When my father left his industry to become a consultant, he was as much of a business rookie as any of the new freelancers who visit this site. Since we’re talking about the early 1980s, business advice for solo practitioners wasn’t as plentiful as it is today.

So, my dad made the trek down the very long driveway of a highly successful neighbor named Richard. He and his family didn’t just have a house in the neighborhood — they had an estate. That’s where being a world-renowned expert in your field can get you.

During their conversation, Richard offered three rules of consulting success. 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

There are ten simple words that can make you a wealthy freelancer.

That is, if you take them seriously.

Before I share them with you, there is something you need to know about freelancing.

The Problem with Freelancing

Life can be tough as a freelancer, especially when you’re first starting out.

Building your credibility and reputation can be difficult and it often seems like businesses won’t give new freelancers the time of day.

But there is a reason for that. Continue Reading

If you’re reading this, then you’re probably a writer.

And it’s probably occurred to you that since writing is what you do so well, you might as well turn your writing into a book, and get all the credibility, fame, and fortune that comes with it.

Well, credibility, anyways.

But the one thing holding you back has been a publisher – you don’t have one, and you don’t know how to get one.

Well, I’ve got news for you – even if you had a traditional publisher, it wouldn’t do you much good, and you will get the most mileage out of your work if you self-publish.

Here’s why… Continue Reading

When I first saw this video I was confused. Sure, the jingle was catchy and the editing was swell, but, was this guy for real? Did people actually buy his terrible drawings? He doesn’t do this for a living…does he? I decided to put on my investigative journalism hat and see if I couldn’t get some answers about this crazy cat guy. I went straight to the source. Continue Reading

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There is no one set strategy for setting your rates, which is why the process can be so confusing for freelancers. Basing your rates off regional competitors’ prices is a very smart tactic, but I think many freelancers forget about something important when putting together rates, and that is their value.

It seems that so many of us are quick to assign the highest price we could be making–but that’s not necessarily the most practical strategy. Why? If you have little experience and a non-brag-worthy portfolio, why should someone pay $100 an hour to hire you?

Instead of pricing yourself at a point that seasoned freelancers are getting, there’s nothing wrong with pricing yourself at a competitive wage that reflects your skill set. You can still make a good salary, plus you won’t be excluding the opportunity to build your skills and your portfolio. Continue Reading

As the unemployment rate in many industrialized countries continues to languish in double digits – or close to it – government policy makers are devising all sorts of programs that will put people back to work. Most, if not all of them, focus on the creation of jobs.

Now, since this is FreelanceSwitch, the j-word is something that provokes a rather strong reaction. Many of us have not had the happiest of experiences with conventional employment. And we’re not going back to the job world unless it kidnaps us. Which is unlikely to happen.

But when it comes to the world’s economic recovery, we’re anything but a sideshow. If anything, we’re a major part of the solution. To the point, we’re building a new economy.

This article takes you on a tour of three of this freelance economy’s major features. Continue Reading

View engaging conference lectures, interesting how to discussions, and high quality freelance advice via video here on FreelanceSwitch.

This week we look at Freelancers: How to Find Your Best Prospects by Ed Gandia. In this video he shows us how to find high quality prospects through triggering events.

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As a freelancer, you’re independent. No one can tell you what hours to work or where to be — provided you complete your work to your client’s satisfaction, you’re free as a bird.

At least, that’s how the law works. The realities of working as an independent contractor can be a little different, especially when companies are willing to do things that don’t really meet best practices in order to save some money.

No matter what your clients think, though, your independence is valuable, to the point that you may even be able to put a dollar amount on it.

Learn how to maintain your status as an independent contractor and the tax benefits of doing so.

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Isn’t it about time you got a raise?

As freelancers, it can be difficult to make that happen. Sure, we might be making a comfortable living today, but what about tomorrow? If you’re supporting a growing family or if you’re looking to upgrade your lifestyle, you’d better start thinking beyond just your next project. You must begin thinking about how to scale your freelance business.

So how do you do that? Most freelancer’s incomes are tied directly to their time. Since there are only so many hours in the day, how do we break through our income ceiling? The answer boils down to this: Stop working alone.

In this article, I will outline six steps you can take to scale up your freelance business, and grow your income, without sacrificing your leisure time.

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If you’re a freelancer, you probably know the Lumpy Income Blues by heart. You know how it goes: One month, your income is $10,000. That’s a five-figure income! In just one month! Wow! At last you’re one of those people profiled in The Wealthy Freelancer!

Then, in the next month, where did all those lucrative clients go? Your income slinks in the door and the monthly total is all of…

…$783.

That’s the Lumpy Income Blues. And, sorry to say, it’s one of the occupational hazards of freelancing.

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Making information products is a way for freelancers to add another income stream to their business. It’s exciting to create your first product.

It starts with an idea – you realize that you’ve got some good information, and you think people would pay for it. So you choose a format for the product. Maybe it’s an e-book, or a video series, or an audio training program.

Then you outline the product, section by section. Then there’s content creation, design layout, and editing. And finally, promotion.

Many months and lots of late nights later, you’ve got a product all set and ready to go. You post about it on your blog, email your list, and ask your Twitter followers to take a look. And nothing happens. Nobody buys it. It turns out that you built the wrong product…

Continue Reading