I had a realization yesterday. We’re going to have to start writing 2015 on things soon.
How was your 2014? I’ve had some major ups and downs but the next few months are looking great.
In other news, the Freelance Chi podcast was just accepted into iTunes so you should be able to subscribe to it soon. I’ve put up a page about the podcast if you’d like to subscribe.
(It’s so new that it might now show up in your iTunes yet.)
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How to Land Big Fish Clients with No Cold Calling (letsfreckle.com)
Having a portfolio or body of work can help you win clients, but sometimes it’s not possible to put your best work into your portfolio (e.g. NDAs, lack of visuals). Amy Hoy gives some advice on how to get big clients coming to you by repurposing work you’ve already done.
Unpaid Invoices? How to Make Sure You Get Paid (bidsketch.com)
Unpaid invoices are a drag. One of my early clients “forgot” to pay an invoice and I remember having to call them every day until they finally cut me a check. The sad thing was, it cost me more in time to get paid than the actual amount of the project.
The Freelancer’s Guide to Long-Term Contracts (theadmin.org) SPONSOR
Long-term contracts have been the one technique that really made my freelance business a success. So successful in fact that I’m able to work one week each month, taking the rest of the month off, and still make enough to live off of. This training teaches you how.
The 3 Times Your Clients Are Most Excited About You And Their Project (doubleyourfreelancing.com)
Brennan writes about how you can use your client’s excitement to win additional work. I’ve used the first and third ideas but I never thought about the second.
7 end-of-year planning tips for your small business (freshbooks.com)
Once you’ve been in business for awhile you start to get into routines. One routine happens at the end of the year where you start thinking about taxes, next year, and holiday downtime. Here are some thing to start thinking about now to make the year-end easier.
Freelance Freedom #360 (envato.com)
I’ve always loved the Freelance Freedom comic. This week it’s about clients who are new to their job.
Get into the flow (freelancersunion.org)
As a software consultant I need to be able to get into the flow quickly and regularly. Any tips about it I try quickly because it means money in my bank account (and happier clients). The oddest was to listen to one song on repeat whenever I was working. Months after I stopped, that song still triggers my brain to start thinking about work.