The freedom to design my day was a little bit of a shock. Sure, I knew I wanted to reclaim my time and create a flexible schedule when I started freelancing, but when I actually got it? The realization of what I’d actually done was a little disorienting. I’d broken the deal…the deal of letting […]
Are Toxic Employer Habits Leaking Into Your Freelance Business?
This post will help you with Phase 1 of the BlackFreelance Foundations Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! Low pay. No work-life balance. Leadership with no vision. Unreasonable production expectations. Pressure to do unpaid work. If most of us heard all that about a traditional job we’d label it “toxic” without a […]
5 Silent Threats to Your Freelance Business (And What to Do About Them)
You can define freelancing a lot of different ways, but my favorite is looking at it as “taking responsibility”…responsibility for marketing, taxes, vacation — in other words, the stuff employers take on in exchange for control over your sleep schedule, availability, and free time…you know how it works. Some responsibility is obvious, but some of […]
How I Put Myself on a Salary (As a Freelancer)
Last updated 11/19/2022 So I finally put myself on a salary. I’m back to the world where I get direct deposit every 2 weeks, and check stubs, and all that employed-person stuff. It’s a little strange after 6+ years of self-employed status — when I just went to sign on a car, I slipped […]
How’s Your Relationship…with Work?
This post will help you with Phase 1 of the BlackFreelance Strategy Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! If anybody needs to examine their relationship with work, it’s freelancers. We have more opportunity to shape our lives the way we want (instead of squeezing life in around a career)…but we also have […]
How I Started a Slower, Calmer, 4-Day Work Week
This post will help you with Phase 1 of the BlackFreelance Strategy Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! I got lucky early in my freelance journey. My vision of what was possible wasn’t shaped by hustlers, or grinders, or people who saw struggle as synonymous with freelancing. The people I was following […]
Are You Asking Your Niche for Too Much…or Too Little?
This post will help you with Phase 1 of the BlackFreelance Strategy Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! Sometimes we ask people for more than they can give. And sometimes we do the same of our niches. Here’s what I mean. I started in the world of paid writing in combat sports. […]
8 Project Management Tips for Frustrated Freelancers
Sometimes I sit back and think about the fact that project management is a whole career. People get paid salaries plus benefits just to keep projects running. As freelancers, we’re taking on what basically amounts to advanced project management…but we don’t talk about it all that much. That’s a problem. When I hear people expressing […]
Have You Tried Role-Based Freelancing?
If all the different responsibilities that freelancers have makes you nervous, you’re not completely off base. We’re taking care of marketing, strategy, customer service — all while trying to produce the actual work! It’s a lot, and unless you enjoy wearing a bunch of different hats, it can be overwhelming. That’s why I’m a big […]
Lifestyle Design — During a Pandemic
I was telling my cousin last week that time restricted eating had left me with nasty cravings for egg sandwiches. She was amazed that I’m even trying to keep any semblance of a fitness or dietary routine going right now. I told her that I’m keeping it up for one reason — control. I’ve been […]