The single most important aspect of growing your business is creating happy clients. But creating lasting client relationships can be difficult, especially as a freelancer. The single most important aspect of growing your business is creating happy clients. #FreelanceLife Click […]
“Do you offer a new client discount?” “I’d love to work with you. If you can do my project for $X, I’ll start today.” As a creative, you’ve probably heard something like this (or worse) all too often. It’s stressful. […]
When asked, a lot of successful entrepreneurs respond with, “well, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.” Or, “I stumbled upon the opportunity and took it.” For the rest of us, this can be […]
Here at Millo we talk a lot about clients: How to find new clients How to find the right clients for your business How to keep your best clients for life Today I’d like to talk about the last one. […]
Your design business will DIE without solid goals, because without a goal in mind, you have no basis for where to begin or what path to take. So when I first started freelancing, I purchased Preston’s ebook, From Passion to […]
It’s the holidays, and holidays are supposed to be full of family and joy and laughter and putting aside work for the “things that matter.” And I totally, 100% advocate for this. But at the same time, you’re an entrepreneur, […]
It’s the holiday season and you’re probably already feeling super-strapped for cash. However, now’s one of the best times of year to make business purchases. The end of the year is one of the best times to make business purchases. […]
No matter how careful you are, if you’re in business long enough, you’re going to screw up. Bad. (Not the “my bad, I sent over the wrong revision.” The big “we just printed 3000 brochures with the client name misspelled.”) […]
Chances are, whether you’re building a site for yourself or your client, you’re planning to build it with responsive integration. And with good reason: Google includes this as a search relevance parameter. Over 50% of worldwide mobile phone users access […]
As content manager here at Millo, I see a lot of writing. I help guest authors improve their writing to the Millo standard. I work with regular authors on bettering their existing style. And I read a lot of advice […]
So you’re headed to a client presentation and you want something that’ll put you a cut above the rest. Not just a nice outfit you know you look good in (although that doesn’t hurt), but something: Unique Memorable Professional Creative […]
Recently, Alex talked about how important it is not to overwhelm yourself as an entrepreneur. (Did you miss it? Read “This one mistake can derail your business. Are you guilty of it?“) And he’s right! We often put ourselves in […]
If you’ve freelanced worked for any amount of time, you know that almost everyone wants their project done yesterday. As so far, that’s impossible, most will settle for “in the near future.” Some are even willing to pay more to […]
For me as a creative entrepreneur, picking the right app can be a daunting task. First of all, I’m only one person who’s already wearing 15 different hats, so carving out time to look for productivity software is difficult for me. […]
Here at Millo we’re always promoting creating a business (and career) you love. This typically involves building a business from the ground up and being your own boss. And without a doubt, being an entrepreneur is a fantastic job. I […]
Logo design (or redesign) is hard work. With a website, or a brochure, or almost any other marketing piece, you’ve got a branding guide to start from. Something that’s already established as a basis for the design. But not when […]
Do you read those tantalizing stories about other creatives working remotely while traveling the world and wonder if it’s right for you? Or are you hoping to sneak in a family vacation and you’re on the fence about whether or […]
It’s a conundrum many of us creative entrepreneurs face: do I list pricing (or typical pricing) on my website or not? Some entrepreneurs swear by it; others refuse…and both make valid arguments. So what’s the “right” answer? And is there […]
Maybe you’re still only dreaming about starting your own graphic design business. Or perhaps you’re doing a few side-jobs in your free time hoping to start a graphic design business full-time. Maybe you’ve just started your graphic design business but […]
Being a solopreneur is a lot of fun. You almost always get to make your own schedule, wear whatever you want, reject projects that aren’t a good fit, not drive during rush hour…it’s an all-around pretty amazing job. Except when […]
Naming your business is probably the single most challenging task in creating a business – and career – you love. Despite an internet overflowing with business naming advice and a wealth of creative ability, most of us creative entrepreneurs (myself […]
Negotiations always give me the jitters. Am I proposing a fair deal? Am I about to get swindled? Should I look elsewhere? Am I going to lose this project? Is this client going to be more stress than they’re worth? […]
Do you have that one client (okay, maybe three?!) that’s habitually totally unorganized and needing something big last week? The one that asks for an entire PowerPoint presentation for tomorrow’s 8am meeting? (Just 20 slides, I swear! 85 slides later…) […]
Y’know that guy – one of your peers who always seems to get the very best clients? He who: Never has a problem with late payments. Doesn’t have to haggle pricing on rush projects. Makes handling a client misunderstanding sound […]
Pricing is super-hard. You’re thrilled that someone wants to hire you, and then you obsess over creating a proposal. And before you even get to the panicky part about what the client will think about the final numbers, you have […]
Deciding to jump into freelancing is an awesome, scary, exciting rush of emotions. Unless you have money set aside, you’re probably still working your “regular” job until things really take off, but you’re ready… …all except for one thing: you […]
Fellow WordPress designers and developers: Doesn’t it just make your day (week) when you find the handiest new plugin?* Something vetted by someone who has used it before. Something that wraps up a handful of hacked-together plugins into one sweet […]
As a print designer, you know that often your clients are going to need web design. But is it worth it to go through the hassle of learning WordPress (and the basics of web design)? Or should you simply partner with […]
Ever have one of those days (weeks?) where you just can’t seem to get yourself motivated? And I mean REALLY unmotivated, like nothing — not even dusting to avoid work — can tear you away from putting off life in […]
As I mentioned before in this post, recently I interviewed 9 amazing veteran freelancers, each on a different challenging topic they have personal experience excelling in. From hiring employees to overcoming self-doubt, here are bits of the wonderful information four […]
Do you feel like you’re always working but not terribly productive? Have you ever felt like an unorganized baboon making up an excuse to reschedule yet another obligation that you accidentally double-booked? Does your brain feel cluttered? When you’re really […]
Have you ever struggled to write a contract for ongoing work? You’re not alone. One Millo reader commented: Love the article you posted today about freelance with a contract. I’m curious, I can’t seem to find much out there for inspiration […]
Think of someone you really admire as a freelancer. Have you ever wished you could just contact them out of the blue and ask permission to question them for 20 minutes on a specific topic they’re really knowledgeable in? Last […]
As freelancers, it’s easy for us to forget what it’s like to work with other people. After all, we did go solo, and often because we grew sick of being stuck in an office with a bunch of yahoos. Luckily […]
Whether you’re a new freelancer, a freelancer-to-be, or a freelancer with a few (okay, a lot of) years under your belt, one of the most efficient ways to learn is from mistakes…preferably some someone else’s. But that’s not always easy […]
So you’re midway through a potential client consultation when your gut starts telling you this client isn’t for you. Maybe your personalities just aren’t clicking or maybe they sound like a bad design client. (Here’s a handy list of warning […]
If you’ve ever experienced the “joy” of moving* (especially if you’ve accumulated furniture), you know that not only are you learning the ropes in a new community personally, but as a business, nobody knows you. Nobody knows that you volunteered […]
There are probably some things you do to say “thank you” to all of your clients: send them holiday greetings, thank them for their business, and maybe even provide a small referral discount. But what about those clients that are […]
If I asked the Millo community which clients they’d most prefer to have, I’m guessing 99% of you would say, “the ones that pay.” (Or some derivative of that.) Am I right? However, just because a client pays well and pays […]
Here at Millo we talk a lot about how to convince your design clients to hire you again (and again and again and again). We’ve talked about upselling your next design project and when the right time is to ask […]
Have you ever had a client ask you to do something outside of your realm of expertise? Maybe they want some extensive customization to their WordPress theme. Or a fillable PDF form that calculates based on user input. Or some […]
Can you believe it’s already December? If you’re like me, you’re scrambling to put together something for your best clients in time for the holidays. But what to do? And how can you afford it – December generally being a […]
Have you ever been asked to critique a fellow designer’s project that needs more than a little bit of work? You don’t want to come off as snooty or rude and you certainly don’t want to hurt their feelings, but […]
Deciding to tackle a project you’ve never done before takes guts. It’s exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. Can you do it? Is this going to be a total disaster? Are you going to absolutely rock it? Once you […]
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