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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
How to Be a More Resilient Freelancer
Updated 1/17/2020 Over the years, I’ve changed my mind about a few things around here at BlackFreelance. Things like working in multiple niches and goal setting. The latest is freelancing as a lifestyle. I used to use the term “freelance lifestyle” but I let it go. I’ve just met too many different freelancers with […]
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 […]
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. […]
Prospecting: The Freelance Habit You Didn’t Know You Needed
One thing I will give employment credit for…it does package up work nice and neat. That’s what keeps people hooked. That’s what keeps people running back…work just sitting there waiting for you without you having to think about where it comes from. It’s the hardest thing to walk away from. That little fact right there? […]
Movin’ on to 2018 (Did goals make it into this year’s plans?)
So we’re headed out of 2017 and I can’t even say it flew by. The further away from employed life I get, the more realistic my perception of time seems to be. That means 2017—even with the walking disaster America’s got at the steering wheel—felt like an actual…year. It was a year that overall went […]
Getting Your Marketing Minimums In
This post will help you with Phase 3 of the BlackFreelance Foundations Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! Freelancing can seem really mysterious from the outside. Between deciding on a skillset, choosing the “right” niche, and figuring out the murky world of payment and income, sometimes it seems a lot easier to […]