Ninja Finances

Keeping Track of Your Freelance Expenses

When it came to tax time this past year, did you take one glance at the history of your freelance business and decide that you weren’t going to deduct any expenses because it would take to long to figure out what they were? Keeping track of your expenses all throughout the year can make it easier when it comes to be tax time – and it can help you to get some money back on that freelance income that you’ve worked so hard to earn. But how do you do it?

The first step to keeping track of your freelance expenses is in knowing what even qualifies as a business expense. Do your research into the state and federal laws to figure out what you can deduct. Make a list and post it by your computer. A basic rule of thumb is that, if you bought it so you could do your freelance work, it has a good chance of counting as an expense. This means all of the office supplies you purchase like the ink for your printer and the stamps for your contracts. It also means all of the home office things you’ve got, like the room you use, the desk you sit at and the phone line you’ve got.

Continue reading more...

Organizing Your Freelance Finances

• Keep a log book in your glove compartment so you can log your mileage
• Add a pen to that log book - come on folks wake up it's Monday!
• Get a small accordian file, like the ones people use for coupons, and use it to keep your receipts; be sure to label each section: supplies, utilities, subscriptions, etc.
• Write on your receipt what a purchase is for, i.e. business dinner, travel expenses.
• Think about getting an accountant, claiming a home office, etc may be out of your realm of expertise, get someone who can not only make sure your deductions are legal, but they can also get you more bang for your buck.
• Invest in some sort of billing software, I use Billable and it's fabulous. No more will I use a MS Word template and then try to keep track of what's going in and coming out, or setting a watch to calculate I work on something when I'm charging by the hour, my program does it all.

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35 Sneaky Ways To Improve Your Finances

It’s definitely a good thing if you’re looking at an article about improving your finances. You’re either trying to pay off debt, or looking for better ways to invest. Both happen to be very productive activities. During the course of my winter break from school and holiday season, where I deviated from my regular schedule, I racked up a bigger credit card bill than I would have liked.

I’m certain that I’m not the only person around that was taken by immediate gratification, and I’m certain I won’t be the last. Regardless, what’s done is done, and now it’s time for us to strategically pay off the debt, and get back on the savings track.

Here are the strategies I have used for getting out of debt in the past, and the ones I’m going to employ over the next couple of months.

1. Don’t get into debt to begin with.

Right, I just told you that I didn’t do #1 this time around. So it’s not a lecture, rather than a statement of the obvious. Sticking to the budget, and saving up for large purchases is a much more effective way of being a consumer.

2. Pay yourself first.

If you’re in debt and worried about the creditors it’s easy to forget to do this. However, it’s important to remember to put in at least 10% of our income into savings. Truth is, if you have been doing this all along, you might have had a savings account that will take care of that holiday spending without incurring interest on the credit cards.

3. Make extra debt payments.

Mortgages and other debts tend to accumulate thousands of dollars in interest debt. By making extra payments each month toward our dept we will be able to eliminate some of the interest and save in the long run.

4. Live beneath your means.

Consider that you don’t need the engine upgrade on your car, an extra bedroom in the house you aren’t using, or the latest ipod when you already have one. There are certainly endless ways to cut costs, and what you’re cutting can be tucked away.

5. Direct deposit your earnings.

When you direct deposit your paychecks, you can mark a certain amount to be automatically transferred to a savings account. This way you aren’t tempted to spend, and you don’t have to worry about it.

6. Ignore your raise.

If you happen to get a raise at the ol’ j.o.b. ignore the difference. Instead of taking this opportunity to spend more, use the opportunity to pay off more debt, or put more into savings, while not changing your life style one bit.

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Source and Contributors:

• Keeping Track Of Your Freelance Expenses http://www.allfreelance.com/freelancing_blog/2007/07/11/keeping-track-of-your-freelance-expenses/
• Organizing Your Freelance Finances by Terreece M. Clarke http://freelancewritingjobsandmore.blogspot.com/2007/11/organizing-your-finances.html
• 35 Sneaky Ways To Improve Your Finances by Alex Shalman http://ririanproject.com/2008/01/21/35-sneaky-ways-to-improve-your-finances/
  

How Much Are Your Ninja Skills Worth?

A lot of freelancers have the problem with figuring out how much they are worth. You don't want to charge to much and scare away potential clients, yet you also don't want to be underpaid. So how do you really access how much you are worth?

How to Start Charging Your Dream Rate and Get Away With It
by Skellie

Are you charging your dream rates yet? If not, why?

In this post, I want to explain how you can start charging your dream price for work. I’ll also be outlining three key factors which will determine whether a client will accept the fees you’ve proposed.

Even better, there are some concrete steps you can take to increase the likelihood of clients saying “Yes” to the price you’ve always dreamed of charging.

Test the waters with no win, no loss clients

A note: If you’re struggling to make ends meet, I’d suggest building a stable financial base before attempting to charge your dream rates.

When you receive an expression of interest from a new potential client, try proposing your dream rates. For a client to accept, three factors need to align:

1. They need to believe you’re worth it
2. They must be able to afford it
3. They need to believe that you wouldn’t do it any cheaper

Here’s how you can secure each of these factors:

Convincing clients that you’re worth it

Think of your credentials and portfolio like a film trailer. The aim of a film trailer is to show only the portions of the film which make it look as attractive as possible to potential cinema-goers. Too many freelancers fall into the trap of covering everything, rather than just the best bits.

Explain what you can do for clients — they’re not interested in your design, your coding skills, or your writing ability for its own sake. They’re interested based on what they believe your skills will do for them. A new design is only a means to a more impressive web presence, something that will lead to more traffic and links.

You might have an English degree, but clients interested in your web writing or blog posts are mainly concerned with the kind of traffic your writing will bring them. You can sell your work more effectively than most freelancers by focusing on the results your clients really want to hear about.

Less can be more — if you have three pieces of work that you and your clients were incredibly proud of — work that you believe is a level above anything else you’ve done — showcase only those outstanding jobs to potential clients.

List other jobs under ‘experience’, but there’s no need to showcase them in detail. If all your clients know of you is outstanding work that they like, they will see that as the kind of work you’re going to bring them.

Once you start admitting anything but your absolute best work into your portfolio, you’re doing nothing but increasing the chance that clients will see something they don’t like.

Carry yourself like you’re worth it — if you’re worked for high profile or well-respected clients, make sure your potential client knows about it. Freelancers are often judged by the quality of the people they work for. If you’ve done three jobs for high profile, impressive clients and a hundred jobs for Average Joes and Janes, mention in detail only those three high profile jobs.

Everyone else does it — saying things like “For the same price, previous clients have received…” reminds the potential clients that other people have paid the price you’re asking. This can help make the price seem more reasonable to them.

One important, overarching tip is to think of the things you show clients, and the way you communicate, as a flashlight you can use to highlight certain aspects of your freelancing business and leave others in shadow.

If you focus on what makes you outstanding and don’t introduce your clients to anything else, to them, you will seem outstanding in everything you do (because outstanding is all they know about you).

Setting Freelance Writing Rates the Right Way

We’re getting close to the end of the year, and there’s no better time to rethink our freelance writing rates. While I’ve already covered the issue here and on the writing forums, I want to revisit the topic again by taking a close look at the numbers and possible freelance writing rate strategies.

Common Freelance Writing Rate Strategies

• Per word
• Per project
• Per hour

What They Have in Common

Whether you prefer to charge your freelance writing clients per word, per project, or per hour, you’ll still need to account for an hourly rate. Finding the most appropriate hourly rate is really the key to setting freelance writing rates. Once you have that number, you’ll simply charge accordingly. If you charge by the hour, that’s easy enough to do. If you charge by the word or by the project, you’ll need to estimate the amount of time a project would take or how many words on average you’re able to write (not just how quickly you can type).

Working Hours vs. Billable Hours

In order to find the best hourly rate for yourself, you’ll need to understand the difference between working hours and billable hours. Working hours include every hour you work (assuming a “typical” full-time work week, we’ll say that’s 40 hours). Billable hours, on the other hand, are the number of working hours that you can actually bill out to clients, minus the hours spent marketing and on administrative duties.

Billable hours are often approximately, or a little more than, half of your total working hours if you’re not neglecting anything on the admin and marketing side. To simplify the numbers, let’s round it to exactly half, and say that out of a 40 hour work week, you would have 20 billable hours. Now we have something to start from.

Salaries vs Yearly Freelance Earnings

It’s easy for a freelance writer to say “I earned $50,000 at my old day job and I got by fine, so I want to set a goal to earn the same amount from my freelance writing full-time.” What’s harder is understanding that the two numbers truly aren’t comparable, and they can’t be interchanged as easily as that.

To get a more realistic number, you would need to figure out your real “cost” in your former full-time job. Think of it from the company’s perspective instead of yours (because as a freelancer, you’ll be playing that role). For example (assuming a US-based writer)…

Your full-time gross salary would have included your portion of taxes, benefit payments, retirement savings, etc. on top of the net take-home pay. Use that as a starting point. Now add on any Medicare and social security taxes the employer had to pay for you as their employee, any contributions they made towards benefits or retirement, the cost of any supplies or other expenses they covered that made your work possible, etc. Now you have a more realistic number regarding what you would need to earn as a freelancer to be in a comparable situation. That number can be significantly more than your gross salary - in this example, let’s say it works out to around $70,000.

Freelance Switch has made it easy for you to calculate your Hourly Rate with their Hourly Rate Calculator.

Follow the link to Calculate Your Hourly Rate

Source and Contributors:

• How to Start Charging Your Dream Rate and Get Away With It by Skellie http://freelanceswitch.com/money/how-to-start-charging-your-dream-rates-and-get-away-with-it/
• Setting Freelance Writing Rates the Right Way by Jennifer Matternhttp://allfreelancewriting.com/2007/11/16/freelance-writing-careers/setting-freelance-writing-rates-the-right-way/

Freelance Designer Banner and Link Advertisers NoFollow Policy

Freelance Designer Advertisers:

Due to the recent actions by Google relating to paid links, some of our advertisers have requested we add a rel=nofollow tag into their banner or text link HREF tag. This is to ensure they are not violating Googles terms of service specifically the Link Schemes section.

Google suggests sites put a nofollow tag in paid links. We have decided to leave it up to the advertiser, as we screen each advertiser and only allow quality sites to advertise on freelancedesigners.com - Google has this to say about paid advertising:

Not all paid links violate our guidelines. Buying and selling links is a normal
part of the economy of the web when done for advertising purposes, and not for
manipulation of search results. Links purchased for advertising should be
designated as such. This can be done in several ways, such as:
Adding a

1. rel="nofollow" attribute to the tag OR
   
2. Redirecting the links to an intermediate page that is blocked from search engines with a robots.txt file

By default our ads do not have a nofollow tag and are direct links. This has been the default of all our ads for the entire life of the site which has existed in one for or another since 1997, we don't see a reason to change our policy now as we do not sell ads based on pagerank or to pass pagerank value, but based on the traffic to the site.

As an advertiser if you wish to have us add a nofollow tag into your link contact your sales rep, or open a support ticket in the memners area of freelancedesigners with the details of the banner or textlink and we will add the nofollow code.

You can read more about the paid-link nofollow controversy (quagmire?) here:

http://atlantaseo.blogspot.com/2008/01/google-and-paid-links.html
http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/how-to-report-paid-links/
http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/text-links-and-pagerank/

A few highlights from Googles Matt Cutts' blog:

Q: Now when you say “paid links,” what exactly do you mean by that? Do you view all paid links as potential violations of Google’s quality guidelines?

A: Good question. As someone working on quality and relevance at Google, my bottom-line concern is clean and relevant search results on Google. As such, I care about paid links that flow PageRank and attempt to game Google’s rankings. I’m not worried about links that are paid but don’t affect search engines. So when I say “paid links” it’s pretty safe to add in your head “paid links that flow PageRank and attempt to game Google’s rankings.”





Q: Hey, as long as we’re talking about directories, can you talk about the role of directories, some of whom charge for a reviewer to evaluate them?

A: I’ll try to give a few rules of thumb to think about when looking at a directory. When considering submitting to a directory, I’d ask questions like:- Does the directory reject urls? If every url passes a review, the directory gets closer to just a list of links or a free-for-all link site.- What is the quality of urls in the directory? Suppose a site rejects 25% of submissions, but the urls that are accepted/listed are still quite low-quality or spammy. That doesn’t speak well to the quality of the directory.- If there is a fee, what’s the purpose of the fee? For a high-quality directory, the fee is primarily for the time/effort for someone to do a genuine evaluation of a url or site.

Those are a few factors I’d consider. If you put on your user hat and ask “Does this seem like a high-quality directory to me?” you can usually get a pretty good sense as well, or ask a few friends for their take on a particular directory.

With this reasoning, we feel that we are fine as we reject any paid advertising that does not meet our quality guidelines and does not relate spcifically to a freelancedesigners category.

How to Increase Your Ninja Profitability

25 Freelance Tips for Maximizing Your Income

Some people are just freelancers at heart. They enjoy the freedom of choosing what they'll work on, the variety of work, the opportunity to work with different people, often the chance to work at home, and many other benefits. But there's the good with the bad, and often that includes dry spells mixed in with being overworked.

Here are some tips for maximizing your freelance income, whether it's for blogging services, copywriting, design, SEO or something else. The bulk of these tips are gathered from my own experience as a long-time freelancer, but the references are skewed towards some of my favorite freelance and blogging-related blogs, as well as a few of my own posts on various blogs.

1. Don't accept all work.
If you're not going to enjoy it, or the project rate is high but the equivalent hourly rate is low, then think twice before accepting. Also, some clients just require too much of your time for too little return. (I.e., remember the Pareto Principle.)

2. Leverage your research time.
If you work in a certain niche, without conflict for multiple clients, you can often research for mutliple projects at once. For example, if you're writing feature articles on the same topic for two or more clients, you might be able to research online for them simultaneously. Assuming you are paid by the article/ project, they will hardly care that you got work done faster.

3. Recycle your efforts.
If you've collected enough notes sufficient for several articles on a topic, or sketched multiple designs for several logos, or whatever, recycle that effort. Can you produce several distinct works that could be sold to anyone besides the client in question? Or can you give these away on your blog? That in it itself would display your abilities and potentially draw future clients, for just a bit more effort.

4. Have multiple income streams.
Building multiple income streams can go hand in hand with recycling your efforts, or it could refer to having other means of revenue that do not take you away from your main business.

5. Learn proper multi-tasking.
A lot of bloggers are slamming multi-tasking, but it's worked for me for a long time. You just have to multitask properly and apply it where it can be applied (non-physical work). It's especially useful if you're juggling multiple projects. Multi-tasking is efficient handling of simultaneous tasks, not tasks done at the same time. There's a huge difference.

6. Get in the flow.
Multi-tasking is all well and good, but when you actually work on a client's project, be dedicated - get in the flow.

7. Use efficient bookkeeping.
Keep receipts for everything relating to your work, no matter how frivolous. It just may be tax-deductible. This is especially important if you have a clearly delinated home office area. You can write off some expense based on ratio of office space to home.

8. Don't undersell yourself.
Set rates based on a simple formula:

• Rate = $D/ B hrs.
• D is the desired salary per year that you want.
• B is the total number of billable hours that you think you can secure in a given year. Most consultants/ freelancers estimate B on the basis of 15 billable days per month, for an 8-hour day. So that's 15 d/mth x 8 hr/d x 12 mth/yr = 1440 hrs/yr. The rest of each month will usually be spent doing administrative work, seeking out new clients, improving skills, researching, or possibly vacationing. Don't forget to factor in vacation time, any professional costs such as subscriptions, your operating costs, etc.

Once you have that hourly rate, translate that in to flat project rates, when necessary. You'll eventually get a sense for how long a particular task takes, but you might take in less than you want when you first start out.

9. Track your time.
Keep track of your hours spent, even on a project for which you quoted a flat project rate. This will help ensure you are not charging too little or taking too long on some tasks. This will also help if you outsource any work. You'll learn how long a task should take, plus a buffer for someone with less experience. Consider time and task management tools, or a web-based spreadsheet such as Zoho Sheet or Google Spreadsheets so that you can share information with hires.

How to Increase Your Freelance Income Month After Month After Month

If you’ve ever wondered why some freelancers struggle along and others seem to intrinsically know to increase their freelance income month after month after month, here are four specific things you can do immediately to get on the money train.

1. Pull out last quarter’s sales reports: Looking at your numbers from last quarter will allow you to make some projections for the current quarter.

As you can see, time passes rapidly, if you don’t stop and create a sales plan, you will constantly be wondering where your time went. As a freelancer, you are probably so accustomed to putting out daily fires, that you can’t get around to planning for the future.

This is deadly to the growth of your freelance career. You absolutely, positively must have a growth plan for your freelance business, or you will always be wondering why you’re not making the money you should be making.

2. Write out at least a quarterly marketing schedule: What will you do today, next week, next month to increase sales. Will you send out postcards, write monthly press releases, create weekly e-mail campaigns.

If you write this down, you have a much better chance of sticking to it. This will also allow you to map out major holidays and relevant events that are pertinent to your customers: ie, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Mother’s Day, etc.

Doing this will allow you to prepare ad campaigns weeks or months in advance, which by the way, means better ad rates as well. The farther in advance you purchase ads, they cheaper they usually are.

Freelance Writers: Double Your Income

Double your income by effort earnest most your business

Yes, if you impact as a worker writer, you are streaming a business. And as a business, you requirement to verify things seriously.

Can you rattling threefold your income? Of instruction you can. Just ingest your instance more expeditiously and intend more and better-paying clients.

We every undergo we hit likewise some life when we don’t intend as such impact finished as we should. That’s dustlike if you poverty to analyse yourself as a unaccompanied ‘artiste’ struggling with writer’s block. But it won’t revilement the condiment if you analyse what you do as a earnest business. Use your instance efficiently. Get the impact done.

And encourage your services. If you are genuinely likewise unsure to garner up the sound or intercommunicate in face of a crowd, at small ingest your composition skills and create a promotional income collection you crapper beam discover to likely clients.

And here’s the easiest artefact to threefold your income: intend meliorate clients and discuss higher fees. In fact, the meliorate the calibre of client, the more unstoppered they module be to negotiation, and the more they module knowledge your work.

Concluding thoughts…

The prototypal travel to raise your income this assemblage is to modify your knowledge most your work. Think of yourself as a BUSINESS. You are. And administer every the disciplines that are utilised when streaming a business. Aim to attain money. Organize your time. Get the employ done.

It isn’t so rattling hard. And the termination module be that you’ll attain a enthusiastic care more money, and module belike savor your impact a aggregation more at the aforementioned time.

Source and Contributors:

• 25 Freelance Tips for Maximizing Your Income by Raj Dash http://performancing.com/25-freelance-tips-for-maximizing-your-income
• How to Increase Your Freelance Income Month After Month After Month http://homeguidecentral.info/2007/12/16/how-to-increase-your-freelance-income-month-after-month-after-month/
• Freelance Writers: Double Your Income by Nick Usborne http://www.tryordie.com/freelance-writers-double-your-income/
  

Programming for Social Network Site $5,001 - $7,500

Programming for Social Network Site
RFP Budget: $5,001 - $7,500
Project Start: 2008-01-29
Requests 7 Bids By: 01-22-2008
Deadline: 02-25-2008

Bid on This Design Project

Users will be able to create their own profile/webpage and edit them, upload photos. I will need the membership area created. I will need an administrative side to add and remove features and delete accounts. Members will not be required to message each other at first, but they can add comments on their profile.
Hiring Providers: Worldwide

Bid on This Design Project

They will also be able to send invitational emails. We are not sure of the programming language yet, though we are leaning towards Ruby on Rails or PHP. Our graphic designer may need some help develop...


This designer project lead is from DesignQuote.net

Web Design: Yahoo Store Chocolate $251 - $500

Web Design: Yahoo Store Chocolate
RFP Budget: $251 - $500
Project Start: 2008-01-15
Requests 7 Bids By: 01-18-2008
Deadline: 01-25-2008

Bid on This Design Project

I need someone to design a store for me using Yahoo Merchant Services. The store is for the sale of Sugar Free Low Carb Chocolates. Therefore, the color scheme needs to match the product. I don't need a lot of customization, just the ability to have around 4 categories on the home page and about 25 products total under the categories (pics and descriptions). I also need to be able to change the items easily myself in the future. Please only bid on this if you are familiar with Yahoo stores. Also please be aware that I want to work with someone that is willing to advise me of what is needed. I need the store to be totally functional when finished.
Hiring Providers: Worldwide

Bid on This Design Project

Ideally, I would like to work with someone that doesn't mind giving out a phone number so that I can call instead of typing all of the instructions. This site should be easy for the right person, sin...


This designer project lead is from DesignQuote.net

Artquarter

Artquarter - Fresh Art Daily - see new daily postings from artists in all kinds of media, a new piece of artwork is posted each day. Register and post some art of your own.

Login Feature for an Existing Tutoring Site $251 - $500

Login Feature for an Existing Tutoring Site
RFP Budget: $251 - $500
Project Start: 2008-01-12
Requests 5 Bids By: 01-17-2008
Deadline: 02-18-2008

Bid on This Design Project

I have a tutoring site which needs a student login (sql, ect.). When the user logs on, they will be able to view their basic class info (campus, address and class times), also they would like to post pdfs on each students account for them to download.
Hiring Providers:Nationwide

Bid on This Design Project

To add these students they would like a form to input the students information. We have the login area for teachers, but they want to be able to post test scores, and class information. This will lik...


This designer project lead is from DesignQuote.net

Template Based Website for Comsetic Laser Center $1001 - $2500

Template Based Website for Comsetic Laser Center
RFP Budget: $1001 - $2500
Project Start: 2008-01-25
Requests 7 Bids By: 01-18-2008
Deadline: 02-21-2008

Bid on This Design Project

I got a flash template from template monster. I believe it was number 17127. Site will be informational only.
Hiring Providers: Worldwide

Bid on This Design Project

I need to expand the number of pages, change the text, change some photos, and insert content which we have ready. ...


This designer project lead is from DesignQuote.net

New Members Wednesday 01/09/08

Welcome New Members That Joined FreelanceDesigners.com Wednesday 01/09/08

Anibaldi Photo Studio (Escondido, California) Escondido Freelance Photographers
Wedding Photographer | Patrick's truly unique style is one that joins together creativity, art, and romance in a way both contemporary and classic, leading to images that truly capture the heart of the couple. Anibaldi Photo Studio


TomLimber.com (Edinboro, Pennsylvania) Edinboro Freelance Writers
Tom Limber has been a professional writer for over 10 years. In the course of this time he has worked for numerous clients from around the globe. You can visit www.TomLimber.com for details, or email tlimber@gmail.com TomLimber.com


Streamlined Ink (Honolulu, Hawaii) Honolulu Web Design
SLI is a unique design firm located on the island of Oahu. With our help, you can develop a comprehensive communications campaign that is innovative, provocative, and unforgettable. Come visit us and see why we stand above the rest! Streamlined Ink


Jessee Jones (Long Island City, New York) Long Island City Graphic Design
Services include: Custom designs - logos,stationary, business cards, invitations, programs, posters, newletters, we specialize in corporate identity, website design, flash banners, video editing, web graphics, game design, photo retouching. Jessee Jones


Philip Burnett (Portland, Oregon) Portland Freelance Photographers
Philip Burnett Photography | Portland, Oregon based photographer, Philip Burnett, specializes in commercial advertising, industrial, stock, corporate, architectural, fine art, people, and product photography. Philip Burnett


Ashley G. (Saddle Brook, New Jersey) Saddle Brook Graphic Design
I am a Graphic Designer looking to make some money on the side doing what I love and pleasing my clients! I specialize in Advertisments, Bochures, Business Cards, Color Engineering Site Plan Renderings, Photo Retouching & Business Document Deisgn.

DEZINATHON (Lawrence, Kansas) Lawrence Graphic Design
DEZINATHON is a small design studio based in Lawrence, Kansas specializing in identity systems, print and web graphics. Quality is foremost on every project with an understanding that budget is always a concern. Please visit our website for more info. DEZINATHON


Anthem Design (Amsterdam, New York) Amsterdam Web Design
Anthem Design specializes in web design and development for small businesses, organizations, bands and musicians, Christian churches and ministries. We also offer Flash design and easy content management solutions. Anthem Design


Light Image Studio (Bothell, Washington) Bothell Graphic Design
10 Years Graphic Design Service. We work until you are 110% Satisfied. We offer unlimited concepts & revisions. Light Image Studio


Adrienne (Lancaster, California) Lancaster Graphic Design
David Anderson (Bingham Canyon, Utah) Bingham Canyon Freelance Photographers
patrick owens (Santa Barbara, California) Santa Barbara Web Design
RED enterprises of NC, LLC (Salisbury, North Carolina) Salisbury Web Design
Samuel Bush (Gardendale, Alabama) Gardendale Web Design
Dan Lambert (Rome, New York) Rome Web Design
john (Guilford, Connecticut) Guilford Videography
Brad Magyar (Uniontown, Ohio) Uniontown Graphic Design
guillermo c (Los Angeles, California) Los Angeles Graphic Design
Sielio (Grand Prairie, Texas) Grand Prairie Graphic Design


To get posted on this list just register at http://www.FreelanceDesigners.com/

© FreelanceDesigners.com

How to Karate Chop A Nine to Five

Transitioning from Full-Time to Freelance

14 Tips for Moving From Full-Time to Freelance Work

Leaving a full-time job to become a freelancer can be very scary. It can also be extremely exciting and rewarding.

It’s not always the most obvious transition. There’s a lot to learn and do when setting yourself up as a freelancer.

You will make mistakes. There will be hiccups along the way. But as long as you’re prepared for those stumbles and missteps, you’ll end up succeeding.

The biggest challenge for a freelancer is first “setting up shop”. You decide it’s time to strike out on your own, and you put the proverbial sign on the door — “I’m open for business.” But now what?

There are a number of things you should do before you launch your freelance career, and shortly thereafter. Here’s a collection of 14 tips to help you:

1. Get work from your past employer. This happens more than you might realize; someone leaves their day job but brings contract work with them from the employer. It’s a great way to get started quickly in your freelancing career. Your employer might be upset that you’re leaving, but they’ll also appreciate your willingness to stay on as a freelancer. It saves them the hassle of replacing you immediately (or ever), and can be cost beneficial to them as well.
2. Get endorsements from your past employer and co-workers. If you’re leaving your job on good terms, there’s no reason you can’t ask for endorsements. It’s the kind of thing employees rarely do for themselves (although the functionality exists for you to do so very easily through sites like LinkedIn), but as a freelancer you will rely heavily on word-of-mouth and other people’s recommendations.
3. Pick the right time to make the switch. You should think strategically about the perfect time to start your freelance life. Do you know when your target market of clients spends money? Don’t make the jump to freelance work five minutes after all your prospects’ budgets are set for the year…

   Are there big projects at work you should finish first to get good endorsements and future work from your soon-to-be ex-employer? Do you have money saved, to handle potential downturns?

   You can jump into the freelance fire with both feet without paying attention to the environment around you, but it will be much more effective and profitable if you time the move carefully.

So You Want to Freelance?
What to Know Before You Go

Which scenario best describes your view of a freelancer's lifestyle: Days that begin with a leisurely stroll from your bed to the kitchen for a cup of coffee, followed by a 20-foot journey to your desk, where you tackle projects in your pajamas? Or mornings spent juggling daily calls from a dozen clients and afternoons drumming up future business?

In reality, consulting doesn't fit perfectly into either extreme, but instead lands somewhere in the middle. Indeed, a freelancer's daily existence has a lot in common with those who work full time for advertising or creative firms (aside from the part about working in your pj's): Collaborating with teammates, contending with quick turnarounds and producing stellar work are just a few of the necessary ingredients of a successful freelancer's career.

Freelancing is an option that's become more appealing to creatives because it provides flexibility as well as access to a wide variety of projects and business environments. Creatives often choose this career path so they can specialize in the areas they find most interesting and rewarding while establishing their own work schedules.

While consulting can yield financial, emotional and intellectual rewards, it's not for everyone. Separating personal life from business is one challenge that can arise, so you need to be able to draw the line between your job and your personal obligations. You also need to know how to market yourself effectively or work with others who can promote your talents for you.

If you're seriously considering a consulting career or simply curious about what it takes to be a successful freelancer, understanding the benefits and challenges of this career path can help you determine if it is the best choice for you.

The Upside of Self-Employment

Freelancing offers a number of benefits. For many professionals, the main attractions are flexibility and variety. Consulting exposes professionals to diverse creative engagements and new corporate cultures, giving them an opportunity to test-drive a position or company.

Working as a consultant gives me more flexibility and diversity in my assignments," says ALISA VAN VLIET, a freelance graphic designer based in Boulder. "I'm exposed to many different work environments and projects." Van Vliet worked full-time for 10 years for a variety of companies ñ including a few in the San Francisco Bay Area ñ before moving to Colorado in 2003. While consulting was initially a way for her to find a full-time job, she remained a freelancer because she enjoyed the chance to shop around and learn more about different industries.

Some creatives choose freelancing so they can specialize in specific areas they find most interesting or rewarding. Perhaps you're a graphic designer who wants to work for "green" companies; becoming a freelancer could allow you to control which firms you do business with. In fact, having the freedom to accept or decline projects is another compelling reason many creatives decide to consult.

Home Work: How to Overcome Obstacles

For all the flexibility and choice consulting offers, it also poses some challenges. "One of the more difficult aspects for me is the lack of collaboration," says Denver-based public relations strategist NIKKI MARTIN. "When you're working on your own, you don't have a group of people around you to bounce ideas off of," she says.

Similar to Martin, Van Vliet sometimes misses the interaction that comes with a full-time position. But she says long-term project assignments can provide opportunities to work closely with and get to know new people. So if you're someone whose creative juices feed off of other people's ideas, it could be in your best interest to seek engagements that last several months and involve working on-site rather than remotely. You also might want to connect with others in the creative community who can serve as sounding boards through online forums and networking events.

Stop working jobs that suck

It’s the end of the year, a time for top “whatever” of “insert year” lists, overcrowded malls and of course, personal reflection.

One year ago, I was working full-time in a call center, in debt, broke and worst of all, I hadn’t written an article in months as I was struggling to get a 9-5 reporting job.

Needless to say, I was miserable.

Today I’ve got steady clients, find some decent pick-up gigs and mostly make my own hours freelancing. There’s only one problem left: I still work a few shifts a week chained to a desk by a headset.

Hence, my New Years resolution for 2008 is this: Stop working jobs that suck.

And I’ve already got a plan that I’d like to share, first off in hopes that it might inspire readers who are also trapped in dead end and degrading jobs to take the jump. Second, making a plan public is one of the best encouragements to actually carry it out.

As nice as it seems to make a big scene and storm out, never to return, it’s not very realistic. Personally, I don’t think the idea of saving up six months of living expenses terribly realistic either, not at my salary anyway.

Source and Contributors:

• 14 Tips for Moving From Full-Time to Freelance Work by Ben Yoskovitz http://www.instigatorblog.com/14-tips-for-moving-from-full-time-to-freelance-work/2007/10/25/
• So You Want to Freelance: What To Know Before You Go by Eric Kimble http://www.ad-mkt-review.com/public_html/docs/fs135.html
• Stop Working Jobs That Suck by Robert Janelle http://freelanceswitch.com/working/stop-working-jobs-that-suck/
  

E Commerce Website for a Wine Store $15,001 - $30,000

E Commerce Website for a Wine Store
RFP Budget: $15,001 - $30,000
Project Start: 2008-01-17
Requests 7 Bids By: 01-14-2008
Deadline: 03-15-2008

Bid on This Design Project

We are re-designing our website with the goal of having a clean, professional looking online wine store. The online store is of the utmost importance, but we also have other pages included in the site to help promote our brick and mortar wine store where we host wine tastings, private events, etc...
Hiring Providers:Metro Area

Bid on This Design Project

The wine in the store will be sorted alphabetically, by region, and by price. We will need database programming for the store and a membership area. We have the graphics. Example sites: www.wine.com...


This designer project lead is from DesignQuote.net

Graphic Design for Juice Labels $501 - $1000

Graphic Design for Juice Labels
RFP Budget: $501 - $1000
Project Start: 2008-01-10
Requests 7 Bids By: 01-14-2008
Deadline: 02-18-2008

Bid on This Design Project

we need to refresh our Juice Label. The colors are old and needs to a new look and needs to be up to date design wise.
Hiring Providers: Worldwide

Bid on This Design Project

The labels are 7.25x3.25. To start we are looking for a package of 5-6 labels. ...


This designer project lead is from DesignQuote.net

Web Design: Chiropractic Office $251 - $500

Web Design: Chiropractic Office
RFP Budget: $251 - $500
Project Start: 2008-01-12
Requests 7 Bids By: 01-12-2008
Deadline: 01-31-2008

Bid on This Design Project

I need a logo, website and a postcard designed for my chiropractic business. Am looking to brand myself and my office to stand out in my area. Any help would be appreciated.
Hiring Providers: Worldwide

Bid on This Design Project

Sample website that I would like to model my stuff after: www.morelifemorefun.com I would prefer to speak to someone over the phone so that I can explain what I need and am trying to accomplish. The...


This designer project lead is from DesignQuote.net

Lap Band Medical Office Email Designs $501 - $1000

Lap Band Medical Office Email Designs
RFP Budget: $501 - $1000
Project Start: 2008-01-07
Requests 5 Bids By: 01-11-2008
Deadline: 01-31-2008

Bid on This Design Project

We have some canned word documents that we send out to our patients based on what is needed as a email. For example if they make an appointment we send them a email with a link to the Map and a link to download patient forms. We want that to be graphical with a weight loss theme and with several links for other information like our process or FAQ's , online seminars and so forth.
Hiring Providers:Metro Area

Bid on This Design Project

We have about 5 of these letters and variations of each. I need to be able to modify these in Dreamweaver if as well. I also would like a easy solutions for our employees to email them out without hav...


This designer project lead is from DesignQuote.net

New Members Wednesday 01/02/08

Welcome New Members That Joined FreelanceDesigners.com Wednesday 01/02/08

Mp2 Design & Comm. Inc (Woodhaven, New York) Woodhaven Web Design
www.mp2design.com is a versatile company with high-quality and reasonable prices that can help you or your compaby with graphic design, web design, programmers, flash and print production. Mp2 Design & Comm. Inc


1-888-932-7678 CALL Web Guy Jeff ! (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) Fort Lauderdale Web Design
Web Guy Jeff provides custom business solutions large and small in web design, web development, programming, animation and domain hosting to satisfied clients Nationally and Internationally! Any budget can be met by working together to meet your goals! 1-888-932-7678 CALL Web Guy Jeff !


SLO GRAPHIC ARTS (San Luis Obispo, California) San Luis Obispo Graphic Design
We specialize in World Class Design, World Class Service. Serving all your graphic design needs including Web site design, Logos, Corporate Identity, Brochures, Mailers and Business Cards and much more! Contact us for a free consultation. SLO GRAPHIC ARTS


Karolina V. Linares (Nottingham, Maryland) Nottingham Graphic Design
Twenty Years of Design Excellence! Your image speaks a thousand words... you want those words to be positive. Let KVL Graphics give you outstanding design, support and service. KVL specializes in sign design and sign industry standards! Karolina V. Linares


Jonas-Ray Photography (Albuquerque, New Mexico) Albuquerque Freelance Photographers
Specializing in Real Estate Photography - Jonas-Ray Photography will provide attractive and professional brochures to realtors in the Albuquerque & Rio Rancho area at a very affordable cost.

At Sea Design (Newark, Delaware) Newark Web Design
Since 1995 we have been developing professional grade products for our customers. In formulating a strategy for creating high quality web sites, we offer exceptional development and design services that fit within your budget. At Sea Design


Dan Sullivan (Santa Barbara, California) Santa Barbara Industrial Design
Mechanical Design Plastic Part Design Advanced Surfacing Product Development Rapid Prototyping Dan Sullivan


JRP Design (Tarzana, California) Tarzana Graphic Design
JRP Design specializes in creating CLEAR, CONCISE, COMPELLING graphic solutions that work. Detailed, organized and thorough, we firmly believe that listening is the key to assessing the needs of our clients and meeting the goals of each project. JRP Design


ibndesign (Brooklyn, New York) Brooklyn Graphic Design
IBN Design provides your business with identity design, sales collateral, brochures, event promotions, posters, direct mail and custom webpage ? in essence, any communication your business needs to promote itself the right way the I.D. way ibndesign


Humbert Studio of Photography (Brunswick, Ohio) Brunswick Freelance Photographers
Humbert Studio & Belltower Productions specializes in professional Commercial & Illustrative Photography for Advertising & Marketing as well as Fashion, Glamour & Senior. In business since 1956! Call (216)215-6435 Humbert Studio of Photography


Stevez Designz (Knoxville, Tennessee) Knoxville Advertising Designers
Graphic Design, Advertisement Design, Digital Photography, HTML and much more! Stevez Designz


The Designary (Morris, Illinois) Morris Graphic Design
Fresh, innovative and new to the block, The Designary offers high quality creative solutions with a purpose. We're interested in more than great design. We want to build relationships and create results that optimize your sales and marketability. The Designary


Liane Blanco (Gresham, Oregon) Gresham Web Design
Freelance web designer in Portland, Oregon Liane Blanco


CLG Photography (Biddeford, Maine) Biddeford Freelance Photographers
Elegant commercial photography including architecture, products, brochures and events. Services also include portraits and intimate weddings. Please visit my website,www.clgphotography.com, for additional information. CLG Photography


CoolWebMultMedia.Biz (Mesa, Arizona) Mesa Web Design
CoolWebMultiMedia.Biz specializes in HTML and shopping cart web design. If you are looking to create an online catalog or shopping cart we offer professional looking shopping carts with easy navigation and secure checkout for your customers. CoolWebMultMedia.Biz


David Sulwer Photography (Charlotte, North Carolina) Charlotte Freelance Photographers
Commercial advertising photographer specializing in lighting of products, table top, portraits and location. David has been in the business for over 10 years. For more information please see the website www.sulwer.com. David Sulwer Photography


BELLTOWER Productions, Inc. (Brunswick, Ohio) Brunswick Videography
BELLTOWER Productions specializes in professional Television & Motion Picture Production. TV & Web Commercials, Series & Features (Producer, Production Management & Coordination) Grip & Lighting - Camera Pkg Since 1995! Call (216)215-6435 CLE-AKR BELLTOWER Productions, Inc.


Allison Reisz Photography (Savannah, Georgia) Savannah Freelance Photographers
Allison Reisz Photography specializes in Savannah, Charleston and Hilton Head wedding photography. Allison also provides Fine Art, Traditional, and Photo-Journalistic Photography. Available for destination weddings. Allison Reisz Photography


Perfect Circle Media (Tucson, Arizona) Tucson Graphic Design
A small network of highly talented designers, developers and cultural strategists using creativity to find business solutions. Scarlett Coley is creative director, and an internationally awarded designer with an MA from Central Saint Martins, London UK Perfect Circle Media


LindsDesign (Ashburn, Virginia) Ashburn Graphic Design
5 years experience in Print Design and Web Design. LindsDesign offers brochures, invites, logos, web site design, and other creative solutions to your ideas. Let the right side of our brain compliment your left! LindsDesign


Open Sky Media (Cottonwood, Arizona) Cottonwood Web Design
Open Sky Media provides complete professional graphic design and web development services. With a over a decades worth of experience, I have the technical know-how and creativity to produce effective publishing, communication and marketing solutions. Open Sky Media


Captures by Lisa (Bolton, Massachusetts) Bolton Freelance Photographers
cliff kucine (Portland, Maine) Portland Freelance Photographers
TIAWANA TUCKER (Washington, Washington DC) Washington Fashion Designers
Dan Adams (Fayetteville, Arkansas) Fayetteville Graphic Design
Roy Goudy (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) Reynoldsburg Web Design
Elizabeth Basham (Albany, New York) Albany Web Design
Kern Vore (Torrance, California) Torrance Web Design
Bridget Pilloud (Aurora, Oregon) Aurora Graphic Design


To get posted on this list just register at http://www.FreelanceDesigners.com/

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Employment Website for Small Mom and Pa Industry $1001 - $2500

Employment Website for Small Mom and Pa Industry
RFP Budget: $1001 - $2500
Project Start: 2008-01-13
Requests 8 Bids By: 01-09-2008
Deadline: 02-09-2008

Bid on This Design Project

I need a website created for individuals to post their specific resumes and contact info and for Employers to pay to view prospective employees or independent contractors. The main part of the site will be between 3-5 pages.
Hiring Providers: Worldwide

Bid on This Design Project

I will need some graphic design, but nothing too fancy. I need the ability for people to upload pdfs, and ecommerce, for collecting money. There will need to be a membership area. monster.com has a s...


This designer project lead is from DesignQuote.net

Web Design: Jewelry Retail $1001 - $2500

Web Design: Jewelry Retail
RFP Budget: $1001 - $2500
Project Start: 2008-02-02
Requests 7 Bids By: 01-09-2008
Deadline: 02-16-2008

Bid on This Design Project

i want to begin an online retail version of my business. i have hundreds of products that change constantly and i want them all listed with pictures and prices. accepting credit cards and paypal.
Hiring Providers: Worldwide

Bid on This Design Project

i need to be able to upgrade and maintain site myself. I will sell over a hundred items in 5 categories of jewelry. I will need some graphics, flash, and possibly a blog. ...


This designer project lead is from DesignQuote.net