Updated 12/24/2019 I know taxes are something most freelancers trip over at some level from the get-go, but I’m still embarrassed at how long it’s taken me to get comfortable. As much as I loved international accounting in business school, freelance taxes just turned out to be a much different, and much more personal game. […]
4 Simple Mindset Shifts for Black Freelancers
This post will help you with Phase 1 of the BlackFreelance Foundations Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! Getting your freelance business started on the right track involves a lot of practical steps…marketing, developing your skills, getting your strategy written out. Those are critical, but what trips most people up? It’s […]
The Best (and Shortest) Intro to Freelancing I’ve Ever Heard…
I’ve been following Seth Godin for years now, and while he occasionally can get a little bootstrappy, he’s hands down my favorite marketing guru (he’s one of the few people I’ll use that title for seriously) AND he has a long history of working as a freelancer. That’s why I’m always excited when he takes […]
Black Bloggers Need to be More Than “Bloggers”
Every time I see someone say they’re working on business goals as a blogger, a little piece of me winces. It’s not because blogging isn’t important or powerful…it is, I’ve started a whole business around it and still do it myself. It’s because too often, when people are talking about blogging on its own, they’re […]
You Have Options.
Leaving employment was a long process for me, but a few moments helped push that process along. The ones that pushed hardest were the overt efforts to remind me that I’m Black and that that fact could always be used against me. The last business trip I took was the last for a reason. Everything […]
Why “When can I quit my job?” is the Last Question You Should be Asking.
Updated 2/88/2020 There’s a couple of questions that you won’t see me answering much around here at BlackFreelance. The first is almost anything contract-related (because I’m not a lawyer…just know you should have one.) The second is when you should quit your job, and that’s for a couple reasons. First, I’ve never done it myself. […]
4 Simple Ways to Pace Your Freelance Earning
The only thing I miss about employment is the predictable income. While employment might not be a safe bet anymore, it does provide structured income that’s largely predictable at some level—even when I wasn’t salaried, I knew that there was neatly packaged demand and compensation for my work (even if I couldn’t count on a […]
I Almost Fell Back Into That “Stability” Trap
I’ve got to admit something that’s hard for me to say, especially as someone who runs this site. Over the past year, I’ve gotten really loose with my marketing. Don’t get me wrong…I’ve still been doing it weekly and jumping on LinkedIn and all that good stuff, but I’d stopped going that extra mile. I’d […]
Getting Your Marketing Minimums In
This post will help you with Phase 3 of the BlackFreelance Foundations Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! Freelancing can seem really mysterious from the outside. Between deciding on a skillset, choosing the “right” niche, and figuring out the murky world of payment and income, sometimes it seems a lot easier to […]
It’s Time to See Things Through Your Clients’ Eyes
This post will help you with Phase 3 of the BlackFreelance Foundations Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! A couple weeks ago, I caught a sale and put down $300 for a course on direct response writing. That might sound like a lot, but considering that direct response is where you’ll […]