It’s January, which means everyone’s going crazy about setting goals for the year. Whether you’re clipping along nicely with your goals or still trying to figure out exactly what you want to do in 2019, there’s something you must know: […]
As a designer, your graphic design invoice can say a lot about you and your business. Not to mention, your graphic design invoice can impact when and how you get paid as a freelancer or creative. So today, we’ve compiled […]
Finding or making the right freelance invoice template isn’t always easy. And finding one that simplifies your freelance process instead making it more difficult further complicates the whole process. Having worked with freelancers for over 10 years, we’ve decided to […]
Writing a one page business plan (instead of a hundred-page, in-depth business plan no one will ever read) has become a popular and efficient way to get your small business moving in the right direction. This article is meant to […]
You’re a photographer. Which means creating a photography invoice definitely isn’t something you learned in school like your designer or accountant friends. And yet, sending a photography invoice to your clients remains a daily or weekly requirement for photographers. But […]
You’ve probably seen them around already—the shiny new(ish) .design domains. Maybe you saw one on a fellow designer’s business card or even being used by the departments of industry leaders, like facebook.design. Either way, there’s no denying it: a .design domain name is super sexy. […]
No one ever said starting a side-hustle was going to be easy. In fact, building a business on the side of your 9-5 day job brings with it a unique set of challenges. That’s not to say it’s not worth the […]
Today’s podcast episode will gear you up with the top tools for growing a successful side-business. Side-businesses are unique. You have limited time during the day (sneaking in a quick phone call on your lunch break, anyone?) and you have a […]
If you think the first steps to starting your side-business include building a website, printing business cards, or getting a shiny new logo, we’ve got news for you—you’re dead wrong. We explain why in our most recent episode of our […]
We’re excited to announce an all-new season of our popular podcast, Sidegig. Preston here and I’m back with my co-hosts, Ryan and Ian who you got to know a bit better in season 1. This season, we’re diving even deeper […]
Today’s episode of Freelance to Founder is probably one of our most controversial stories thus far. But it also happens to be one of my favorite. Why so controversial? Because it tells the story of Russ Perry who founded a company […]
As a freelancer or solopreneur, you’re in a tight spot legally. You probably wish sometimes that you could work closely with a lawyer to draft or review your client contracts. I mean, nothing puts a creative mind to sleep faster than reading […]
Here’s a tough truth about freelancing: no one tells you how much of your time you’ll be spending on project management. Lucky for you, there is a huge selection of tools for freelancers at your fingertips. The upside? There are tons of […]
Tom Ross used to be a design blogger getting hundreds of thousands of views every month. But he quickly realized almost none of those visitors really cared about him, his brand, or his business. They weren’t engaging with his brand—and […]
When I first started freelancing, I looked everywhere for a freelance invoice app to help me streamline my online business. See, I used to have this invoice template built in InDesign and stored somewhere safe on my computer. Every time […]
When Courtland Allen was an 8-year-old tinkering with computers and teaching adults around him how the machines worked, he probably never imagined that many years later he would build a small company that would eventually be acquired y tech giant, Stripe. […]
When Nathan Barry dropped out of college a few years ago, he never dreamed he’d soon be running a company that generates over $800,000 every month in recurring revenue. But that’s exactly what has happened with Nathan’s Saas company ConvertKit. […]
Just a few years ago, Michelle Schroeder-Gardner was a recently graduated financial analyst with loads of student debt. Now her blog, Making Sense of Cents, is a seven-figure operation. For the last few months, she and her husband have really upped […]
Today, I’m excited to announce that we are officially one week away from launching season 2 of our first-ever podcast, Freelance to Founder. Last season, we brought you some incredible stories of freelancers and solopreneurs who scaled their businesses to be […]
Quitting your day job cold-turkey and starting your own business is way more risk than I think anyone should take. There’s a learning curve to running a business. It takes time, patience, and a lot of hard work. (PS: don’t […]
CJ Burton is a photographer and illustrator who went from being a starving artists just out of college to now working with companies like Oprah, the Wall Street Journal, Politico, and many more. He has been around photography his whole […]
Adrienne Thakur was born and raised in Kentucky by entrepreneurial parents who owned and ran an antique store. Which meant she was exposed to a wide variety of unique artifacts from around the world. This exposure planted a deep desire […]
When entrepreneur Bianca Board was young, she used to join her mum every morning on a paper run. She’d sit in the back of a little jeep, driving around the mountains, delivering papers. As she got older, her nana taught […]
Nate was the only boy in a family of all girls. Which meant he had a chance to spend lots of time with his dad, who worked at home. Greg, Nate’s dad, worked at home from the time his children […]
Courtney Brown has always been a hard worker. At her very first job, she worked at little girls’ birthday parties where she learned from her boss, a female entrepreneur, that anything was possible with determination and hard work. But Courtney […]
After a long wait, season 1 of our first-ever podcast, Freelance to Founder is finally here. You can listen to all 8 episodes of season 1 here or by searching “Freelance to Founder” in iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts. Season one tells […]
Today, I’m happy to announce that Millo is launching two all-new podcasts for freelancers and solopreneurs. Here’s everything you might want to know about the new shows: First, the shows are called Freelance to Founder and Sidegig. Our mission here at Millo […]
One of my favorite entrepreneurial quotes goes something like this: Just because you hate your job, it doesn’t make you an entrepreneur. I love it because it keeps antsy freelancers or solopreneurs grounded in reality. In my mind, the best […]
Automation. It’s such a sexy word. I mean, who doesn’t want the most time-consuming, annoying pieces of their business to run on auto-pilot? A few years ago, when I first read Tim Ferris’ landmark business book The Four Hour Workweek, […]
I’ve been running my own business long enough to know that absolutely no one gets into business because they love invoicing. And since it can be such a pain, it’s easy for us to overlook invoicing or pay very little attention to […]
It’s a pretty common phrase around the freelancing world—“charge what you’re worth.” But I think it’s doing more harm than good. In fact, I think it could be completely killing or holding back some freelancers. I know you mean well. […]
Ian Barnard is over-the-top talented. Which is one of the primary reasons his handlettering instagram account recently surpassed 120,000 followers. His account, which explores the diverse possibilities of hand-lettering, started not long ago when he first got into calligraphy and […]
Stop beating yourself up over little things. Realize that you’re good enough. And acknowledge that your work is worth paying for. These are just a few of the key mind-shifts you’ll need to have if you’re truly going to thrive […]
A few weeks ago, this conversation blew up in the Millo Mastermind group. I can understand the frustration behind watching computer-generated designs get a bunch of attention on big tech websites like The Next Web. At first reaction, it’s easy […]
Running a business is not for the faint of heart. Especially a business that relies so much on repeat orders, finding new customers, and high-ticket sales. If you’re a freelancer or an aspiring agency you know what I’m talking about. […]
This article contains a list of common mistakes that freelancers make. If you enjoy this article you may also want to read “10 Steps to becoming a successful freelancer” and “22 logo design mistakes you might be guilty of“. Here […]
Earlier this month in the Millo Mastermind facebook group, Lisa had a question that we come across all the time here at Millo. “Can I include in-house work in my portfolio?” Here’s exactly how she put it: I’ve been a […]
You know in cartoons or movies when the main character is trying to make a decision and there’s a little angel and devil perched on their shoulder taunting or encouraging them in either direction? That’s your life as a creative […]
I love a lot of things about startup culture. I love that more people than ever are giving entrepreneurship a real shot. I love that people are building businesses every day that solve major problems and make the world a […]
It’s been a big year for us here at Millo (especially since less than a year ago Millo didn’t exist. We changed our name from Graphic Design Blender. Read about the rebrand here.) And with each year, I try to look […]
Recently, we redesigned the Millo logo with the help of Dina Rodriquez at Letter Shoppe. (Stay tuned for the final logo reveal + lots of cool swag by subscribing to our email newsletter.) Getting our logo redesigned put me in […]
It’s been less than 6 months since Graphic Design Blender became Millo.co. You can read all about our rebranding process in this post: “Why we rebranded: answers to your 6 most common questions” Today, I’m excited to announce that we’re […]
You’re sabotaging your business. How do I know? Because we all do it to some extent. And while it’s not always 100% evil to leave money on the table or not grow to zillions of dollars in revenue, it’s important […]
So you’ve got a new business idea, huh? You can’t stop thinking about it. It occupies your thoughts all day long. And admit it, you probably already have a logo mocked up for it. I’ve been there. And you’re in […]
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