It used to be that freelancers were limited to the cities we live in for clients. On occasion, some freelancers could land clients and handle projects through mail, but most companies preferred to work with someone based nearby. Technology has improved since then, letting most freelancers take on clients no matter whether they’re around the corner or on the other side of the globe. It’s a good thing: we get access to more work and, quite often, higher pay rates than we could get locally.

But there are a few considerations to look at before freelance contracting for international clients. These considerations don’t mean that you shouldn’t take on clients outside of your own country, of course — it’s a matter of making sure that working with those overseas clients (and getting paid) is as easy as when you can just walk down the block and knock on the client’s door. Continue Reading

One of the benefits that many freelancers with families cite is the ability to stay home with the kids: you can save a fortune on daycare if you have kids just by working from home and not sending the kids elsewhere. But there are situations in which having the kids at home all day may not work out. Trying to take client phone calls or multitask between watching the kids and working just don’t always work out perfectly.

I grew up in a work-at-home household and, whether or not you’re comfortable with the situation as a parent, from the kid’s point of view, it’s not always a picnic. Having my mother home every day was nice, but the fact that I was banished to the basement when she worked with client made the situation a little less pleasant. I couldn’t have friends over at certain times and I’m sure there were days that I’d have loved to have gone to daycare. I could tell that it wasn’t exactly the perfect situation for her, either: she would mark off the days of summer break, barely able to wait until my sisters and I went back to school. What are the options for a freelancing parent? Continue Reading

There are plenty of books written with freelance writers and freelance designers in mind, but there are certainly other types of freelancers working on building a career. If you’re a translator working on a freelance basis, these books can help you up your game. Continue Reading

We’ve talked about graphic design books in the past, but there are some great freelance writing books out there as well. If you are interested in writing on a freelance basis at all, these books can bring you up to speed on the information you need to know. Continue Reading

A growing trend for some companies is to hire freelancers for a full 40 hours (or occasionally more) per week. These freelancers have to show up to the office on time, handle whatever work is on the agenda, work on an indefinite basis and generally act like employees.

But they don’t get the actual benefits that go with being employed — not only don’t they get access to benefits, but they’re still responsible for paying taxes on their own. These freelancers who act like employees are known as ‘permalancers.’ While there are plenty of people willing to take on permalancing jobs, it’s rare that these jobs are good opportunities. Continue Reading

Yesterday, I got very upset at a client. The reason isn’t relevant, but I spent part of the afternoon opening and closing the sites I use to communicate — my blog, Twitter, LinkedIn and so on — thinking about saying something about how upset I was, warning other freelancers off of this particular client and generally venting. In the end, I didn’t post anything, because I knew I’d burn plenty of bridges with just one unfortunate comment.

The client in question is savvy about social media and would have undoubtedly seen any comment I made. Even if this person would not have seen any remarks I made online, it still would have hurt me in the end. Negative commentary about clients in a public venue can’t help but cause a freelancer problems down the road. Continue Reading

As a freelancer, every once in a while I have a couple of hours where I would have liked to have scheduled work for a client but I wind up with nothing. Over the years, I’ve taken a couple of different approaches to this sort of crack in my time: I’ve been known to take those hours off, to work on my own projects and to even pick up work on bid sites. There no single way that freelancers should handle spaces in our schedules, but there are a few factors that can be key to deciding what approach will be most beneficial in the long run. Continue Reading

There are just some clients who you no longer want to work with. It could be that the client in question is difficult to work with or it could be more a matter that you’ve moved on from the type of work you’ve been doing for that client. Whether you’ve only done a little work for the client or you’ve been together a long time, it’s never easy to fire a client. Not only do you have to get past the freelancer’s natural reluctance to give up money, but you’ve got to make the break in such a way that the client will still speak positively about you to other prospective clients. Continue Reading

As a freelancer, you’ll encounter two schools of thought: you should either specialize and make your name as an expert in your niche or you should diversify and land as many different gigs as you can. No matter which approach you feel is correct, though, developing new skills is critical.

If you’re an expert in your particular brand of freelancing, certain skills can help you support your position as an expert. If, for instance, you’re a website designer who specializes in e-commerce sites, being able to set up a Google AdWords campaign that will bring traffic to that new site you just designed can help you endear yourself to your client (and charge higher rates). In some cases, you may not even need to make use of your skills — simply being able to guide a client through the process of finding the right help or being able to tell that help exactly what needs to be done.

If you’re taking a more diversified approach, the benefit of new skills may be more obvious. The more types of projects you can take on, the more work is available to you. Either way, every freelancer should keep learning, whether that means taking classes, buying informational products or simply experimenting with new technology. Continue Reading

When keeping your books is hard, it doesn’t get done. When you’ve got lots of work on your plate, your bookkeeping doesn’t get done. If you have anything more appealing to do, your bookkeeping doesn’t get done. Many freelancers struggle with keeping their records up to date, whether it’s because the task itself is difficult or we have better uses for our time. Anything we can do to simplify the process means that we won’t be stressing out over our books when tax time comes around, when there’s a lost invoice, or when anything else goes wrong with our financial records. Continue Reading

I try to deal with my clients via email, rather than over the phone. It’s not really a question of whether or not I want to chat on the phone. Instead, the way I handle clients makes me more comfortable with setting rates and other tasks in writing. Of course, I’ll take a call to discuss a project — I certainly won’t refuse a call from a prospective client. But I won’t simply blurt out a number over the phone if I am asked. I even try to avoid ball-parking numbers. Continue Reading

I have a confession to make: I work on the weekends. It’s actually pretty rare that a weekend goes by that I don’t work at least a couple of hours. For many freelancers, working on the weekends is a no-no (although I think more of us would say that we shouldn’t work on the weekends than would say that we actually don’t work on the weekends). For several years, I’ve tried to figure out how to keep my weekends clear, but recently, I’ve been embracing it.

I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s nothing wrong with doing some work every weekend. There are plenty of if’s, then’s and but’s that go with this decision, of course. I know I need a healthy work-life balance as much as the next freelancer. I certainly wouldn’t recommend my approach to every other freelancer out there. But if you find yourself doing a little work on the weekends and not minding it, it doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Continue Reading