Photo by Hamed Saber.

If you take a look back through the comments here on the ‘Switch there seems to be an uneasy current of tension that appears whenever anyone mentions working with freelancers who live in less than first world countries and charge rates of $10-15 per hour (or less).

You typically hear cries of “You get what you pay for”, “You’re exploiting them” or “You’re devaluing the work of professionals in your own country”; they’re classic defensive statements.

The problem is that with the globalisation of the economy and the increasingly internet-enabled population in less developed countries, it’s opening up many industries to growing competition from all parts of the world.

And as a freelancer and business owner, it’s not good enough to simply sit there and say “It’s not fair”… it is what it is and only the savviest of freelancers will not only secure themselves and their business against the threat, they may even find a way of turning it to their advantage.

So here’s why the defensive statements just aren’t going to do you any good – and how you can turn the threat into an opportunity:

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Image by Computer Science Geek.

Do you remember that feeling as a child of not ever being afraid to try new things? Nuh uh, me neither.

And yet as children one of the primary ways we learn and grow is by experimenting and testing — forever pushing the boundaries of what we can do and what’s ‘allowed’. Yet somewhere along the path to adulthood, fear took over…

A fear of failure, a fear of making mistakes, a fear of standing out, a fear of being different, a fear of trying new things.

So here you are today running a modestly (very?) successful freelancing business or wondering how to get started. What’s the main thing holding you back from going to the next level? Fear.

If you’re a relatively experienced freelancer, have you sometimes thought you yourself: “I wonder what would happen if I [fill in the blank]?” but then listed over a dozen reasons why you shouldn’t try? In today’s world where businesses can be launched or tested on a shoestring budget, what is it that holds us back?

There’s great quote by Price Pritchett, the organizational change guru, which goes like this:

“If you send a rocket towards the moon, about ninety percent of the time it’s off course – it “fails” its way to the moon by continually making mistakes and correcting them”.

If you weren’t afraid, what would you try out today to take your freelancing business to the next level?

Here are some ideas to get you started… Continue Reading

As a business-focused freelancer, how do you feel about the area of personal development? Have you found it useful in reaching for success in your freelancing business? Or do you switch off or cringe when you hear Tony Robbins’ gravelly voice start to speak?

If you’d asked me this as a hard-nosed strategy consultant 4 years ago, I’d have scoffed in your face. Ask me this today and you’ll likely get a very different response.

I understand why it provokes the response it sometimes does … the advice you read is usually centred around the notion that “you have special and unique talents that no-one else has and you can do anything you want”.

Fluffy clap trap? Quite possibly. Does it help you in your freelancing business? Not always.

There is one concept I read recently however that makes so much sense that every freelancer should read it and remember it… Continue Reading

You left the company because you were fed up with the hours, right? You wanted more freedom, more time at home and you didn’t want anyone telling you what to do anymore…so you started freelancing.

And now you spend more hours in front of your computer, constantly think about work and whilst you see the kids or your other half more frequently, you don’t really see them or spend ‘quality time’ with them – you’re too busy keeping clients happy.

Ok, ok – not everyone is in this situation with their freelancing business but I bet some of you are; and the other scenario is that you’re the kind of freelancer who now loves what you do so much, it doesn’t feel like work. You get so absorbed in what you’re doing that time passes in a blur and before you know it, it’s gone midnight; the problem here is that you find it difficult to let go and focus on anything else because it’s your passion.

Investing time in yourself and your wellbeing is a vital strategy for successful freelancers – you are your business. If something happens to you that’s it, there’s usually no back up.

Take a look at yourself right now….
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Following on from Skellie’s excellent Web Worker series, in this post I’m going to outline some of the most common challenges faced when you work from anywhere and how you can overcome them.

Since my husband and I left the UK last year for destinations unknown, we’ve been running our business from exotic locations such as Panama, Buenos Aires, Grenada, Dubai and we’re currently in South Africa for the next 3 months. Is it all it’s cracked up to be? Most definitely but it doesn’t come without its drawbacks.

Here are some of the challenges you’re likely to face if you plan to work from anywhere – and how to overcome them…
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One of the key pieces of advice you’ll hear from any marketing guru is this:

Understand your target market.

It’s short, it’s simple and it’s effective. And yet I suspect that very few of us really ever follow the advice and do this.

I sound like a parrot when I talk to clients about how to improve their marketing, “You’ve got to understand your target market, if you don’t understand them, you won’t know where to find them, what they’re looking for and what they respond to” – it’s one of the most common phrases you’ll hear me say to clients who wonder why people aren’t beating down their doors to work with them.

The problem is however, that unless you know who your market is and how/where to find out more about them, it can feel like a guessing game and a big fat waste of time.

Here are some of the places you can turn to, to help you find out more about your target market and what really gets them going…

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I’ve noticed that when it comes to marketing, freelancers are firmly split into two camps:

• The first are freelancers who realise the absolute importance of marketing their freelancing services in a strategic, well-planned manner.
• The second are freelancers who only think about marketing themselves when they’re running low on clients and money.

Which camp do you belong to?

One of the biggest brand management companies in the world is quite clearly a master of branding and marketing; it is the force behind billion dollar brands such as Duracell, Gillette, Max Factor, Pampers, Lacoste, Pringles, Tampax. Seriously, if they can sell a vile, disgusting liquid like Sunny Delight and convince parents that it’s healthy and kids that it’s cool to drink, they know what they’re doing!

Here are three of the most important things they do when it comes to marketing: Continue Reading

Is taking care of your customers and clients something that just happens in your freelancing business? Or do you actively set about making sure you keep your clients as happy as possible?

One of the buzz concepts of the management consulting world a few years ago was the “client lifecycle”.

The concept of a client lifecycle is something that any freelancer can apply to their business and benefit from. In a nutshell, it comprises of the phases that each of your clients go through whilst they work with you, starting from the moment they first become aware of you and what you do.

The benefit of understanding this for your freelance business is that you can design and control what happens in each of those phases. This means that not only are you proactively determining what happens in your business and managing it, you are also focusing on and building your business around one the most important components of your business: your clients.

Here is what a client lifecycle looks like…

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Process schmocess. Who needs them eh? Well actually every business needs them, no matter how big or small you are; but if you’re a one-man freelancing business you might still be wondering why you need to bother with them?

Having effective processes in place can help you…

• Spend less time on the boring, time-consuming aspects of your business
• Build a client-generating machine
• Let go of some of the reins and work out what tasks you can hand over to someone else (also known as outsourcing)
• Set your business up to grow beyond the confines and limitations of a small, one-man band business without the additional hassle and growing pains

If you’re just starting out or you have no idea how to implement smarter processes in your business, then here’s a brief guide to implement some of the basics…
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Kristen’s post about putting the holiday slump to work for your business was a timely reminder that 2008 is fast approaching and before we know it, we’ll be into a new freelancing year and wondering just what happened to 2007!

If you want to make the most of 2008 from your freelance business perspective, now might be a great time to dust off the business plan and see what needs adjusting. If you’re one of the many freelancers who is thinking “why do I need a business plan? It’s just little old me”, then let me ask you this…

Do you still want to be freelancing this time next year? If so, then how sensible would it be to make a plan right now for this to be so?

Unless you’re just starting out, you now have one more year’s worth of experience under your belt to add to the plan for 2008; reflecting on the past year is a great way to revise your plans for the future.

The following 5 questions (with further prompting questions to guide you) might be ones you want to consider when thinking about your goals and business plans for 2008… Continue Reading

Do you break into a sweat at the thought of raising your rates and having to tell loyal clients that you’re going to have to start charging them more?

Is your biggest fear that all your clients will walk away if you add even a tiny increase to your current fees?

As the new year is approaching, it’s a key time to get your business in order, focus on your strategy and ensure your business will not only be here this time next year, it will be thriving. Of course, earning the money you deserve for the value you add to your clients is a big part of that and many freelancers often don’t charge nearly enough.

One of the most common questions I get asked when coaching clients is “How can I raise my rates without losing any clients?”

So far, none of my clients have lost any of theirs once they’ve broached the subject of their increased fees and many, much to their pleasant surprise, have been met with the same response – “I’m surprised you haven’t done this sooner”. Continue Reading

Skimming through the comments on the recent FSW poll about freelance job bidding sites, there’s not a lot of love out there for the freelance bidding sites like Elance, Get-A-Freelancer, Guru, Rent-A-Coder and the like – and it’s no wonder when you see projects offering to pay you $1 per custom designed t-shirt image!

The general consensus seems to be that in the following circumstances they can be of some value…

• If you’re a student looking to get some extra cash and experience
• If you’re a freelancer living somewhere with a lower cost of living that allows you to take advantage of being paid lower rates for jobs
• If you’re just getting started and your main focus is on building up your portfolio
• If you want to hone your skills in a new area
• If you’re looking for quick turn-around jobs

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