Between established bills and shorter time to retirement, older freelancers (I’m talking early to mid-30s and older) have some challenges, but honestly, we’ve got a lot more opportunity. That might be easy to forget with all the social and traditional media focus on teens and 20-somethings, but if you take a step back, you’ll see […]
What is Low-Friction Freelancing?
BlackFreelance welcomes all skill sets and freelancers, but I gotta be honest — some freelance work gets priority over others. That’s because BlackFreelance is all about leveraging freelancing to improve lives, not the other way around. And if we’re keeping it 100, there’s a lot of freelancing out here that’s happy to eat your life […]
Protect Ya Neck: 4 Ways to Prevent Freelancer Non-Payment (and Underpayment)
I’m a big believer in defensive freelancing — handling problems before they become a problem. Tactics like using contracts, expectation management (which we’re covering in the Academy this month), and even using your website to communicate your price ranges and processes can go a long way in preventing freelance issues…and if there’s one area where […]
Companies Making Freelancing Look More Like Employment (Updated for 2020)
Updated 12/27/2019 With the gig economy in full swing and the percentage of freelancers exploding toward 50% in the U.S., we were bound to see some entrepreneurial folk stepping in to take some of the edge off. Right now it looks like the primary targets are going to be the inevitable freelancing gaps like […]
What is “Strategic Freelancing” Anyway?
I’m a big believer that most of our freelance “failures” eventually point back to not being able to state why we’re freelancing in the first place, and then not having a plan that’s grounded in that ‘why’. If you follow me over on Twitter you’ve probably seen me mention “Strategic Freelancing”. It’s a concept […]
Short, Mid, Long — Which Marketing Level are You Missing?
Last updated: 11/8/2019 This post will help you with Phase 3 of the BlackFreelance Foundations Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! I just had broccoli greens for dinner (did you know they’re a cousin to collards? I didn’t). That’s a direct result of being a freelancer. Back when I was employed, I […]
How to Get to $75/hr as a Freelancer
This post will help you with Phase 3 of the BlackFreelance Foundations Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! Since we’re going to be doing more with strategy in 2019, I wanted the first BlackFreelance post of this year to be about just that…but…after this discussion on Twitter about setting a standard […]
Want to Work in Multiple Niches? These 5 Tips Are For You.
This post will help you with Phase 2 of the BlackFreelance Foundations Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! When I first started BlackFreelance, I was ALL about focusing on one niche…not just for myself, but also that’s the advice I would give other freelancers. Lately though, I’ve changed my mind a little. […]
4 Reasons I Pay My Freelance Taxes Monthly (U.S.)
Updated 12/24/2019 I know taxes are something most freelancers trip over at some level from the get-go, but I’m still embarrassed at how long it’s taken me to get comfortable. As much as I loved international accounting in business school, freelance taxes just turned out to be a much different, and much more personal game. […]
5 Ways for Web Designers and Developers to Build Trust
I should probably start this post off with why you should even listen to me in the first place. I’m not a developer. I’m not a designer. Without a solid template to start with, I’m basically dead in the water. So this is an advanced request for forgiveness if I use any terminology wrong. […]