Freelancers can have career development plans just like employed people do. Because we have less structure built into our work life, we need them more. It’s something we should think about early in our freelance journey. Since they aren’t ready made for you like they would be under an employer, they take more focus and […]
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 […]
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 […]
You Should Be Able to Afford Health Insurance.
This isn’t a PSA for ACA open enrollment because honestly, if you can’t afford health insurance right now, you can’t afford it. What I’m here to tell you is that even if health insurance seems like an expense too far today, eventually, it should be within reach. I’m mostly talking to those of us who […]
The Fastest Path to Freelance Confidence
Track your wins. That’s it. That’s the solution. It seems like it takes more than that, and sometimes it does. But for most of us, giving yourself real, tangible credit (that we can revisit) is the first step in keeping healthy confidence as a freelancer. And that’s because we forget. We forget […]
6 Reasons You’re Struggling to Price your Freelance Services (and What to do Next)
We had a really good talk over on Twitter about marketing struggles the other day. A few topics popped up, but one really stood out, and that’s pricing issues. And you know what? Everybody has a hard time with pricing. Go to any platform that supports freelancers and you’ll find posts on the topic. Here’s […]