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 too many different […]
Older Freelancer? Here’s 6 Things You Should be Taking Advantage Of.
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 […]
Startups Making Freelancing Look More Like Employment
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 receiving a steady […]
How to Become Your Own Mini-Marketing Department
This post will help you with Phase 3 of the BlackFreelance Foundations Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! Marketing is the hardest part of freelancing. No, really. That’s why so many freelancers stay at the mercy of platforms like Upwork or shouting into the void of social media, hoping […]
Ready to run back to employment? It’s time to take action.
This post will help you with Phase 1 of the BlackFreelance Foundations Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! I really can’t blame anybody for wanting to go back to relying on employment. I mean…they send you checks on a regular basis, they keep your work flowing…they set up your vacations and sick […]
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?
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 tried to […]
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. […]