Years ago, when I finally fulfilled my childhood desire to learn electric guitar, I got a question I never expected. “Who do you want to emulate?” I was nowhere near new to musical instruments, so I was surprised to find it was a pretty common question for new guitar students. Apparently, it helps students find […]
“What are my career options as a freelancer?” 8 paths for your career planning
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 […]
How I Use Linkedin Ads 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! Happy 2022! So to kick things off, I’m going to give a quick overview of how I used paid advertising on LinkedIn. (If you’re tired of cold contacting prospects, this is the post for […]
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 […]
Have You Tried Role-Based Freelancing?
If all the different responsibilities that freelancers have makes you nervous, you’re not completely off base. We’re taking care of marketing, strategy, customer service — all while trying to produce the actual work! It’s a lot, and unless you enjoy wearing a bunch of different hats, it can be overwhelming. That’s why I’m a big […]
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 […]
Is a % Split the Answer to Your Freelance Career Problems?
When I started getting paid as a freelance blogger in my passion niche, I was making $45 a post. It wasn’t bad at the time, but now I make literally 10x that after switching to the niche I have employment experience in. If I ever went back, I probably wouldn’t dedicate more than a couple hours […]
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 […]