People become freelancers for all sorts of reasons. Very few do it to get into business – that’s just a side effect. To be successful freelancers, we need to be savvy business people.

Understanding business takes work – some light reading, some heavy ploughing though your government’s forms and requirements, maybe some serious study, and keeping up with business news and events. Material for small businesses and entrepreneurs will be especially helpful.

Here is a reading list for you to pick and choose from: 40 Places Where Freelancers Can Learn More About Business. This list is a starting point. Please add to it in the comments.

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The thirty-first 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 long-term clients. 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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We know all about the rewards of working as a freelancer. Flexible schedules, a variety of projects, little or even no commuting. But this lifestyle doesn’t come easy.

Finding success as a freelancer requires a steady stream of paying gigs. Obtaining new business through referrals is great, but referrals alone won’t keep your schedule packed with paying jobs, especially when you’re just starting out.

Online classifieds such as Craigslist and the FreelanceSwitch job board are great places to generate new business leads. In this economy, the competition for work is fierce. To stay ahead, you must combine two key elements in your approach:

• Quantity: The more jobs you respond to, the more potential leads you create.
• Quality: Present yourself well and stand out from the crowd.

Here are some tools and tips to help you land more freelance gigs:

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Photo by jaaron.

As a freelancer, you have a wide variety of marketing options available to you. Just which ones will bring you the clients you prefer to work with depends — it’s important to make sure that the methods you use allow you to reach the places prospective clients will be.

It’s worth considering a wide variety of options. For that, it’s useful to have a list of options to consult:

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Many freelancers think that posts on writing are for the benefit of freelance journalists and copywriters alone. You can’t really blame them — if your trade is based on the excellent design you deliver or your skill as a programmer, then it might seem that the ability to piece words together in a pleasing and practical way isn’t necessary for you to master.

I’m a writer so my opinion might be biased, but many others in all sorts of trades and careers have discovered the value of the written word as a tool for relationship building, problem solving, and idea expression. You can learn to use the deceptively simple tool of writing to your advantage as well.

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It’s not unexpected that individuals and businesses have tighter wallets in this economy. This, coupled with people who have been laid off and are now starting up their own companies, can be tricky. Little or no money creates a difficult situation for folks trying to promote themselves, thus raising the number of times we service providers hear “no, it’s just not in my budget right now.”

When I first started freelancing, I thought the conversation had to stop there. “They’re simply not interested,” would go through my head. However, I’ve come to realize that responses like these are actually great starters for conversation. There are essentially three things we can do when we hear such a response.

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The web can be a great source for inspiration and in the last couple of years we’ve seen a heap of great galleries for website design in particular. But there’s so much more stuff to be inspired by, that’s why today we’re launching Creattica.com a gallery of great design and inspirational imagery that includes not just websites, but logos, business cards, posters and Photoshop art!

The new Creattica site is in fact a redesign and repurposing of our venerable FaveUp gallery that was in need of a bit of love and attention. So we’ve ported all the old content over to give the new site a flying start in its new super suit of Creattica awesomeness!

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A freelancer’s career path is rarely a straight line. Many people begin freelancing almost by mistake — maybe they were asked to write an article for a trade journal, or just placed a bid on an Elance project to make some extra money. Other freelancers get frustrated with their jobs and want to try something different. They end up loving the experience enough to stick with it.

If your career has been anything like mine, there’s a good chance you started out by focusing on a few niche projects where you felt you were something of an expert. But as time passes it’s easy to feel as if there’s a whole lot of lucrative projects on the market that you’re ignoring. Maybe you identify a demand for press release writing, but you’re not comfortable selling press releases. You need to learn more.

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In order to build a successful freelance business, you must do three things, and do them well. If you don’t, no amount of promotion will save your business from oblivion. Here are the Three Elements of Business Success:

1. Doing Business.

Provide the goods and services that people pay you for. Part of this process is providing customer service so good that people will want to do business with you again, and send referrals.

2. Getting Business.

This is where your marketing and selling activities fit in.

3. Running the Business.

Tasks that don’t directly make you money but must be done fall into this category. We’re talking about things like administrative tasks such as long-term planning, accounting and bookkeeping, handling legal matters, and office and business management. Employee hiring, training, and supervision are included in office and business management.

The following story illustrates what can happen when there’s an excessive focus on getting business at the expense of doing it and running it.

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The phone calls usually go like this:

Caller: “I want a website for my business.”

You: “What kind of business do you have?”

Caller states the nature of the business, launches into a list of pages that he or she wants on the site, and then asks you for a price quote.

Not a very satisfying encounter, is it?

The caller seems most interested in price, and you? Well, you’re interested in a relationship. As in, the kind that lasts for years.

It might not be possible to have a meaningful relationship with price shoppers, but it’s worth taking the time to learn what your potential clients want in a website. This article will help you create a prospect qualification questionnaire that can be used via telephone or Internet or in face-to-face meetings.

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