In this economy, creating and sticking to a budget is more important than ever. Of course, not every freelancer has money problems, but my guess is that many of you out there are taking a very close look at your bottom line—especially with taxes due in just days.

Whether you are new to freelancing or are a seasoned pro, learning how to run your business on less money is always an appealing option.

I recently purchased a magazine title with two other business partners and we’re trying to stay as lean and mean as possible until ad revenue starts coming in. We’re lucky that we don’t have a lot of expenses—like office space—that we need to pay for, but we did take out a small business loan that must be paid every month. We also spend a fair amount of money on travel expenses, going to and from trade shows and bridal shows in our area, so we’re careful to count every penny.

I found this article on Inc.com listing three ways to grow your business on a budget, and I was intrigued. The author, Vanessa Merit Nornberg, has some great points, and I wanted to share them with you.

Seek Out Partnerships

This is something we do all the time at our magazine. We’re lucky that we have been able to trade some ad space to help pay for things we really need—like help with our public relations and web development.

We also work with our advertisers to make sure they have magazines to use for their needs. For example, there is a jeweler who has been giving out a gift bag to couples who have bought their engagement ring at their store. They asked us if we could provide them with magazines to put in these gift bags. Of course, we said! That’s target marketing for a wedding magazine, and we didn’t have to do any of the leg work.

We also trade web ads with some of our partners, which is a good way to get free advertising space online. If you can find partners who will promote you while you promote them, it’s a win-win situation. It’s also a great way to find new clients and revenue streams. Continue Reading

When I first started freelancing, I was unhappy in my job. I was working in Boston during the dotcom bubble burst of the early 2000s. There was nowhere for me to go in my current position, and the constant layoffs and cutbacks were making me nervous. So I retreated back to what I knew I was good at—writing.

I started off slow at first, finding a few gigs on Craigslist. I started writing for a couple of local music magazines—one of them paid and one of them didn’t. Then I started writing lifestyle pieces for a free monthly tabloid. I kept those freelance jobs up when I started a new full-time job. I liked this new job, but it was working for a small video editing house. As the in-house producer, I didn’t get a chance to write.

I loved seeing my name in print—and that’s why I did it. I made hardly any money but I did get some perks—free movie tickets, a book or CD here and there—but I was building up my portfolio.

I decided that I wanted to make a career out of writing, so applied to grad school and moved to New York City to attend NYU. I was careful to keep every clip I wrote (including an early interview with the likes of an up-and-coming rapper named T.I.) and put them together in a binder.

During an internship fair (much like a career fair, just for internships) I whipped out my trusty portfolio. My fellow students oohed and aahed over my clips. “If you’ve been published, why the heck are you in grad school?” they asked. “Because I want to get paid for doing this!” was my reply. Continue Reading

Like many other freelancers, I have a hard time selling myself. It’s something I know I have to work on this year. But as a freelancer, we don’t have someone else out there selling our services for us. It’s up to us to land our own jobs.

I recently read an interesting article on tailoring your sales technique based on who you are selling your services to.

…Tailor your sales technique based on the primary reason your customer wants to buy. “We have our preferred selling style and it’s one we have built up with layers over time,” says Jeff Tanner, professor of sales and marketing at the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University. “I don’t always see entrepreneurs trying to understand the need from the buyer’s perspective.” —Entrepreneur.com

I don’t shop for a new car the same way I shop for a new sweater, so this advice hit home for me. Here are some tips from the article that I thought were very helpful.

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A recent story in The Australian caught my eye. The title of the piece is “Online magazine offers less than 2c a word to freelancers”. The name of the online magazine is Breathe Magazine Australia (BreatheMagazine.com) and it is scheduled to launch in April 2012.

The Australian journalists’ union, called Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) has a recommended word rate of 93c a word (which is comparable to U.S. currency).  The MEAA criticized Breathe Magazine’s owner, Flujo, stating that “Employers must realize that journalists must be paid properly for their work.”

Flujo is looking for three full-time writers, and is asking journalists to agree to write a minimum of six 400-word articles throughout the course of a month in the hopes they are hired for the full time gig. A 400-word article, by Breathe Magazine’s pay rate, is $7.

Many established freelancers would scoff at that rate—and it’s unclear by this article if the full-time writer would be paid more than that once hired. Continue Reading

Was your New Year’s resolution to start your own freelancing business? We’re five weeks in—how is it going? I found this article on Freelance: UK that got me thinking about financial issues to consider before taking the big freelance leap. Here are some of their suggestions as well as some of mine. Continue Reading

I had never heard of the freelance-writing online marketplace Contently until I stumbled across this piece of info from the Wall Street Journal:

Freelance-writing marketplace Contently has raised a $2 million Series A round led by Lightbank. Co-founder Shane Snow said he started the company to help resolve some of the business challenges–such as securing a string of new assignments and getting paid in a timely manner–common to many freelance writers. —wsj.com

What does this mean, exactly? Well, it means that Lightbank, a Chicago-based company that help create and fund early stage entrepreneurs, has given a sizeable chunk of venture capital money to an online community that supports freelancers. Lightbank is run by two guys who were the first two angel investors in Groupon. Guess they know a good thing when they see it.

Kinda cool, huh?

I decided to check more into this Contently company and see what it was all about. Their manifesto states, in a nutshell, that they believe in high quality content that is created by experienced journalists and writers, not blather cranked out by content farms. Continue Reading

I really liked this article on Mashable.com’s business page about giving yourself a raise in 2012. With the economy being what it is (and has been), the thought of raising your freelancing rates might make your heart rate increase and sweat collect on your forehead. Before you go ballistic, ask yourself this question: when was the last time you adjusted your rates? If it was a decade ago—it’s time to give yourself a raise.

Whether you are a writer, photographer, or graphic designer, you need to make sure your current freelancing rates match your abilities.

With the rise of the Freelance or Gig Economy, more professionals are shifting from full-time positions to self-employed, freelance or contract roles. And often, for company employees accustomed to regular raises and pre-determined fee hikes, the notion of being in charge of one’s own prices is challenging. —Nellie Akalp for Mashable

How long have you been in business? If you are still charging the same low rates you started out with to get your foot in the door, you are shooting yourself in that same foot.

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According to an article in the Indianapolis Star, nearly 5% of the workforce in the U.S. held multiple jobs in November, up slightly from the same time last year.

For some, working two jobs has become the only practical way to get by. Some who take on extra work do it to pay off debt, cushion their savings or provide a fallback in case they lose their primary job. Others take part-time work hoping it turns into a full-time position, despite typically low wages and few, if any, benefits —Indianapolis Star

Holding two jobs for many freelancers is a way of life. Let’s take a look at a few case examples of how this can work well, and a few pitfalls to consider!

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For over a year now I’ve been working with a well-known producer/writer/director as his Internet marketing manager on two movies; one in development and the other now in pre-production. It is an interesting experience that has taught me loads about what not to do as a freelancer as well as educated me about finances, the business of freelancing, and how Hollywood really works. It is exciting, exasperating, engaging, frustrating, upsetting, and rewarding. But I have no clue what my job actually encompasses.

I thought I would share the wisdom I’ve acquired along the way.

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What would happen if tomorrow I forced you to double your rate?

If you bill hourly, your rate just doubled. If you bid by the project, you have to bid twice as much as usual. If you sell a product on the side (WordPress theme?), you have to double its price too.

For the sake of exploration, let’s ignore the understandable backlash from existing customers. Instead, let’s focus on the more interesting question:

What would you have to do to justify the rate?

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Copyright is as old as printing and as new as today. As freelancers, whether writing, designing for print or the Internet, broadcasting, filming, or creating music, you should be aware of your rights of ownership of your work as well as when you actually can’t retain full ownership — the down side of selling your work for a living.

Note: You cannot copyright an idea or name, only an actual creation; and the item does not have to be published to hold a copyright. The minute you create it and even if you don’t mark it with a copyright symbol, it still is fully owned by you.

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This post is a part of our Client Week series (check that page for an index as the week continues).

Many people turn to freelancers to complete project-based work, but some contractors can be on the pricey side. In addition to providing their services, freelancers have to factor in other costs associated with self-employment. Still, there are numerous advantages to seeking a solo worker, and ways to optimize costs in doing so.
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