Know thyself. Trust your gut. To thine own self be true. These are likely phrases you’ve heard before. You’ve probably seen them on motivational posters, usually with a picture of a lone figure on a mountaintop contemplating customer acquisition strategies […]
As a freelance writer, there comes a point where you face a dilemna. Should you write on one narrow topic or should you be open to accept different offers and write on almost any possible topic? Both of these options […]
Tired of writing proposals that don’t get accepted or go unanswered? A common problem I hear is designers who spend a bunch of time and energy on a proposal, only for their prospect to reject it. Or, the prospect disappears […]
Michael O’Neal is one of the most well-known podcasters in the world of independent entrepreneurship. His show, The Solopreneur Hour reaches a massive audience and Michael himself has become one of the most well-known and highly respected hosts around. And it’s […]
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My father was self-employed. As a kid, I remember watching my mother struggle to keep track of all the receipts, invoices, and vendor payments my father had to pay every month to stay in business. She really needed an expense […]
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Whether we consciously realize it or not, the truth is that we creative-types have been blessed with skills that not everyone possesses — or, at least, that they don’t utilize. We are, in many ways, special. As such, our skills […]
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 […]
One of my earliest clients was a fashion design company in Los Angeles who asked me to create a print ad for use in one of the larger industry trade magazines. Excited to be creating a design with such a […]
Just give up. I get it. It doesn’t sound like this is an inspirational post about getting things done when I start out by telling you to pack it in, but it’s the truth. I don’t mean it in the […]
“Failure is just an interesting way of collecting more data.” It’s an interestingly optimistic way to look at life and at business and it’s a fantastic introduction to our most recent guest on the Freelance to Founder podcast, Brennan Dunn. Brennan […]
I think it’s every blogger’s wet dream: Get your posts on the first page of Google, get LOADS of traffic for free, and have all your business problems solved forever because so many people are seeing your work and loving […]
Local clients. If you are a big fish in a small pond and are making it work, good for you. But I see comments like these below from freelancers all the time: “People won’t pay top dollar where I live […]
Let’s not fool ourselves, inbound marketing is not a quick-and-easy 3-step job. In fact, it’s a process that requires constant attention, analysis and refinement. Maybe for that reason, those that are more likely to get involved in inbound marketing are […]
I spent eight months, from August 2016 to March 2017, developing my first ever e-course. The one that was going to end my time-for-money struggles forever, give me more passive income than I could ever dream of, and make me […]
It happened to me today. I was talking to a client who didn’t understand the difference between “design” and “layout.” Sigh. In fact, I don’t think a day goes by without a client asking what we in the creative industry […]
I want to share a few of the common money and pricing mistakes freelancers do that can sabotage their earning potential. These were things I was doing in my design business and didn’t even realize it. I’m going to show […]
Managing a team of employees is something everyone needs to be good at, but since the working world is changing, you need to learn how to deal with remote teams of freelancers effectively. Transition from an employee driven workplace to […]
Are you a newish freelancer who’s been told that you have to “get out there and promote your business” in ways that require you to talk to strangers? Well today, I’m going to save you from a world of discomfort, […]
Let me ask you a question: if you needed surgery would you seek out the best specialist you could afford, or would you go with the nearest general practitioner? Me too! And your ideal clients are no different. During my […]
Just for the fun of it, type in “accounting software” into your favorite search engine and see what appears. When I Googled it, I found a list of apps, ads and reviews of the top online accounting software programs. Figuring […]
Thinking of becoming a freelance transcriber? After all, how hard can it be right? Download an audio file. Listen to it on the go. Settle down and type out what you hear in a word processor. Simple right? Well, not […]
Clients come, and clients go. But as a freelancer running a creative business as your livelihood, you can’t afford the income to go. That has to keep coming. To ensure that it does, you have to continuously build (and rebuild) […]
As someone who started out her life as a confirmed introvert, I can relate to anyone else’s fear of networking. Walking into spaces full of strangers, I could tell which ones were the power players I needed to connect with. Problem […]
We all make mistakes. And, if you are a creative freelancer and own a creative business, you have made — and will continue to make — a ton of them on projects for your clients. That’s a given. The variable is […]
Breaking up is the hardest thing to do—especially when you’re a freelancer. But, sometimes, you just need to do it. The reasons, of course, vary depending on exactly why you decided to become a freelancer in the first place. For […]
You perform a service. Then you get paid. That’s the definition of business in a nutshell. But what if your clients take their sweet time when it comes to compensating you? You need cash now. But in this case, your […]
Whether you fear to spend your life doing a job that you have no passion for or you have been in the workforce for a while and are entering a mid-life crisis, it is common to consider a career change. […]
The way you present your work can be the difference between getting your client’s approval and going back to the drawing board over and over again during the project, while both you and your client get frustrated. Below are a […]
As a designer, do you struggle with understanding your client’s requirements? More often than not, making sense of the client’s demands and requests can be quite a daunting task. Here’s a scenario that’s quite common with designers and their clients. […]
From Fortune 500 companies and failed startups to building a successful business on their terms, episode 8 of Freelance to Founder introduces you to Corbett Barr and Chase Reeves of Fizzle.co. To discover the mindset of a successful online business […]
There are more than 50 million freelancers in the United States contributing over $700 billion to the economy. But despite freelancers’ growing ranks and influence, about 70% of them have reported being paid late or not being paid at all. […]
With the growth in the gig economy, you have more and more people deciding to leave their regular 9-to-5 to become freelancers. However, for many people, this can be quite a transition, as freelancing comes with its own ups and […]
You’ve witnessed numerous tricks people use to look smart in a meeting. Sarah Cooper wrote a book about it. The hilarious “100 Ideas to Look Smart in Meetings” hit bookstores in October 2016 and is still on the bestseller list. […]
Phil Gerbyshak grew up in a town of 896 people in northern Wisconsin. He thought he was going to go on to be a professional baseball player, but a car accident while still in high school quickly changed Phil’s plans. […]
Five years ago, I discovered I can make money with my writing. I was off to a promising start, having been hired as a regular writer for a popular tech blog. That gig ended abruptly and I was left without […]
A typical work process for a freelancer is quite simple. The client finds you, a rate is mutually agreed, you complete the service and hand over the bill. But what if you take a break, and decide to go on […]
One of the scariest parts of freelancing for me is dealing with money. I consider myself an artist, and don’t want to be bothered with things like finances and taxes. But in order to be successful as a freelancer, I […]
July marks 6 months from switching from my 9-5 office job into a full-time freelance life. In the past 6 months there have been mountain highs, valley lows, and everything in-between. If you want to learn more about first-hand experience […]
Becca Courtice wasn’t always a creative. In her early life, she was a sports nut and after university she became a project manager. What does she do now? She’s a highly-successful, full-time calligraphy instructor. Episode 5 of Freelance to Founder […]
Ever notice how Amazon packages routinely come earlier than expected? They’ll tell you the package will arrive on or by the 27th, and when the package shows up on the 23rd, you are pleasantly surprised. Amazon sets themselves up to […]
If you’re considering a career in graphic design, you’re probably wondering whether getting a degree is a good investment of your time and money. Graphic design degrees are generally graduate and post graduate degrees which are awarded by schools in […]
When you have your side hustle ready to go and you’ve got a plan, there are still some practicalities that have to be dealt with…like your boss. You’ll need to carefully navigate your employment contracts, decide how to tell your […]
I don’t think I took what is the normal path to starting an agency. Six years ago I was pretty happy managing a small computer shop. I had zero children. I was training to run a half marathon. Life was generally […]
Caleb Wojcik wanted nothing to do with the entrepreneurial world. Caleb grew up knowing what it took to be an entrepreneur. His mother worked in a hospital, but his father made his living as an entrepreneur. For Caleb, the life […]
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