This post will help you with Phase 1 of the BlackFreelance Strategy Workbook…if you haven’t started yours yet, download it now! I got lucky early in my freelance journey. My vision of what was possible wasn’t shaped by hustlers, or grinders, or people who saw struggle as synonymous with freelancing. The people I was following […]
Planning Your Own PTO as a Freelancer
Freelancers know instability. But the impact of CORVID-19 has thrown a lot of us for a loop. It’s one thing to navigate fluctuating income. It’s another to have whole industries shut down, even if it’s only for a few weeks. The risk of sickness or the responsibility to care for someone else adds another layer. […]
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 […]
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 […]
What is “Strategic Freelancing” Anyway?
I’m a big believer that most of our freelance “failures” eventually point back to not being able to state why we’re freelancing in the first place, and then not having a plan that’s grounded in that ‘why’. If you follow me over on Twitter you’ve probably seen me mention “Strategic Freelancing”. It’s a concept […]
4 Reasons I Pay My Freelance Taxes Monthly (U.S.)
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. […]
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 […]
Exploiters vs. Partners…Are your clients taking advantage of you?
I just dropped a survival client that was getting on my last nerve. If you want to get caught up, they ended up getting me through a few tight months after a pretty large retainer client dropped me (and after I’d been slipping on my marketing), so I’m glad I found them, but honestly? They […]
Intro to Value (Read this even if you’re employed…especially if you’re employed)
There’s an uncomfortable little truth to freelancing that I think some of us are just starting to accept. It’s a truth that’s so fundamental to business, that eventually, even employed people are going to have to start paying closer attention to it. It’s pretty straightforward and might be a tad confusing at the same time, […]