Credit: Pressmaster on Photodune

After well over a decade of working in agencies, freelancing, and running an agency, I’ve come to believe that there are really two kinds of freelancers.

• The ones who always seek to understand their clients’ core business strategies—and deliver based on them.
• The ones who appear to be unwilling or unable to understand their clients’ strategic business goals.

There are a lot of differences between these two camps. But there’s one that’s probably most important to you, the freelancer who’s always on the hunt for bigger and better clients.

The designers, developers, bloggers, illustrators and photographers who “get” their clients’ business strategies get something else. They get the most business, make the most money, secure the most long-term and repeat clients, and run the most successful and enduring freelance businesses.

Creative professionals who demonstrate that their work reinforces strategic objectives, and delivers on brand value, command the higher rates and the most respect.

They’re fatter and happier. Continue Reading

One of the things that is so hard for creatives to do—despite their talents—is simply to create.

For people who have turned their passion into a full-fledged creative business, they can be so caught up in administrative tasks, completing projects and meeting deadlines, that their creativity depletes fast. Even though writers and artists may seem to be living the dream, they often feel exhausted and helpless.

I recently listened to a podcast in which Kimberly Wilson interviewed Sarah Susanka. They talked about Sarah’s series of books, especially her title, The Not So Big Life. The book focuses on how to make room for what matters in life. (The podcast focuses on tranquil living and yoga, so if you’re not into that, you’ll probably still find this episode useful.)

This got me thinking about my career, because even though I am a copywriter, author and journalist, I rarely seem to make time to work on the types of projects that bring me the most happiness. I then thought about all of the creative people out there who have established their businesses—but still seem to let “business” get in the way. Or all of those other things in life that detract from our creative time. Continue Reading

Ask just about any creative professional and they will most likely tell you they have suffered from a creative block. It’s just a normal part of working in a career where your passions and talents meet.

I don’t really get blocked too often in my ability to write—working in a newsroom forced me to create content on demand. My blocks tend occur when I cannot make time or get time to focus on something or there are other things impeding on my creative time. I get frustrated when I have too many copywriting deadlines to meet and have no time for the “fun stuff.” Or, I feel like I need the perfect environment, plenty of unplanned hours ahead of me (and tons of coffee) to sit down and work on my passions.

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For me, the most remarkable aspect of being a freelancer is the power to decide what projects I’ll work on and which ones I won’t. If you’re reading this, chances are it is for you, too. Being in charge of exactly what fills each workday is a pinch-me privilege. It’s also a pressing responsibility.

As an employee, the Pointy-Haired Boss gives you a desk, a computer, a dress code, a time to show up at the office, a time to leave, and projects to work on in between. When you don’t have that any more, you realize it’s not that bad a deal. Not having to make those choices about what to work on every day makes life easier because you don’t have to think. When you’re a freelancer, you’ve got the decisions to make AND the work to do.

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Photo by /junku-newcleus.

In 2007, I was an employee working with a great company.

My boss was intelligent and inspiring. My coworkers were amicable and worked well as a team. The office environment was entirely casual; no suit and tie required. The pay was acceptable and vacation time fair.

The work was adequate, with some days more challenging than others. Office communication was radically transparent, as the staff would often meet weekly to review the recent triumphs and discuss the goals ahead. By most accounts, I should have been content with my career.

But something was missing.

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Photo by annia316.

Whether you’re a part-time graphic designer or full-time web content writer, a freewheeling blog consultant or an outside-the-box marketing genius, you jumped into freelancing for one simple reason – and it wasn’t simply “the money.” There’s no doubt money was a motivator, but what you were really after was freedom. Freedom from a day job, freedom from financial stress, freedom to work wherever and whenever you want to … but are you really on the path to enjoy that freedom, or are you just fooling yourself?

Freelancing Should Be A Springboard, Not a Treadmill

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Photo by frozenchipmunk.

What’s one of the worst things that can happen to you as a freelancer?

Besides a lull in contracts, it’s possibly a lull in creativity that can have you wondering why you gave up salaried work. Sometimes the work just doesn’t want to be finished, whether you write, design, code or do some other type of freelance work. You’ve tried exercises to get your creative juices flowing, but maybe the flow is just not coming. That’s when it’s time to battle your creative blocks.

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Photo by danie;.

Ever have one of those days when you can’t seem to write anything?

This is especially disheartening to the freelancer, since no work done means no billable hours. Here’s a personal account of an approach that I started using about seven years ago that really helped with my writing productivity — though it’s adaptable to other types of cerebral freelance work.

It started in Jan 2002, after an offline contract ended. I took a vacation to pursue personal short fiction writing projects. My intent was to make the best of three months, before going out to look for more offline work. (Which didn’t actually happen, as I landed a non-fiction book contract, and then life happened and diverted all my plans.) The net result of three months of productivity was the outlining of 100 short stories and novelettes outlined and sixty completed — or about twenty per month. Continue Reading

Photo by srboisvert.

So, you’ve got a good idea; a creative solution for a brief. Or you’ve just won a pitch. Fabulous. Now you’ve got to build the thing. If you can do that with the effortless lubrication of motivation from start to finish you’re lucky (and a bit unusual). If, like most of us, you find there are parts of the process where drive is a struggle, read on …

Take a look at these five key motivations for the creative process and work out where the force is strong with you. Tailoring your work to suit your strengths and compensate for your weaknesses can mean jobs become rewarding activities rather than laborious headaches.

Most people are strongly motivated by only one or two of the following. It might help to imagine recent projects from your own work. Think of examples where you were involved in the job from start to finish and see if you can spot any patterns. Continue Reading