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)
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 my car, I slipped and said I […]
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 […]
Are You Asking Your Niche for Too Much…or Too Little?
This post will help you with Phase 1 of the BlackFreelance Strategy Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! Sometimes we ask people for more than they can give. And sometimes we do the same of our niches. Here’s what I mean. I started in the world of paid writing in combat sports. […]
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 […]
So You Want to Be More Productive…But Why?
This post will help you with Phase 1 of the BlackFreelance Strategy Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! I’m always paying attention to what topics get Black freelancers interested, so when this article (it’s about what a 6-figure freelancer does every day) turned out to be one of the most popular, it […]
Discovering Your Niche: What Can I Do with Storytelling Skills?
This post will help you with Phase 2 of the BlackFreelance Strategy Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! Narrowing down your niche is one of the hardest things you’ll do as a freelancer. It’s also one of the most important. If you take the time to choose, test, and refine […]
5 Ways to Use Trade Publications to Master Your Niche
This post will help you with Phase 2 of the BlackFreelance Foundations Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! If you’ve been around here for a while, you know I’m quick to recommend trade publications to basically everybody. That’s because they changed my career (more on that later) but it’s mainly because trade […]
It’s Time to Reset Your Freelance Expectations — With Some Numbers
What do you expect from freelancing? Low pay? Consistent income? Long hours? A quick start? I know when I got going, I had ZERO idea of what this life would be like. I had to cobble together my ideas of what ‘normal’ and ‘possible’ looked like from podcasts, Facebook groups, and random conversations online. I […]
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 […]