**This post will help you with Phase 2 of your Freelance Workbook…download it now!** Specializing in a niche is one of those not-so-well-kept secrets of the freelancing world. It’s obvious that freelancers of all types (from writers to marketers to accountants) build their brand around a specific topic, but on its face, it looks risky […]
Quick Thoughts: The De-punking Of Afropunk…It’s Not Just The Music
“Black people with a lot of piercings always throw me off.” This statement came from a heavily tattooed, bi-racial, White-acculturated friend of mine whose visual presence meshes easily with an Afropunk aesthetic. In response I mentioned the eponymous festival and my plans to go. He had no clue what it was. See I’d wanted to […]
3 Ways I Prepared Financially To Be A Full-Time Freelancer
This post will help you with Phase 1 of the BlackFreelance Foundations Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! Freelancing can be scary. As much as it’s true that jobs aren’t nearly as secure as they used to be, especially for Black people, they still offer a financial predictability that freelancing can’t really […]
Should I Go Back To The Steady Paycheck?
This post will help you with Phase 1 of the BlackFreelance Foundations Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! My transition to freelancing was a relatively easy one. While I didn’t make the smooth transition of building a side income slowly while fully employed (though I was building solo-employment skills), I did have […]
Creating Your Best Portfolio
Your portfolio is an experience. Testimonials, samples…I stressed about getting those together into a great package when I first started freelancing as a writer. What I didn’t realize at the time, was that the traditional portfolio—that collection of art work, photographs, successful projects—was just one of many checkboxes that clients were looking to tick before […]
The Cost of Being the “Good” Black Worker
This post will help you with Phase 1 of the BlackFreelance Foundations Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! I freelance because I’m Black. I’m not saying that freelancing is universally great for Black people…it works differently for everybody. What I am saying, is that my experiences in racialized workplaces were a […]
Things I Don’t Care About As A Black Business Person
This post will help you with Phase 1 of the Black Freelance Foundations Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! “The Hustle” A “normal” career Being an MBA (very different from having an MBA) “Networking” Being an “Entrepreneur” Events/Panels Being a CEO (or a C-anything) Being Busy Looking Busy Having my picture on […]
3 Major Decisions Mid-Career Workers Should Make Before Trying Freelancing.
This post will help you with Phase 1 of the Black Freelance Foundations Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! The real disillusionment kicked in for me about seven years into my career. I’d taken the big vacations, tried hobbies ranging from cooking to kickboxing, and gotten a masters degree. One day it […]