“Black people with a lot of piercings always throw me off.” This statement came from a heavily tattooed, bi-racial, White-acculturated friend of mine whose visual presence meshes easily with an Afropunk aesthetic. In response I mentioned the eponymous festival and my plans to go. He had no clue what it was. See I’d wanted to […]
Quick Thoughts: Is There Independent Work Opportunity In Black Mental Health & Social Work?
Just ran across this article on the growth of mental health in online spaces, and thought of all the gaps in mental health care in Black populations, and how that intersects with our increased use of the Internet and mobile communications, especially in this sense… A major advantage of delivering mental health care online or […]
You Don’t Need Experience To Get Experience.
This post will help you with Phase 1 of the Black Freelance Foundations Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! The catch-22 of needing experience to get experience is not a conundrum. It’s not a puzzle designed to frustrate new entrants or test for the most plucky or driven. It’s a signal. […]
Getting Paid: What’s your minimum project size for a deposit?
Getting Paid: What’s your minimum project size for a deposit? Mine is $500 and I generally ask for 50% up front. Anything less than that, I can handle being screwed over on…I’ll be upset, but not sick-to-my-stomach upset. What’s yours? Want to discuss this in private? Come drop by the community boards!
Twitter for Freelancers: Get Started Today
From accountants to writers, I can’t think of one field in which a freelancer shouldn’t be on Twitter. The trick is though, in knowing how you want to use it, and actually getting started (If you’re nervous, make sure to read all the way to the end.) In my work (business writing) Twitter is the […]
3 Ways I Prepared Financially To Be A Full-Time Freelancer
This post will help you with Phase 1 of the BlackFreelance Foundations Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! Freelancing can be scary. As much as it’s true that jobs aren’t nearly as secure as they used to be, especially for Black people, they still offer a financial predictability that freelancing can’t really […]
Should I Go Back To The Steady Paycheck?
This post will help you with Phase 1 of the BlackFreelance Foundations Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! My transition to freelancing was a relatively easy one. While I didn’t make the smooth transition of building a side income slowly while fully employed (though I was building solo-employment skills), I did have […]
Creating Your Best Portfolio
Your portfolio is an experience. Testimonials, samples…I stressed about getting those together into a great package when I first started freelancing as a writer. What I didn’t realize at the time, was that the traditional portfolio—that collection of art work, photographs, successful projects—was just one of many checkboxes that clients were looking to tick before […]
The Cost of Being the “Good” Black Worker
This post will help you with Phase 1 of the BlackFreelance Foundations Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! I freelance because I’m Black. I’m not saying that freelancing is universally great for Black people…it works differently for everybody. What I am saying, is that my experiences in racialized workplaces were a […]
Things I Don’t Care About As A Black Business Person
This post will help you with Phase 1 of the Black Freelance Foundations Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! “The Hustle” A “normal” career Being an MBA (very different from having an MBA) “Networking” Being an “Entrepreneur” Events/Panels Being a CEO (or a C-anything) Being Busy Looking Busy Having my picture on […]