Muhammad Saleem is a social media consultant and a top-ranked community member on multiple social news sites.

This post is part 2 of 10 in our groundbreaking series on how freelancers can use social media and the principles of simplicity to build their business.

Day 2 – The Second Law of Simplicity: Organize

Organization makes a system of many appear fewer.

Because there are so many different things you can do on social media, and because there are so many new sites launching daily, it is easy to get overwhelmed. Of course you can decide not to participate at all, but where’s the fun in that? You’d be surprised how far a little organization can take you in terms of simplifying your social media life and enabling you to better use all the tools at your disposal. Continue Reading

Image by patty_colmer.

Looking to make some more money, I checked out a bunch of the more popular freelance bidding sites a few weeks back and subscribed to the RSS feeds to see who was looking for a writer.

Now, I’ve known a few designers and coders who’ve found work through these sites but for me, I haven’t even seen a single project I wanted to bid on, let alone gotten any work.

It’s not that none of the work seemed interesting. The problem is that the majority of the postings I read were flat out horrifying!

One example:

I need someone to write 100 articles for a web site. I can only afford to pay $1 per article but this may lead to more work later. Also, all articles you submit will be checked through Copyscape.

I’m not sure I even need to say anything about the rate being offered, but “may lead to more work later”? Continue Reading

Muhammad Saleem is a social media consultant and a top-ranked community member on multiple social news sites.

This post is part 1 of 10 in our groundbreaking series on how freelancers can use social media and the principles of simplicity to build their business.

We as human beings are always striving for efficiency. However, the harder we try, we somehow manage to complicate things for ourselves.

Just as we’re getting a foothold in the offline world, we have to compete in the online world.

Just as we think we have a fair presence, we’re rudely awakened by newer technologies that help new entrants propel themselves forward faster than we imagine.

Making changes and embracing new ideas and technologies can be difficult. Especially considering the prevailing notion that once you get sucked into the world of new media (i.e. the social web or web 2.0) that it will consume you and all your time and that there will be no turning back.

The idea behind this 10-part series is very simple. First, we want to disprove the notion that it’s either your business or the new web by providing a set of “tricks” that help you separate the signal from the noise and integrate useful technologies in your daily workflow. The tools that various social media sites provide us are revolutionizing how we conduct our business and our relationships online, and there is no reason that anyone should be left out. Continue Reading

Muhammad Saleem, author of our upcoming
'Social Media and Simplicity' series.

In the next few hours we’ll be publishing part 1 in a revolutionary 10 part series authored by one of the web’s most influential figures, Muhammed Saleem. Muhammad is a freelancer, social media power user (which includes being the #2 ranked user on Digg.com), social media consultant at the esteemed Pronet Advertising and someone with an unsurpassed knowledge of social media and web 2.0.

If you’ve ever wondered about how you can use the web’s newest communities to promote and grow your freelancing business, this ‘Social Media and Simplicity’ series will serve as a definitive guide.

Posts in the series will be published every second day, to provide a healthy balance between the type of FSw content you know and love and this cutting-edge guide.

We’re excited to bring this series to you. For your convenience, you’ll be able to navigate through the entire series from this post as new installments are published.

Part 1: Reduce
Part 2: Organize
Part 3: Time
Part 4: Learn

Danny Wen at Harvest, a popular time-tracking tool for freelancers, has offered a $10 discount on subscriptions to the service and its new integrated invoicing tool — for Freelance Switchers only. The code FSHARVESTSPRING08 will take $10 off the first month for anyone who upgrades to a paying plan, which should prove a nifty saving for anyone who was considering making the switch.

Creative Briefing is a new-ish blog producing some very fine content for the self-employed: 13 ways to liven up your work-at-home routine and 10 things you can learn from Gordon Ramsay about running a business are standouts.

For those of us who like to save pennies on every aspect of our business (it all counts!), Lifehacker has a DIY guide to printing your own business cards.

Our very own Samuel Ryan recommends that every freelancer set guidelines for turning down work.

On a productivity tip, Geekpreneur shares 42 ways to meet your deadlines and make your goals.

Kick-butt freelance designer Edwin Toffslie shares tips on how a designer’s resume/CV layout can help score them a job. This guide also comes with some very slick templates you can use.

Freelance Finance is a new blog covering personal finance for freelancers, and they’re responsible for this highly practical guide: 10 ways freelancers can save money on cell phones.

Graphic designers ahoy! Michael Huggins shares his top six tips on how to get the most money out of your design projects.

Super-freelancer Jon Phillips prepares us for anywhere freelancing by telling us what to do before you take your business on the road.

If you’re looking for some new reading/procrastination material, Bootstrapper has amassed a list of the top 100 freelancing blogs. It’s no surprise that most of the blogs fall into the ‘useful for freelancers’ rather than for freelancers category, but there are a few worthwhile finds here.

Image by frozenchipmunk.

A friend dropped me an email about a new site he was launching, StudentFreelance.com, and it got me thinking about my own freelancing experiences in college…

For my money, students comprise one of the most overlooked and underutilized freelance communities. Even though tons and tons of students are learning extremely valuable (and marketable skills) on a daily basis, we seldom think about college students as potential freelancers, particularly when it’s time to fill the next freelance gig.

Back in my own college days, when I wasn’t hitting the books or drinking eggplant juice (my older brother somehow convinced me it would help with hangovers – it turned out he was just messing with me), I was fortunate enough to freelance on a fairly consistent basis. While my java pressing compatriots earned their beer money concocting frappacinos at Starbuck’s, I was discovering amazing synergies between my studies and my work. Like the time I was able to use a class on VRML to impress a client who only wanted a “3D-looking” kiosk menu programmed in Director, with a real immerse/interactive 3-D world! (For those not fluent in “tech,” allow me to translate: I did something pretty awesome.) Not only was it rewarding for me to apply skills from the classroom to the real world, but I feel pretty confident that I was providing my clients with high-quality services.

Certainly, some old and grumpy types might stereotype college kids as too young to understand the responsibilities that come hand-in-hand with freelancing. (These are probably the same types that don’t appreciate re-runs of Seinfeld or a good “yo mamma” joke.) But for those of us with even a little bit of open-mindedness, college kids represent an incredibly useful, and underutilized, talent pool. Continue Reading

Rates Calculator

Use our simple calculator to help put together an hourly rate for your freelance work to break-even and to achieve the level of profit you’re after. You may also wish to read through these Nine Factors to Consider When Determining Your Hourly Rate

Client Analyser

Enter clients and details about them to have the client analyser use the 80/20 or Pareto principle to let you compare and contrast their benefits and drawbacks.

The Global Freelancer Survey

We surveyed 3700 freelancers and compiled the data into a stunning report that uncovers buckets of interesting data. From how much freelancers earn, to how happy they are, the global freelancer survey has enough numbers and analysis to be well worth the small fee for its download.

Guide to Passive Income

Getting paid by the hour is pretty neat, but it’s even better when you have income that comes in when you’re taking time off too! Freelancers are uniquely positioned to be able to spend time creating sources of passive income while still getting their main money earning work done. Visit our Not-By-The-Hour subsite to learn about passive income and find useful sites for doing so.

Search through the FreelanceSwitch archives below, or pay a visit to our Explore FreelanceSwitch page to see some categorized editor’s picks.

Getting Started as a Freelancer

Whether you’re in the process of setting up your freelancing business or are still weighing up your options, these articles will help you take the first steps in freelancing.

A Comprehensive Guide to Starting Your Freelance Career
This is the article that started it all. Before we even thought about launching FreelanceSwitch, Collis wrote an article about what he’d learned during his freelancing career. This article will give you the basics of branding your freelancing business, finding work, quoting and estimating, getting paid, and client liaison. If you’re right at the start of your freelancing journey then start with this article!

On the Side or All the Way?
A big decision for would-be freelancers is whether to pack their job in or begin by freelancing on the side. This article offers the pros and cons so you can make a more informed choice.

Freelancing 101 – The Basics
In this article, Mathias, German developer extraordinaire discusses what he sees as the most important issues for a new freelancer. In this article he covers issues with finances, working environment, holidays, your portfolio and the fear you’ll doubtless feel when you first go out on your own.

Naming Your Freelancing Business – To Personalize or Not? (With a Poll)

One of the fun things all new freelancers get to do is to come up with a name for their business. In this article, you can find out whether personalizing your business name (eg. John Smith Design Agency) is right for you.

Pricing Yourself

Pricing your services correctly is so important to any freelancer – it can be the difference between staying in business and going bust. Below are a few handy resources to help you charge what you’re worth.

The FreelanceSwitch Rates Calculator
This very handy tool will help you figure out how much you should be charging per hour.

Nine Factors to Consider When Determining Your Price
Figuring out how much you should charge isn’t just about the numbers. In this article you will learn the other issues you must consider when determining your price.

Hourly vs. Fixed Pricing
Should you charge by the hour or by the job? Mathias sheds some light on the issue in this article.

The Price Is Right
A practical guide to making both you and your client happy with your rates.

Figuring Out How Much To Charge
Here you can get a short insight into how Collis quotes a web design job.

Finding Jobs

Finding work when times are quiet is a challenge for any freelancer. Happily, here at FSw we have just what you need!

The Monster List of Freelancing Job Sites
At last count this list had over 80 job boards for you to check out to nab a brand new job.

101 Ideas to Get More Freelance Work and Generate New Client Leads
Here are 101 great ideas to help you get some new client leads! The great thing about this list is that you can pick out the options which suit you and go for it. Many of them are free, and lots of them will take less than an hour or two to do.

How to Get More Referrals
Most often the best new clients will come from referrals. In this article Cyan discusses what you can do to encourage more referral leads.

How NOT to Apply for a Freelance Position
If you’re not having any luck responding to job ads, then you may need to work on how you’re doing it. This article gives some tough-love guidance to those of us searching for work online but perhaps not having much success. This article also has some practical tips for designers looking for new work.

The Dos And Don’ts Of Selling To Clients
Tim Wall gives some great tips on what to do (and not do) to tell your services to potential clients. Check this out if you know you need to refine your pitch.

10 Essential Steps to Making the Perfect Pitch
This article is geared primarily to writers, but these tips are applicable to all freelancers. This article will go further to help you sell yourself and your work.

Dealing with Clients

Successful client liaison is the difference between more work and no work. One happy client can lead to dozens of new jobs and a prospering business. However, some clients aren’t that easy to work with. Below are some articles to guide you through what can be a minefield of client relations.

12 Breeds of Client and How to Work with Them
This is one of our most popular articles ever. It is not only very funny, but also has some good tips for dealing with common types of clients.

Pitching and the Decision-Making Styles of Clients
This is a short article, but has some interesting insights into how clients think, based on recent scientific research.

The Ultimate Design Brief
This great article by Shaun is a step-by-step guide to creating a thorough design brief.

An Ounce of Professionalism
Being professional goes a long way to impressing client. In this article Steve discusses the importance of professionalism to freelancers when dealing with clients.

Day-Day Productivity

We all want to be more productive. Getting home an hour earlier or making more money per week are dependent on us being productive – and without a boss keeping an eye on us we need some tricks to keep us away from the tv and at our desk!

10 Ways to Eliminate Distractions
Distractions are rampant for any freelancer, and they are the enemy of flow and efficiency. Happily our productivity guru, Leo, has lots of ways to keep you on the straight and narrow.

How to Work in Bursts to Get More Done
We all have projects we just wish would go away. This article will help you accomplish them quickly and easily, so you can move on to something a little bit more fun.

10 Ways to Make Laziness Work for You
Sounds too good to be true? Well, these tips actually make sense, so if you’re a lazy one (aren’t we all?) then read this article!

20 Time and Energy Drains You Can Eliminate
Do you while away your working hours by accomplishing practically nothing? Well then this article is for you.

A Guide to Simple Project Management
Even the simplest of jobs require project management. This article will help you stay on top of your projects and keep your clients happy.

14 Essential Tips for Meeting a Deadline
If you’ve been chucking a lot of all-nighters recently then this is the article for you. With a few simple habits you can keep your deadlines under control and meet them effortlessly. (Clients everywhere breath a sigh of relief!)

The Lighter Side

Okay, so you’re bored and you don’t want to work any more. You want to be entertained! If that’s you, then here are some articles to take your mind off your worries…

Top Ten Signs You May Be Charging Too Little
This is another of our most popular articles of all time. If you’ve been told you could charge more, check out this article and see where you stack up.

Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Quit Your Job Today and Become a Freelancer
A good one if you need some convincing to take the plunge into freelancing, or just want to remember why freelancing is so awesome.

15 Web Addresses for Wasting Time … View At Your Own Risk!
Here are some of our favourite places to slack off when we just can’t face another client revision.

More Surefire Ways To Get Yourself Fired By The Readers Of FSw
We ran a little competition and discovered FSw readers were a pretty funny group of people. If you want to get yourself fired in the most outrageous and offensive way possible, then check these suggestions out.

Notice: Due to overwhelming numbers of articles, we are not currently looking for contributions on the site for a while, as we go through the backlog of great stuff! Thanks so much for your interest, we appreciate your time!

On this page you can download free FreelanceSwitch wallpapers to remind you of us while you’re away. Use them to spice up your desktop – unless of course you’re still working full-time, in which case they may get you into trouble!

If you’re a creative type and want to create a FreelanceSwitch wallpaper, then Upload your wallpaper here. If we like it we’ll add it to the collection with a link to your website.

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