Rachel Bell's three children.

Working from home and caring for your children is a power struggle. Many stay at home freelancers want to be there for their children but also want to be their for their clients. It’s a delicate balancing act that can go on for years.

Many starry-eyed new parents think that working from home will solve all of their childcare problems. They can be there for their baby whenever they need them while still getting things done for their career. Many find that it’s not that easy.

Last week I posted a blog post where I interviewed new mom and writer Rabia Mughal on how her career changed with the birth of her son. She found that even though she wanted to give 100% to her full-time job and 100% as a parent, she wasn’t feeling fulfilled in either. She decided to switch her role at her company, and become a 32-hour a week contractor and work from home. Luckily, her company allowed her to do this. Other people aren’t so lucky.

Today we’re hearing from photographer Rachel Bell. The wedding and travel photographer works around New England and across the globe. A mother of three, Bell, once a fourth grade teacher, became a stay at home mom for several years to take care of both her children and her dying mother. She knew she didn’t want to be a stay-at-home mom forever, and when her children became more independent, she decided to finally start her own photography business. Continue Reading

Rabia Mughal and her son, Mikail.

Many work from home freelancers (especially moms) have to juggle caring for their families as well as their clients. It’s not easy! The great myth that freelancers who work from home can save oodles on child care while running a successful business is just that—a myth.

Depending on how old your child or children are determines how much time they require you (or a caregiver) to spend with them. A newborn baby sleeps a lot, but they also need to be fed every few hours. Try working on your computer while breastfeeding. It’s impossible.

When children get older and go off too school, you have a chunk of time during the day that you can devote to work—but afternoons are busy with after school activities for your kids. Depending on when the kids go to bed, you have some time before you hit the hay—but what about your spouse? Your friends? There never seems to be enough time in the day.

I decided to find out how other freelancers with children make the most of their time. Rabia Mughal is a journalist who lives with her husband and 19-month-old son, Mikail, in San Francisco.

Before Mikail was born, Mughal was planning on keeping her full-time associate editor job after her maternity leave. And she did—until Mikail was 7-months-old. She then decided to work less hours from home as a contractor for the same company.

Q: How has your mentality changed since working from home and raising your kids?

I initially thought it was an all or nothing situation where one could either be a stay-at-home parent or a working parent, so it was great to find this perfect balance. Having said that, I also realized that in order to be a more hands-on parent it is almost always necessary to sacrifice certain ambitions and goals in life. I have made my peace with this fact by telling myself that I will get to all that later. Right now it’s wonderful to have the luxury of seeing my baby whenever I want and being there if he needs me for anything. Continue Reading

Credit: Yuri Arcurs on Photodune

The art of interviewing is just that—an art. Writers can spend an ungodly amount of time conducting interviews, which in turn costs them money. Here are some tips you can implement to make the process smoother, faster, and even more enjoyable.

1. Do Your Homework

Before you even head out the door for the interview you should be prepared—especially if you are interviewing someone who is in the public eye. Don’t waste your time fishing for answers you could easily find somewhere else. Being prepared is one of the most important interview techniques.

Perhaps the person has a bio online or has been featured in other articles. Find out, and read everything you can find. Do they work for a company that has a media relations person? Ask them to send over any information they have on the person. You then want to create a list of questions that fit your story. If you ask yes or no questions you’re going to get yes or no answers—craft your questions in a way that elicits a thoughtful response.

Don’t waste your time fishing for answers you could easily find somewhere else.

If I am looking for specific facts and figures, I’ll send my subject these questions ahead of time so they, too, can be prepared. It’s tough being in an interview and having the person say, over and over again, “I don’t know the numbers off the top of my head, I’ll have to send them to you later.” If they’re a busy person, they might not get you the statistics you need in a timely manner. Ask your subject if they can have this information ready for you on the day of your interview.

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Looking to get big-name clients? Hear what Briant Grant, the creative director at Anisometric, has to say. Brian took his time to get experience and leveraged that agency experience into a thriving design firm based in London.

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Jon Reed is a knowledge goldmine, having published his own business books and running his own business. He may not freelance in the sense that we are all used to, but his perspective on dealing with corporations is especially valuable for contractors.

The author of Free From Corporate America: A Tactical Guide for Success on Your Own Terms has a lot of advice to offer when it comes to tackling the mindset of corporate America.

Read on to find out more about how you can embrace the benefits of corporations while still maintaining that freelance freedom we all love.

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After a grassroots start in the design arena and some time with agencies, Joshua Murphy chose to take the freelance road.

Now, at 32, this Phoenix, Arizona-based art director is making a name for himself as top talent with Element3Media.com. And he’s got some really useful tips for establishing communication with clients and getting clients to take you for off-site work. Read more at his blog, www.joshuamurphy.com, or check out his design community at www.designstar.org.

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There are hoards of freelancers that swear against websites that outsource freelance work, but there are just as many contractors that say these sites can yield a successful career.

At 24, Luis Lazo drew upon his experiences completing projects for RentACoder.com and leveraged that into a second career running RACSuccess.com, a mentoring service for coders and other freelancers. Luis has an interesting background and a unique take on freelancing—let’s hear what he has to say about using outsourcing sites.

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Interviewing other creatives is always interesting; I like to see where they draw inspiration from, how they built their business and what keeps them ticking.

So when I came across copywriter Jon Wuebben—who has also written a book on his craft, along with creating a few other ventures—I knew he would captivate the freelancers that read our blog. Read on to learn more about how Jon has created several businesses and published a book, all while keeping his eye on his clients.

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As the owner of Triple Dog Dare Media, a Web consulting firm based in Austin, Texas, Tom Myer has built hundreds of Web applications for dozens of companies. He’s also taken his career farther both as a writer and a speaker and has a lot of advice to offer about the publishing process, staying in business and life in the Web development arena.

His latest book, From Geek to Peak, focuses on the first year of starting a business, so I wanted to find out what Myer has to say about making it through those first twelve months—and the wide world of book publishing.

Tell us about From Geek to Peak.

From Geek to Peak is a very simple book: I take the reader through their first year in business, telling them what pitfalls they should avoid. Most if not all the pitfalls are problems I’ve had; obstacles I’ve faced. Most people starting out with their own freelance business (particularly analytical technical folk) tend to over think things. They think that the rules of an Apple or IBM (or wherever they’ve worked) apply to them too, and that isn’t the case at all. Continue Reading

If you’ve ever heard of a white paper, you’ve probably heard of Michael A. Stelzner. He wrote the book, —literally—on white papers. (White papers are used by businesses to explain products and services and promote their benefits in detail. They’re one part case study and a whole lot of marketing copywriting…and they can make writers big bucks.

Michael’s website, WritingWhitePapers.com, offers a wealth of information on breaking into this lucrative field. In the writing industry, this 40-year-old San Diego resident is kind of like a legend. So of course I wanted to see how he captured this niche, made it his own and is now sharing the goods with others looking to make a profitable living as a freelance writer.

Whether you write or not, Michael has some useful information for establishing yourself as an expert in your field and securing your spot with large clients.

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At just 32 years old, Jason Caminiti has cultivated his career as an award-winning Public Access Television Show host and produced, “Pawtucket Rising,” his first wide audience feature-length documentary film about Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

Jason’s in a highly coveted role as a filmmaker, a position that he dons in addition to working full-time. That’s why I thought speaking to this creative freelancer would not only give more tips on balancing your passions with your day job, but inspire those who have always wondered if they have a movie—or a book, for that matter—in them.

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Matthew Heusser, a technologist hailing from Allegan, Michigan, got his roots in computer programming. But what he did with that knowledge—mixing in tons of risk-taking and determination—has made him a prominent speaker in his field as well.

I talked to Matthew, 32, to find out how he leveraged his job in programming to become an expert in the industry, how he gets paid to talk about it—and how you can do the same.

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