (perhaps what you’re majoring in), you can make money off of it. Offer website design, photography or even social media marketing as your side gig.
You’ll need to learn how to market yourself to acquire clients, but this is a good skill to develop before you apply for full-time jobs anyhow. And if you get enough clients while you’re still in school, you’ll have a decent income base when you graduate – and who knows, you might not even have to apply for a job! Sites like elance or odesk are good resources for online freelance work.
To build your credibility, consider working for free at first. Working for free is “a great way to gain experience and get your name out there,” says Benjamin Stitzer, who freelanced as a photographer while he studied at Southern Adventist University. For him, working for free lead to several paid jobs. And if you have trouble landing clients, Stitzer says, simply do the work for yourself and use the results to prove how good you are.
While you might not think of a YouTube channel as an entrepreneurial venture, Tyler Oakley would disagree. The popular vlogger, who recently graduated from Michigan State University, has acquired more than 130,000 subscribers on YouTube by treating it like a business.
And business is booming! (Take a look at YouTube’s partner program to see how Oakley earns money from making videos.)
But Tyler says the key isn’t to expect to make money from the get-go. “It’s never been the goal to make money on my channel – but I have to admit, [as a recent college grad,] it’s an amazing perk,” he said. “The point is to express yourself in your own way and to connect with people.”
If you’re an art major or good at knitting or crafting, go ahead and set up shop. Look for local arts & crafts fairs to sell your work in person, or list it on sites like Etsy. Just like working a freelance gig, this will not only be a good stream of revenue during school, but if you build up enough sales, it can become a full-time entrepreneurial project. Start simple just by selling what you have, possibly what you create in class, or try to get commissioned to create something specific for a customer.
If one of the ideas above sparks your interest or you have an idea of your own, Forbes offers more in-depth tips for getting your dorm room business on the road to success.
What business do you dream of building?
Adam Britten is a Master of Digital Marketing Student at Hult International Business School in London. Read more about him at AdamBritten.com or chat with him on Twitter @AdamBritten.
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]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2012/02/21/4-ways-to-dive-into-entrepreneurship-while-youre-still-in-college/feed/ 39The post How to Become a Freelance Hard-Ass and Get Paid What You’re Worth appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> Want to learn how to turn your passion into a revenue-generating business and make an impact? Join Brazen Careerist for an innovative online bootcamp for aspiring entrepreneurs called The Big Idea, March 6-31.One of the big challenges of launching your career as a freelancer is figuring out how much to charge – and convincing potential clients you’re worth that amount.
Do you start at $15/hour? $25/hour? $50/hour? What if you overprice your services and the client balks?
About five years ago — maybe one year before the recession hit — I quit my full-time job in book publishing to go full-time freelance. I wanted the flexibility to focus on my writing and work on breaking into my favorite publications. That, and I hated wearing pantyhose.
But as thrilling as the switch from nylons to bunny slippers was, building up a strong client base was tough, and I struggled for years to figure out how much I was worth — and how to find editors willing to pay it.
When the recession happened, I realized I had to diversify, so I got my career coaching certification. But in launching that business, I had to figure out the whole rates thing all over again. How much was I worth as a coach, and how was I going to find clients willing to pay professional coaching rates?
In both cases, I was afraid. Would my target clients/publications have the money to hire me? And if they did have the money, would they want to pay professional rates for someone who was such a n00b? Would I pay that much for me?
I suppose that last question was at the crux of it all, especially in the case of my coaching practice. As a DIY-er who was into self-education and puzzling things out on my own — and as someone who regularly told people that the best way to learn was to dive right in — of course I wouldn’t pay that much for me! Creating glimmering rainbows of word magic and planning out the next epic steps in my career came naturally to me. They seemed so easy. Why would I pay someone to tell me what I already knew?
It took me awhile to realize that if someone was looking to hire me, word magic and career planning didn’t come easy to them. They needed me to do that work for them.
And assuming their need was great, they would willingly shell out the money for it, right?
Over time I learned my lesson: people will always spend money on the things that are important to them. I mean, that’s why I spend so much money on sparkly things and yoga paraphernalia. Those things are important to me.
And if someone is unwilling to pay your writing rates or your coaching rates or the rates for whatever it is you’re trying to sell, perhaps they’re not a client you actually want to have. Perhaps they don’t value career fulfillment or quality writing as much as they say they do.
If you’re so quick to lower your rates to bag those reluctant clients, perhaps you don’t value these things either — or yourself, for that matter.
So how should you set your rates and stick to them?
The details of how to do this are beyond the scope of this post, but I highly recommend resources like the Freelance Switch Hourly Rate Calculator, and Laurie Lewis’s What to Charge. You can also do research on market norms by simply surfing the Internet and scoping out your competition. And industry-specific professional organizations also tend to offer resources that help out with this. The Editorial Freelancers Association, for example, has a resource page with average editorial rates.
If someone asks you for your rates, don’t let all your self-doubts about possibly losing business cloud your better judgment. Also, don’t say something like, “I charge $100 an hour, BUT that is negotiable / I’m having a World Nutella Day Sale / I think you’re so pretty I’ll only charge you $15 an hour.” (Of course, there can be exceptions, but they’re rare. Consult this handy-dandy flowchart if you’re considering such craziness.)
If you’re at the whim of another publication’s rates, or wacky contract terms, or an oh-so-arbitrary “budget,” and you still really want to work with them, that’s when you can try negotiating.
But don’t go below what you truly know, deep down, you’re worth. If you do, you’re probably not helping yourself in the long run.
If someone is not willing to pay what I refer to as my “deal breaker rate,” I tell them politely and respectfully that “I’d love to work with you but, unfortunately, I cannot work for less than $BLAH. When your budget has expanded to the extent that you’re able to pay standard professional rates, please keep me in mind!” It sounds ballsy, but the ones who see the value in what I do are always willing to play ball.
And no matter what the outcome, a prospective client will respect you more for holding fast to what you’re worth. (In fact, if you’re charging less than standard rates, they may wonder why.)
So don’t worry too much about being seen as a hard-ass. It’ll garner you respect from the clients who matter – and scare away the clients who will only waste your time.
If you need someone to whip you into hard-ass shape, consider hiring Steph Auteri, a freelance writer, editor, and career coach. And if you’d like to receive Freelance Awesome: A Starter Kit, a free packet containing the five worksheets necessary to jumpstart your freelance writing career, sign on the dotted line right here!
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]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2012/02/06/how-to-become-a-freelance-hard-ass-and-get-paid-what-youre-worth/feed/ 19The post Oh-So-Important Strategies for Freelancers Who Want to Land Clients appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> Despite all my preparations, when I finally became my own boss, I didn’t know a damn thing about drumming up work. As I had always done before, I scoured the job ads for freelance work, dutifully sent out cover letters and resumes, worked several permalance gigs that gave me a feeling of stability and, otherwise, waited for the work to come to me.Somehow, it worked. Despite myself, and within only six months, I had matched my previous corporate salary.
But being a business owner is nothing like being an employee, and I couldn’t sustain my business on quality content and charm alone. Eventually, I had to start actively marketing myself.
Those new to marketing — and those downright wary of it — can end up floundering in their search for that one, magical, no-fail marketing trick that will lead them to success. Why? That one, magical trick doesn’t exist. Different services and products — and different clients and customers — require different types of marketing. So how can you figure out which tactics will work best for you?
Your mission statement does not have to be long and involved. Nor does it have to be the height of creative genius. It should, however, list your business goals — monetary and otherwise — and should also specify the things that set you apart from the competition. Why is this necessary? Writing out your mission statement can help you clarify exactly what it is you’re trying to accomplish. As you make future business decisions, you can refer back to it and ask yourself: does this bring me closer to my business goals?
Your product or service probably won’t appeal to everyone. So list the people you’re trying to help, and get specific. Once you’ve pinned down your target markets, you can start researching the best ways to reach them. Where do they hang out? Which social networking sites are they on? Which blogs are they reading? Do they participate in any online forums, or attend any professional conferences? Knowing all of this will keep you from marketing blind.
And then look to see what they’re doing right, what they’re doing wrong and what they’re not doing at all. How can you differentiate yourself from the competition? And, in the end, should you even consider them competitors? If you can set yourself apart from them, it will leave room for future collaborations.
This is the fun part. (Then again, I get excited by spreadsheets and cookware.) Referring back to number two — your target markets and where they’re hanging out — come up with some marketing ideas that go beyond direct mail spam and pricey space advertising. Think about how they might like to be marketed to. Think about what they want and need. And think about how you like to be marketed to, too. What makes you decide to shell out the cash?
And then? Write a really long and wacky list. Seriously. Go all out. You probably won’t use everything on your list, but at least you’ll have options.
This is what my initial list looked like:
Some of these items may work for you. Others obviously won’t. But it’s my hope that you’ll be able use this list as a jumping-off point for your own. Once you’re done drawing up that list, pick a few items and execute them. See what works and what doesn’t. Try a few more. Analyze results. Adjust accordingly.
And once you’re up and running, don’t stop marketing. Even when business is booming. Without consistent marketing, it just won’t last.
Steph Auteri is the founder of Word Nerd Pro, a one-stop word nerd shop offering a variety of writing, editing, and coaching services. She has been published in Playgirl, Time Out New York, Nerve, The Frisky, and other bastions of fine writing. She is a member of The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only nonprofit organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. The YEC promotes entrepreneurship as a solution to unemployment and underemployment and provides entrepreneurs with access to tools, mentorship, and resources that support each stage of their business’s development and growth.
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]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2012/01/25/oh-so-important-strategies-for-freelancers-who-want-to-land-clients/feed/ 8The post Why You Should Work Both for a Company and for Yourself appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> People who have both freelanced and worked in an office environment usually have incredibly strong opinions on which experience is better. Office folk love the structure, regular paycheck and team environment. Freelancers love the freedom, flexibility and passion for their jobs.But these aren’t the only things you can learn from each experience. Truth is, you can learn from both avenues and both can help shape your career for the future.
Two-and-a-half years ago, I quit my PR job in New York to strike out on my own. My blog had been doing better than expected, and the Facebook ads that landed me the job in the first place were bringing in some great freelance work.
So for two years I freelanced, slowly building up my client lists, getting more recommendations and figuring out how the hell to balance a real life with working for yourself.
And yet, today I work full-time for a digital marketing agency in Auckland. Seven months ago I would have told you I’d never work for The Man. I liked being my own boss and choosing my own clients and working from my footie PJs (note: I do not own footie PJs).
But let me tell you, the two years I worked for myself taught me more about work and careers and real world more than college ever did. And working at this incredible, small(ish) company has taught me more about collaboration and creativity and the power of marketing more than my puny freelance business ever could.
That’s why, if possible, you should try both these routes. Freelance while working full-time. Get an internship or consulting gig in an office while freelancing. Or do one and then the other. Here’s why:
Multi-tasking. From writing your own invoices to figuring out how much you’re worth, and from selling yourself to actually doing the work, you will learn every aspect of running a business.
Hustling. No one is going to find clients for you. To survive, you’ll need to have the guts to go to networking events, cold call, ask for referrals and request recommendations; otherwise you’ll have no clients and no money. Being a freelancer makes you confident in selling your skills and asking for the things you want.
Trusting your gut. When starting out, most freelancers take whatever they can get. But the longer you work for yourself, the more you can be choosey about who you work for. That means you usually love your clients, projects and time you spend at the “office.” Eventually you learn to pinpoint when that email from a prospective client is subtly saying, “I’M GOING TO BE HUGELY DIFFICULT AND CONSUME ALL YOUR TIME.” And if you’ve been a good little freelancer you’ll know exactly when to avoid those guys.
Work when you’re productive. Not all of us are particularly functional at 8 a.m. and do epic work at midnight. “Real” jobs can pretty restricting unless your peak hours are actually 9 to 5. Being your own boss lets you quickly discover the times and places you are most productive, meaning more efficiency, self-awareness and subsequently more time off. Sort of.
Your idea is never the best idea. During the past few months at Young & Shand, I’ve never once seen one person’s idea come to fruition. Not because the people here aren’t brilliant. They are. It’s because we all meet and brainstorm an idea that ends up morphing into this epic, genius thing we’ll then work on together. Working as part of a strong team can mean all the things that make you awesome are suddenly heightened. Like being a vampire.
Wearing clothes is a good thing. Every freelance website on earth tells you to treat your home job like a real office. Wake up early, get dressed, work at a desk not near your living space. I did not heed this advice. I worked from bed, got up at 10 a.m., and blogged until 2 a.m. Yeah, I personally didn’t have the willpower to work from home. Having an office job keeps you social, sane and hygienic.
Most bosses are better than you. I was a horrible boss. I worked myself to the bone, couldn’t teach myself the ways of the world and had zero tolerance for mistakes. My current bosses are understanding, flexible and patient mentors. I really lucked out with them as I’ve had some pretty crappy bosses in the past, but I do think we’re harder on ourselves than anyone else. When you work for someone you usually grow more as a person and employee.
This isn’t an attempt to convince you one path is better than the other, it’s simply meant to help you think through the benefits and drawbacks of working for yourself vs. working for someone else (and get the gears turning in your head about whether you can do both at once).
What has your work experience – whether getting out there on your own or as part of a company – taught you?
Marian Schembari is a blogger, traveler and all-around social media thug. She’s based in Auckland, New Zealand, hails from Connecticut and blogs at marianlibrarian.com.
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The post Why You Should Work Both for a Company and for Yourself appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2011/12/01/why-you-should-work-both-for-a-company-and-for-yourself/feed/ 7The post Don’t Let These Common Freelancing Problems Kick You in the Butt appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> Freelancing isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be. Whether you’re a part-timer or you’re devoted to it 100 percent, freelancing has its ups and downs.Don’t get me wrong, making your own money and being your own boss is exhilarating, but as with anything in life there will be moments when you want to throw in the towel.
There will inevitably be moments that will test your ability to stay on your freelancing path. This is especially true in the beginning of any freelancing career when everything seems like (and very well is) one giant learning process.
Freelancing doesn’t come with a manual because everyone’s situation is different. However, there are several resources to help when things get rough. Below you’ll find a list of common freelancing problems and some of the best advice I’ve picked up on my own freelancing journey.
There are a lot of people out there who will try and get away with paying you a dollar (maybe even less) for 500 words. Agreeing to these fees is an easy trap to fall into — especially when you first start freelancing — because you’ll be inclined to think that it’s standard. Unfortunately, freelancers of all kinds are also notoriously underpaid.
The advice for avoiding this situation? Stay away from these kinds of projects at all costs. There are much more effective ways to land better paying clients such as using social media and blogging.
This will unfortunately happen at some point in every freelancer’s career. Granted, sometimes life gets in the way and good hearted people simply forget to pay an invoice. When this happens a simple email usually does the trick.
However, sometimes there will be a client that pulls a disappearing act. This is particularly frustrating because you probably put a lot of time and effort into a project and now you’ve got an unpaid credit card bill sitting on your lap.
The solution? Always request a down payment. If a client gives you a hard time about this simply explain that it’s your policy. Hey, freelancers have to eat too!
When you start making your own schedule everyday you quickly learn that it’s much harder than it seems. If you work full time while freelancing on the side you quickly learn that there are only 24 hours in a day. The fact of the matter is that time management is a common problem among freelancers — a problem that the less disciplined allow to take control over their careers until they eventually quit.
There are a myriad of ways to manage your time. Different things work for different people. One of the best ways to avoid becoming overwhelmed is by only taking on what you can handle. You can also start prioritizing projects by level of importance and make manageable to-do lists to keep you on track throughout the day (the key word here being manageable).
Although freelancing has its frustrating moments, there are ways to cope and ensure that you continue on your freelance path. Don’t let these moments drag down your career. Instead, use them as a learning experience so you’ll know how to handle the situation if it ever comes up again.
Amanda Abella is a personnel administrator for a Miami-based employment agency and a freelance writer. She also runs Grad Meets World, a popular Gen Y blog where she discusses health, career, personal finance, entrepreneurship, and more.
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The post Don’t Let These Common Freelancing Problems Kick You in the Butt appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2011/11/23/don%e2%80%99t-let-these-common-freelancing-problems-kick-you-in-the-butt/feed/ 10The post New to Freelancing? Avoid These Mistakes appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> Freelancing seems easy: you take a skill you already have down pretty well and offer to use that skill for any client who comes along. You get paid for the hours you work and, if you need to adapt your freelancing schedule to an employer or a family, you just take on the work that you can manage.But right now, there are a lot of new freelancers out there, looking to fill gaps between jobs or even looking to permanently cut loose from the employment game. That means that if you’re just starting out, there’s less room for rookie mistakes than ever before. Even a little misstep can mean a client taking their business elsewhere.
Despite the warm fuzzies that you might get from watching Field of Dreams, Hollywood is pretty much the only place where building anything is enough to get people to come to you. Deciding you’re going to freelance just isn’t enough. You have to invest time — and a little money — in letting people know you’re available for work.
You do need to build ways for clients to find you, like a professional website. But you also need to get your name in front of prospective clients, through networking, writing guest posts for blogs or any other method that will get you the access you need.
The moment you hang up your freelancing shingle, you are (legally speaking) a business owner. That means you’re required to have any local business licenses your state or city might require of you — and you can be facing fines if you don’t have them. You’ll hear plenty of freelancers say that they never get caught for operating without a business license, but the simple truth is that you should do things right and avoid potential problems.
That includes tax issues: as a freelancer, you’ll owe just as much money to the IRS as you did when you worked for an employer. The difference is that you won’t have your taxes automatically withheld from your pay check. You have to make sure that you set aside money to cover your tax bill.
I know one freelancer who failed to do so for an entire year and then, when he got his tax bill, he couldn’t pay it. He maxed out his credit cards, took loans and generally spiraled downwards in his financial situation until he had to sell his house. That’s the absolute worst case scenario, but it should serve as a good reminder that, no matter how you earn your money, the IRS wants its share.
At the end of the day, the most important thing to remember is that you are a professional. It’s exceedingly rare that anyone will hire a freelancer for a project not associated with a business — the closest I can think of is maybe a website designer being asked to work on a personal blog or site — but most of the time, people hire you with the understanding that you’re going to help them earn more money.
That means that you have to be a professional: you have to be someone who a client can trust with their business and their money. Any other approach just isn’t going to get you much business. But if you can impress a client that you take your work seriously and that you’re incredibly responsible, you’re already ahead of the game.
Thursday Bram has been freelancing for more than eight years — the last four full-time. She’s the co-founder of EnhancedFreelance.com, a membership site for freelancers ready to up their game.
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The post New to Freelancing? Avoid These Mistakes appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2011/10/13/new-to-freelancing-avoid-these-mistakes/feed/ 11The post Are We Experiencing a Modern Industrial Revolution? #BrazenStuff 9.2.11 appeared first on Brazen Life.
]]> Hey Brazenites! We hope you’re looking forward to the long weekend. Here’s some weekend reading for you to enjoy:1. With so many people freelancing and adopting “new” types of jobs, are we experiencing the equivalent of a modern Industrial Revolution? Hat tip @lysscm
2. Vault ranks the top 50 consulting firms
3. Have you been freaking out about something? Learn how stress really affects you and what you can do about it
4. Our fabulous Brazen Life contributor Amanda Abella has a post on her blog with the 20 lessons she learned in one year of freelancing
5. Apparently there are some good jobs out there, you just need to know where to look
6. From Mashable: 5 social media tips for scoring your next job
7. Ever wondered which business schools are most entrepreneurial? Check out LinkedIn’s “Sequencing the Startup DNA” infographic
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