Photo by miyazakihiroshi.

Creative freelancers are, by nature, a rebellious lot. Just look at this FreelanceSwitch blog. The descriptions of our former jobs read like jail sentences. Now, far be it from me to say that we shouldn’t be happy in our work. After all, I’m writing this from the United States of America, where we have certain unalienable rights – life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Note the wording of the third right – it’s the pursuit of happiness. You have to chase after it. And there’s nothing that says that happiness won’t be wearing its lucky socks. Which means that happiness breaks the finish line tape well ahead of you.

And there you are, gasping for breath while happiness basks in all the glory. I’m going to offer a tip that could improve the odds in the next You vs. Freelancing Happiness footrace. It’s a two-word tip:

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There is no question that social networking sites are a hot topic in business these days. Whatever size company you run, you’re probably seeing notices for seminars and workshops on how to use Twitter or Facebook as part of your marketing strategy. Articles abound pointing to social media as the new “silver bullet” that gives you quick and easy access to a flood of new customers.

Unfortunately, many freelancers, particularly, have seized upon the concept of “social media networking for business” without taking the time to find the appropriate boundaries between “social” and “business.” This is in part because people who do, say, copywriting or website design tend to be “early adopters” of new tools and technology.

Sad to say, however, “early adopter” often means “someone who adopts or applies a new method without thinking about it very much.” Explore what some business people are leaving on their social networking sites, and you will quickly come to the conclusion that some of them are doing themselves more harm than good.

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Photo by graphiteBP.

Before most companies will sign a contract, they complete their ‘due diligence’: they look into the company they’ll be working with, check out references and generally do everything they can to minimize risks that a project won’t be completed or they won’t get paid. Most companies will take a close look at freelancers they’re handing projects off to. So why don’t freelancers return the favor?

I know that I’ve been guilty of wanting to get right to work and accept projects as quickly as they came my way, and I’m not alone. But I’ve also gotten burned by a client who, if I had simply typed his name into a search engine, I never would have taken on. Even the simplest levels of due diligence can make a freelancer’s life go much smoother. The process doesn’t need to be particularly time-consuming, either. It can be a ten-minute process, especially when you’ve made it a part of your routine for taking on any new client.

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Digital nomadry, location independence, beach front business in Saint Lucia—call it what you will, freelancers worldwide have long aspired to take their business with them and hit the road.

But there is a great deal of planning and preparation that goes into working remotely. Just having a laptop, plane ticket, and a moleskin full of dreams does not guarantee success. How will you get access to your bank account? How will you keep in touch with clients? How will you get new business? What about cell phones, time zones, internet access, and office equipment? You know what…maybe I’ll just stay home.

Hold on. Don’t unpack your sunscreen just yet. It’s time to dive in to Lea Woodward’s Build a Location Independent Business Course.

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The San Francisco Bay area’s annual FreelanceCamp is coming Saturday, August 15 to a beach in gorgeous Santa Cruz!

FreelanceCamp is a community-driven conference that will connect, educate, motivate and inspire freelancers and startup entrepreneurs looking to grow a business.

• Venue: Downtown Santa Cruz, CA
• Date: Saturday August 15, 2009
• Time: 8am – 6pm + after party
• Cost: $25 or free if you are a student or really, really, really need the help
• Schwag: Klean Kanteen 27oz bottles (retail cost for these is more than the price of your ticket)
• Register: http://freelancecamp3.eventbrite.com/
• More Information: http://freelancecamp.org

Not in the area? Don’t worry! We have a freelance camp coming to Reno soon (date still to be decided). Still out of luck? Start your own. We have already had five freelance camps in 2009 and every freelancer who has put one on sent me personal notes telling stories of how much this has caused a serious boost to their careers and the local economy.

Why write this post so early? I usually wait until 2 weeks before the events, but in this case we have limited space. Fire marshal has us capped at 300 people and I love the venue we are finalizing so I won’t change even if you all try to beat the doors down. Last year, after my email blast (which we will be sending out around June 18th or so) we sold out in 3 days. This is my first mention of the event in any public form and we are already down to 231 tickets as of tonight (June 13th) just based upon word of mouth. So if you want to come, sign up fast.

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There are a whole wide range of reasons why people take up freelancing. Some people are forced into it when they suddenly lose their job or need to make more money than they can otherwise to pay the bills. Others do it so they can take control over various areas of their lives, and there has to be at least one person who freelances purely because it’s only way they can use their skillset in their pajamas (the goal of this poll is to find that person). Let us know why you started freelancing in this week’s poll.

Last Poll: Where are you taking your business?

In the last poll we asked you where you planned to take your freelance business in the future. 1,500 of you have answered at the time of this writing (an awfully round number, don’t you think?). Let’s see what the most popular answers were:

• Expansionist thinking dominates with 33% of you intending to play with passive income and 32% intending to expand your freelance business into a firm, for a total of 65% of respondents who are not satisfied as small-scale service providers.
• A significant minority of 27% of respondents intend to continue their freelance businesses as they are — small-scale solo operations. That’s still four times the number of people who are using freelancing as a gateway to a Real Job, which came last at 7% of respondents (or 103 people).
• The Other option was used only 17 times, but the bulk of these responses simply listed a combination of two or more of the first three options.

With the school year ending, I’ve found a subject that makes me jump on the soapbox.

Back when my mother was teaching high school, she’d frequently regale my father and me with classroom stories. One of the ongoing themes was Mom’s reaction to that perennial question, “Why do we have to learn this?”

Needless to say, this question did not bring a smile to Mom’s face. Nor did its evil twin, “Is this gonna be on the test?”

Truth be told, Mom and her fellow teachers had a tough time persuading students to develop their intellectual curiosity. Pursuing knowledge for knowledge’s sake isn’t on the agenda of the average high schooler.

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Freelance businesses can have small beginnings. I found our recent poll on “Where Are You Taking Your Business” interesting. It was educational to see where everyone is heading with their freelancing. Most are building a business for themselves. Only 7% of people are using freelancing to get themselves paid employment. I’m heading in the opposite direction: scaling down my full-time employment to grow my hours available for freelancing.

I’ve been balancing freelancing with employment for several years now. After starting my computer support business, I took on some part-time employment to stabilize my income. Although the hourly rate wasn’t wonderful, it was good knowing that there would be a certain amount of money in my bank to pay the rent. In those first few months of freelancing my income fluctuated wildly from week to week.

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Photo by Josiah Mackenzie.

I’ve attended quite a few high school graduation parties over the past couple of weeks. During all those parties, I’ve gotten pulled aside several times by soon-to-be college freshmen who want to know if they can freelance while attending college. Considering I did exactly that, I think freelancing while in college can be a good way to bring in some money, as long as you are prepared to handle both your commitments to your studies and your commitments to your clients. There are a few steps you can take to make the whole situation easier, as well.

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The thirty-fourth episode of Freelance Radio, the official FreelanceSwitch podcast, is now available! This episode, the panel (John Brougher, Dickie Adams, Kristen Fischer and Von Glitschka) talks about phone and email tag. Subscriptions to the podcast are available via iTunes and an archive of all podcasts will appear in the podcast section. We hope you enjoy it!
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Photo by simononly.

It may be easy for two design professionals to discuss hierarchy and layout, but it can be very frustrating for a client. During my experience, I’ve noticed a few patterns when it comes to client feedback and the phrases they choose when trying to communicate. Below are five common remarks I’ve picked up on and have translated into designer-speak.

“Can We Make This Bigger?” = Not Enough Emphasis

As designers we’re trained to give the most important elements in a piece the largest physical size. This gives the component priority and as a result, it becomes the focal point. So what happens when your client is asking you to make just about everything in the work bigger?

Chances are, they’re trying to tell you that the emphasis is on the wrong item or there’s just not enough in general. Ask the client to rank the content in terms of importance. What should be the chief element in the design? The second? Third? By getting your hands on this list, you and your client are both on the same page about what should be the largest/have the most importance.

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