FreelanceFolder

Open Thread: What Did You Get Right When You Started Freelancing?

Mason Hipp — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 06:18:28 PDT

Most of the time, these “if you could start over” posts ask a similar question: what would you do differently now that you’ve already started a business and have more experience.

In this open thread, I want to turn the conventional question on its head and ask the opposite. What did you do so well when you first started freelancing that you would do it over again if you started fresh?

Think about what you got right when you first started your business, and let us know in the comments section. The things you did really well could be the same things another freelancer is struggling with — and your ideas and advice could prove hugely beneficial.

What clever methods did you use to get clients?
Are there any special tools you found that work miracles for freelancers?
Did you ignore conventional wisdom and do something better?

Share your great start-up successes in the comments — tell us what you did really well, and hopefully it will help others who are just getting started.

Go ahead, it’s okay to brag a little.

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Retention During The Recession: 20 Ways to Get And Keep More Clients

Mike Smith — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:10:09 PDT

The recession is a scary thing. Mentioning the word recession makes peoples’ eyes bulge and their body language switch from open and happy to reserved and timid. Is it the fact that the super big businesses across the world are closing or filing for bankruptcy? Or could it be that the smaller businesses are closing shop and leaving entire strip malls across America vacant?

Whatever the reason behind it, I am sure the recession has scared all of us at one point or another. The nervousness we get when we look at our financial records and wonder if they’re going to be dipping to an all time low. The uneasy feeling we get when all of our leads have dried up and we do not know what to do next. Or the view of the freelance world from the outside looking in — the first time freelancer who doesn’t know if they should take the jump now because times are so hard.

Before continuing with this article, you should be sure that you want to freelance during a recession. From there, the steps in this article will feel a lot easier for you. My goal is to help calm all of those fears with ten sure fire ways to get more clients and keep them. The steps are simple — and in some cases, downright easy, however most of us have either overlooked them or have been too wrapped up in other things to apply them. Now is the perfect time to change all of that!

10 ways you can GET more clients today

Here are ten great ways to get clients today — not tomorrow, not next week, but TODAY! Who said that the recession only brings people down? They’re liars!

Message Boards — Utilize the signature of your posts to showcase links to your portfolio/resume and also your twitter account if you have one (you do have one right?). Find a message board that relates to your target market — and chat with people. Don’t push your services though, just let the conversations flow. People will follow your signature link if you’re posts are worthwhile on the board.
Networking — Again, you have a twitter account right? What about a facebook profile or a stumbleupon profile? These are all great places to network online. Meet new people, chat with them and build relationships. The same thing can be said about offline conventions, chamber of commerce meetings and general meetups in your area.
Cold Emailing — When I first started my business, this is what got it off the ground. I found a list of 100 of the top bloggers in the niche I was targeting and I emailed every single person on the list. Out of those 100, I believe I have designed 10 or so (with 3-4 immediately hiring me within the first week or so of chatting). You can search google, technorati or any other source that will pump out a list for you to cold email. Be personal and be short-winded; nobody likes a 20 paragraph email of regurgitated bull that everyone else is also getting. SPAM = BAD ;)
Job Boards — This one is a no-brainer. People post listings about jobs they need completed and you email them. Simple, right? I thought so too. The main complaint I see (and have experienced myself) is that people send off cookie-cutter emails to everyone on the job board and don’t personalize their emails. Make it personal and win clients!
Blogging — People want the best. People want the smartest. People want to know that the person they’re hiring has the knowledge to fulfill the job that they’re looking to have completed. What better way than a blog where you can showcase your knowledge and skills?
Local Contests — This is one I’ve used and have gained clients from every time. Get a fish bowl and go to any store in your area that your target market frequents. Put the fish bowl up with a sign that says “drop your business card for a chance to win ______” (I chose a free dinner at a nice restaurant — but you can do anything: books, tickets to movies, ect). Once you have the bowl filled up, pick a winner. But also send a letter to each person (or call if you’d like) and let them know they didn’t win but you are keeping their business card for future reference in case you need them. Also include your business card — let them know they can contact you as well; they will.
Cold Calling — Similar to cold emailing above, but now you can actually get into your local market. I am web designer and have called every business within a five mile radius to my home about their website design. I ask them if they have menus online and generally they’ll reply with a “no, we do not have a website” type of answer. This is where I hook them in. Once you know they don’t, and they can see that having a website is a positive thing (I called asking about it, right?) they’ll be more eager to meet with you. Danny Outlaw has a great video on cold calling if you’d like more info on the subject.
Public Speaking - Host a free seminar on something related to your target market. Showcase your skills and knowledge. Don’t believe this works? Find out how Mason (the owner of Freelance Folder) made $5,700 from 15 minutes of speaking!
Be Different — Everyone dresses alike. Everyone sounds the same and has the same lines when trying to land clients. Be different. Change your style up and stand out from the pack. In a group of 100 black suits, do you think you’ll stand out wearing a Hawaiian shirt? I bet you will and I bet that’ll get you to the front of the line in the viewers mind.
Ask current clients for referrals — DUH! I failed at this for a long time. Now, every time I finish a project for a client, I always make sure to mention in the thank you email that they would be doing me a great favor in mentioning me to anyone they know who might need my services. Word of mouth is strong — utilize it.

10 ways you can KEEP more clients today

So you have your clients, but how can you keep them? How do you make sure you’re the person they turn to every single time they need work done? Below are ten things you can do to make sure you’re keeping those valuable clients

Newsletter List — Politely ask if the client would like to be added to your newsletter list to receive free bonuses and discounts when they’re not available to anyone else. 9 times out of 10 they won’t mind, just make sure you let them know they will receive zero spam.
Finish Early — If you told the client it would take a week, make sure you finish in 5 days. This will leave a lasting impression in their minds because the trust factor in your time frames will skyrocket.
Give Extra — One thing I am trying now as a web designer is to give a bit extra. When I design a website, I am going to include a free twitter background to match their website. Hopefully the generosity will stick in their minds in case they ever need anything else in the future (plus, every time they see their twitter web page, they’ll think of me).
Keep In Touch — Every couple months just check in and see how everything is going. Do not ask anything business related — just check and make sure the previous work you did for them worked out well and ask how they and their family are doing. Ask if they’re enjoying the summer or if they’re tired of winter. You know, small talk.
Send Birthday Notes — I am also now always making a note to get the clients birthday and putting it in my google calendar. When their birthday is coming up, I will send them a card in the mail (if they’re local) or at the very least send them an email wishing them a happy birthday.
Offer Discounts — Let your client know that if they ever need any work, you’ll give them a free hour or 10-20% off the normal fixed rate you charge. No matter if it’s website updates, copy changes or brand new work — let them know you appreciate them coming back to you and cut them a break.
Help Promote Them- - If you design, submit their websites to CSS galleries. If you write copy, make sure you promote those websites to anyone you know who might be interested. Just make sure you’re promoting them as much as you hope they promote you. It’s a win/win for both parties involved.
Keep your word — Did you say the deadline is Friday? Make sure you get it in on Friday (or sooner). Missing deadlines and not being responsive when it’s needed most is the biggest let down you can give a client. Don’t promise something unless you can deliver it.
Send “Thank You” Gifts — Anything from a basket of fruit or flowers to a free gas card will work. Just make sure there are no strings attached and make sure they know you just wanted them to know you appreciated their business.
Network with them — Yes, this one is so good I feel it needs to be mentioned in both lists. Networking on twitter or other social media sites (as well as offline events) will keep your name — and face — fresh in the clients mind and help steer them in your general direction whenever they need new work or they’re faced with the question “hey, do you know a good ______?”. Make sure you’re there and you’re the answer to that question.

How have you won clients during the recession?

Are there specific things you have done to ensure you’re still getting (and keeping) clients during the recession? We’d love to hear from you in the comment section — your experience surviving in these times could be business-saving advice to another freelancer. By communicating together, we can all benefit :-)

Photo by saintbob

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Negotiating With Clients 101

Laura Spencer — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 08:13:56 PDT

After freelancing for a while, many freelancers find themselves at a crossroads — asking themselves a single important question: how can I get better projects?

It’s an important question, but fortunately it’s also a question that is fairly easy to answer. You can get better projects, better pay, and better terms through negotiation.

Unfortunately, many freelancers just don’t negotiate. It’s much easier to complain after the fact, but it’s much more productive to negotiate better terms before even getting into a bad situation. Here are some of the most common complaints:

“I don’t really have enough time to get my project done.”
“The project was sure a lot of work — too much work if you ask me.”
“I wish that could have gotten paid more for that work.”

Too often, we freelancers just accept the project terms that are dictated to us by the clients without question. However, accepting projects with too short a turn around, too little pay, or too much work can lead to freelancer frustration and burnout.

Freelancers needn’t be afraid of negotiating better project terms for themselves. In this post, we’ll show you why. We’ll also give you a few pointers that might help you start winning better projects.

Afraid of Negotiating? Here’s a Phrase That Helps

Many freelancers are afraid to negotiate project terms because they are afraid that if they question any part of the client’s offer they will lose the job.

Sometimes this fear might be valid, but most often the fear is unwarranted. Many clients actually expect you to negotiate terms. Some clients even welcome negotiations because they know that if you are pleased with the terms you are likely to do a better job.

If you are afraid to negotiate, I’ve found that leading into the negotiations with the following phrase helps the client to know that you want the job:

“I am really interested in this project, but. . .”

After the “but,” insert your negotiation in the form of a question. For example, if you are concerned about the timeframe, you might start your negotiations with the following phrase:

“I am really interested in this project, but I wonder if it would be okay for me to turn this project in on Wednesday instead of on Monday?”

If the client answers “no,” then you can still decide to take the project with the shorter timeframe, or you can choose to turn it down.

Why It’s Okay to Negotiate

As freelancers, we often assume that the client knows exactly what it will take to do the project and what the project is worth. Often, this is not the case at all. Remember, as a freelancer, we are being offered the project because we are the ones with the expertise.

I once had a client tell me that they were just guessing at how long that they thought it would take to get their project done. Other clients may guess (or be misinformed) about what the market rate is for the work or about what it takes to actually do the work.

When you do negotiate a project, be prepared to support your request. For example, if you think that the client doesn’t realize the full scope of the project, be prepared to give them some reasons why the project requires more work than they thought.

When To Negotiate

One key to successful negotiations is knowing the best time to begin negotiations. If you begin negotiations too early in the project, then you are likely to negatively affect your chances of being chosen to do the work. If you negotiate too late, then you may be viewed as unreliable.

The best time to begin negotiations is after you’ve been offered the work and all of the terms have been listed for you, but before you’ve actually accepted those terms. Since the client has already decided that they would like you to do the job, they will be more likely to work with you on the terms of the project.

Generally speaking, it’s not a good practice to accept a project and all of its terms and then try to backpedal and negotiate a change.

What You Can Negotiate

You can negotiate virtually any part of a project, down to the most minute and mundane detail of a project. However, in most cases you will want to focus your negotiations on one of three aspects of the project:

Timeframe - When you negotiate timeframe, you will be suggesting a better and more workable deadline than that originally proposed by the client.
Payment - Payment negotiations include not only how much money you will receive for a job, but how and when you will be paid.
Scope - A project’s scope is the amount and type of work required. Often, if you cannot negotiate the timeframe or payment you can negotiate the amount of work that is required.

For long or complicated projects, remember that it may take more than one round of negotiations between you and the client before you come to an agreement. Don’t panic if at first it seems that you can’t seem to reach an agreement. Remain flexible and suggest several alternatives.

What Negotiating Strategies Do You Use?

Do you negotiate projects, or do you let the clients define all of the project terms for you?

If you don’t use negotiation, what is holding you back?
If you do negotiate project terms with your clients, why not share what works best for you?

Are you an individual or company that hires freelancers?

How do you feel when a freelancer negotiates project terms with you?

Share your thoughts and ideas on this topic.

20 Must-Read Blogs for Freelance Developers

Mike Smith — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:50:55 PDT

With all of the other must-read lists here on freelance folder, I don’t think it would be fair to leave out the amazing developers who are regular readers. This post contains 20 must-read blogs for freelance developers, from php to jquery, ruby on rails, css and general web development.

With all of the regular articles and tutorials being posted on these blogs, it’s easy for a beginner developer (or even a designer who’s dabbling with the idea of becoming a developer) to learn a ton of useful information. I personally subscribe to all of these sites and have learned more in the past few months that I think I ever have in my life. They’re definitely worth the RSS subscriptions — trust me, you won’t regret it.

CSS Development Blogs

Below are some great blogs specifically written for those of us who are looking for css tutorials and resources.
CSS Tricks

CSS Vault

CSS Basics

Soh Tanaka

Ruby on Rails Blogs

Below are some great blogs specifically written for those of us who are looking for ruby on rails tutorials and resources.

The Rail World

Nuby on Rails

Ruby on Rails Security Project

Viget Extend

Ruby Inside

Rails Forum (too great a forum to not be on the list)

jQuery Development Blogs

Below are some great blogs specifically written for those of us who are looking for jQuery tutorials and resources.

Learning jQuery

James Padolsey

Woork

PHP Development Blogs

Below are some great blogs specifically written for those of us who are looking for php tutorials and resources.

Killer PHP

Chris Shiflett

David Walsh

Web Development Blogs

Below are some great blogs written for those of us who are looking for web tutorials and resources.

Net Tuts

Paper Mashup

Stout Labs

A List Apart

If you have any freelance development blogs you write for or any that you’re subscribed to that you think should be added to this list, feel free to leave a comment and let us know. I’m always on the lookout for a new place to learn from!

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Freelancing Stories: When A Neighbor’s Tree Kills Your Power

Laura Spencer — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:29:31 PDT

We freelancers have to be resourceful. Just how resourceful, however, our clients may never realize.

The fact is that Murphy’s Law is alive and kicking in the freelance world — anything that can go wrong generally will go wrong.

You’ve experienced it. I’ve experienced it. In most cases, we persevere. We get the project turned in on time and meet or exceed our client’s expectations. Things usually work out well.

It’s how we’ve dealt with Murphy’s Law, however, that makes for some really funny freelancing stories.

Just for fun, I thought it would be interesting if we all shared our brushes with Murphy’s Law. Here are two funny stories of things that have gone wrong for me during freelance projects.

The Neighbor’s Tree Killed My Power

I was sitting in our dining room (which I was using as an office at the time) working on a tight deadline when I heard a loud bang.

At first, I thought that someone had pounded on our aluminum garage door so I went outside to take a look. I didn’t see anyone in front of the garage, so I assumed that the noise had come from a bored neighborhood kid and went back indoors.

About fifteen minutes my lights started to flicker (an obvious sign to save any work on the computer if it should ever happens to you). Then the power went out.

The doorbell rang and it was the neighbor. “We were cutting down a tree in the backyard and we knocked your electrical box off your house.”

“Um, what!!!”

I went around the side of the house to look. Sure enough - the box connecting the house to the electrical lines was hanging by a single wire (and that single wire was letting off sparks).

If you want to talk about bad breaks, surely this was one.

Needless to say, I was without electricity in my home for several days. Thanks to WiFi and the local library, I was still able to meet my deadline.

The Case of The Barking Dog

I love having my dog at home with me while I work. She listens without interrupting, and I feel much more secure with her there since she lets me know if someone is at the door.

She’s actually a very quiet dog. She only barks when someone comes to our door, and we’re somewhat amazed by how quiet she normally is. In some ways, she’s more like a cat than a dog.

Anyway, one spring afternoon I was rushing to meet a deadline (things always go wrong right before a deadline) when my dog started barking. Naturally, I assumed that someone was at the front door since that’s the only time that the dog barks. However, when I got to the door I looked out and no one was there.

Over the course of the next few hours, this scenario repeated itself four or five times: the dog barking, me checking the door, and no one being there.

Finally, I decided to wait by the door to see if I could figure out what was going on. I sat down beside the door and cracked the blinds ever so slightly so that I could see out, but no one could see in.

Sure enough, a few minutes later I saw two children (cute kids who couldn’t have been more than six years old) approach my door and begin to pelt it with pebbles. Just as before, my dog started barking. This time, however, I was ready. I opened the door before the kids could run away (while they were still throwing pebbles).

“Please stop teasing my dog,” I said in what was hopefully my most authoritative voice.

Fortunately, once caught, the fun was out of the kids’ game and they stopped pelting my door with pebbles. The dog was quiet again and I was able to get my work finished and turned in.

Share Your Stories

What weird and unusual things have happened to you while you were freelancing?

Have you also done battle with Murphy’s Law?

Share your stories in the comments.

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8 Tips for Success When Freelancing On the Road

Glen — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:12:07 PDT

Let’s face it, most of us freelancers do what we do in order to have the potential to work and play on our own terms. I love setting my own hours so I can enjoy life, and I also love slogging away on projects that I’m really passionate about. One aspect of play that many of us want to take up is to be able to freelance and travel at the same time.

In fact, that’s exactly what I’m going to be doing in a few months when I start my 1 year (hopefully) journey around the world. I don’t start this adventure for a while, but it’s good to have everything organized before I back my bags and take off.

In order to help me prepare for my upcoming trip, and to provide a resource for any of you who might be traveling and working in the future, I decided to put together this checklist of what you’re going to need when traveling.

Some of the following items are more important than others, and some may not apply to you. I wanted to put together a list that covered as many situations as possible without being too bloated. If there’s something I missed or you have your own suggestions, please share them in the comments!

1. Store Your Passwords & Bookmarks Online

If you’re anything like me, you’re currently using Firefox which stores all your passwords and you have a nice line of bookmarks at the top of your browser. If you’re lucky, you’re using a laptop and this will stay the same when travelling.

Personally, I like to have backups for this kind of thing whether I’m ‘bringing them with me’ or not. You never know when you might need to use an internet cafe or your hardware might fail. As an alternative to having your passwords saved in a browser, you could try an online program like Passpack to remember them. I also keep some of my passwords in a document that is hosted on one of my servers. If you go for the latter option, make sure the document is in a safe place.

As far as bookmarks go, I like to use Xmarks (formerly Foxmarks) that imports my Firefox bookmarks for me whenever I load a clean version and I keep my links on Delicious just in case.

2. Organize Your Email

Until recently, I never gave organizing my email much thought. I can usually find what I want in a few minutes and I have thousands of emails in my inboxes so I knew pretty much everything I needed was there.

When traveling, it’s likely that your time is going to be quite limited, and I can think of better ways of using it than deleting junk emails or getting distracted by social media messages. Some good tips on organizing your email include:

Creating a label or folder and putting your important emails there
Turning off the notification settings on your most active sites i.e. Facebook / Twitter
Unsubscribe from email lists you no longer care about
Apply filters so certain emails automatically get labeled / categorized

Anything that you can do to minimize your time sifting through messages can only be a good thing.

3. Do As Much as You Can Before You Leave

You don’t travel in order to spend as much time on your work as you could when you’re at home or in an office. Because of this, it’s a good idea to really put the time in for around a month before you begin your journey.

If you have a blog, prepare as many posts as possible in advance. If you have client work, try to do more than usual for each so you can roll on for another month. Quite simply, do as much as you can now to minimize what you have to do when you’re away. (This even includes tasks like number 2).

4. Backup Documents Online

Whether you trust data storage services online or not, there’s no denying that they come in handy. If you’re careful and pick a reputable company or service to keep a hold of your data, you shouldn’t have any problems.

If you want to do a large backup then consider a company like Box.net. If you want to backup documents like Word, Excel and Powerpoint files, then consider using something like Google Documents which will convert them into an editable format online for you. There’s nothing worse than not having access to the data you need when traveling.

5. Take Responsibility

When you’re considering putting your work off for yet another day, don’t forget it was probably your clients who allowed you to have this freelancing luxury in the first place. Just because you’re in a new environment, it doesn’t mean your clients deserve anything less than your best.

Make sure that you stay on top of your tasks before enjoying what your adventures have to offer. It’s far better to get things ‘out of the way’ rather than worrying about them later when you’re doing whatever it is you put them aside for.

6. Carry Some Form of Note Taking

This can really be beneficial no matter what services you offer, but I’ve found it especially useful for whenever I need writing inspiration. It’s likely that most of your time will not be spent in front of a computer, but don’t feel like they are always necessary.

If you write, see if you can create article ideas or even content structure before you’re in front of that keyboard and mouse. If you design, jot down your ideas before you have a chance to fiddle around in Photoshop. It’s likely that your best ideas will come to you when you’re not in front of a computer so keep some form of note taking with you at all times to capture those insights.

7. Keep a File of Important Phone Numbers

There are chances that things will go ‘wrong’ when you’re away. Not only should you need the obvious phone numbers like those for emergency services, but it’s also a good idea to have the phone numbers of your clients, assistants, and so on.

When I was in South Africa I had my credit card stolen and needed to get it blocked straight away. Luckily, although I was far from any computer, I had the bank phone number on me and managed to get the card terminated. The last thing you want is to have to return home to sort out something like your finances.

Speaking of those…

8. Organize Your Income Sources

I’ve worked with clients for a number of years but I have also had my own websites which generate me money as well. Because of this, I receive funds from a varied number of sources. I regularly receive checks in the mail and it’s not exactly practical for me to return home just to cash them.

I have tried to save up as much money as possible before I leave on my journey so that I’m not relying on clients paying or websites performing in order to survive. On the other hand, it’s nice to make sure you can still receive income no matter where you are.

I have personally linked up my Paypal account directly to my bank, given my account details to companies that send me checks and left my details with family members who may need to cash checks for me. Finances are probably the most important thing you need to have in order before traveling so make sure you’re organized in this area!

As I said, this list is partly for my own benefit but I want to help out you guys as well. So, if I’ve missed anything crucial, make sure you let me know in the comments!

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How To Be Genuine and Nice in a Web 2.0 World (and Why It’s Important)

Laura Spencer — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:28:44 PDT

In the past, we’ve posted here about the importance of monitoring your online reputation. That post was mainly about knowing and responding to what others are saying about you, or about your business, online.

There’s a whole other dimension, however, of online reputation management that doesn’t often get discussed.

It’s the dimension of how you, as both a professional and individual, behave online.

It may surprise you to know that some of the worst hits to your freelancing reputation occur, not as a result of what others say or do online, but actually as a result of what you say or do online.

Sadly, the reputation damage that you do to yourself can often be more severe than the reputation damage that others do to you.

When Caution Is Warranted

While it may make you feel better temporarily, caution is always called for if you are angry. Never publish a post on your own blog or a comment on someone else’s blog if you are mad. Also, avoid venting your anger in social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook.

Remember, that it’s very hard to take back words said online. Even if you are able to delete your original words, they may still exist in the memory of someone’s computer or someone may have copied them down.

Likewise, you should be careful when whining about clients and projects (which could make you seem unprofessional, incompetent, or both) or when divulging extremely personal information.

I shouldn’t have to say it, but I will anyway. Deliberately saying something untrue or malicious about someone else could not only destroy your freelancing career, but it could make you liable for a number of crimes such as defamation of character.

Where to Be Careful

Here is a list of places where you should be extra careful about what you say (I’m sure that you can think of others):

Posts on your blog
Comments on your blog
Comments on someone else’s blog
Comments on a message board
Facebook
Twitter
MySpace
Digg

A Word About Anonymity

Many people say things online that they would never say in person. In part, they become uninhibited because they believe that they can make anonymous comments online and no one will ever know it. Many also have the deceptive perception that if they don’t provide a link back to their own website and use a false name, then no one will ever know who they are.

They may be wrong! While there are many sites where you can leave a comment and not leave a visible link back to your website, someone who really wants (or needs) to know who left a particular comment can usually do it. Most internet service providers keep records of IP addresses used. While this information wouldn’t usually be accessed unless there was a crime, it can usually be traced.

Other companies (yes, even Google) are tracking the sites that you visit online and keeping records. The internet may not be as anonymous as you think.

Ways to Be Positive (and Nice) Instead

A good part of this post has focused on what not to do online. While that information is important, it’s not the whole story. You can also impact your professional online reputation in a positive way by making the right sorts of comments and posts.

Being known as someone who shares valuable information and resources that can be used by others will enhance your professional online reputation. Likewise, being known as someone who is considerate of others and who is helpful can only benefit your freelancing business.

A good way to make sure that what you post affects your professional reputation in a positive way is to ask yourself the following questions before you publish anything online:

Is what I am about to publish accurate?
Is what I am about to publish helpful?
Is what I am about to publish interesting?

If you answered “no” to any of the following questions, it doesn’t necessarily always mean that you shouldn’t put the material online. However, it does mean that you should take a second look at what you are about to publish.

Being kind and helpful can go a long way towards enhancing your reputation.

What Do You Think?

Can what you say online come back to haunt you and your business?

Share your thoughts on this issue in the comments.

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Open Thread: Do You Have a PDF or Web Portfolio?

Mason Hipp — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 08:23:15 PDT

A good portfolio is a freelancer’s gateway to the world. It’s the primary factor that clients evaluate when hiring for a new project, and it’s the first thing peers and friends look at to determine a freelancer’s skill.

With the obvious importance of a portfolio, it’s no wonder most freelancers spend hours, days, or weeks creating something that looks awesome. Having a good portfolio is just that important.

But there are a number of different ways to create a portfolio — and not everyone agrees on the best choice. You could create a PDF with your top designs, so you can easily attach it to email sent to prospective clients. Or you could build a custom portfolio into your website (popular with designers) so you can simply link to that and be finished. Many freelancers do both.

Alternatively, there are some websites built specifically to showcase the work of freelancers, be it design, photography, or writing. Two popular sites of this type are CarbonMade and Coroflot.

How do you handle your portfolio? Do you use a PDF with all of your work, or a custom built website with your designs? Maybe both? Or, do you use something entirely different?

Share your thoughts and expertise in the comments.

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Five Mini-Vacations That Won’t Cost Much or Disrupt Your Schedule

Laura Spencer — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:09:18 PDT

Relaxation is important. There’s a certain level of stress inherent to freelancing, and the freelancer who refuses to take a break risks developing burnout and stress-related health problems.

Despite relaxation and breaks being so important, going on a vacation is a difficult thing to do for many freelancers.

For one thing, we freelancers don’t get paid vacation time like most salaried workers do. A beginning or struggling freelancer might not even have enough money to go on a vacation in the first place.

Also, as business owners we have to worry about being out of touch with our clients for an extended period of time. What if a client or a potential client contacts us with that “big job” while we’re gone? What if something urgent comes up that must be dealt with?

Fortunately, it’s not always necessary to go away on a long or expensive vacation to get the relaxation that every freelancer needs.

Here are five low cost or free vacation options that will help you relax and de-stress.

Need to Relax? Try One of These Low-Cost Breaks.

If you need a break but just can’t get away, try one (or more) of these five mini-vacation ideas to help you relax:

Day at the park — Many cities and towns have parks that are open to the public. Often, admission to a city park is free or you can enter a state or national park (in the U.S.) or a low fee. Pack a picnic lunch and plan to spend the day exploring nature. Be sure to take advantage of any natural features (such as swimming) at the park that you visit.
Movie night — Pop some popcorn, rent a few of your favorite movies, turn out the lights, and have your own movie marathon night right in your own home. Laugh, cry, and cheer for some of the best actors of all times (your favorites). Be sure to turn off the phone and any instant message services you subscribe to. For one evening, don’t give a thought to your freelancing business.
Be a tourist in your own town — We often don’t visit the “attractions” located near to our homes. You can save a fortune in transportation costs and hotel bills by playing the tourist in your own town. Grab a list of local tourist attractions from the Internet and make that your guide for a day of fun. Be sure to bring your camera for those all-important tourist snapshots.
Get active — Spend a day focusing on your favorite sport. Not only does physical activity relieve stress, it’s also good for you. As freelancers (and web workers), sometimes we live as though we are virtually chained to our computer monitors. I don’t need to tell you that’s not very healthy. So, grab your golf clubs or phone your tennis partner and spend an active morning (or afternoon) for a change.
Volunteer your services — While this might not seem like a mini-vacation at first glance, volunteering can actually help you to relax and feel better about yourself. To find a place to volunteer, phone your favorite charity and ask how you can help. Also, many larger cities have volunteer networks that can match your specific skills with a need.

How to Make One of these Breaks Really Work for You

The trick to finding relaxation from one of these mini-vacation ideas is to leave your work completely behind you. With that in mind, we’ve provided a list of do’s and don’ts to help you get the most from your vacation.

And, here are some “do’s“:

Do focus on the fun at hand
Do bring along those people who are important to you
Do try new things

Here are some “don’ts” for a successful mini-vacation:

Don’t lug your cell phone along so that you can take calls from clients
Don’t bring your laptop and try to find the nearest free WiFi
Don’t be constantly thinking about your work when you should be relaxing

How Do You Let Off Steam?

Do you have any tips for taking a break when you can’t really get away from your freelancing business?

Share your ideas for fun and easy ways for freelancers to take a break from work and relax.

Top photo by Rene Ehrhardt

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Increase Your Freelancing Income by Narrowing Your Focus

Glen — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 07:30:16 PDT

It seems to make logical sense that the wider you cast your net, the more fish you can catch. Subsequently, this is the approach that many people take in all areas of life — including business. When people start freelancing, for example, it’s common that they’ll try to expand their market as wide and as far as possible — all in the hope of catching more clients.

They offer more services than anyone else. They focus on more traffic sources than anyone else. They try to get more clients than anyone else (no matter what they are paying). Because this ‘more mentality’ makes sense logically, a lot of people stick to it.

Today, however, I want to go against the grain.

Instead of telling you to do as much as you can for as much as you can get, my advice is actually quite simple: increase your income my narrowing your focus.

Allow me to give some examples…

Your Services

Many people have a specific talent that they decide to use to help them make money as a freelancer. Yet, when they make it clear that they are for hire, they stretch the range of services they offer. Logo designers now offer eBook layouts and custom web designs. Programmers now build applications for Facebook, Twitter or whatever comes out of the soil next, and so on.

If you’re an agency, this is probably a good strategy. But, if you’re working solo or you’re in a small team, sometimes it’s better to narrow your offerings. The idea behind this is to become a clear expert at one thing, rather than good at a lot of things. At the time when I started taking on clients, I had skills in SEO, Social Media Marketing and Reputation Management. Yet, it was SEO where I first decided to establish my name and this worked very well for me.

Cindy Krum is another great example of narrowing the focus of the services you offer. She has expertise in SEO and other aspects of Internet Marketing, but it was Mobile Marketing where she decided to focus her efforts. Few other marketers went down this route. Cindy is now seen as a leading expert in the Mobile industry and even managed to land a book deal.

Your Traffic Sources

Just like we tend to offer as many services as we think we can, we also focus on as many traffic / client sources as possible. Initially, I would spend my time blogging, writing guest posts, pitching to random companies and trying to utilise the contacts of my friends. It took me a while to realize, but I eventually noticed I was spreading my actions very thinly in lots of different directions.

Because of this, I really wasn’t getting the type of visitors I wanted.

Instead, I started to focus on growing my blog and my audience. In less than a year I went from 0 subscribers to over 500 and managed to land a large number of clients for doing so.

Similarly, I know lots of freelancers who only focus on one traffic source and live comfortably from that. I know designers who are authorities on a certain forum and programmers who have established their name on freelance marketplaces. Despite their limited client sources, they are getting far more offers than they can handle.

Instead of trying to be everywhere, see if there are client sources where you can really stand out. Can you establish yourself as an authority in a popular forum? Can you become on of the top freelancers in a marketplace like GetACoder or Elance? Can you be the blogger in your industry that clients rave about and fellow professionals follow?

Your Clients

Look at your current client base and ask yourself which clients occupy the most of your time. There’s a good chance that you’ll have a large number of clients that cause no problems and count for the majority of your income. On the other hand, there will probably be a tiny group of clients who account for a small part of your income, but take up most of your time.

Of course, this completely depends on what services you offer and how you handle your work. Instead of fishing for as many possible clients as possible and stretching yourself thinly, try to focus on the clients who appreciate your time and give you the least hassle. It can be hard to let clients go or focus on the ones who make life easier but it’s often the best route to take.

With this route, you’ll have time to find more clients like them and get more done during a normal day. Because of this, it’s likely that your income will increase as well.

Your Time

Using my time effectively used to be something I really struggled with. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t know what to give my attention, I was just giving it to all the wrong things. Before I continue, I have a little task for you all:

Tomorrow, or whenever a ‘normal’ day for you next commences, write down every single thing you do. Whether it is responding to emails, writing blogs posts, performing client work or just spending time on Twitter, write it all down.

Be completely honest with yourself, and don’t be shy to include small items in your log. Perhaps I’m in the minority, but when I first did this, I was amazed at how much time I was spending on non-effective activities. I would read blogs every morning that generally regurgitate the same advice and then I would scan the news from the digg-like site in my niche. After that, I would respond to irrelevant emails and finally get down to some work.

I quickly realized that the majority of my time was not being used productively. I was literally trying to be everywhere and do everything, but keeping busy with things that were not directly affecting my income. After I noticed this, I started each day with my most important tasks (instead of gradually building up to my real work).

I started feeling like I had far more time in the day and was actually using my time effectively.

Wrapping It All Up

As with all advice, there will be some exceptions to the rule. Some people will find that offering more services or wanting more clients motivates them to work harder and get more done. In fact, this is exactly how Cyan from FreelanceSwitch says she operates.

However, I do urge everyone who may be struggling financially or productively to give this idea a try and see how it works out. If you’ve already implemented something similar, I would love to read about your experiences in the comments!

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