This post will help you with Phase 1 of the BlackFreelance Foundations Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! Low pay. No work-life balance. Leadership with no vision. Unreasonable production expectations. Pressure to do unpaid work. If most of us heard all that about a traditional job we’d label it “toxic” without a […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
6 Reasons You’re Struggling to Price your Freelance Services (and What to do Next)
We had a really good talk over on Twitter about marketing struggles the other day. A few topics popped up, but one really stood out, and that’s pricing issues. And you know what? Everybody has a hard time with pricing. Go to any platform that supports freelancers and you’ll find posts on the topic. Here’s […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]