Are You Worried About the Future of Freelancing?
Credit: Sharon Mollerus on Flickr
Lately, I feel like I’ve gotten a lot of questions about the future of freelancing.
I’ve been a freelancer writer for thirty years and I just can’t get the same rates that I used to — where’s the future in freelancing?
Are these awful bid sites really the future of freelancing?
There seems to be new freelancers every day. Is more competition the future of freelancing?
While I’m not a psychic or a soothsayer, I can see the future of freelancing. That’s because the future of freelancing doesn’t change — it is what we make it.
5 Music Tips for Building a Core Repertoire
Credit: Zvone Lavric on sxc.hu
Continuing with the theme of time efficiency in practice sessions, in this post we look at the best ways of tackling new repertoire.
If you’re following a balanced musical diet in the percentages that I suggested last month i.e., warm up, scales and arpeggios, study and pieces, it might be that you only have a half hour a day available to prepare for performance, auditions and competitions.
While it may seem a tall order, particularly when it comes to learning new works, success can be yours providing you maintain consistency in your sessions. Little and often is always far more efficient than blocks of several hours a couple of times a week.
Look on repertoire practice as the musician’s apple pie and cream reward for eating the meat and vegetables, rather than the centerpiece of the meal!
Freelance Confidential – Review
From expert advice by members of the freelance community to hard cold numbers on what’s happening on the freelance scene from around the globe, Freelance Confidential tells all.
FreelanceSwitch editor Amanda Hackwith uncovers the facts and myths about freelancing and reveals some of the numbers and tips that keep freelancers on the top of their game.
The book is available from Rockable Press in eBook format for $29 and paperback for $34.99 from Amazon.
Top Freelance Jobs from Job Board – Week 4, March
Looking for a new client? The FreelanceSwitch job board is a great resource of freelance gigs and opportunities. These opportunities are in various fields, from development to writing to design, and come from a wide range of potential clients. The job board is hand-moderated by dedicated staff and volunteers from the freelance community.
Each week, we’ll feature a selection of the best job opportunities posted for the week. This week, we’re featuring jobs in freelance project management, art direction, development, and more!
To apply for any of these jobs, simply pick up a FreelanceSwitch membership for an affordable $7 a month. See something you like? Join now!
Linkswitch #61: Presentations, Balanced Life, Too Much Work
22 Tips: Designing an Effective Slide Deck Presentation
Every once in awhile an opportunity arises for freelancers to present their work or expertise to peers and prospective clients. Agreeing to take part is at best a fantastic chance to network, a way to exchange ideas and insights or to pick up contacts that will give you work. At worst, it is a terrifying and overwhelming commitment.
The Pros and Cons of Art-Directed Blogs
Art-directed blogs (sometimes also referred to as “blogazines”) are making strides in the blogosphere. Looking at them, it can be tempting to jump on the bandwagon and start creating your own art-directed posts. But it’s not that straightforward. There are a lot of pros and cons to designing each and every post on your blog. Below, we’ve covered the most important advantages and disadvantages to creating custom designs for your blog posts and we also included a collection of some great examples.
Ask FreelanceSwitch: Pseudonyms and Secondary Services
Credit: Siew Yi Liang on Flickr
In this issue of Ask FreelanceSwitch, we look at names and secondary services, in two questions from the same person. Ask FreelanceSwitch is a regular column here that allows us to help beginners get a grip on freelancing. If you have a question about freelancing that you want answered, send an email to askfreelanceswitch@gmail.com.
Save Money, Enhance Your Freelance Business with Stock
Credit: chrisdlugosz on Flickr
Yep, I’m going there. I’m going in front of a crowd of freelance professionals and suggesting the use of stock, and I’m not just talking about photos. I’ve been a freelancer, and have been among freelancers long enough to know exactly what follows the mere mention of the word stock.
First someone comes out and says that anyone who uses stock is lazy and untalented. Then someone adds unethical to the mix. Then, inevitably, someone who calls themselves a web designer comes along and rubs your nose in the fact that he’s bringing in big bucks doing nothing more than customizing pre-made themes. Now before you join the cyber lynch mob, hear me out while I explain the appropriate way to use stock as a freelance professional, and demonstrate how using stock can improve your profit margin.
Getting Started: The First Steps to Freelance Freedom
Credit: Patrick Gaudin on Flickr
For some of us, the progression from a full time career to a freelance state of mind can be as easy as handing in the notice and running for the exit. However, for others the transition can be full of worry, stress and anxiety.
I’ve been pretty lucky in my freelancing career. My progression from hobby to job was sudden and straightforward (to the extent that I’ve never actually worked for anyone other than myself!), but there are many people who are currently sitting at their office desk, looking for a way to follow suit.
For some people, the event that triggers anxiety is being the only (or primary) source of income for a household (putting added pressure on a consistent pay check), for others the business side of things seems like a dark art full of mystery and complicated rituals. While both of these are valid concerns, I believe that anyone (no matter their background) can succeed as a freelancer, even with these variables at work. It’s all just a matter of learning to dodge a few easy to spot bullets!
Open Thread: Should you work for an employer prior to freelancing?
Last week’s open thread talked about the usefulness of formal education for freelancers. We got some interesting responses and had a great discussion! This week, I thought we’d look at another surprise statistic from the Global Freelancer’s Survey. We asked freelancers how many years they’d worked as a full-time employee before beginning their freelance career.
excerpt from "Freelance Confidential," Rockable Press
Of 3,285 responses, 543 had never worked for an employer before freelancing. That’s a large number of “native” freelancers!
We focus so much on readers who are “making the switch” to freelancing from the corporate environment–escaping the cubicle, becoming your own boss, etc. We are, after all, FreelanceSwitch. I had expected “I didn’t work as an employee before” to be a minor response. I thought the results were interesting so I dug a little deeper into it for the chapter in Freelance Confidential.
I compared the way survey responses differed between those who were former employees and those who began freelancing from the start of their career. Freelancers who started their career freelancing shared some interesting characteristics: Continue Reading
Freelance Confidential: Now Available!
We’re very proud to announce the release of Freelance Confidential, Rockable Press’s newest book on freelancing. This book aims to provide the hard numbers on the biggest issues of freelancing and advice on how experienced freelancers can improve their business. More than just another single person’s view on freelancing, Freelance Confidential contains contributions from the Editor of FreelanceSwitch, Amanda Hackwith (that’s me!), a panel of expert entrepreneurs and freelancers, and YOU, the FreelanceSwitch community!
Last winter, we asked readers of FreelanceSwitch to contribute to a global survey on freelancing–over 3,200 of you responded! Get those statistics and you’ll learn the real numbers on the biggest questions which revealed some surprising new trends for the freelance industry. Did you know…?
- Fewer freelancers live in large urban cities than did three years ago. What are the benefits?
- New referrals from advertising and cold calling has dropped significantly. What’s the best new source?
- Freelancers with former experience as an employee report the highest level of satisfaction and happiness. Why is that?
Top Freelance Jobs from Job Board – Week 3, March
Looking for a new client? The FreelanceSwitch job board is a great resource of freelance gigs and opportunities. These opportunities are in various fields, from development to writing to design, and come from a wide range of potential clients. The job board is hand-moderated by dedicated staff and volunteers from the freelance community.
Each week, we’ll feature a selection of the best job opportunities posted for the week. This week, we’re featuring jobs in freelance blogging, WordPress development, web copy editing!
To apply for any of these jobs, simply pick up a FreelanceSwitch membership for an affordable $7 a month. See something you like? Join now!
