In this issue of Ask FreelanceSwitch, we look at growing into an agency and freelancing internationally. 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.

Question 1

I have been a successful freelancer for many years now, and I had such a successful year last year that I’ve realized it’s time for me to start hiring and building my own team. I am looking to start my own agency, but could use some advice on funding to help cover the initial hiring and marketing expenses to boost up from a freelancer to a full-blown agency.

Believe it or not, I am having a hard time finding any type of information on this subject online or in forums. How does one take your successful freelance business and officially move it forward to the “cooler” side of the creative corporate world?

The funding options available to a freelancer looking to grow her business are extremely varied, and you’re going to have to decide what really works for you. That said, here are a few ways to get started. Continue Reading

When you’re looking at banking options for yourself as an individual, you need different things than you need as a freelancer. A personal bank account is usually part and parcel of building a larger relationship with your bank. After you’ve got the bank account, you’re likely to look at car loans and home mortgages from the same place you handle the rest of your finances.

But when you’re opening a business checking account, you’re looking at the whole enchilada. While you might be able to allow for some leeway in getting good service on your personal account, you have to know that any incoming payments will be handled promptly, and any payments you make to contractors or to buy new equipment will be paid out immediately. A frozen business account can cause big problems with your ability to do business. Continue Reading

In this issue of Ask FreelanceSwitch, we look at client disputes and lack of communication. 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.

Question 1

I have been working as a freelancer since August. Recently I started at Elance and someone asked for something special. I sent him a proposal, he accepted, we made the job. When delivered he was apparently happy and paid. I charged $280.

Now I got an e-mail from him saying that he found someone (in the same country) who did the same job for him, charging only $35. I don’t know where he found someone to do that for that amount, but I charged him a fair amount considering the time that the job took, the quality of it, and what I clearly specified in the proposal.

He is also sending me insulting mails saying that my job was a joke and he is filling a dispute. I am actually a bit worried, not for the dispute, but because this issue made me think that maybe I am not calculating my fees well. I was not trying to overcharge the client…

I don’t know how to save this. Do you have any suggestions to deal with this situation?

If you charged him a fair amount and he accepted your proposal, you’re in the right. We’re often reluctant to see things in black and white, but that’s the truth. But as long as we deliver on what we offer, there’s no legitimate reason for a client to come back and complain. Sending insulting emails is wrong — just because we work as freelancers doesn’t mean that clients shouldn’t treat us with the same respect they treat their other business contacts with. Continue Reading

Knowing exactly what your clients have to spend on a particular project comes in handy.

Just being able to lay out the most bang they can get for their buck is one of the easiest ways to make a client happy, provided she has realistic expectations on what she can get for her money.

But it’s often awkward to bring up the topic of budget. Some clients aren’t sure about what they actually have in terms of budget, certain freelancers may feel greedy asking for more information about money and so on. I’ve even had a client at a non-profit tell me that her organization wasn’t setting a budget for the project — that they wanted to see what I came up with — when I knew that they didn’t have a lot of operating capital to begin with.

It can seem like there’s no easy way to ask about budget. Continue Reading

In this issue of Ask FreelanceSwitch, we look at hiring a sales person and getting started as a freelancer. 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.

Question 1

I think this question is pretty good, but I’m not able to find good answers.

The context of the question: I’m a programmer working as a freelancer, things are going good, but most of the jobs I get are from 2 or 3 agencies.

One day my brother asks me if I wanted him to sell my services. I liked the idea, replacing agencies with a member of my family is very tempting. But now I face the problem of training him. Not only in what I do and what he can sell, but also in how to sell this kind of services.

I have seen freelancers using a sales person to bring in business for them, usually paying a cut of each project as a commission. Sometimes it works out well and sometimes it’s not so great.

The biggest problem that I’ve seen (and the reason I haven’t gone this route) is that if your sales person doesn’t have a good network — people actually interested in buying services from freelancers — he isn’t going to get very far. Before you dive in too deep, you need to talk through who your potential sales person thinks he’s going to sell to and why they may buy.

Once that issue is dealt with, you need to walk your sales person through your portfolio. He may need a copy of his own, at least of the perfect projects you show potential clients. He really needs to see the range of projects that you take on, though: break it down in terms of what the client wanted, what you delivered, how long it took and how much you charged. You have to have an understanding on what things cost (appropriately raised to be able to afford your sales person’s commission) and how long they take, or your sales person can put you in an awkward position.

Even though you’re talking about working with family, it’s a good move to write out what you’re both agreeing to and signing it. Whether you put things in the form of a letter of agreement or a contract, get it on paper. Continue Reading

As freelancers, we’re told to collect as many testimonials as possible — but what do we do with all those great descriptions of how amazing we are to work with?

There are some people who believe that testimonials should be plastered over everything, from business cards on. But there are a few uses for great testimonials that are particularly effective. Continue Reading

In this issue of Ask FreelanceSwitch, we look at showing your clients the value of your work and invoice software. 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. Continue Reading

When someone says something nice about your freelancing abilities, that statement can bring you thousands more in new business.

The right testimonial can help potential clients see how valuable your services are and win over someone who might have been on the fence.

But actually getting those testimonials in hand can be a tough proposition: it’s rare that a client will just volunteer to send you a testimonial that you can use out of the blue.

You have to be proactive — go out and ask for the testimonials that you need. Continue Reading

In this issue of Ask FreelanceSwitch, we look at handling revisions and branding yourself as a company. 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.

Question 1

I’d just started out full time freelancing and was wondering about something.

The situation is: the client briefed you in on a project, and you delivered it within due time. Little did you know, there was some things the client did not brief in specific details, and they got back with some feedback.

They were understandably apologetic that they were too busy to brief on some of those specific aspect, and thanked me for my work for the week. My question is, do I give them the invoice for the work I’d done, then work through their feedback, OR do I do the feedback, then add the hours to my initial invoice, and invoice them after I’d done the feedback?

This is a situation in which a contract or a letter of agreement comes in handy: ideally, you set out expectations for payment and revisions before you ever start working. It’s my personal preference to invoice for the whole project in one go, including any revisions I’ve done — but that’s partially due to the fact that I focus on fairly short term projects. Continue Reading

In this issue of Ask FreelanceSwitch, we look at invoices and SEO. 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. Continue Reading

Want to make your tax preparer the happiest person on the planet? By spending a few minutes on your financial paperwork now, you can make your life easier, as well as theirs.

As a freelancer, it’s easy to tell yourself that your financial paperwork really isn’t that complicated and that you can put it off indefinitely. If you do so, sometime in early March — assuming that you’re based in the U.S. — you will frantically go through all your old receipts and invoices, trying to run some numbers that you can hand off to your tax preparer, so that she can finish your tax return in time for that April 15th deadline. I’ve taken that approach more than once myself.

But there is a perfectly valid alternative to spending most of March freaking out, provided you’re willing to put in a little time now. You can get your paperwork in order early.

Start a Folder and a Shoebox

I realize that we’re all living in the digital age and hard copy is just one more thing to lose, but the fact of the matter is that a large portion of the paperwork you’ll need for your taxes is not going to come electronically.

So, write ‘Taxes’ and the year on a file folder and put it in your filing cabinet. Every time you have something that you know that you’re going to have to give to your tax preparer, put it in that folder. It’s harder than it sounds, but it’s necessary.

The ideal result is a shoebox with neatly organized receipts inside and a report totaling up your business expenses in different categories.

You also need some sort of storage device for your receipts. I use shoeboxes because they’re free, although I don’t ascribe to the paperwork philosophy of ‘throw it all in and let the tax preparer sort it out.’ Personally, I use two shoeboxes — one for personal receipts and one for business receipts.

I really ought to have a third, for medical expenses and other receipts that can be tax-deductible in the right situation, but since those are fewer and farther between, I generally just put them straight into my folder. Continue Reading

There are gymnasts, tennis players and other athletes who have been training in their sports for years — if not decades — who wouldn’t dream of working without a coach. Recently, a surgeon in New York decided to see if his work could also benefit from the analysis and suggestions of a coach. His answer was yes — which, in turn, leads me to wonder if freelancers can benefit from working with coaches.

A brief search turns up a few different types of coaches who make it clear that they work with freelancers. A lot of them fall into a sort of life coaching category: they are effectively cheerleaders there to work with freelancers who need more of a support structure than they may be getting elsewhere. That’s all well and good, but that’s not the type of coach I’m talking about. Continue Reading