Freelance Weekly

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The corporate work force has taken a hard hit in the last few years. Powerless to do anything about it, workers are losing their jobs due to several various reasons; all decided by the higher ups on the corporate chain.

Fortunately, as a freelancer you hold the control to the amount of work you have on your plate and the amount of money you put in your bank account. The slowing economy is creating a boon of opportunity for folks just like you. Click here to read more »

Finding the balance between the perfect number of eggs and the perfect number of baskets is not easy. I’ve found myself going back and forth – sometimes too many eggs in too few baskets, sometimes the other way around.

In 2008, I had a major contract with a client that stopped suddenly when the economy crumbled and the company’s shareholders voted to freeze all spending. I had a few other clients but times were tight. This past spring, perhaps as a knee-jerk reaction, I was on the opposite side of the spectrum and had way too many clients than I could realistically serve with 24 hours a day. Click here to read more »

As a freelancer, you lose the luxury of being able to “pass the buck” when a client is less than pleased. All feedback comes directly to you and lands on your lap for you to deal with. On the other hand, no one can steal your thunder when things are going well and the client is a happy camper. Which brings us to the meat of the topic; Client Relationships. Click here to read more »

The concept of work/life balance is big in the corporate world right now. Employees have grown sick of being asked (sometimes coerced) to give more than a pound of flesh to their employers and employers recognize that they get better work out of employees when those employees are happy, healthy, and can enjoy some family time.

But it’s different for freelancers. We don’t have HR managers reminding us to spend some time with our family. Instead, we have clients who expect their work when they want it, and, we (often) work from home which further blurs the lines of what is work and what is life. Click here to read more »

You’ve worked your tail off and put in numerous hours on a project only to have the client contact you and express total disappointment in the finished project. There is no doubt in your mind that what you presented to the client is the absolute best for their needs but they highly disagree. Is there any way this situation can be turned around? What will it take to make the client happy?

Fear not, my freelancing friend, there IS hope for the situation. Click here to read more »

As a writer, I know the apprehension and dread that can fill the heart upon receipt of a note or an e-mail from an editor. Is she going to try to second-guess my ending? Does he think he knows my characters better than I do? Now that I’m sitting on the other side of the fence with my big red editing pen, I see that what I once thought were strange arbitrary judgments meant to drive my writing brethren and me to the edge of sanity are, for lack of a better phrase, for our own good!

There are things that can be done, easy things requiring very little blood from either side, that an editor can do to make the process less frightening, less random, and an all-around painless experience. Click here to read more »

We’ve all had bad work experiences, whether as freelancers or during our time in the more traditional job arena. Ideally, freelancing would free us from shifty clients, rude employers, and projects that walk our ethical line, but in the real life world of the independent contractor, the ratio of good to bad is probably very close to that of the nine-to-fiver. One advantage we may have, however, is that if we stay in control and know what we’re willing and able to do, we can usually extricate ourselves from situations a little easier than our workplace-bound friends.

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